Japanese Night

Japanese Night was a huge success. Everyone had a great time seeing what the kids have been working on for the past month and trying some new foods. It was fun watching Great Grandma try sushi for the first time. She said that she liked it. The kids both told me this morning that they had so much fun last night. I think they enjoyed being the center of attention and showing off all the things they had learned. If I could just get them to remember the phrase "constitutional monarchy" things would be perfect. For some reason those words have no resonance to an 8 and 6 year old. Go figure!

After hours of unsuccessfully trying to burn our kabuki play onto a cd, I've finally given up and just uploaded it to YouTube. You can watch the short here. At dinner last night they handed out a program that went with the play explaining the true story of the 47 ronin and the differences between a real kabuki performance and their adaptation.

We also had a table full of all the art projects they worked on for the unit including kabuki warrior masks, clay dishes, origami swans, good luck eggs, and their book of haiku. They were able to show everyone their PowerPoint presentations on samurai and Tokyo as well. It really was great to be able to share some of our knowledge and let the family know how hard they've been working.

Tomorrow we hit the pre-made curriculum. I've spent all morning getting that together and into the lesson plan. We'll be starting with magnetism and electricity and reading Ben and Me for science and literature. Piano lessons also start back this week. I have a feeling it's going to be very busy this week, and there will certainly be some adjustment crankiness from all of us. On top of all that I'm taking Taekwondo lessons 3 times a week, and Tom's family is coming into town Friday for a camping weekend in our yard. Yikes!