Hands-on ancient China activities are a great way to get kids interested in learning about the ancient dynasties that once ruled China. Also, look at my post Free Ancient China Lapbook for Kids Who Love Hands-on History.
I have an inexpensive and fun activity today.
It not only acts as a physical example of a tool created by the Han Dynasty but can also be used to practice simple math.
You can get all the items at your local Dollar Tree.
And it makes this project cost less than $5 and if they are items that you already have on hand, even better it is a free lesson.
Even young children can benefit from the cognitive benefits of sorting and counting the simplest of numbers on an abacus.
But as you will see below there are many ways that older kids can use this simple learning tool.
Move over calculator.
An abacus is an ancient tool that is used for counting.
Made of a framed set of rods with beads or balls, the beads are moved across the rods to make calculations.
This amazing tool was invented in China during the second century BCE (Han Dynasty).
It was used for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and even more complicated equations.
The abacus is just one of the many amazing inventions that the Ancient Chinese gave to the world.
Among other invention by Ancient China are silk, the compass, acupuncture, tea, paper, gunpowder, porcelain, moveable type printing, and tea.
That is just the short list.
There is much more, and these are still used very much in today’s world. I for one am thankful for hot cups of herbal tea and pretty porcelain cups to sip it out of.
Ancient China Books
First, look at some of these living books.
We try to add living books first then add reference books to round out our study of Ancient China.
12 Books & Resources For Kids Who Love Reading and Being Read to About Ancient China
Add some of these books to your home library about Ancient China. Also, use them for a homeschool unit study.
In the West, legendary explorers like Christopher Columbus, Ernest Shackleton and Sir Edmund Hillary are a recognized part of our history. But in China, that legend belongs to the great explorer Zheng He (1371–1433), who lived during China's renowned Ming Dynasty. Zheng He, the Great Chinese Explorer is a bilingual (English and Chinese) tale of his adventures.
When he was a child, Zheng He dreamed of foreign lands, his imagination was inspired by the travels of his father and grandfather and the wonderful items they brought back from trading trips to the West. A simple but exotic porcelain vase in cobalt, a color not found in China at the time, drove Zheng He to discover the origins of this unique color—and become one of the most famous explorers in China's history.
Eighty years before Columbus, China sent ships to explore the world.The Chinese discovered many marvelous things, but one discovery stood out above the others: the chee-lin.This chee-lin was just a giraffe, but to the Chinese it was an omen of good fortune so rare that it had appeared only once before—at the birth of Confucius.
A Time Magazine 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time selection!A Reader’s Digest Best Children’s Book of All Time!This stunning fantasy inspired by Chinese folklore is a companion novel to Starry River of the Sky and the New York Times bestselling and National Book Award finalist When the Sea Turned to SilverIn the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life's questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family's fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat returns with a wondrous story of adventure, faith, and friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz and Kelly Barnhill's The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Her beautiful illustrations, printed in full-color, accompany the text throughout. Once again, she has created a charming, engaging book for young readers.
Ancient China has a long history of scientific excellence. Learn more about some of China’s greatest scientific wonders and the scientists who studied them. Features stories about astronomy, seismology, mathematics, calendar-making, and geography.
Clever Chuan devises a simple way for his father to quickly and accurately count all the warlord's treasure.
The classic picture book about five clever brothers, each with a different extraordinary ability, has been in print for almost 80 years."An original nonsense tale told with...spirit and gusto." -- The Horn Book
Angela FIsher's The Great Wall is an "awe-inspiring, impressive, black and gray illustrations set the tone for this history of the building of the Great Wall of China." (School Library Journal)
No one can deny the appeal of the book's hero, Ping, the spirited little duck who lives on a boat on the Yangtze River. Ping's misadventures one night while exploring the world around his home form the basis of this timeless classic, which is brought to life by Kurt Wiese's warm and poignant illustrations.
Serving as the seat of imperial power for six centuries, the Forbidden City is one of China's most famous and enigmatic landmarks. Accompanied by a mischievous cat, readers will tour this colossal architectural structure, discovering the secrets hidden inside the palace walls. They will encounter the people who have walked through its halls and gardens, including emperors, empresses, and rebel leaders, and hear exciting tales about the power struggles and intrigues of everyday life.This large format book conveys the grandeur of the Forbidden City through highly detailed line drawings of its buildings, gardens, and courtyards with numerous fold-out spreads. Each page is populated by a large variety of characters and peppered with entertaining anecdotes. Every book includes a plastic magnifying glass for looking at the drawings more closely."Readers receive a lavish tour of the Forbidden City, once home to Chinese emperors and now a museum, courtesy of Chiu and the Design and Cultural Studies Workshop, which he founded. Delicate line drawings highlight the architectural intricacies of the nearly 178-acre complex (several foldout spreads emphasize its size) while Chiu examines the Ming and Qing dynasties in thorough detail, along with major events in the palace's history. (In one foldout scene, 24 emperors offer pithy, even brusque notes on their reigns — "I was entirely unaccomplished," says Emperor Longqing.) A magnifying glass is wisely included to help readers appreciate the wealth of visual detail." — Publishers Weekly
DID YOU KNOW that China was named after its first emperor – the brilliant, all-powerful emperor who built The Great Wall? In this book, discover why he started building the Wall, how he made China the biggest country on earth, and what treasures he hid in his secret tomb. Find out how he became one of the most important people in the history of China. Read all about the first emperor’s fascinating life in The Emperor Who Built The Great Wall.The simple language and beautiful illustrations make this book a wonderful reader or bedtime story. It is suitable for all ages, but children aged six to twelve years will especially enjoy reading this book.~ About the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA… Series ~China has a long history, but its many stories are often too complex for children. In this series, Jillian Lin retells China’s best historical tales so they are easy and fun to read. Children will embark on a journey through time where they will get a glimpse inside the colorful lives of famous Chinese figures. Beautiful illustrations, gripping stories, and fascinating facts make these books wonderful readers or bedtime stories for ages six and above. Other titles in this series include:The King Without A Throne (Confucius)The Mountain Man Of Music (Zhu Zaiyu)The Miracle Doctor (Hua Tuo)The Girl Who Became Emperor (Wu Zetian)The Dreamer Of Stars (Zhang Heng)The Greatest Explorer In The World (Zheng He)The Pirate King (Koxinga/Zheng Chenggong)
More than two thousand years ago, with his land under constant attack from nomads, the First Emperor of China came up with a simple solution: build a wall to keep out enemies. It was a wall that kept growing and growing. But its construction came at a huge cost: it is believed that more than a million Chinese died building it, earning the wall its nickname--the longest cemetery on earth. Through the story of the wall, Patricia Brennan Demuth is able to tell the story of China itself, the rise and fall of dynasties, the greatness of its culture, and its present-day status as a Communist world power.
A spectacular and informative guide to the history of the great Chinese empire and the customs and traditions of its people. Stunning real-life photographs and lifelike models offer a unique "eyewitness" view of life in imperial China, from its earliest beginnings in the Bronze Age to its final years in the early 20th century. See the stunning bronze work of the ancient Chinese and the beautiful techniques used for Chinese calligraphy. Learn why the First Emperor created the Terracotta Army, what kinds of goods were carried along the Silk Route, who invented paper, and much, much more.
Additionally, look a few ways to use an abacus.
5 Ways to Use An Abacus
- Count to 10.
- Practice simple addition and subtraction.
- Divide and multiply within 10 or higher.
- Count by 2’s ,5’s, or 10’s.
- Demonstrate fractions.
Here is a more definitive explanation of how to use the compass to perform these operations- Best Way to Use an Abacus For Basic Math Operations.
Next, look at these ancient China activities.
8 Ancient China Activities
- Grab a white plate from Dollar Tree and some permanent markers to recreate this Kids Ancient China Activity | How To Make a Simple Ming Dynasty Craft plate, a wonderful keepsake of your study.
- Fashion ancient Chinese Bamboo Scrolls with string and wooden craft sticks, use them to write names, silly phrases, and more.
- For the kid who loves a fun deep dive on a subject check out my Free Ancient China Lapbook for Kids Who Love Hands-on History it includes a great list of books for reference as well.
- Build a Sugar Cube Great Wall of China and talk about the different parts of and the purpose of the wall as you put a length of it together.
- Quick and Easy Ancient Chinese Paper making for Kids
- Ancient China Mini-Theme Unit.
- This idea stands well on its own or is a great way to decorate the outside of a DIY lapbook for the Great Wall- How To Make The Great Wall Of China Out Of Paper.
- The History Unboxed -Ancient China Unboxed is affordable and includes some really neat information as well as hands on activities like -Coloring the Great Wall, excavate your own ancient Chinese replica artifact, taste an ancient preparation of tea, decorate and fly an ancient style of kite, and making a magnetic compass.
Finally, look at how to make an abacus.
How To Make An Abacus
You will need:
- 8×10 frame
- 10 wooden skewers
- 100 colorful beads
- Hot glue gun/glue sticks
First, remove the glass in the backing from your frame.
You can just throw them away or set them aside for another project.
Cut a skewer to just shy of 8” (about 7 15/16”) to fit it inside the border of the frame.
It needs to fit snug but not bent so that the beads slide freely.
Use it as a template to cut out 9 more to the same length.
Space skewers in the frame and mark the spot on each side so that they are each just a little less than 1” apart and level across.
Remove the skewers.
Then add 10 beads to each skewer.
Too, you can mix colors but I prefer the method of using one color for each line.
Replace the beaded skewers into their spot in the frame and hot glue each end into place securely.
Allow glue to harden completely before moving and using the abacus.
If you want to finish the back you could take a second frame with the back and glass removed and hot glue back-to-back. This will also make it sturdier for extended use.
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