Tuesday, September 25, 2007

TJMummy's "lesson plan"

Another mom's found some MAF resources that I didn't know about. Looks like I'll be doing some updating, thanks Anna!

It is for the preschool crowd so pick and chose what works for you.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Mid-Autumn Festival 2007

Solstice has passed, now the moon is full and it's time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. May you have a wonderful holiday spending time with your family whether it is today or this weekend. Photos of lanterns and happy families are already posted from this year - but I like this snap of a rabbit in with bunny lanterns. In Vietnam there were lanterns and stilt-walkers.

If you have not bought your mooncakes yet, it may be hard to get any now. I don't think we are the last family to love them, next to his photo Joshua Hartshorne describes them as "yummier than they look". Lynn shares her photo of a totally different kind. I will not reveal my favorite, but there are many flavors and styles, and they are not universally well-received even here.

In today's Christian Science Monitor, Connie Wieck discusses her mooncake disposal dilemma ("Like the Christmas fruitcake in the US, Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes in China are prolific, but not well loved.") and a photo of the largest mooncake I have ever seen accompanies
Donna Scaramastra Gorman's article Celebrate fall - the Chinese way ("Chinese people around the world celebrate autumn by gathering together and gazing at the full moon.")

Friday, September 14, 2007

MAF Craft Ideas

Cassia trees and the jade rabbit are on the moon with Chang Er.

Grating cassia bark (or even cinnamon is you can't find cassia) is fun and smells great. The clearest discussion of the difference I know is from Penzey's Spices, it starts "There are two main types of cinnamon."

If you don't mind the whole house smelling of cinnamon, bake rabbit or moon ornaments from cinnamon & applesauce. I don't know which cinnamon ornament recipe I used, but it used more cinnamon and less applesauce than McCormick's ornament recipe. Remember to put a hole in them so you can hang them later. They will retain their scent for years.

Cassia blossoms are yellow. Even the very young can draw a few lines for tree trunks on a paper, crumple yellow tissue paper and glue it down to create their own cassia grove.

Consider simple Mobiles, or even a long string, with different circle containing pictures of Hou Yi, Chang Er and the Jade rabbit. Children can make their own pictures, or color yours.

Origami Rabbits:
For the youngest, consider this origami rabbit face, or select one of Waterfordpress' origami rabbits. For the more dexterous, try these instructions for rabbits at Fishgoth.com or select the Thinkquest rabbit.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

lunar date converter

September 2007 update: In 2004 – 2006, I was using Mandarin Tools converter (updated hidden link in HTML editor) but the site has moved and now hangs at the new address. I am looking for a converter that I can recommend comfortably.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

August's Lunar Eclipse

Another blogger got up in the middle of the light to get these great photos of August 28th, 2007's Lunar Eclipse. Thanks for sharing!

Why does the moon look red during a lunar eclipse?
Astronomy.com has the answer.