Asia has such a fascinating history! With a culture that is much different than our own it is a lot of fun to learn Asian history. Here are 5 fun ways to learn Asian history with your kids!

Asian history has naturally fit into our homeschool lately. We now have the journey to Japan box from Montessori by mom and have tapped into some classical conversations history memorization. My kids are like little sponges when it comes to memory work!

We are new to the classical education philosophy. So I checked into memory work and why kids are so interested in it. Memory works is so natural for preschoolers! Think about singing the ABCs and bible memory songs. I know my kids love showing friends and grandparents all they have learned. Adding memory work to our units really brings a deeper meaning to the information we learn!

This is a really fun post! After you get done checking out the ideas on ways to learn Asian History, we have a giveaway for you. And all the links to all the blog posts in this month’s addition of the 12 Months of Montessori Learning are linked at the bottom of this post.

Books on Asian History

With most of our studies we start at the library. Here are some of the books we found most interesting.

I really liked the images in Writing in Ancient China. The facts were easy to understand and the full page images were really inviting to the kids.

DK Eyewitness Books are always a joy to read. The kids loved all the close up picture of different artifacts in Ancient China. The print is a little tough for Samuel to tackle on his own, so we looked through this book together.

If your kids are interested in what it would be like to be a child in ancient China, they will love this book. If I Were A Kid In Ancient China walks kids through beautiful silk robes, crunchy crickets, and pet dragonflies.

Asian Religions History Memory Work

So for Asian history, Samuel wants to show off what he has learned about religions of Asia.

“Hinduism, founded around 1500 BC, teaches Brahman is the “one great spirit” and that people are divided into castes.
Buddhism, founded around 530 BC, teaches that Siddhartha was the “enlighten one.”
That’s the end of that. Yeah, we know, that’s the end of that. ”

Samuel was a little mixed up in the middle, but corrects himself pretty well I think. Also, at the end of the song we sing “That’s the end of that”, because we are Christian and would like the kids to know that those thoughts stay with those religions.

Origami Art History

The history of origami is wonderful. No one really knows when paper was first invented, but since it’s invention origami as been an art form. The kids and I researched several types of Japanese and Chinese origami.

The “yuanbao” is probably the oldest example of paper folding in China. Made to look like gold nuggets used for burnt offering to the deceased around 1000 AD, but the tradition continues even today.

Shide are zig-zag shaped paper used in purification rituals in Japan. They were sometimes attached to ropes made of straw to designate sacred locations, attached to alters, or attached to a wooden staff and used as purification wands (Gohei).

We used the origami instructional book from our Montessori By Mom Journey to Japan to try our hand at a couple easy origami pieces, like the dog in the picture. The kids were so focused and interested! I’m glad we had the beautiful and inviting paper.

Asian Writing

We are excited to have the calligraphy set from the Journey to Japan toolbox. This set includes a very helpful poster, brush, and a magic board. The kids LOVE this project and worked on their Japanese letters.

West Asian Ancient House Building

Hands on learning is what Child Led Life possible! This time we took out a huge block of molding clay and talked about homes in ancient Mesopotamia. My husband took the lead on this project. He worked with the kids to make a mini model of a brick home much like the Sumerian’s would have made.

Don’t miss out on all the fun! Enter the giveaway then visit the links for the rest of the Montessori History posts. 

12 Months of Montessori Learning GIVEAWAY!

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  Click on the links below to visit all the other Montessori Inspired posts from the participating bloggers.

Learning about the Presidents with Montessori Activities (Free Printables) by Natural Beach Living

 

Montessori-Inspired History: Sense of Time {Free Printables} by The Natural Homeschool

 

How to Prepare Montessori 3-Part Family Cards and Family Tree Activity by Living Montessori Now

 

Linear Calendar for Kids by Planting Peas

 

Timeline of our Family — Intro to Montessori History by The Kavanaugh Report

 

Montessori Calendar for Kids by Mama’s Happy Hive

 

How to Introduce Time to Kids by Study at Home Mama

 

5 Ways to Learn Asian History by Child Led Life

 

Learning the Timeline of European History by The Pinay Homeschooler

 

Our Montessori-inspired Timeline of Life by Every Star is Different

 

Exploring History Through the Great Lessons by Grace and Green Pastures