Discovering Asia

The news

This week, we’re heading to Asia! Petit-Fernand is taking you to the Land of Rising Sun to meet dragons and samurais, to discover the traditions of this giant continent.

The New Lunar Year is a great opportunity to take a closer look! Fireworks, colourful dragons and red lanterns have been used to decorate the streets for a few days. Give into this festive and colourful atmosphere to discover Asia from every angle with an asian-themed day!

 

Starting with a little studying: where is Japan? And Vietnam? And who built the Great Wall? Your little ninjas surely already know that by heart, so let’s have fun!

Before anything else, let’s create some costumes with a few dressing gowns to blend into the theme. Just use some colourful belts so that your little wrestlers will be ready to do judo or a karate combat in their new attire.
And if your little ones aren’t Karate Kids, you can always use the robes to make some Great Empress of China costumes: tie their hair into buns, have them wear white socks into flip-flops (yes, now you can!) and hand them a Japanese fan… made by you, of course!

Once everyone has a costume, you can have a DIY day:

– Get familiar with the traditional wrestling sport with this handmade Sumo Tic-Tac Toe, using old corks. Endless combats ahead!

– Your little ones are asking for a fire-spitting dragon? You can create one from scratch with this lovely multicolour Chinese dragon… but don’t worry, this one won’t set the living room alight!

– If pandas and dragons are symbolic animals from Asia, they aren’t the only ones… koï carps, and lucky colorful fish! With just a few snips of the scissors, you can create these Koinobori Decorations  to hang into your kiddos’ bedrooms. (As a Zen philosophy enthusiast, we would avoid all disputes thanks to personalised labels to customise each Koinobori banner so that each one has their own!)

– Looking for an activity that combines patience and creativity? Teach your little ones the traditional paper art of origami by creating this adorable panda. And if you’re into soft lights and zen moods for their bedrooms, you can make this lovely origami garland.

– Finally, if your kids are all about Kawaii everything, you can make these little plant pots or tooth fairy boxes. You can also download our Kawaii colourings: sushis, ice cream cones, pandas… your little artists are going to have so much fun! And you can learn all about the Kawaii trend, from Japan, in our dedicated article!

This has you feeling peckish, you might say! Since rice is the main dish in Asia, you could organise an after-school snack for your little ones using… puffed rice and marshmallows! Head to our recipe to make some easy rice krispie treats!

And for those who would rather have a chocolate treat… you can make homemade Pocky sticks to snack on in front of a theme-related movie. Will it be Mulan or Kung Fu Panda?

If you do have time to organise a picnic, you could make a panda fruit salad. And 2018 is the year of the dog, so you can have a dog-shaped sandwich as well! Pop all of the snacks in a personalised lunchbox, add some green tea or iced tea in an isothermal water bottle and you’re good to go!

Once your kids have fully charged their batteries, you can create these Japanese inspirations lanterns to hang in the garden or inside the house. Perfect to finish the day by having fun!

 

The day is coming to an end and you would like to extend this day? Create your own personalised mug with Japanese cherry blossom and let the peaceful atmosphere of spring transport you for the day.

 

Are you finally ready to organise a real trip to Asia: when are you planning to go?