China Time

It has been a busy week! DH left for China early Saturday morning, which was more difficult for Jordan than we expected. . . She kept saying she wanted to go to China, too. Every time we go somewhere, she asks, "Are going to China to get Daddy?" But it has made it more fun to learn about China this week -- it feels like a real place now!

To introduce them to this new country, we have been looking at the globe a lot and tracing the path from Houston, Texas, to Shanghai, China. We have been making crafts that is a special surprise for Daddy (and since he is checking his email and subscribes to this blog via email, this will remain a surprise here, too!), coloring a lot of Kai-lan pictures, and playing dress up.

Our book sources this week are: Round is a Mooncake by Roseanne Thong (a cute rhyming story that focuses on shapes and light intro to Chinese culture), Good Morning China by Hu Yong Yi (simple story with pretty illustrations and introduction to some unique cultural things), Children Just Like Me: a unique celebration of children around the world a DK book (awesome resource for showing what children look like in different countries, some interesting facts and pictures), and Disney's Mulan!

Our multi-media resources include watching Mulan, A LOT of Ni Hao, Kai-lan, and an episode we have on tape of The Backyardigans tea party where they get a tea set from the Emperor. We have also watched some Kai-lan videos on the Nick Jr. site, as well as play some fun interactive games with the characters! I also love the sites indexed on the Shanghai American School's website to see some great virtual tours, cultural pictures and information. . . this one might be my favorite for Shanghai city pictures.

I am LOVING Ni Hao, Kai-lan, by the way! The girls are actually learning a lot of Chinese -- I have to keep asking Jordan how to count to three in Chinese but she always remembers! Both girls also pretend the sand outside is snow and call it snow in Chinese (I won't even attempt to spell that word here), they know how to say thank you and several other words. . . and if all that wasn't enough, it really has Jordan trying to problem solve like Kai-lan does. All day long, she sings the little song the characters sing on the show when they are trying to figure out why someone is feeling the way they are, and after she talks it out and figures it out, she gets so excited! I used this as a learning moment the other day. She started singing the song, "We gotta, gotta, try, to find the reason why... Why Mommy put me in time out?" LOL!!! So after her timeout was over, I helped her walk through the steps like Kai-lan did and she then said why she was in time out, and then went the extra step like Kai-lan does to figure out what she could have done instead! Now that is good educational programming, in my eyes!

Gregg comes home Sunday evening! The main highlight of course is having him HOME, but we are also excited to see all the pictures and goodies he is bringing with him, as we will continue learning about China next week, too! We will be reading Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett, The Story about Ping by Marjorie Flack and Ms. Frizzle's Adventures n Imperial Chna by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. We will take the girls to eat at a Chinese restaurant and for a tour of the Forbidden Gardens in Katy Texas, and it will also give me a reason to make my YUMMY homemade pork dumplings!

What are you all learning this week?