Printable Greeting Cards for Year of the Rooster: Chinese New Year

Printable Greeting Cards for Year of the Rooster

The Year of the Rooster starts on January 28, 2017. This site includes easy greeting cards that you can just print and color as well as templates for making roosters from shapes that you can then cut out and use to decorate your cards.

Printable Crafts for Year of the Rooster

Printable Crafts for Year of the Rooster

The Year of the Rooster starts on January 28, 2017. This site has all kinds of ideas for easy, printable crafts that teachers can use to print and go. There are templates to use for greeting cards, coloring sheets, bookmarks, lanterns, and all manner of things. Here's the link to the printables.

Best New Books for Moms with Children Adopted from China

Best New Books for Moms with Children from China

Here is a roundup of books published within the last year--a mom who moved her family to China for a year, a food critic who undertook being a chef in various restaurants from small noodle stands to fancy cuisine, a haunting story of a girl who loses her Chinese family, and an account of a family that stayed in China for several years.

All good writers, all sharing their stories. Best Books for Moms with Children from China

Books to Get for Mother's Day--Families with Children From China

Serve the People by Jen Lin-Liu

For any mom who loves food! This book chronicles Lin-Liu's exploration of Chinese culinary traditions, which she went about in a unique way. After writing articles as a food critic for several years, she decided to go to a cooking school, and then intern at several restaurants.

She includes lots of interesting insights into the culture and the food, as well as including many recipes which look entirely doable. They would make some really nice mother-daughter projects, cooking authentic Chinese food.

Printable Greeting card template for Year of the Monkey

Printable template for Year of the Monkey greeting card Chinese New Year

Take a few simple shapes--heart, oval, circles--put them together, and you have this cute little monkey who fits into the year 2016 just fine. It's a 2016 Year of the Monkey greeting card, and the printable template is available here

A book to read to kids at Chinese New Year

Book to read to kids for Chinese New Year -- Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas

This is a great book that would be great to read to a group of kids for Chinese New Year. The artwork is fun and whimsical,and the echoes of of The Three Bears are nicely done. Click this link for a great list of books about Chinese New Year.

An easy lantern to make for Chinese New Year--Year of the Monkey

Here is a quick and easy craft project for Chinese New Year. Print out this cute monkey, have the kids color it and cut it out. Then teach them how to accordion-fold it, and they have a Year of the Monkey lantern.

Monkey King Shape Face. Printable template on site.

Make this little Monkey King face with a printable template from this site Kid Crafts for Year of the Monkey

Year of the Monkey Crafts: Printable Monkey King Puppets

2016 is the Year of the Monkey.Check this link for these cool shadow puppets of the Monkey King.  Kid Crafts for Year of the Monkey There are all kinds of quick, easy craft ideas that are printable. Just print out an easy monkey lantern or coloring sheet, and go.

Make a monkey face out of shapes for the Year of the Monkey--Chinese New Year

A few circles, an oval, and a heart--that's all in takes to make a monkey face. You can put it on cards or on a bookmark. Click the link for a pattern and instructions Kids Crafts Year of the Monkey

Best Books and Films for Families with Children from China

Books, Panda Items & Other Favorites

Permit me to stray a little off-topic here (although Freegal does have a pretty wide selection of Chinese traditional music as well as pop music--C-Pop they call it.)

My husband & I decided to adopt a girl from China 14 years ago, and since then I've read everything I could about China--histories, novels, memoirs. This site lists the best things I've found, all the way from picture books for the little ones to steampunk novels for teens. I have quite a few things geared towards moms & dads, too.

So, if you know anyone with children from China, these books & DVD's (I've thrown in a few cute panda items & other things, too) would make great gift ideas.

Gift Ideas for Families with Children from China

Freegal has all kinds of music, including traditional Chinese music and C-Pop.  You can browse all the genres. Some pretty amazing stuff.

This picture is from a site I've been working on from months. I'm a book and movie person as well as a music person. And, I have a daughter from China.

So, I decided to put together a list of all the best things I've read and watched and listened to about China and adoption. I've got some pretty cute panda stuff, too. And some Asian snacks.  My daughter loves the sodas and the pocky sticks.

So, take a look. It's always nice to have your holiday shopping done early.