We have been working on a Chinese unit study in preparation for a cultural presentation at the CLAHS homeschool co-op on Friday.  Being that Sophia was adopted from China in 2001 (she's 5 now) and visited China again at 3 years old when we adopted Olivia in 2003, she has had a strong interest and enthusiasm for this unit. 

Some of the things we've done for the Chinese unit study include:

- Created a notebook devoted to China.  (Use a 1 1/2" binder with a clear cover to insert images into.  Use plastic page protectors to protect information and work.)

-  Decorated the front and back covers.  Sophia chose three things for the front:  an image of a floral papercut (red on yellow paper); an image of a dragon (she was born in the year of the dragon plus there are a lot of objects and buildings that have dragons on them in China), and a comb she received when she was adopted from the Changzhou Social Welfare Institute (the name of her orphanage).  The comb isof a woman dressed in a traditional Chinese dress, and was made at the Changzhou Comb Factory.

     For the back cover, she put the handmade Chinese calligraphy version of her name (Sophia).  We had this made for her in Beijing in November 2003.  She also chose a leaf vein bookmark that has the design of a flower and butterfly on it.

CHINA OVERVIEW

- Learned about the capital (Beijing, formerly Peking), the flag and what the stars represent (the big one stands for the Communist party, and the four smaller ones represent the four classes of society:  workers, peasants, soldiers, and students), the population, and what they do (2/3 of the population are farmers).

- Discussed the different crops that China grows.  It is the largest producer of rice, tobacco, and cotton in the world.  In another lesson, we were learning about cotton and had some cotton plants.  Sophia and Olivia were able to touch the cotton plants, see how they grow on the stem, and what they feel like compared to cotton balls, the clothes they were wearing (which were 100% cotton), and wool from the sheep we use to have.

- Colored a map of China and identified cities were Sophia has already visited. 

- Colored the flag of mainland China as well as the flag of Taiwan. 

CHINESE FOOD

- Because of the trips to China, Sophia has eaten a wide range of food.  We also go to Chinese restaurants on a regular basis which she enjoys.  On Wednesday, we'll be making a couple of side dishes - a cucumber salad and fried rice. 

- At a Families with Children from China (FCC) event in January, Sophia learned how to make a dumpling.  Although it wasn't her favorite food, at least she learned how to make one.

- We will be making a batch of Chinese Tea Eggs on Thursday (a test run), and then demonstrating to the CLAHS co-op on Friday how to make them.  These eggs are very pretty.  They are made like hardboiled eggs.  Once cooled, you tap the shells lightly with the back of a spoon.  They are soaked in tea for some time, and then peeled.  The eggs will look marbled and have a unique flavor. 

- Visited Truong Thahn Grocery Store in Minneapolis on March 23rd.  It has a variety of imported Chinese food as well as food from other Asian countries (e.g., Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand).  Looked at items around the store, and picked some to bring home and try.

- Looked at pictures of dim sum.  Some of the items Sophia has already eaten over the years (e.g., glutinous rice, spare ribs, spring roll, and egg custard tart.  In addition, she has eaten congee as a baby in the orphanage.

- Found a recipe for congee.  Will make it at some point in the future for her to taste.

LANGUAGE

- Learned about Chinese characters which represent ideas and objects.  There are over 50,000 Chinese characters. 

- Tried to pronounce the Chinese numbers (1-10).  Traced the number characters with her finger.

- Learned about the Chinese currency.  Saw pictures of it, and will locate some of the coins and bills before Friday's presentation. 

- Will review on Thursday Chinese money - ancient money (great pictures in "Money" - an Eyewitness book), and how it compares to contemporary money.

 - Had 10 old Chinese coins from 1644-1911.  Looked at the similarities and differences.  Sophia liked touching the coins. 

- Pronounced and practiced writing the characters in calligraphy for four words:  above (shang), below (hsia), sun (tai yiang), and large (da).  Sophia really enjoyed trying to write in Chinese.  Said she would like to do more of that, plus learn to speak Chinese.  I contacted CAAM (a Chinese dance company in St. Paul).  They will be offering a summer camp and have on-going classes in Chinese dance.  Both Sophia and Olivia seemed very interested in learning how to dance.  We saw a Chinese dance performance in November 2005 which they were engrossed in.  The camp, in addition to dance, also offers activities in culture, calligraphy, and language.

- Looked at the calligraphy version of Sophia's name in the orphanage (Chang Ju).  This was done at the FCC event in January 2006.

- Tried writing in calligraphy with an ink and brush at the FCC event in January 2006.

 SPECIAL CHINESE HOLIDAYS

- 2006 Chinese New Year - Year of the Dog.  Included in program/activity list from the FCC Chinese New Year event.  Highlighted activities we did there:  watched a performance by Theater Mu about tigers.  She and Olivia tried on the masks that were used during the performance.  Made dumplings, created two craft projects, tried calligraphy, had their faces painted, watched a parade, and ate Chinese snacks.

- Learned about lanterns and Lantern Festival Day (as part of the New Year festivities).

- Started a Chinese Lantern word find.  Found the words:  lanterns, panda, rice, Beijing.  There are seven more words to find.  This was challenging, but fun for Sophia. 

- Made and decorated two red envelopes.  Red envelopes containing money are given instead of a gift on special occasions in a person's life and at celebrations.  Red is the traditional color of the envelpes because it signifies good luck.  Pairs are always preferable to single items in Chinese culture. 

- Did papercutting which included folding the paper, drawing a design on the paper, and then cutting it out.  Did one for Chinese New Year plus did several floral-inspired ones to decorate the table at the presentation on Friday for the homeschool co-op.

- Learned about the Dragon Boat Festival.  We went to this festival at Lake Phalen in St. Paul a couple years ago.  It was fun.  Talked about the boats are designed, the contest, and how the people row to the beat of the drum.  There are several Dragon Boat Festivals this summer in Minnesota.  We'll  go to see at least one - either in St. Paul, Duluth, or Grand Marais.

CHINESE ART

- Went through the papercuts that we brought back from China.  Sophia selected four that she really liked (two are of pandas, and the other two of flowers and birds).  She touched them and realized how fragile they are.  In fact, she accidently ripped one because she had it hanging on her finger; and one I accidently tore when I lifted it from the paper after spraying glue (photo mount) on it and wanting to transfer it.

- Learned about singing.  Not everyone can read and write in rural China, so they express their feelings and pass knowledge on to the next generation through songs. 

- Saw pictures of jade, and looked at some jade pieces that we brought back from China.  Sophia was surprised at the range of colors.  She thought it was just green, but jade can come in yellow or red too.

- Learned about the xiao, a musical instrument from ancient times.  It is made from hollow bamboo and looks like a recorder.  Sophia and Olivia have recorders, so this instrument they could relate to.  They enjoy making up songs on their recorders and playing together.

- Did stamping of Chinese symbols and images.

- Looked at the leaf vein painting that we brought back from China.  Leaf vein painting was first invented in Chongqing (one of the cities where we stayed when we adopted Olivia).  It is created on the veins of the Banyan tree (the city tree of Chongqing). 

- Included some items from the trip to China in 2003:  Sophia's room card and information booklet from the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, a ceramics sales receipt, a laundry list in English and Chinese, picture of people bicycling (a huge method of transportation), a picture of a garden/park (she liked the parks there), a picture of a Chinese police man, and a picture of schoolchildren in yellow hats. 

- We read through some of the pizzas offered at Pizza Hut menu in China.  The menu was printed in Chinese and English.  Some of the pizzas were the same as here.  Others were completely different (one had tuna fish, peas, onions, and thousand island sauce).  Sophia wasn't sure she would like that one.

RESOURCES

- Wrote a list of books we read that were multi-cultural or Chinese in focus (17); food books (2); games we played (2); Chinese music we listened to; and adoption books we read (7). 

Some of the things we've done for the Ancient Civilization - China unit study include:

- Created a 12" x 12" pocket folder book.  (Take a 12" x 18" piece of construction paper and fold up the bottom six inches.  Staple on the right side to create a pocket.  Make as many pockets as you need, then three-hole punch together and fasten.  We have been using yarn, but metal rings could be used if you want to continue to expand the book in the future.)

- Labeled each of the pockets with the different topics we'll be exploring in the next several months:  What is History?, Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient China, and Ancient Aztec World.

- Made a Great Wall postcard.  On Wednesday, Sophia will tell me what she remembers about walking on the Great Wall, and I'll write that for her on the back of the postcard.  We talked about the purpose of the Great Wall (built to keep invaders out), and that it is the only man-made structure that can be seen 200 miles above the Earth.

- Made emperor and empress puppets.  Talked about how the color yellow was the color that could only be worn by royalty.  No one else could have yellow on their clothes.

- Learned some new words:  calligraphy, peasant, and emperor.

- Talked about chopsticks.  Sophia has had many opportunities to use chopsticks so we didn't do an active hands-on with this.  She has several pairs of her own chopsticks (wooden and ceramic).

- Looked at the rivers in China, and how the Yellow River (Huang He River) was the center of Ancient China. 

- Discussed some Chinese inventions:  tea (now there are more than 500 types), wheelbarrow, silk, paper, fireworks, kites, yo-yos, and jump ropes.

- Talked about different food that people ate in Ancient China and how the food differs from the northern and southern part.  We noticed this too in contemporary China that the food in the north is significantly less spicy, for example, than in the south.  There are many other differences too. 

- Imagined what it would be like to live in a one- or two-story mud house with a tile or thatch roof.  This was a typical home for farmers compared to the large palaces that the emperors lived in.  Sophia didn't like the idea of living in a mud house, but didn't seem eager to live in a palace either.  She said she likes our home (an old 1890 farm home).

- The Chinese believed it was good to have grandparents, parents, and children all living together.  She really liked this idea.  We talked about what it would be like if she were married, had children, and were living here with us.  She thought it would be fun. 

- Learned about clothing in Ancient China.  Rich people wore colorful silk shirts and pants, and fine cloth slippers.  Peasant farmers wore long shirtlike garments over short pants.  Their clothes were made of rough plant fibers; and their shoes were made from straw.  We talked about how resourceful this was.  It would be interesting to go to the barn and get some straw to see if we could somehow make shoes - braiding the straw, perhaps?

- We are going to make a dragon accordion booklet on Wednesday.  The booklet describes the Chinese New Year.