Use pretend play to introduce kids to different cultures.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, I discovered a wonderful way to acquaint my kids with this special holiday – by offering them a glimpse (figuratively) into Chinese cuisine. Designing a pretend play activity with felt dim sum proves to be a fantastic idea for celebrating Chinese New Year!

This activity encourages children to engage in imaginative play, fostering cultural appreciation and creativity. Utilize different felt shapes to represent various dim sum items, prompting kids to explore and celebrate the festive spirit.

How to create felt dim sum:

Materials needed:

• Felt
• Foam paper
• Needle and threads
• Scissors
• Glue gun and stick
• Stuffing (I used cotton)
• Recycled cardboard
• A4 paper
• Bamboo plates, sauce bowl and chopsticks

Instructions:

NOTE: I don’t have any template for the food and cardboard steamers.

• Cut the felt and assemble to create the dumplings, spring rolls, siomai, and fortune cookies.
• Stuff the insides with the cotton or stuffing and sew to close.
• Cut the sauce from the black foam paper (the same shape as the sauce bowl).
• Cut small pieces from the green and red felt and attach them on top of the black foam paper.
• Create the steamer from the recycled cardboard and attach all the pieces together with hot glue.

How to play:

• Set up the felt food and place them into the cardboard steamer.
• Identify the names of the different foods.
• Allow the kids to explore each food.
• Teach kids how to use the chopsticks.

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