No golf or tennis at this Country Club.
Instead we all put the names of countries we were interested in studying in a hat and drew several out. We do one country per week. Everyone learns a fact about the country to share with the group.
A fact-hunting trip to the Asian Art Museum turned up more information on Japan than Vietnam.
Everyone is invited to bring food or fun. It is pretty casual. After sharing our facts we read and acted out Vietnamese folk tales and the kids illustrated the folk tale The Man in the Moon. And we ate noodles and tropical fruit.
The idea is not to learn a whole lot, but just to bang a peg into our heads, so to speak. A peg to hang new information on, so that the next time Vietnam comes up, what is being said doesn't whiz in one ear and out the other, but instead gets snagged on that hook of familiarity and bounces around in there a few times.
I put together the kids and moms sharing their facts with a bit of music from the Sing 'n' Learn Vietnamese CD. Click the box to listen. You'll hear counting in Vietnamese first.
or this 
4 comments:
What a fab idea! Vietnamese food - mmm mmmm! Time to plan a more far away trip?! Kayak.com has a great flight search function.
That is such a good idea!
Can we join, too, from across the country?
:-)
K
AM, ooh...wouldn't I love to book a flight now.
Karen, we can make it a Cross Country Club. Send us your facts about Japan for Monday. :)
I really enjoyed listening to the audio recording of your group, especially the description of the wind, rain and rice.
Your group's method of learning geography this way is sure to stick in all of your minds.
Thanks for sharing it.
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