Olympic country studies: Japan

Our second country was Japan. We read these books:

We made the Rising Sun flag of Japan, and learned what is represents-

We learned about Japanese characters, and made the character for rain-

We learned a few Japanese words/phrases, and practiced bowing to each other while saying konnichawa (hello).

 Our friend Ammon served his mission in Japan, and he was gracious enough to lend us a samurai sword (not sharp), and some Japanese clothing and accessories, which the kids loved trying on.

We listened to some traditional Japanese music, and watched videos of sumo wrestling (strangely fascinating) and the cherry blossoms (mesmerizingly beautiful). The boys tried being sumo wrestlers, but I drew the line at doing so in their underwear. I mean, let's be real.

I fell in love with this book from the library, Kamishibai Man. It's a beautiful story with wonderful illustrations. The forward nicely summarizes the book, ending with the suggestion to get your own sweets; so we did. Isabel and I made an outing to the Pacific Ocean Asian Market in a nearby suburb; that was an experience! She was quite while we were there, and when we left, she said, "that was NOT my kind of experience!" It's good to put one outside of one's comfort zone sometimes, yes?

So, we read the book and enjoyed our authentic Japanese sweets. And then we made our own kamishibai; the frame was just cardboard, and then Isabel wrote a sequential picture story and switched out the pictures while she told it, while we enjoyed another Japanese sweet.

And for dinner, I made sushi. I love sushi and have always wanted to try rolling my own (I did California rolls with crab, avocado and cucumber). It was easy, and way fun to do. We used the chopsticks Brian and I bought in Chinatown in San Fran a couple of years ago, and sat on the floor. The sushi was a no-go for the kids, but at least they tried it. The reaction was pretty funny. Even my adventurous-eater Mason did not go for it. But I liked it.