Kublai Khan's Gardener

 I just finished a book about a gardener from the Yuan Dynasty. Here's the description on the back of the book:

Kublai Khan is one of history’s most famous kings. He had a huge palace built in Beijing, built the city walls, had a forest of trees on one of the hills, and did lots of other building projects. Sadly, the majority of his building projects aren’t around today. This story is about the head gardener who was in charge of the forest of trees on one of the hills. Kublai Khan had trees from all over brought over and this man had to make sure that they all did well. It was a hard job and this gardener had to travel sometimes to pick up new trees. By reading this book, you’ll not only see how life was like in China during this time period, but also learn a little about a variety of trees.

Pu'er Tea Delivery

 I had the opportunity to work with a mom and her two daughters to work on a book together. They did the illustrations (and did a fantastic job!) and I did the writing. It's a book about a family in Yunnan who help take care of some old Pu'er tea trees. They pick leaves a few times a year for tea, dry them, and get them ready to be sold. Then they have travel to a few places in Yunnan to sell their tea. This book talks not only about the process of how tea is made, but also describes Yunnan geography. Yunnan is the province next to Tibet in the Southwest part of China. This book is available as an ebook on www.lulu.com or as a printed book on www.lulu.com or amazon.com. 

Vegetable Market

 Today we went to the vegetable market to buy some veggies and food before it closes for a few days for Chinese New Year. I thought I'd take some pictures of some of the veggies and other things they sell there. Many times when I go to the veggie market I see veggies, dried beans, and things that I don't normally cook with and it sometimes inspires me to learn how to cook some of these things. My hunch is that if you ask the average Chinese grandma, they could tell you how to cook any and all of these things. If you ask the average Chinese young person, they could tell you how to cook some of the things, but not all of them. Cooking is a skill that is slowly being lost (in my opinion) as more young people either prefer to eat out or are too busy to cook or to learn to cook. 

Here and There

 We did some nature study today and journaling. It's one of my favorite things to do with the kids. It was cold today, but worth it!

I love these paint brushes that hold water in them so you don't have to carry water with you when you do nature journaling outside.

My oldest drew a banana tree. No, we don't live anywhere near a tropical place, but they somehow grow here- not well though. 

Mushrooms! 

My youngest one found an interesting bug. 

My daughter also drew a little.

History of China, Part 2

 I just finished the History of China book, part 2. The first part goes from ancient history to the Tang Dynasty and the second part goes through after the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Both parts 1 and 2 are available as PDF on lulu.com. here: https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/rachel-bubb/history-of-china-part-2/ebook/product-pmm4nm.html?page=1&pageSize=4.   

Year 3 for Learning Characters

 I just finished year 3 for learning Chinese characters using the Charlotte Mason method. The first year has 3 stories, the 2nd year had another 3 stories, and the 3rd year had 10 stories. Each story adds to the vocabulary that was learned before. All 3 books are available Lulu.com. (look for Rachel Bubb ebooks). The drawings are from the stories from book 3. Each story has 1 drawing.

Birds of Asia For Kids

 I just finished a book that introduces children to 36 different birds across Asia through stories about them. This book has been a lot of fun to put together and I've really enjoyed it! The ebook is available on www.lulu.com and the printed version is available also on www.lulu.com or amazon (look for "Birds of Asia For Kids").