Let the Kids Join In!

Dear Parents,

While this blog is certainly a new fixture in our organization, we hope that you will check here often as this will be our primary spot to post news.  Also, we will be posting many fun facts about China's culture here, so bring the kids to read with you! This way, we can all learn a little bit about China without too much tedious reading and lecturing.  Learning should be fun!! Our goal is to post new facts every three or so days, so check back often! Who knows, you might even learn something ;)

Over the Rainbow~

What's your favorite color? Did you know that red is considered a lucky color in China? At one time wedding dresses were made from red silk.  Now New Year's banners, clothing, and lucky envelopes are still made from red material.

The Tooth Fairy

"Moomm.  The tooth fairy only left me a quarter! But my friend -- got an entire dollar!" This conversation has probably happened before in your household, now you can explain to your child to be thankful because in China when a child lose a baby tooth, it doesn't get tucked under the pillow for the tooth fairy.  If the child loses an upper tooth, the child's parents plant the tooth in the ground, so the new tooth will grow in straight and healthy.  Parents toss a lost bottom tooth up to the rooftops, so that the new tooth will grow upwards as well.  

A Delicious Summer Treat

Ice cream is a food that we all enjoy frequently throughout the blistering heat of the summer.  Has anyone ever wondered about the origins of this refreshing delicacy? Well wonder no more more! Ice cream was invented in China around 3000 B.C. when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture in the snow.  Soon the cooks of the royal family began mixing snow and ice from the mountains with fruit, wine and honey to create the first ice creams.  Wow!


However, the ice creams we enjoy today were created in Europe.  When Marco Polo returned from China to Italy, he brought with him a new recipe for making snow ice cream.  Soon the rich people of Italy were enjoying frozen milk.  Hundreds of years later, Catherine de Medici of Florence married the French king Henry II and brought her recipe for frozen milk.  In France, much experimentation with the frozen milk recipe eventually led to an even more beloved creation, our modern day ice cream.  


Did you know the most popular ice cream flavor is vanilla? What flavor is your favorite?

Time to Mark Your Calendars!

As You and Me's second year begins, we are happy to announce that this will be another year of great fun and learning! Our meetings this year will be on the second Saturday of every month from 2 to 4 in the afternoon at East Cobb Library.  September 10th will be the first meeting of the year.  On the 10th, we will be teaching school related vocabulary and basic Chinese water painting.  We will send out vocabulary sheets in advance by email but they will also be posted in our "vocabulary sheets" section of the blog.  As always, expect to have fun! 


Please email me at sharon@u-and-me.org for more information.

Welcome!

This will be You and Me's new website.  Here, we will post information about meetings, holidays, and the organization in general.  This will be the best place to find old vocabulary sheets, details about upcoming meetings, planned events, and interesting little tidbits about the Chinese culture.  Thanks for visiting!