Keeping It Simple

I did not intend for us to spend 4 weeks on China- it just has happened that we have been a bit short on time, so we are squeezing things in where we can.  We finally got to make Egg Drop Soup!  This was a super simple recipe, but all the boys wanted  in on it, so they each got a job (or two).  They...  chopped...   measured...   poured...   and stirred the ingredients.  And, finally, served the soup!  Sadly, I did not take a picture of the final presentation. The fun part was including Grandma in our festivities. I wish I had taken a picture of that too! The boys were so excited to get Grandma and walk her over to dinner (Grandma is our neighbor). Using the information from our cookbook, Grandma was treated as the "most respected" (eldest) person at the table. Grandma was the first one served and no one took a bite of their food until Grandma took a bite of hers. (meal ser...

During my purging, cleaning, and organizing efforts, I discovered Erin's  long lost binder with her studies on China from 6 years ago.  In there was this correspondence with her Uncle who was about to travel to China:   I love that he explained the water canals.  A true homeschool dad!  True to his word, he took some pictures.  Brought home postcards.  And some money.  New...   and old.  And now the boys are having fun looking at their sisters unearthed treasures. They are very impressed with the money. We just got a chance this week to look through everything and talk about it. We had fun trying to find the places on the map that Uncle Kevin talked about, and plan on spending some more time with this on Friday (and wrapping up our study for this country). Thanks Uncle Kevin! 

We're doing some more map work...  playing with the globe...   and reading LOTS of books on the Great Wall of China. AND  I love this book this little cookbook! We plan on getting the ingredients to make Egg Drop Soup for tomorrow. Along with the recipes, there are lots of fun cultural tidbits throughout this book- for example, in China the best food is always served  first to the eldest person at the table.     Linking up to: 

Or galloping as the case may be... This week begins our adventures with Galloping the Globe . First stop- China.  We had a very sweet moment walking down memory lane with The Story of Ping . I first " rowed " this story with Erin (our new graduate) and then with the boys. I vividly remember Mark (now almost 11yo), at his 5yr. appointment, telling his pediatrician that his favorite book is "Ping". The doctor was familiar with the book and began to inquire- Mark gave him an earful! I am sure the doctor never imagined what he was getting in to. ;)  Anyway- this book is on the literature list for China, so I thought it would be fun to read.  It was a precious few moments! I was pleased that all the boys seemed enthusiastic to walk down memory lane with me (although for James that was just a year or two ago;)). Along with some map work and research, the boys colored the flag of China-  and played the national sport of China, ping-pong!  (although, through an ...

We don't usually check out this many books to go along with our Five in a Row- there just happened to be a lot of fun books available at the library! :) Fortune Cookie Fortunes by Grace Lin Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin Author Grace Lin writes from her own experience, so these books are not written to take place in China, but offer a fun peek in to her Chinese American family. The pictures are wonderful! C is for China by Sungwan So China, A True Book by Ann Heinrichs Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop and Kurt Wiese Brothers by Yin and Chris Soentpiet Good Morning China by hu yong yi Bird Boy by Elizabeth Starr Hill The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher (my boys preferred this one about the Great Wall) Structural Wonders- The Great Wall of China by Christine Webster