Landing in India

We have been taking a trip around the world exploring countries and cultures! Our study is based off of My Father's World, Exploring Countries and Cultures . Our passports have been stamped throughout North America, South America and Europe. We are currently in Asia and have covered physical and human geography over the past few weeks. Now our study will focus on individual country studies and memorizing all the countries in Asia, which wouldn't be possible with Geography Songs! We color code regional maps (South Asia, for instance) and match the country colors to the country names on the song sheet so when they sing they can visualize where each country is. Today, we worked on South Asia and did our country study in India. We are reading The Hidden Jewel, a Trailblazer book. It is a story about Amy Carmichael and her work as a missionary in India. The books are adventurous and capture my boys' attention. They beg me to keep reading! Then, we read fascinating facts about India, colored India's state flag,and learned some Hindi expressions. My favorite one is "Kya-mane-maddat-kar SAKTA-Hoon?" I told the boys they should always ask this when I am doing dishes! It means "Can I help?" (he he) We read a funny folktale from India about a great Indian emperor named Akbar and his witty advisor named Birbal. Jordan asked if we could find more to read. We read that in the hot fields of India, many farmers drape a white piece of fabric, called a dhoti, around their waist and between their legs. So, we played around with wrapping a dhoti. Dylan and Malachi were willing volunteers and displayed what they think look like diapers!

We wrapped the cloth around Eliana to make a sari.

We made an Indian recipe called Ahm Phul (Mango Whip Dessert). We just call them Mango Smoothies!

To wrap up our day in India, Jordan made Chapattis (Popular Unleavened Bread) for dinner. We served them with a big pot of beans and hamburger that Mema and Popi (Luke's Mom and Dad) blessed us with this afternoon! Cooking is a great way to apply what we are learning in math. Jordan is learning about ratios, so at dinner I asked him what ratio of whole grain flour to unbleached flour he used. He said he used 3 cups whole grain flour to 1 cup unbleached flour, so 3:1. I then asked him what percent of whole grain flour he used and he answered correctly - 75%. I love moments like this when we can apply what we have learned! I want to share a funny picture of Dylan before I go - Here he is doing his math - on the table! I have the hardest time keeping that boy on his bottom!