The Year of the Monkey -- Exploring Chinese New Year with books & Chinese New Year Link Party

 Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me copies of these book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. 

We have explored the lunar new year and more specifically the Chinese New Year for several years now and have tried many different crafts, recipes and books (see below for a sampling and links). We have looked at the Chinese Zodiac and as of yesterday we have begun the year of the monkey. Last year was the year of the sheep.

A Monkey Valentine Craft from a Kit

 Since we are not Chinese or any of the cultures that celebrate the lunar new year, we do not do too much for our Chinese New Year except try to learn a bit about it. This year since we have an idea of the celebration and the stories behind it we decided to take a look at Chinese stories and especially ones involving the monkey.  We started with Celebrating Chinese Festivals by Sanmu Tung.

Artists from Around the World

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I recently read an article about how multiple art-focused field trips raised the scores of standardized tests. At a time when so many school districts are cutting the arts it is important to see the whole picture. Today I am going to share some books about artists from different countries around the world. We will start with Japan and Yayoi Kusama. The first book is Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki and illustrated by Ellen Weinstein. 

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month -- Book Round-Up

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. I always feel bad about this month. It happens at such a busy time of the year and is often overlooked. May was chosen to mark the anniversary of the first Japanese immigration and the completion of the transcontinental railroad. (The majority of the workers on the railroad were Chinese immigrants.) It also represents such a large area. Asian-Pacific Island includes all of Asia and the islands in the Pacific including New Zealand and the Polynesian Islands. It covers a huge area. (Source)

Source: World Atlas

Although we have no Asian or Pacific Island heritage that I know of, I like to teach Hazel about all the various cultures. I always describe myself as an American mutt since I have quite a mixture of European ancestors and even have some that can be traced to the Mayflower. There is a story in our family history of someone marrying a Native American as well, but I do not know the details. As such I do not identify with any ethnicity besides American and I find it interesting to look at the different ones around. To begin looking into Asian and Pacific Island Heritage we went to the library for books.

General Asian Stories and Picture Books

• A is for Asia by Cynthia Chin-Lee
• Asian Children's Favorite Stories by David Conger, Marian Davies Toth & Kay Lyons
• Asian Holidays by Faith Winchester
• Come Look With Me: Asian Art by Kimberly Lane
• I Dreamed I was a Panda by Debra A. Johnson
• Floating Clouds, Floating Dreams Favorite Asian Folk Tales edited by I. K. Junne
• Moon Magic: Stories from Asia by Katherine Davison
• The Tiger's Whisker and Other Tales from Asia and the Pacific by Harold Courlander
• Folk Tales from Asia by  Asian Cultural Centre for Unesco
• Tikki Tikki Tembo and More Stories to Celebrate Asian Heritage DVD produced by Weston Wood Studios, Inc.

Asian Crafts and Animals

• Asian Kites by Wayne Hosking
• Haiku: Asian Arts and Crafts for Creative Kids by Patricia Donegan
• Asian-American Crafts Kids Can Do! by Sarah Hartman
• A Kid's Guide to Asian American History by Valerie Petrillo
• Asian Crafts by Judith Hoffman Corwin
• Monkeys of Asia and Africa by Patricia A. Fink Martin
• Really Wild Animals: Adventures in Asia DVD produced by National Geographic Society

Next I took some of the many countries in the area and found some picture books to read with Hazel. I am sure there are more and of course there are more countries, but at least this is a start. I am going to add a link party to the end so people can add their own favorite Asian and/or Pacific Island themed books to help learn about the cultures and celebrate the month. Many of these books are about immigrants' experiences in coming to America or leaving their country. Since there are so many, I am not going to list each one. I will however list the ones I have posted about previously with links in case you want to learn more.

Cambodia

China

The Year of the Horse is part of a series of books about the Chinese Zodiac

Julie Black Belt and Julie Black Belt: The Belt of Fire

The Phillipines

Cora Cooks Pancit

The Bamboo Dance

India

Japan

Sora and the Cloud Review

Butterflies for Kiri

Korea

Around the World in 12 Dishes visits Korea

Thailand

Book Reviews at my Around the World in 12 Dishes visits Thailand

Vietnam

Asian-Pacific Cinderella Tales

The Golden Slipper

Kao and the Golden Fish

 

Anklet for a Princess

Kongi and Potgi

The Korean Cinderella

The Gift of the Crocodile

The Golden Sandal

Wishbones and Yeh-Shen

If you know a good book to learn about an Asian or Pacific Island culture or to help celebrate this month, please list its title and author in this link party and share with us all!! You do not need to link a review or post about the book!!

Mongolian Gers -- Tent Houses

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

So I had big plans to start reviewing books on Japan. I have quite a pile. However they are going to wait until next week and into June because I found one other Asian country to cover on my bookshelf. Today I am going to share with you Story of the Mongolian Tent House by Dashdondog Jamba, retold by Anne Pellowski and illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. Before I begin my review, I would like to add that there are not a whole lot of books about or from Mongolia or many crafts or resources for kids. When I did a search for craft ideas most of them were adult crafts and for sale. I think this is a topic that needs a bit more exploring and I am going to share what I did find.

Fun Facts about Fluffernutters (& Fluff) for National Fluffernutter Day!

 

Today is National Fluffernutter Day! Have you ever had a fluffernutter? It is a sandwich with peanut butter and Fluff (or marshmallow crème). It is a childhood favorite for many children in New England. When Hazel was in third grade we went to the Lynn Museum on a school trip. It was there that I learned about the history of Fluff. I thought today I would share some fun facts about Fluffernutters and Fluff with you!

Books that Make Imaginations Soar for Ages 2 - 8

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I am sharing some fun picture books that are for ages in the range of 2 to 8 and they make your imagination soar. The first book is Pop! by Jason Carter Eaton and illustrated by Matt Rockefeller. 

New Year Traditions from Around the World

How do you celebrate New Year's? Most of the people I know go to a party or celebrate with their family at home, but have you ever looked at what some of the traditions are from around the world? There are some interesting ones.

Rice & Rocks -- A Multicultural Book Review

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of a digital book free of charge to review as part of Multicultural Kid Blogs Product Promotion Services. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today I am sharing with you a new multicultural picture book that shares the messages that we are all different but very much the same. It is Rice and Rocks by Sandra L. Richards and illustrated by Megan Kayleigh Sullivan. It is being released next week!!

Chien-Shiung Wu -- The Queen of Physics

 

Today is International Women's Day so it seems appropriate to continue with our learning about different women who made a difference in our world. Today I am featuring an international woman who was born in China and moved to America to further her education. Every year I like to focus on at least one woman in math or science, and today is the day. I was drawn to Chien-Shiung Wu. Perhaps it is that she was snubbed by the Noble Prize (due to a scandalous affair there is no Noble Prize for mathematics) or perhaps it is that she worked on the atomic bomb (I have a great uncle that I never met who also worked on it), but whatever the reason I decided to feature her today. 

Sharing Saturday 14-34

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week and a special thank you to everyone who took the time to visit what others shared! We did not have a most clicked, so I picked three categories of features. With schools starting up across the country, Back to School seemed appropriate (though I'm still in denial and can stay this way for another week and a half even if her new school uniforms arrived today), Lessons, and finally Pumpkin Bread (I guess fall is really coming soon with several pumpkin bread recipes shared).

Back to School

1) From Juggling Act Mama: Back To School Teacher Gift

2) From Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes: Back To School Book and Poem

3) From Krafts and Kiddos: First Day of School Printables

4) From There's Just One Mommy: Back To School "I Spy" Craft

5) From Stella123: Kid Activity: DIY Back To School Pencil Sharpeners

6) From Sunshine and Hurricanes: Why I'm Not Excited School Is Starting

Lessons

1) From Munchkin and Bean: Colonial Small World {Safari Ltd. Review}

2) From Wugs and Dooey: Exploring Patterns, Colour and Symmetry with Tiles

3) From Five Painted Lane: Make a Treasure Map

4) From My Catch A Star Classroom: Introducing Children to Herbs

Pumpkin Breads

1) From Yesterfood: Pumpkin Bread (with nuts)

2) From Life with Garnish: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. 

Featured Button Code:

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From Your Hostess: This week I am sharing our posts for the week as well as three pictures from our week that I will not be posting about. Those pictures were seeing Rapunzel and Olaf at our local McDonald's and seeing a life size model of a humpback whale which we even got to go inside! For posts we shared making doll panties from newborn onesies (this goes with a post from last week about using the onesies for t-shirts for the dolls), the start of our exploration of Japan with some beautiful books from Tuttle Publishing, a review of Hello, Bali a great kids yoga book, our change from shed to clubhouse with some old party decorations and a few other things and DIY canopy for a bed to make a princess bed.

Now for This Week's Party 


A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the Sharing Saturday button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

<a href="http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/search/label/Sharing%20Saturday" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/cpericola/SharingSaturdayoption2-150_zpsba88f805.jpg" /></a>

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5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).

 

 Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest.

Fun Facts about Dandelions with Craft & Recipe Round-Up

 

This week is National Wildflower Week! The other day I shared a post on Facebook about dandelions. A friend had posted it and I assumed it was true but wanted to know for sure. I decided to investigate the common wildflower, dandelions, and wow, what an interesting plant. First, did you know dandelions are in the same family as the sunflower and aster? Whether you see wishes, food or weeds, there is something here for you including where they came from, how to harvest them and how to rid your yard of them if you really want to (fun fact 11).

Math Lesson: Geometric Origami

 Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I haven't done a math lesson post in awhile and here is a fun one! It goes along with the Geometric Origami Mini Kit by Richard L. Alexander and Michael G. LaFosse. 

This kit includes a booklet, a DVD and some mini origami paper. The booklet has instructions for six different origami items and the DVD demonstrates how to make all six. The nice part of having the DVD is sometimes origami instructions can be a bit confusing, so being able to actually see them is great. This is a fun kit that is very reasonable and each project lends itself to a math lesson. I made up a lesson for the first project for various ages and will give suggestions for the second one.

Sharing Saturday 14-42

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week and a special thank you to everyone who took the time to visit some of the other posts shared!! Once again I found the ideas to be amazing!! There was not most clicked, so I picked some favorites. There are so many Halloween ideas, that I decided to go with non-Halloween, but you should check them out especially if you want some Halloween ideas!

Review of American History: Asians in America #readyourworld

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I am sharing the first of my reviews for Multicultural Children's Book Day. Today's book shares about fourteen Asian Americans and what they achieved with their lives. The book is part of the Casey S. Bell's American History series.

All About Vietnam -- Book Review & More!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

May is Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month. All month long I will try to share books, crafts, and activities to help celebrate this fun heritage. Today I get to share the newest book from one of my favorite series about Asian countries. It is All About Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids: Learn About Vietnamese Culture with Stories, Songs, Crafts & Games by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong. It is a middle grades reading level but can be shared with younger kids if you do the reading!

Crafty Stay-cation Activities -- Crafty Sunday Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have missed the last two Crafty Sundays because we were having a staycation. We had a wonderful week and I thought I would share with you some of our activities and ideas for a staycation especially the ones on the crafty side. My birthday fell on during the week and it was the big 50. My sister came and made me a birthday cake and dinner with her wonderful assistant, Hazel. It was a lovely social distant celebration. Then we set up a puzzle to work on for the week. I finally finished it except for the two pieces I somehow lost. Ugh! I always do that. The puzzle is Mount Fuji Japan Jigsaw Puzzle. I love setting up a puzzle and having it to work on with my family. We like to do this when we vacation at the Cape as well. 

Sharing Saturday 13-35

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week!! And a very special thank you to all the people who took the time to check out some of the amazing ideas shared!! With Hazel starting school next week, I am finally starting to think about back to school. Since we are one of the later schools to start I have seen lots of ideas on-line including at last week's party. Our features will be about back to school, fall, some favorites and we had a most clicked from Gift of Curiosity: Apple Printable Pack.

Back To School Help

1) From Planet Smarty Pants: Questions for the New School Year

2) From Sunshine and Hurricanes: Armed and Ready to Make Lunch

3) From Krafts and Kiddos: Simple Ways to Make Back to School Easy

4) From Willamette Valley Wonder Woman: Back To School Free Printable Lunch Notes

Back To School Crafts

1) From Enchanted Homeschooling Mom: Back To School Wreath

2) From Stella123: Back To School Pinwheel Pencils

After School Snacks and Activity

1) From Schooling a Monkey: Healthy Snack Idea: Apple Chips Recipe

2) From There's Just One Mommy: 12 After School Snack Ideas

3) From Kandy Kreations: Fun Family Tradition with Cookie Friday

Some Art/Lesson Favorites

1) From Toddlers Through Preschool: Observing Trees

2) From An Idea on Tuesday: Painting Without a Brush

3) From Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds: Fall Watercolor Art

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. 

Featured Button Code:

<a href="http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/cpericola/SharingSaturdayoption2-002.jpg" /></a>

From Your Hostess: This week we continued our exploration of Japan with a look at the language, we reviewed the newest Octonauts DVD and are giving away a copy!, we made a doll checkers game for free, we made some Olaf mugs for party favors for Hazel's Frozen party, we learned about Saudi Arabia by cooking Al Kabsa for Around the World in 12 Dishes.

Now for This Week's Party 


A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the Sharing Saturday button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

<a href="http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/search/label/Sharing%20Saturday" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/cpericola/SharingSaturdayoption2-150_zpsba88f805.jpg" /></a>

4) I would love it if you would follow me on Facebook,  Google+, and Pinterest 

5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).

 

 Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest.