Chinese New Year

We had a lot of fun celebrating Chinese New Year.  It was nice to have Miranda and Madison join us for the celebration.

We made candy sushi with Swedish fish inside.  Collin and Reagan both said the candy sushi we made last year with Pop Rocks (instead of Swedish fish) tasted better, so we will make that kind when we do this again next year.

The girls made Chinese New Year placemats.

Bright and early the next morning, the girls made lanterns.

Cousin Sandra Visits Part Two - Chinese Lanterns

Not only did Sandra make candy sushi with the kids, she also brought ALL OF THE SUPPLIES (right down to the tape and string) to make Chinese lanterns, and she managed to include all four of my kids in this project!  She is wonderful!

The kids are already asking when Sandra will be visiting again!  Our visit was too short, but it was so great to see her, and I'm thrilled that my children had the opportunity to spend a little time with her too.

Cousin Sandra Visits - Candy Sushi

 My cousin, Sandra, lives in Florida, and is here visiting family for a few days.  Her father and my mother are siblings.  I'm so happy (and so are the kids) that she had some time to visit us today!  It's always so nice to see her.

Today, she read the kids a book about Chinese New Year and then taught them how to make candy sushi.  Here is how awesome she is - she came all the way from Florida and brought all of the supplies  with her today - Fruit Roll Ups, Rice Krispies treats, pop rocks, and the book!

All four kids made and ate the candy sushi, and they LOVED it.  I think we will be making this again!

Chinese New Year and a Sweet Valentine

Happy Chinese New Year!  We couldn't resist making some dragon claws for good luck!  The recipe is from Gourmet Mom on the Go.  They are Nutter Butters covered with melted chocolate and cashew claws.

We are also very excited about Valentine's Day today, and I was thrilled to receive this box of Godiva from my children!

I'm going to enjoy them now!  Happy Valentine's Day!

The Year of the Tiger

We read two books in honor of Chinese New Year (February 14th this year).  D is for Dancing Dragon, A China Alphabet by Carol Crane and Zong-Zhou Wang is a nice way to learn a little about China.

This year is the year of the tiger.  We read Who is the Beast?  by Keith Baker.  This book is not about China or Chinese New Year, but it is a great picture book featuring a tiger, and we happen to love reading it.   

After reading this book, I gave C and R white card stock with the outline of a tiger's face drawn by me on the paper.  They placed the paper in a cardboard box, added a few squirts of orange and black paint, and dropped in a few marbles.

They worked together to shake, tilt, and spin the box for some fun marble painting.

Once the paint dried, I cut out their tiger faces.  Then we cut out holes for the eyes and attached craft sticks to the back for them to hold.

Happy Chinese New Year!