Making Summer Fun and Educational

 

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

We are in final exam week at our school. The stress levels are high everywhere. But it also means that school is almost done, and summer is almost here. Summer can be so much fun, but it can also be a time for kids to lose some of their learning. Today I am sharing some products to give you and your kids some fun activities as well as learning in fun ways! We will begin with some creative activity books. Today (May 30th) is National Creativity Day and these books are perfect to get your kids and you creating and having fun! The first  are two books by Alberto Lot. There is Crayon Racing which I reviewed a couple of years ago and Crayon Adventures. They are recommended for ages 4 to 8 or as the publisher states 4 to 104. I know my high school students have been having lots of fun with them!

Maria Orosa -- New Picture Book Sharing the Life of This Filipino Heroine

 

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

Summer is supposed to be my time to relax, and I have loads of ideas and books to share with you, but the last few weeks are just crazy. Today I am finally focusing enough to share a new book with you. This book shares about het life of Maria Orosa, who was a Filipino heroine. The book is Maria Orosa Freedom Fighter, Scientist and Inventor from the Philippines by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco and illustrated by Mark Salvatus. It is recommended for ages 9 to 14.

Women in World War II

 

Today we are going to look at some of the American women who made a difference during World War II. Women's rights had progressed between the two world wars as well as progress in technology. By World War II women were pilots. Computers were introduced to the mix. And of course there were the nurses and spies. Once again my go to book is Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling. I will be sharing additional sources as well as books (mostly children's) about each of the amazing women I will share. 

Books to Celebrate Filipino American History Month

 

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

Did you know October is Filipino American History Month? Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian American group in the nation. They are third largest ethnic group in California (after Latinos and Blacks). October was chosen because it commemorates the first Filipino to step foot on the continental United States. On October 18, 1587, Luzones Indios came ashore at what is now Morro Bay, California, from Nuestro Senora de Esperanza, a Spanish galleon. In 2009 the United States Congress recognized October as Filipino American History Month. (Source) To celebrate I thought we would look at some books about the Philippines and their culture. 

All About the Philippines -- Multicultural Monday Book Review

 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. 

Today I get to share with you the latest book int the All About Series at Tuttle Publishing. I love this series!! The books are perfect for learning about each country with stories, crafts, recipes and information and so much more!! Like the other books: Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and China, All About the Philippines by Gidget Roceles Jimenez and illustrated by Corazon Dandan-Albano  goes into so many details about the Philippines as well as the culture. 

Christmas Candles in Different Lands

Candle Photo By By Elmar Ersch (Own work)
 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

This year for Christmas in Different Lands each post is exploring some aspect of Christmas in at least three different continents. Today we are looking at candles. How do you use candles at Christmas time? With electricity there are not as many uses as there once was but some are still used for special events. In New England often there are single candles (and for some multiple candles) in the windows of a house or church. I shared a bit about Christmas in New England last year.

Picture of New England Church during Advent

 Candles are also used in many other ways. Often there is a candlelight service on Christmas Eve at church as well as the Advent wreath candles during Advent. I shared a bit about our Advent wreath a couple of years ago. Many countries especially in Europe use Advent wreaths and/or Advent candles. Countries like Germany, Austria, Croatia, and Belgium often have Advent wreaths as well as the United States. 

Easter in the Philippines

This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Easter Around the World Blog Series. Please check out the other posts in the series to learn about different Easter celebrations around the world!

While doing research I found several places stating the most interesting Asian Easter celebrations are in the Philippines, so I decided to do some research on it. As you probably know, the Philippines is a sovereign nation in Southeast Asia that consists of over 7,000 islands. (For more information about the country you can see my post here.)

Multicultural Product Review -- Celebrate Christmas Around the World

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Multicultural Kid Blogs as part of the Multicultural Kids Product Promotion Services. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Today I am going to review for you a wonderful Christmas product. It is a e-book/packet to learn about Christmas celebrations in other countries and is published by Multicultural Kid Blogs. It seems like the perfect time to share this with you since we just did our Christmas in Different Lands post yesterday. Plus Christmas is on Hazel's mind. She has been home sick much of this week but started to get bored and decided to play Mary.

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Blog Hop: Asian Crafts

 

In honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Multicultural Kid Blogs is sponsoring a blog hop, and you are invited! We are celebrating the cultures and peoples of this diverse region by sharing our posts and asking other bloggers to do the same! Our hope is to create a wonderful resource for celebrating Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month with children. Be sure to visit the co-hosts of the blog hop (listed below) and share your own posts at the linky at the bottom! You can find even more resources on this region in our Asia and Australia and Oceania boards on Pinterest!

Co-Hosts

Multicultural Kid Blogs Crafty Moms Share Bicultural Mama Finding Dutchland Kid World Citizen Marie's Pastiche All Done Monkey Tiny Tapping Toes Creative World of Varya Miss Panda Chinese

For the blog hop we decided to share some of the Asian-Pacific Island crafts we have been doing as well as a few books we have enjoyed! We have been having fun exploring games, puzzles, stories and crafts! For our crafts we used three books as our main resources: Asian-American Crafts Kids Can Do! by Sarah Hartman, Hands-On Asia: Art Activities for All Ages by Yvonne Y. Merrill, and Asian Crafts by Judith Hoffman Corwin.

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Abadeha: the Philippine Cinderella

I am doing our Fairy Tale in Different Cultures a day early. I am hoping to have our dish from Croatia tomorrow. I hope you will come see what we make!

Continuing with our Asian-Pacific theme for May, I thought I would share another Cinderella tale this time from the Philippines. The book is Abadeha: The Philippine Cinderella adapted by Myrna J. de la Paz. Before I share the story and craft, a bit about the Philippines.

Source: Lonely Planet

The Philippines is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia. It lies in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of over 7,000 islands. The total area of the country is about 115,831 square miles making it the 64th largest country in the world. It is a constitutional republic with a presidential system. Filipino and English are the official languages however there are over 171 living languages spoken there. The capital is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon city. It is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator and as a result is prone to earthquakes and typhoons. Its rainforests and coastlines provide diverse ranges of birds, animals and plants. It has one of the highest discovery rates in the world with sixteen new species of mammals discovered in the last ten years. They have many unique species of animals as well as plants like many rare orchids and rafflesia.

In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan arrived and claimed the islands for Spain. The Spanish established Manilla as the capital city in 1571. The Spanish fought many wars with indigenous people as well as other countries for control of the Philippines. The Spanish introduced the idea of free public schooling as well as Christianity. They also brought many different types of food from the Americas like pineapple, corn, chili peppers and tomatoes. In 1898, Spain sold their rights to the United States for 20 million dollars as part of the 1898 Treaty of Paris. In 1935 the Philippines were granted Commonwealth status. During World War II the Japanese Empire invaded and took control until the Allied Forces defeated them in 1945. The Philippines became a founding member of the United Nations and the United States recognized its independence in 1946. 

Now onto our story. The story begins as many Cinderella tales do. A fisherman named Abek, his wife, Abadesa, and their beautiful daughter, Abadeha, live happily  in the islands called the Philippines. When Abadeha is thirteen her mother suddenly gets sick and dies. Abek and Abadeha are filled with sorrow. Eventually Abek marries a widow from another island who has two daughters of her own. He hopes to make a loving family for himself and Abadeha. However the stepmother immediately notice how plain and mean-spirited her daughters are in comparison to Abadeha. Abek is away from the home more since he has a larger family to support and while he is away the stepmother mistreats Abadeha making her work from morning to night cleaning the house, cooking all the meals, fetching the water from the river and tending the stove. She is often covered with soot and each night she is so tired she falls asleep on the kitchen floor. Her stepsisters began to tease her for her dirtiness. The stepmother begins to throw impossible tasks for Abadeha to do like change a black handkerchief to white and a white one to black or she will be whipped. Abadeha goes to the river crying and missing her mother. She cries out a prayer of sorts to her mother and the creator of earth. Suddenly the Spirit of the Forest appears and promises Abadeha that all of her hard work and patience will be rewarded. Then she changes the handkerchiefs for her. When Abadeha returns home, her stepmother is angry that she was able to do it. The next morning she has Abadeha spread newly harvested rice on a mat to dry and then pound the winnow and cook the rice for the evening meal. While Abadeha works in the kitchen a wild pig wanders into the yard and eats the rice while the stepmother watches. The stepmother does nothing until the pig has left and then tortures Abadeha and tells her she must mend the mat that the pig shredded.  Abadeha takes the shreds of mat to the river and says her prayer again. The Spirit of the Forest comes even quicker this time. She has female spirits quickly repair the mat and gives Abadeha a sarimanok. A sarimanok is a chicken with a long flowing tail and feathers the color of the rainbow. The stepmother is annoyed again when she sees Abadeha has completed the task. She takes the sarimanok from her and tells her she will take care of her pet for her. Early the next morning she chops off its head and feet and begins cooking it for dinner. Abadeha sees it and weeps. She grabs its feet and runs to the river. The Spirit tells her to bury the feet by her mother's grave and to pray to her ancestors. She does this and plants a garden around her mother's grave as well. It is awhile before she returns to her mother's grave and when she does she discovers a tree filled with treasures like jewelry and gowns. She grabs a few pieces of jewelry and keeps the enchanted tree to herself. 

While hunting in the forest, the son of the island chieftain saw a sarimanok. He followed it to Abadeha's secret garden. He took a ring from the tree and put it on his finger. When he returned home his finger began to swell and he could not get the ring off. He told his father about his finger and how he was in great pain. His father sent for the Babaylan, the priest healer. The Babylan told him he had to listen to his heart. That night the pain in the prince's finger was so great and he had a dream where a sarimanok brings him an orchid and when the prince kisses the flower it turns into a beautiful maiden who shows him the ring in her hand. He tells his father of the dream and his father announces that the girl who can remove the ring from his son's finger will marry his son. When Abadeha heard this announcement she asked her stepmother to go and her stepmother locked her in the kitchen and then went to take a nap. The Spirit of the Forest came and unlocked the door for her. When she arrived her stepsisters were there. They began to yell at her for being there. The prince heard the commotion and asked Abadeha to come to him. She lovingly was able to take the ring off his finger even if she was dressed in rags. The prince was overjoyed and married her. Abadeha wore the golden gown and the jewelry from the enchanted tree. Her father came home just in time for the wedding. The prince banished the stepmother and her daughters to the chicken yard. Abadeha and the prince shared their happiness and wealth with the people on the islands and lived in peace and love and harmony. 

In the author's note it is mentioned that this story is a traditional Philippine folktale that has disappeared from mainstream Philippine folk literature. With more than 300 years of Spanish colonization and a century of Americanization this is a common casualty there. She wanted to record the story before it was lost forever.

As a craft I made a paper plate sarimanok. I did it similar to the sea gulls Hazel and I made at the library a few weeks ago. I added the red comb and the tail of rainbow feathers. It is very easy.

For other Asian-Pacific Island Cinderella tales check out:

• Golden Sandals: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Tale
• The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Cinderella Tale
• Chinese Cinderella Tales
• The Korean Cinderella
• Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Tale from Korea
• Kao and the Golden Fish A Cinderella tale from Thailand
• The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Tale from Indonesia

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!!