Let's Learn About China!
Have you always wanted to visit exciting and exotic places, but haven't had the time or money? Well, now you can take that trip, without ever leaving your home! Hop on board the Lilliput Express as we go adventuring in China. Bring along your camera; you'll want to take pictures along the way. And don't forget to pack your notebook so you can keep a journal of your experiences. We'll even give you some ideas for creating a vacation scrapbook (Some people like to call these "lapbooks.") Are you ready for an adventure? Then let's go!
Mapping Lessons
Where Is China?
If you want to get where you are going, then you must first know where you are. So, pull out your globe and find your starting point. Mark it with your finger. Now find China.China is located in eastern Asia. It borders the East China Sea and North Korea on the east; Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan on the north; Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan on the west; and India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and the South China Sea on the south.
China is the third largest country in the World. It's official name is The People's Republic of China, but the Chinese call their country Zhongguo, which means "Central Country" or "Middle Kingdom."
Trace the path from your home to China. What would it take for you to get there? Would you need to travel by boat or plane or could you drive there? How long would the trip take? Do some research to find the answers to these questions and record them in your trip journal. You might want to include a map of China as well.
Here are some things you could add to your map:
* draw a star to show the location of the capital city of Bejing
* label the South and East China Sea
* label the countries which border China
* draw a wall to mark the location of the Great Wall
* label the three main rivers in China
Then create a minibook to include in your scrapbook.
You may also want to read some Chinese versions of the creation story. You could create a minibook for these as well.
Day Of The Dragon-King (Magic Tree House 14, paper)
Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 07/13/2009) 
If I Were a Kid in Ancient China: Children of the Ancient World (If I Were a Kid in. . .)
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 07/13/2009)
Adventures in Ancient China (Good Times Travel Agency)
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 07/13/2009)
Kids Around the World: We Live in China
Amazon Price: $12.44 (as of 07/13/2009)
Language Lessons
What are those funny looking symbols, anyway?
The main language of China is Mandarin Chinese, although many other dialects are spoken throughout the country. The Chinese do not have a phonetic alphabet. Their writing is made up of characters known as hànzi. The characters were originally pictures of people, animals or other objects, but they have been changed over the years to make them easier to write and no longer resemble the things they represent. Many characters have been combined with others to create new ones.Our tour guide tells us that Chinese dictionaries have as many 56,000 characters! But only about 3,000 are needed to read the newspaper and about 6,000 to read literature and technical writing. Why don't you try learning a few of these characters? You can copy the ones you learn into a minibook for your scrapboook, or write them on a page of your trip journal.
Chinese Lessons Online
- Standard Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation Guide
- Learn Chinese Online Free, Pinyin Chart, Listen to Basic Chinese Daily Phrases.
- On-line Chinese Tools
- Java and CGI tools to help people learn and use Chinese
- Rainland Kids Discover Chinese
- Chinese characters & sounds
The basic rules of stroke order
The remains of drizzling rain ...
The Chinese way of writing numbers - Chinese Idioms
- In Chinese language and culture, idioms are extremely important. Learn how to write some common Chinese idioms.
Some Books That Might Also Be Useful
Dragon Mask
Dressing For the Occasion
Information on Traditional and Modern Chinese Clothing
When in China, do as the Chinese, right? But what do the Chinese wear? Visit a few of these sites and see if you can make your own costume to wear as you travel through this beautiful country. Be sure to have someone take pictures for your scrapbook!- Chinese New Year Costume - 123chinesenewyear
- Chinese New Year Costume actually reflects a long and complex interaction between elegance and tradition.
- The Art of Traditional Chinese Dress and Clothes
- Explore the art of traditional Chinese Dress and Clothing
- Ancient Chinese Clothing
- Ancient Chinese clothing - silk, cotton, foot-binding and more
- Han Chinese clothing
- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Destiny, the Culture of China - Clothing
- An outstanding characteristic of traditional Chinese clothing is not only an external expression of elegance, but also an internal symbolism. Each and every piece of traditional clothing communicates a vitality of its own.
- The Hand Colored Antique Book Collection
- The Costume of China, illustrated by Sixty Engravings: with Explanations in English and French
- Dragon Mask
- Make a mask like the one shown above.
- Paper Doll with 6 sets of China Traditional Costumes
- Something extra to add to your "countries & cultures" unit and also suitable to put into your child's lapbook.
Chinabration: Traditional Fashion Show
Chinabration: Traditional Fashion Show
Chinabration at Virginia Tech 2006. Went this past weekend to see the show because my brother is the president of the club and co-wrote/directed the show. I thought the show was excellent, especially for college students who had to practice for the show in between school and work. I will post more videos when I have time next week. This scene is the traditional fashion show. And despite my mother's commentary, they are actually wearing different tradiontal apparel from different time periods and areas of China. They did a great job...i usually have no interest in this type of stuff but i really liked their modeling. These girls worked hard!
Runtime: 4:47
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Let's Eat!
The food of China
Coming Soon!
Chinese Cookbooks
Chinese Art and Culture
Coming Soon! 
You can build your own papercraft model of the Forbidden City using this free download from Canon Creative Park.
Explore China Through Literature
Stories are a great way to learn more about a land and its people. Here are some fun stories from or about China.
Chinese Versions of Common Fairytales
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Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.Free E-books
- China's Story
- by William E. Griffis
- Historical Tales: Japanese and Chinese
- by Charles Morris
- The Story of China
- by R. Van Bergen
Terra Cotta Statues
Project Ideas
Marco Polo for Kids: His Marvelous Journey to China, 21 Activities (For Kids series)
Full of fantastic information and fun project ideas, such as the terra cotta figure pictured above.
Abacus
Ancient Far East History Kit
- Ancient Far East History Kit
- This kit form Hands and Hearts is great way to learn about Ancient Far East history. The supplies for all the crafts are included, so you don't have to go hunting for hard to find items. The included disk has printable instruction manual, notebook pages, and maps. We have used several of these kits, but this one was our favorite. The abacus and dragon puppets pictured were two of the projects my children completed using this kit.
Printables
Papercraft, Coloring Pages, and Other Things To Add To A Scrapbook
- Colouring Book of Flags: Asia
- Three sizes of the Chinese flag for you to print and color.
- Chinese Paper Doll
- Dress up boys or girls in traditional Chinese clothing. Great for scrapbook or journal cover.
- Chinese Money
- Print pictures of Chinese money, both old and new, to add to your scrapbook or journal.
- Giant Panda Papercraft
- A Giant Panda with its adorable appearance and comical behaviors.
- Great Wall Papercraft
- PaperMania! gathers buildings and transport from around the world so you can have the chance to become an engineer!
- Chinese "Lucky Items" Papercraft
- Learn about the science and culture of the world by building it yourself!
- Forbidden City Papercraft
- Canon Inc.
- Costume Papercraft
- Formal Dress of Government Official During the Imperial Regime
- Chinese New Year Activities and Crafts
- Chinese New Year preschool activities, crafts, lesson plans, coloring pages suitable for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarten.
- Chinese New Year
- Chinese New Year and General China Crafts
- Rainbow Kids
- Have fun exploring the culture of China through our puzzles, coloring pages, games and crafts.
- Free Panda Lapbook
- Lapbook by Ami with ideas and research contributed by Carisa Hinson
- Chinese Paper Lantern
- Make a paper lantern out of cardstock.
- China Notebook Pages
- Printable cover for your scrapbook or learning journal, China map page, and China profile journaling page.
Other resources
- Ancient China: A Homeschool Unit Study
- Learn About the Greatest Ancient Civilization of Asia
- Mid-Autumn Festival
- Most cultures have a harvest festival. China is no exception.The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) is one of the three most important, traditional Chinese holidays.
- Chinese New Year
- Take your children on a fascinating cultural experience -- celebrate Chinese New Year!
- Dragon Boat Festival
- Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month. But that's not May 5th. This holiday is calculated according to the lunar calendar.In 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival is June 8.
- China Country Unit Study
- Not just a geography lesson, this unit will teach you about the culture, philosophy, and history of China. In this unit you will explore the holidays and customs and experience some of the many cuisines of China.
- Ancient China Lapbook
- Explore one of the oldest written histories of the world with the Ancient China Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child.
- Ancient China Thematic Unit
- Ancient China Thematic Unit is based on the following pieces of literature: The Ancient Chinese and Between the Dragon and the Eagle.. This reproducible resource is filled with ready-to-use lessons and cross-curricular activities. Also included are management ideas, creative suggestions for the classroom, and a bibliography.
- Ancient China, Japan & India History Notebooking Pages
- This set of 93 notebooking pages covers a variety of topics pertaining to the ancient Far East and India cultures.
- Exploring Cultures Through Art: China and Japan
- Twenty-five beautiful art projects and related activities that enhance your study of these cultures.
- Chinese New Year
- Ideas and projects for kids and teachers - kiddyhouse.com
by LilliputStation
Homeschooling mother of seven: ages 4-13, with number eight due in August. We love notebooking, lapbooking, unit studies, and hands-on education. Visi... (more)
