China- Weeks 25 and 26

Another two weeks of school DONE!  We are in the final stretch, only 10 weeks left.  Or maybe even 9.  It is SO exciting.  We've had an awesome year.  We are looking forward to spring and then... ah, summer!

We have looked forward to studying China all year.  I have to say, I learned a ton about the history of Communism in China and was very surprised to learn that it is not nearly as restrictive now.  I finally learned what all the fuss about Tibet was over.  My thinking was challenged and I was able to challenge my children's thinking when it came to Communism, Buddhism, and our own faith.  Could education really be any better than that?

Our last missionary biography of the year was about Gladys Aylward and the kids begged me to read more than the one assigned chapter each day.  It is certainly a story of adventure and Aylward has become a hero to me.  Wow, she has guts!  I kept saying to the kids as we read.  We finished the book almost two weeks early because we loved it so much. I cried, of course.  Everyone  is getting used to that.  I have loved these missionary biographies and I know they have shaped my life and my children's.

One of our art projects was making a name stamp, as even the ancient Chinese artists used to sign their work.  We drew our initials on a pink school eraser and then carved it out using a bamboo skewer.  After that, all it takes is an ink pad to stamp your "signature" on your artwork.  So of course we had to make something to stamp.  Mister made a bamboo forest, Mt. Everest and some other Chinese things like a Siberian Tiger and pandas.

I made a cherry tree, but I think it is actually more Japanese. Oops.

 Brown-Eyed-Girl made a few hippos in the water. I'm not sure there are hippos in China, but who am I to stifle artistic expression. We used, my favorite, watercolor crayons for this project.

Tan grams is a Chinese game, the original using only nine pieces.  We started off using only the correct amount and shapes, but the kids quickly wanted to add to their projects.

Mister created this rendition of God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son creating man. See how they each have some of the parts to make another person?  Clever. Very clever.

We celebrated our last day in China at a Chinese buffet. I'm not sure the kids actually got anything Chinese.  Pizza, pigs-in-a-blanket, jello?  Nope, not Chinese. But they enjoyed the artwork and all the servers are indeed, from China.

We're headed across the Pacific to Japan!