Building sampans

That's right . . . Lael and Jaden built boats today called sampans. A sampan is a traditional Chinese riverboat -- the word sampan literally means "three planks". While we were reading The Story of Ping this week, we noticed the many different types of boats pictured on the Yangtze River and decided to read more. In the past, many Chinese people lived on boats, and some still do today.

Anyway, here is what a real sampan looks like:

Here is Lael decorating her sampan's roof

(yes, we know that authentic sampans are not so colorful,

but as far as we're concerned, they should be!)

Jaden carefully colored the base of his sampan,

which was built with Model Magic and craft sticks.

And here are the finished products . . . Lael proudly displays her sampan!

Do you see her boat's "wise eyes"?

And Jaden worked equally hard on his creation,

making sure to handle it very carefully!