lisabees Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 What would you do? DS10 goes to ps, but wants to have a "Japanese Day" on his day off. He loves everything Japan, but is especially interested in traditional Japan. Any literature, art, activities, online programs or movies you would use? I am thinking of a one day unit study kind of thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlynn Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 (edited) Books to read that are short and he could read one of these in a day: The Big Wave The Cat Who Went to Heaven Born in the Year of Courage - our fav. of the three, but would probably take more than one day to read. True story. We read The Master Puppeteer aloud, took about 9 days to read. Great story. We watched the original Seven Samurai....it's got subtitles, so he'd have to be adept enough at reading to follow along. My son enjoyed it, but he already knew the basic plot, so that made it easier to understand. Crafts...Origami of course : ) Can be easy to very challenging! Your library may have a book and I know Target/Walmart used to stock square origami papers. See if you can find you tube or other videos of kabuki theater and noh theater productions to watch.... maybe even a sumo wrestling video. Food...we love sushi here, so that's always around, I would just buy some already prepared rather than trying to make it yourself. You also might want to see if your grocery store or maybe a Trader Joe's or World Mkt. carries some dried soup packs and find some good green tea. We lived in Japan for 6 years and had some wonderful times there! Very glad to be back in the states now, but so glad we had the opportunity to experience something so foreign to us westerners. Edited November 3, 2009 by Jlynn forgot words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSDCY Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I second The Master Puppeteer for a reader or read-aloud. I also second the idea of origami and sushi. You can make your own sushi, or if you have a Costco or Trader Joe's near you, you might be able to find some there. If you live near a Japanese Town or a Japanese supermarket, it's a treat to just go and browse around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 (edited) Our Borders Bookstore has a great Manga section that also features candy and the special 'marble' soda bottles that are all the rage in Japan. You could go to a Japanese restaurant for lunch or dinner. A craft would be fun too like origami or make a Zen garden. We made a small Zen garden in our yard when we studied Japan. The following is a great learning website: http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/index.html Also check out the sugar candy sculpture video: This is Miyuki and she is only one of 3 people who do these candy sculptures. She learned it from her grandfather. We were lucky enough to see her a few times in Disney's EPCOT. It is amazing what she can do! Edited November 3, 2009 by 2cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 You could also try to cover traditional Japanese cultural activities such as cherry blossom viewing or maple leaf viewing, or visiting a Japanese garden, or a tea ceremony. This is neat: http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/radio/program/index.html specifically http://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/english/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Haiku. And for art, my son has made a couple of beautiful Haiku displays, sometimes creating a rice paper effect, or adding chopsticks for the top & bottom in a scroll-like effect. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairie rose Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 c bq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlynn Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Haiku. And for art, my son has made a couple of beautiful Haiku displays, sometimes creating a rice paper effect, or adding chopsticks for the top & bottom in a scroll-like effect. Julie Ha! I was just coming back on to mention Haiku :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I'll second Josie's mention of "Seven Samurai." What a great film! And making sushi rolls is so easy that I'd definitely give that a go. Even if you can't get sushi quality fish, there are many vegetable options for rolls. They are fun to make! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 You are all wonderful!! Thank you for fabulous ideas, books and links. I might have to do all of it; just not in one day! We've already checked out the candy link - what amazing work. DS watched with his mouth open. We also checked out a youtube video on a tea ceremony - it was so cool. We have already done origami a bunch, so we'll probably skip that. We love sushi, but have never made it. Thank you so much! DS will have a blast. He is so obsessed he will be attending a Japanese Immersion camp this summer; he'll probably be the only non-Japanese! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamawaabangi Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Learn to make sushi or go eat it... Learn some Japanese phrases or calligraphy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJB Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 We made kites for Children's Day on May 5th. (TYVM, SOTW Activity Guide) They are designed to look like carp and are traditionally hung on poles or in trees on May 5th. We hung our kites and they stayed up for about a year. (0; It was lots of fun and they turned out really cool. http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/childrens_day_japan.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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