Chinese Zodiac

• The zodiac offers a variety of opportunities for artistic expression, so start off by identifying the children's specific zodiac animals. Depending on the birth dates of the children in class, they may all fall under the same zodiac category. Because your projects are meant to focus on dragon art, spend some time discussing the attributes of the zodiacal dragon even if your students fall under a different animal category. For an art project, one idea could be to make dragon masks with paper plates. Another option would be for the students to make their own zodiacal calendars; they should include drawings or paintings of each animal represented in the zodiacal calendar, placing special emphasis on the dragon.
  
  

Symbols of Luck

• Luck is an important theme in the Chinese New Year celebration, so use this as inspiration for your kindergarten art projects. For instance, focus on symbolically lucky colors like red; this is a color that represents fire, and in Chinese culture it is believed to drive away bad luck. Have the children make a collage of red pictures they find in magazines to construct a larger image of a dragon, or have them draw or paint original pictures of dragons using red art supplies. Traditionally, red envelopes are given with money as a symbol of good luck and prosperity during the Chinese New Year, so another project idea could be to have the children decorate their own red envelopes with images of dragons to give to one another.
  
  

Feast of the Lantern

• The Feast of the Lantern is celebrated on the third day of the Chinese New Year, and on this day lanterns are used to decorate streets and houses. Have the children create their own colorful lanterns using paper, or bring in an assortment of pre-manufactured paper lanterns that they may decorate using paints, markers or stickers to incorporate images of dragons. Take the decorated lanterns and hang them around the classroom, or send them home with the children to place in their houses.
  
  

Special Dances

• There are several special dances that are traditionally performed during the Chinese New Year celebration, and the themes of each one can be easily incorporated into your art projects. The Dragon Dance would be highly pertinent to your dragon art theme, so take some time to discuss the origins of the dance as well as the way in which it is performed during the New Year celebration. Have the students create their own dragon puppets, and then display the finished pieces in a special classroom parade.