Sun & Moon Paper Roll Paint Stamp – Teach Kids Chinese Characters 日 and 月
My 3-year-old daughter and I had a fun time creating sun and moon with paper rolls, and we turned them into a stamping game to learn our minority language, Chinese. 日 (rì / sun) and 月 (yuè / moon) are some the first words that my daughter learned to read in Chinese!
Related: Learning 木 and 树 with pipe cleaners
日 and 月 Chinese pictographs – great first Chinese characters to teach kids
Because 日 (rì / sun) and 月 (yuè / moon) have only a few simple strokes this hands-on activity is great for children learning their first Chinese characters.
Derived from pictographs of the sun and moon, 日 and 月 Chinese characters are the same in traditional and simplified Chinese.
The repetition in this stamping activity also helps with memorizing each Chinese character.
Related: Montessori Moon Phase 3-Part Cards in Chinese, Korean, English
How to adapt this activity for kids who aren’t ready to read Chinese
If you kids are learning English or another language, you can teach “sun” and “moon” words with this activity!
Younger children who are not yet ready to read can simply enjoy creating, exploring, and stamping shapes!
Important vocabulary in Chinese, Pinyin, and English
- 日 (rì / sun)
- 月 (yuè / moon)
- 形状 / 形狀 (xíngzhuàng / shape)
- 涂料 / 塗料 (túliào)
- 卫生纸筒 / 衛生紙筒 (wèishēngzhǐ tǒng / toilet paper rolls)
I am excited to share this Sun & Moon Paper Roll Paint Stamp activity because you don’t have to buy many supplies, and it only takes a few minutes to set up!
What you need for Sun & Moon Paper Roll Paint Stamp activity:
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- Large white sheet of paper or large cardboard
- Two toilet paper rolls
- Scissors
- Silver and gold markers
- Yellow and Blue paint
- Paper plates or shallow pan to collect paint
We are always saving up toilet paper rolls because we love recycling cardboard for activities! The great thing about paper rolls is that we can let our kids use these for learning without worrying about environmental waste.
Try this: 20+ Chinese Learning Activities with Cardboard Rolls!
How to do the Sun & Moon Paper Roll Paint Stamp activity:
- Write 日 with gold marker and 月 in silver marker randomly throughout the white paper.
- Cut slits on one end of a paper roll to make sun rays
- Form the other paper roll into crescent shape
- Squeeze paint on paper plate
- Dip sun ray roll into yellow paint and stamp 日 (rì / sun) character
- Dip crescent-shaped roll into blue paint and stamp 月 (yuè / moon) character
This activity was so fun for my toddler daughter!
She loved seeing the shapes appear each time she stamped the paper roll into the paint!
However, don’t worry if your child wants to use the paper roll to smear the paint or create other patterns.
They are learning cause and effect as well as how to be creative.
All you need is a few minutes of their attention to explain the words.
If you give them room to explore their curiosity, they will be more likely to listen to your teaching tips.
Have you tried this sun and moon paper stamp activity?
If you try this Sun & Moon Paper Roll Paint Stamp activity, let us know in the comments section.
More favorite activities with cardboard rolls!
- DIY Montessori Spindle with Paper Rolls & Craft Sticks!
- Number & Color Patterns With Recycled Paper Rolls
- Chinese Activity for Kids: Foam Number Paint & Stamp
- Trilingual Shape Stamping!
- Multilingual Thanksgiving Activity: Thankful Paper Roll Turkeys
- Paper Roll Christmas Trees: A Word-Matching Game {Multilingual}
- Paper Roll Octopus: A Chinese Counting Activity
