Around the World this Summer - Lesson One China

This summer we are going to be learning about a new country every week. This week we will be studying China!
Follow along and have fun with us.
Feel free to comment your ideas for learning about China!!

China

Find China on a mag or better yet a globe.
Notice how it looks like a rooter! The northeastern tip being the head and the western side being the tail feathers.

Google pictures and videos of elements of Chinese culture; Chinese New Year, dragons, The Great Wall, cultural dances and The Forbidden City.

Capital: Beijing
Fourth Largest country (after Russia, USA and Canada)
 

Flag craft!

 
 



Supplies:
-cardstock
-mod podge
-red tissue or construction paper (or both)
-gold paint


Yummy Chinese food!

Hit up your local Chinese restaurant or try your hand at a dish together!

Easy Chinese Moon Cakes Ingredients:  • 1/4 cup sugar  • 2 egg yolks  • 1/2 cup salted butter  • 1 cup all-purpose flour  • 1 cup strawberry (or your favorite) jam    (traditionally red bean paste is used so    if you want a more authentic version,    you can use a can of red bean paste    instead of the jam). Directions:  1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  2.  Combine the butter, sugar and 1 egg yolk      and stir.  3.  Mix in the flour.  4.  Form the dough into one large ball and      wrap it in plastic wrap.  5.  Refrigerate dough for half an hour.  6.  Unwrap the chilled dough and form small

balls in the palms of your hand.  7.  Make a hole with your thumb in the center of each mooncake and fill with about half a teaspoon of jam.  8.  Brush each cake with the other beaten egg yolk and place on a cookie sheet. (We didn't have a brush to      do this, so skipped the brushing step)  9.  Bake for about 20 minutes or just until the outside edges are slightly brown  10. Makes 24

Activities!

Make a Chinese Lantern

You will need

• A4 size card or paper
• pencil
• glue
• scissors
• sticky tape

Activity

• 1. Fold the card in half lengthwise.
• 2. Starting at the folded side, draw pencil lines across it, not all the way across, on which to cut. Make sure the lines are equal in length and evenly spaced.
• 3. Cut along the lines carefully.
• 4. Unfold the card.
• 5. Take the top and bottom ends of the card, overlap them and paste them together to make a cylinder.
• 6. Cut a strip of paper and attach it to make the handle.
• 7. If you make more than one lantern, hand them on a string across the room.

Variations

• 1. Decorate the card with crayons, glitter, sequins, etc before making the lantern.
• 2. Alternatively, paste cellophane paper onto the inside of the card after cutting the slits. This will create a colorful effect when the sun shines on the lanterns.

Write some Chinese characters
















Books to Check Out

My favorite part of learning is always reading, a new book can give great understanding into subject. Especially when you are learning about a new culture. Seeing pictures and your child seeing a country from the familiar perspective of a child can really cement his understanding of the place.

Here are some books worth a look...

 

 

Follow this link for even more books featuring Chinese culture. 

Amazon Books About China