{Poppins Book Nook} A Grain of Rice

- lexihenegar
Affiliate links may be used in this post

Welcome to my Poppins Book Nook post for May.  In the Book Nook a wonderful group of bloggers come together each month to share books and activities on a different theme.  This month our theme is folktales!

This month we read the book A Grain of Rice.  This story is a mathematical folktale in which a poor young man requests to marry the daughter of the Chinese emperor.  The emperor refuses his initial request but grants him a job in the palace.  The young man proves himself as a good steward the the emperor wishes to reward him.  The boy requests a grain of rice and asks that his amount of rice be doubled every day.  Soon the emperor realizes that he has been outwitted and he grants permission for his daughter to wed the clever and now wealthy young man.

To celebrate this Chinese folktale Curly practiced drawing dragons and we created dragon artwork.  There are several tutorials on how to draw a Chinese dragon here and here. 

We also created our own Chinese lanterns.

You need:
popsicle sticks
hot glue gun
double sided tape
wrapping paper
crepe paper
scissors
yarn or string

1) Take 4 popsicle sticks and hot glue the ends together to make a square, lining up the corners evenly.
2) Do another set of 4 popsicle sticks.

3) Cut a piece of wrapping paper long enough to fold all the way around your popsicle stick square.
4) Once the sticks are dry and cooled, put double sided tape on the edges of the sticks and line up each square at one end of your wrapping paper.  You want each square about half an inch from the edge of your paper.
5) Carefully roll the sticks so that the paper is folded around the square shapes.  Secure the end with tape.

6) Cut the crepe paper into fringe and glue it to the outside of your lantern.
7) Hot glue some string the to the popsicle sticks on the inside of your lantern for hanging.

Curly also designed her own blue “china” plates by painting drawing a pattern on a paper plate and painting with blue watercolors.  

And of course we had to watch the Chinese Lion Dance.  Now my kids are obsessed!

Here’s a unit study from Layers of Learning and some ideas for making a China notebook from Walking by the Way.

Here are some other Chinese folktales to enjoy!


Be sure and visit the other wonderful co-hosts of the Poppins Book Nook for more folktale fun!

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ 3 Dinosaurs ~ To the Moon and Back ~ Planet Smarty Pants ~ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Growing in God’s Grace ~ Chestnut Grove Academy ~ Learning and Growing the Piwi Way ~ The Usual Mayhem~ Preschool Powol Packets ~ Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ Teach Beside Me ~ Life with Moore Babies ~ Kathy’s Cluttered Mind ~ Are We There Yet? ~ Our Crafts N Things ~ Hopkins Homeschool ~ ABC Creative Learning ~ Joy Focused Learning ~ P is for Preschooler ~ Laugh and Learn ~ A Mommy’s Adventures ~ Inspiring 2 New Hampshire Children ~ World for Learning ~ The Kennedy Adventures ~ Ever After in the Woods ~ Golden Grasses ~ Our Simple Kinda Life ~ A glimpse of our life ~ Journey to Excellence ~ Happy Little Homemaker ~ Little Homeschool Blessings ~ Simplicity Breeds Happiness ~ Raventhreads ~ Water on the Floor ~ Learning Fundamentals ~ Tots and Me ~ As We Walk Along The Road ~ Stir the Wonder ~ For This Season ~ Where Imagination Grows ~ Lextin Academy ~ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ School Time Snippets ~ Peakle Pie ~ Mom’s Heart ~ A Moment in our World ~ Every Bed of Roses ~ Finchnwren ~ At Home Where Life Happens ~ Suncoast Momma ~ The Library Adventure ~ Embracing Destiny ~ Day by Day in our World ~ Our Homeschool Studio ~ A “Peace” of Mind ~ Thou Shall Not Whine ~ SAHM I am ~ eLeMeNo-P Kids ~ Simple Living Mama

Enter the monthly giveaway here!

Poppins Book Nook Giveaway! Every month the Poppins Book Nook group will be offering readers a chance to win a brand new storybook or product that ties in with our theme for the month. This month one lucky entrant will win a copy of the E.H.M. curriculum Journey into the World of Folktales  (PDF) and one copy of the book that is required to teach it called Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta to further their learning all about folktales.

Entrants must be 18years or older and reside in a country that receives U.S. Postal mail. This giveaway is brought to you by the company Enchanted Homeschooling Mom who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the Rafflecopter terms& conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom’s disclosures found here.  Just enter the Rafflecopter below to win:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link up your folktale inspired books and projects!
Mary Poppins inspired clip art by the talented:

3 thoughts on “{Poppins Book Nook} A Grain of Rice”

  2. Love the lanterns! Another great chinese folktale that we happened to read this past month was/is "Two of Everything". This was such a {surprisingly} fun theme!

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