Read and Rise Global Explorers 2021 - Hungary

Today we're traveling north from Kenya to visit Hungary in central Europe. Hungary is a small country - only about the size of the state of Indiana - that is surrounded on all sides by other countries. But Hungary has some very interesting features and foods that we will explore!

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Read and Rise Global Explorers 2021 - Kenya

This week we're heading to Kenya - just in time for the great migration! Every year, millions of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle follow the rain and lush grasses from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya. At this time of year, the herds are heading north to Kenya. The zebra usually lead the way and eat the uppermost grass, leaving the shorter greener grass for the wildebeest. I love this example of animals living in harmony with each other and the earth!

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Chinese Scallion Pancakes Recipe

We love getting scallion pancakes when we order Chinese takeout so when I came across a recipe for some on The Hong Kong Cookery, I knew we had to try it! They are not quite the same as the ones from the restaurants - not as thin and oily - but I think I actually prefer them better! They're not necessarily hard to make, but they do take a good amount of time. What's great about this recipe, though, is that your kids can easily be involved with the entire process. So let's get cooking!

Chinese Scallion Pancakes (adapted from The Hong Kong Cookery)

Ingredients:

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/2 cup boiling water

- 1/3 cup water (plus more if needed)

- 1 tbsp flour

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 cup chopped scallions

Directions:

1. Add boiling water to flour and stir with a spoon until the water is absorbed.

2. Add in room temperature water and knead until everything comes together into a soft dough. If needed, add water 1 tbsp at a time. Cover and let dough rest 20 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and oil.

4. After 20 minutes, divide your dough into 4 portions and shape into balls. Sprinkle some flour on your working surface and thinly roll out one of the balls of dough.

5. Brush the oil paste all over the round.

6. Sprinkle scallions over the dough - sprinkle a little or a lot!

7. Roll up the pancake, gently flatten it, and then spread the oil paste all over the roll.

8. Roll the pancake once more into a spiral, so it looks like a snail shell, and tuck the end underneath. Repeat this process with the other 3 balls.

9. Now lay the spiral down with the tucked end underneath and roll it out into a thin pancake.

10. Heat a non-stick or cast iron pan over medium heat. When hot, add the pancake and cook until the top looks dry and white. Flip and cook a few more minutes.

11. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Finally, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and cook each pancake a second time until both sides are golden and crispy. Cut into wedges and serve hot.

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DIY Mala Bracelets

Mala beads are used in Buddhist prayer and meditation to help you stay focused on your mantra. Traditionally, mantras were repeated in sets of 108 and so strands of mala beads have 108 beads plus a guru bead. Mala bracelets can be made with 18 beads to help you keep track of 18 cycles of chanting. Here's how to make your own mala bracelet.

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Read and Rise Global Explorers 2021 - China

Here we go! We're off on our first adventure! This week we're zooming off to Asia, to explore the third largest country in the world - China!

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DIY Cardboard Shoebox Suitcase

When I came up with the idea for Read and Rise Global Explorers, I was thinking about those world subscription boxes like Little Passports and Little Global Citizens. Both of those are super cute and Lil C absolutely loved getting a new package in the mail (she'd been gifted 6 months of Little Passports for a birthday). However, I know subscription boxes can get pricey - especially if you have multiple children - and not everyone can afford them. So I wanted to create something that could be done with virtually any budget, utilizing library books, video read alouds, and printables to help you and your children explore various countries around the world! But the first things we needed were a suitcase and a passport! You can get the printable passport in the post for "My Granny Went to Market," but just keep reading to find out how to turn a simple shoebox into a suitcase!

For this project, almost any cardboard shoebox can be used, but the easiest are ones where the lid is attached to the base. If you only have boxes with separate lids, you'll have to snip two of the corners and glue one of the long flaps to the base so you can open it like a suitcase. After that the instructions will be the same for both kinds of boxes.

Supplies needed:

- cardboard shoebox

- scrap pieces of corrugated and thin (like cereal box) cardboard

- 2 small brads (paper fasteners)

Instructions

1. Open up all the flaps on the shoebox and reassemble it inside out so the outside of your suitcase is a solid plain color.

Box open

Box closed

2. Cut a 3/4"x4" piece of corrugated cardboard and a 2.5"x10" piece of thin cardboard. You're going to wrap the small piece in the large piece to create a handle. To make sure everything's centered, draw lines at 3" and 7" and place your small piece in between those lines. Then mark lines on either side of your small piece so you know where to fold in the next step. (Fyi, don't do what I did, mark your lines on the patterned side of your cardboard not the plain.)

4. Fold along the long lines you made in the last step. I always use a ruler to help make long straight folds.

5. Place your small piece inside and fold the cardboard around it, gluing it shut. Fold the sides up.

6. An inch and a half from each end, fold the cardboard in the opposite direction as shown below.

7. Make a small hole in the middle of each end flap (I used a very small Phillips screwdriver).

8. Attach to the middle of the front side of the shoebox using the two brads (it doesn't have to be exactly precisely in the middle, but doing some loose measurements will help it not be lopsided).

9. To create the latch that will hold the suitcase closed, you'll need 4 more pieces of corrugated cardboard. The long piece should be as tall as your box and about 3/4" wide. The other long piece should be about 3/4"x4" and the two short pieces will be about 3/4"x3/4" (if mine don't look square it's because I didn't actually measure...)

10. Glue the long strip to the inside of the lid.

11. Glue the two small pieces to the ends of the 4" strip.

12. Glue the 4" strip at the bottom of the box over the long strip. The vertical strip will slide underneath the horizontal strip and keep the suitcase closed while you're carrying it.

Now you're ready to decorate your suitcase and come travel with us!

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'My Granny Went to Market' - Read and Rise Global Explorers 2021

This summer we will be traveling the world, visiting and exploring 7 amazing countries through stories, activities, and cooking! This week, we need to prepare for our world tour by making a suitcase to hold all our treasures, printing a map to track our travels, and creating a passport to hold memories from each country!