DIY Little Passports: China

We wanted to share places from around the world with our kiddo through a series of monthly packages we put together ourselves in the DIY Little Passports project. Last time we visited Hawaii, and this month in celebration of Chinese New Year we are learning about China!

In this package

• Manila envelope with postmarked Hong Kong stamps
• Type-written letter
• Library Books: Marco Polo, World Recipes China, Everything China
• Coloring Pages: Dragon Puppet Craft, Happy Chinese New Year, Hugo L’escargot China, China Fast Facts, China Word Search
• Stamps: Panda sticker (for suitcase), Hong Kong Stamp, Dragon sticker (for passport)
• China Blank Postcard
• Souvenir: Panda wooden bookmark with Chinese writing on back

Additional Resources:

• China Library Books: Pet Dragon, Chinese New Year, Stone Soup, The Three Brothers, How to Draw Chinese
• Mulan DVD
• Dragon Puppet​​

Receiving the Mail

A few months ago I bought a random selection of about 100 worldwide stamps on eBay, and just now got around to sorting them. There weren’t any in my order that specifically said “China”, but I did get a couple from Hong Kong and figured it was close enough! It looked like it really came from there, she was thrilled to be able to read the return address, see the stamps, and rip into her package.

The Letter

Writing from a made-up person like a pen pal might be really cool but it complicated things because I didn’t want to have to explain down the road that the person isn’t real and that my daughter can’t write back. Instead my husband suggested I send it from an organization—a little less personal, but still plausible and cool. Hence, the World Explorers Club!

I leaned heavily on what I found in reviewing the library books. I’m surprised at how much I didn’t know about China, even though it’s a part of my heritage. Apparently it’s a myth that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space! There I was typing it in her letter because all my life I had heard you could see the Great Wall of China from space, and then had to redact it! I looked through the recipes, folk tales, activity books, and wrote down which ones I thought she should check out.

Things mentioned in the letter:

• ​Marco Polo on the Silk Road
• The Forbidden City
• Xi’an terra cotta warriors
• The Great Wall
• Chinese New Year
• Dragons
• Recipes to try with Mom and Dad
• Make a Dragon Puppet Activity
• Pandas​

Cost Breakdown

• Postcard & Stamps: part of initial cost
• Coloring pages: FREE, $0.40 to print
• Chinese bookmark I already had: FREE
• Library books: FREE

Total Cost for this Month’s Kit: $0.40

How It’s Going

Learning about China has brought such excitement to my little explorer. Instead of a Space themed birthday party, she said she changed her mind and wanted a China themed one. Our pretend play has become China related on almost every adventure. Lately it’s been us riding a train through China so I actually found a YouTube video to show her of someone’s view on a train in China.

She uses her play kitchen to make me dumplings and noodles and all kinds of foods she learns about. She has tried to wear red (which she learned is a color of good luck in China) every chance she gets.

We watched Mulan for 2 weeks at her request and had all the songs stuck in our heads—I forgot how much I love that movie and that heroine! My husband gave me a Build a Bear Panda before we had kids, and she has been carrying that stuffed animal everywhere for meals and bedtime when she learned about pandas coming from China. I think she is really loving this package.

Check out all the other places we’ve explored in this DIY Little Passports project here!