My Asian Kid - Washington, DC — Resources
This a web site of resources in the Washington, DC area (including nearby Maryland and Virginia) for families who have children adopted from Asia.
Celebrating Lunar New Year - Part 2
We did so much for Lunar Year this year; I decided to divide it into 2 posts.
Danny actually attends two preschools a day! Yes, it is what his family has decided is best for him and it seems to be working. In the morning he attends a preschool for typical children and does the morning activities, eats lunch and then gets on a school bus (provided by Montgomery County Public Schools) and heads over to his afternoon preschool, which is a collaborative pre-K for 4 year olds with physical disabilities and their typical peers. Danny is one of the special needs kids.
Celebrating Lunar New Year - Part 1
This year was our biggest Lunar New Year so far. First of all, at 4, Danny no longer has an afternoon nap, which means lots of events which were not feasible at age 3 were quite feasible at age 4. We started going to the Lion Dance performances at Montgomery County libraries when Danny was 20 months. That year he got his picture in the Silver Spring Gazette while watching the Lion Dance performed by the Chinese Youth Club.
2012 Lunar New Year Events Calendar is Here
Year of the Dragon
So far I have 24 events, although some are multiple weekends of the same event. Am I missing some? Please contact me. There is an ongoing event at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg and other events at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax and Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick. There are Tet Celebrations, put on by different Vietnamese organizations. There are a couple of big Chinese Festivals. Montgomery County Libraries has always had a dozen or more Lion Dances or other celebrations in their libraries. Budget cuts has reduced that number. There are some listed, but there may be more. Some branches have put their celebration on the events calendar, but the library system as a whole is concentrating their efforts with the events listed in the Check Us Out brochure (page 5).
For some reason they have not added those events to the online calendar as of Jan 4, 2012. And of course there is the Chinese New Year Parade in downtown Washington, DC. This year I have added some events in Frederick and Baltimore. So there are lots of places and dates to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
Preparing for Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year comes early next year; it is on January 23, 2012. If you want to do a presentation at your child’s school on Lunar New Year, then now is the time to get it together.
I’ve been collecting stuff from Vietnam and China for use at Lunar New Year for the last couple of years. In January of 2008, we were in Vietnam right before Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year). The streets were all decorated with lanterns, the Lion Dancers were practicing in the park. There were shops which sold signs and lanterns and whatever else one needs for Tet.
Shopping for Asian Stuff
I thought I would write about shopping since I just updated the "Shopping" page of MyAsianKidDC.com to include some local places to shop for Asian stuff. It is far from complete and I’d love to hear from readers about your favorite place to find Asian stuff.
Finding Resources for Your Child
Where do you find find resources for your family about Asian culture? Before my son came home from the orphanage, I started shopping for books about Vietnam, Vietnamese families, holidays and cooking.
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
I just got this book from Amazon. Grace Lin does beautiful illustrations and simple writing in her children's books of Asian holidays and culture. "Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival" explains in simple language about the traditions of the holiday. I also love her book "Bringing in the New Year".
September is the month to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. It is a popular holiday celebrated around the full moon in the eight month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. This year the full moon is on September 12, 2011.
It is a harvest festival celebrated by the Chinese, Vietnamese and Koreans. So far I have found three celebrations for this holiday in the Washington, DC area. In the evening of Friday September 9, there is a celebration in Downtown Silver Spring, MD -- on Ellsworth Dr. This celebration is now on for Friday September 23, 2011 in downtown Silver Spring. The Moon Festival in Downtown Silver Spring was cancelled again, they will announce a new date soon. This is the only celebration which is actually in the evening. On Sunday September 11, in the afternoon there is celebration in Arlington. This is put on by a consortium of Vietnamese groups. On Sunday September 17, in the afternoon and early evening there is a festival put on by Eden Center, a shopping center of Vietnamese stores in Falls Church, VA. Check the Events page for more detailed information about these events.
Moon Cakes are served during the festival. You can probably buy moon cakes at your local Chinese or Vietnamese store. I'm still looking for a moon cake mold, so I can make my own moon cakes. Many of the recipes call for different seed pastes with an egg yolk inside each cake. I think I would prefer a chocolate moon cake, maybe with chocolate or cream filling, but have not been able to hunt down a mold.
Learn more about the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival from Wikipedia.
Culture Camp Part 2 - About Culture Camp
So what do you do at culture camp?
Most of the families had been to culture camp before. One of the reasons families go to culture camp is to connect with other families and for their kids to connect with other kids also adopted from Vietnam. I loved looking at all the different license plates in the parking lot.
Culture Camp Part 1 - Demographics and First Impressions
Danny and our family had our first experience at Vietnamese Culture Camp. We considered going last year, but decided to wait until Danny turned four to go to camp. And Danny turned four a few weeks ago.
Reflecting on Mother's Day
I had lots of time to reflect about mothers on Mother’s Day this year. I spent a good deal of the day painting redwood stain onto a fort/ swingset which we bought used from craigslist. Because this was a playset which spent 5 years taken apart on the ground, we had to replace many of the boards. My husband and son spent much of the day together sawing and drilling and fastening screws, while I was away on the driveway painting the roof of this huge fort. And even when I was in the yard with everyone, painting the structure, I was separated by wet paint.
Welcome Blogger Bonnie Gardner
Thanks to Bonnie for blogging about her Asian Kid on MyAsianKidDC Blog. Bonnie Gardner is mom to Owen, age 4, adopted from Binh Thuan, Vietnam, in August 2008. She, Owen, and Owen's dad live in Northern Virginia, where they spend as much time outdoors as possible. Bonnie is a media specialist for a large nonprofit in DC and often makes a white-knuckle drive to Owen's preschool minutes before it closes. Follow her on Facebook or on Twitter @Bbgardner.
Get Updates of News and Events on Facebook
A reader emailed inquiring about getting email updates about events on my calendar. I said I don't do email updates. I thought about it and decided to create a facebook page where I post events, both upcoming and recently posted and if I find it, news. You can also post your own news and events on the page. Just go to the page and "Like" it. Sorry no like button from this web page yet. I may get around to it.
Adoption and Asian Events
There are a couple conferences on adoption coming up and several Asian events too. Check out the Events page for more information.
I continue to search for news and events related to both adoption and Asian Americans. If you know of a news item or event, please contact me and let me know so I can post it.
Finding Your Family Support Group
In response to the article from A Parent In Silver Spring blog and the Wheaton Patch, the place to find your Parent/Family/Mom group is this page. It got a little buried when I expanded the Adoption information section. The group I started is for young children from Asia and is called DC-Metro-Playgroup-FCVCA (Families with Children from Vietnam, China, Asia). I wrote more about Famliy Groups on this blog entry.