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Dawn
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Hi everyone ~
I am looking for ideas for studying Japan - interesting topics, fun activities, your favorite resources, etc.
Our four-family coop will start this unit study in about two weeks. Right now we are trying to figure out what we should cover, make our library requests, purchase craft materials etc. I'm really excited because we will all be making our first lapbooks as we go along!
We are planning an origami workshop at a nearby studio, but other than that our study really needs shape! Our kids range in age from 4-10 ...
Thanks for any suggestions! 
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Mary G
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Dawn,
This is a gorgeous book we read last fall that got us started n a whole origami/Japan rabbit trail:
Little Oh -- is a beautiful sotry and has really lovely origmai pictures too.
Here's some great origmai sites we used:
Joseph Wu's Origami
Origami Database
Origami DiagramsAnother origami site
Here's a site about the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco -- we used to hang out there growing up:
Japanese Tea Garden.
and another:
Japanese Tea Garden
You could also do a unit on Japanese during WW2 -- here and othr there.
Hope this helps 
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Meredith
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Hey Dawn, we did a Japan notebook based on all Japanese picture books, haiku and folk tales. You can see my dd's notebook at my blog, just click on Sweetness and Light on my signature and then click on the Japan photo album on my left side-bar. Have fun, we loved doing this unit study!!
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lapazfarm
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Older children may get a kick out of trying their hand at making sushi.
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marihalojen
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Dawn,
We liked anything by or illustrated by Allan Say especially Grandfather's Journey and Tea with Milk and How my Parents Learned to Eat.
Try Tea Ceremony for an intensive course in Tea.
Have Fun!
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JennGM
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I've never covered Japan, but as I was thinking about your project a few thoughts came into mind. Kid's Japan Web has some FABULOUS ideas.
Sudoku...all the rage in US right now, too!
I don't have links, but was thinking of a little bonsai study would be great. Some pictures of Japanese gardens.
Perhaps try some Japanese calligraphy/writing, with brush strokes or do some Ukiyo-e woodblock prints.
Ceramics Japanese style!
Some other areas that could be easily adapted in simplistic forms is the Noh Theater.
I've run out of time...there was something else that crossed my mind I'll have to see if I can remember.
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MaryM
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Origami and haiku are two of our favorite things to do for this topic, too.
This book is part of a great series called Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids Series. You can get lots of great ideas in these. The series includes these books:
Haiku
Origami
Asian Kites
Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging)
Tea Ceremony
As far as haiku books - there are lots of great collections and we also enjoyed these books about one of the most famous haiku writers, Basho.
Basho and the Fox – Tim Myers
Basho and the River Stones – Tim Myers
Grass Sandals: the Travels of Basho – Dawnine Spivak (illustrated by Demi)
Japanese prints (mostly woodcut) are those very distinctly Japanese pictures. Dover has lots of Japanese activity/art books including these on this particular type of art - Coloring book and Japanese prints.
The old man mad about drawing : a tale of Hokusai by François Place and Hokusai: The Man Who Painted a Mountain are two picture books about the most famous print maker.
Another craft is papermaking - it has an ancient history in Asia. I'll get some of my resources for that later.
marihalojen wrote:
| We liked anything by or illustrated by Allan Say |
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Yes, these are great books. Has anyone seen the new one, Kamishibai Man? I just reserved it.
Back to tea - any study of the history and science of tea would be great - it has such an ancient history in China and Japan.
History of Tea timeline
History of tea time for children
Japanese food is always fun to include in a culture study. Theresa mentioned a specific one - sushi. There are so many great foods. What I think kids enjoy most of all with Japanese food is the eating utensils - chopsticks. Have to do that. And then fortune cookies are lots of fun, too.
Of huge interest to all the little boys is study of the Samuri and Ninja. Lots of cool stuff there, but don't have time to write more.
The last thing I can think of right now is the importance of insects to the Japanese. Insects as pets is a fun focus. There is a great book called Night of the Fireflies (Winnick) about a festival in Japan and the firefly lanterns they make using the fireflies. Then there are the famous crickets. Crickets are a common pet in Japan in their little bamboo cages.
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Karen E.
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I second the Allen Say books -- they're wonderful.
We've also done:
The Crane Wife My girls loved the story and the beautiful illustrations.
Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog
We made books about Hachiko "Japanese style" -- bound them on the right, and the girls wrote their narrations top-to-bottom, right-to-left.
Read about traditional Japanese dress,
dressed Japanese style (the girls were quite inventive with bathrobes and old valances -- that are part of the dress-up supply -- for obis),
did some cooking together, ate dinner at the coffee table, sitting on the floor,
learned some origami,
eldest daughter did some calligraphy, Here's an example of a set .
I live in Tokyo by Mari Takabayashi is fun -- see it here
Have fun!
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JennGM
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I remembered my other thought! 
Growing up I read over and over "Stories from ____: Folklore of the World" series, printed by Garrard Press. These would include myths, folk tales and legends from many different countries. The pictures and stories were fun, and these were easier to read. They are OOP (isn't almost everything I recommend?) but relatively easy to track down used, and many libraries still carry the series. I do think it's been reprinted, but used copies are much cheaper. We always referred to these as the "Yellow books"...my cousins and my siblings just ate these up.
Stories from Japan by Edward Dolch I highly recommend. Twenty episodes from Japanese folklore including the well known "Momotaro, the Peach Boy" and "Urashima.".
I also found this list of Pacific Rim Folklore: Anthologies, which included the book above.
A few other ideas...for the ladies, decorating paper fans would be fabulously fun!
Story of Silk and here...I know silk originally came from China, but Japan is now the leading producer of silk. How about painting on silkscreen or using silk in a project?
Kites also are very huge in the Japanese culture....although not necessarily from there originally. I found many festivals related to kites.
Living Faith ideas: I had recommended some books on the Blessed Mother Notebook Project, but I'll mention the pertinent one here: An OOP Daughters of St. Paul Book: All Generations Will Call Me Blessed by Rosalie Marie Levy is a compilation of Marian prayers, poems and hymns along with artwork of Mary and the various Madonnas of different countries in full color. My mother had these since I was young and I just would pore over the illustrations. I was especially intrigued by oriental Madonnas...the art was so different than I was used to. There are many Japanese Madonnas. I'll find out the artists so you can track some pics down.
Patron of Japan is St. Francis Xavier. In ascending order of difficulty:
Flame in the Night from the Daughters of St. Paul original Encounter Series (now called Encounter the Saints) this is a very good biography.
St. Francis of the Seven Seas Vision Book by Albert Nevins
Set All Afire by Louis De Wohl.
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Dawn
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Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you, everyone!!  You all have so many *wonderful* ideas, I hardly know where to begin! 
What a fun study we'll have with all of your suggestions to get us started ... I am going to print out this thread and read it all through (hi-lighter in hand!). I'm so eager to check out all the links, books and resources that were mentioned! I guess I know what I'll be doing with my computer time for the next few days ... 
I'm meeting with my coop moms one evening next week to "strategize" and I can hardly wait to share all your great ideas with them.
You are all so kind and generous in taking the time to help me today ... thank you again!!
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Rachel May
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Here is a link to the Rosary Miracle at Hiroshima where German Jesuits survived the blast.
Also, my kids have enjoyed Hiroshima, No Pika (the 1st review is helpful), The Waveabout a Tsunami and how a man sacrifices all he has to save the people of the village, and Urashima Taro.
One mom in Hawaii got a whole fish and let everyone go and try this. We couldn't go, but I've always wanted to try it.
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MaryM
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jenngm67 wrote:
| I was especially intrigued by oriental Madonnas...the art was so different than I was used to. There are many Japanese Madonnas. |
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There are some of the Japanese Madonna prints in this gallery and the Our Lady of Akita page.
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Dawn
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Rachel May wrote:
| One mom in Hawaii got a whole fish and let everyone go and try this. We couldn't go, but I've always wanted to try it. |
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Thanks Rachel! One of my friends mentioned this as a possible activity, but none of us knew much about it ...
Since we'll be studying into May, I thought it would be neat to look at the (unofficial) Japanese flowers, the cherry blossoms. We happen to have a flowering cherry growing in our yard ~ maybe the kids could do a Japanese-style watercolor of the blossoms? Or maybe a paper craft using layers of colored papers (like the scrapbooking kind)?
We are currently finishing up an Ancient Rome study, and we gave the kids a little "toga" party (they wore white pillowslips and sheets, brown felt sandals and laurel crowns ). In a similar vein, on May 5 is the Japanese Children's Day Festival. It would be fun to plan a party around this theme too!
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Dawn wrote:
| Since we'll be studying into May, I thought it would be neat to look at the (unofficial) Japanese flowers, the cherry blossoms. We happen to have a flowering cherry growing in our yard ~ maybe the kids could do a Japanese-style watercolor of the blossoms? Or maybe a paper craft using layers of colored papers (like the scrapbooking kind)? |
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That's the other thought that crossed my mind. There was another "gardening" theme beside bonsai! Definitely cherry blossoms...and perhaps there is a story of the Japanese gift to the US we see in DC each year? Very beautiful.
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Dawn
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jenngm67 wrote:
| ...and perhaps there is a story of the Japanese gift to the US we see in DC each year? |
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Jenn, this is great!! I just found this page about the History of Cherry Trees in Washington, D.C. Lots of neat pictures and what an interesting story ~ a great angle for us to use with the kids!
You know, my parents took us to D.C. when I was about 10 and I remember those beautiful trees more than anything else about that trip!
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MaryM wrote:
jenngm67 wrote:
| I was especially intrigued by oriental Madonnas...the art was so different than I was used to. There are many Japanese Madonnas. |
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There are some of the Japanese Madonna prints in this gallery and the Our Lady of Akita page. |
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These are good, but I do like some of the ones in the book even more...there is one in particular. Some are marked "Japan" but I don't think they are. (When someone studies China I've got even more!). If someone is interested I can scan and post them. I've Googled a while now and not coming up with many hits on Japanese Catholic art. Here are the pictures:
One is called "Protectress of the Pescadores", no artist, listed. Pescadores is now under China, but was Japanese control for a while.
My favorite is "Our Lady of the Beetle" by Wang Su-Ta. I am at war with the Japanese Beetle  , it's hard for me to be super sentimental towards that little insect!
There's another with no country origin, but artist is Hasegawa and it's called "The Immaculate". Not sure which Asian country it might be.
So while Googling, I came across these interesting links. I don't mean to overload you, Dawn, but thought they might come in handy.Bombed Mary and Madonna of Nagasaki. Watch out for some images of victims on the second link for smaller eyese to not see.
Vatican Museums have some of the Museum online. Japan has a small section included in the "Ethnological Missionary Museum."
Art History Links for Asia, including Japan
Overview of the History of the Catholic Church in Japan
Article: A Fertile Encounter of Faith and Culture on the anniversary of Francis Xavier bringing Christianity to Japan.
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Dawn
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jenngm67 wrote:
| I don't mean to overload you, Dawn ... |
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Certainly not, Jenn - I truly appreciate the time and effort you (and everyone who replied) spent in helping me with this project! And now we have so many options to consider ~ this promises to be a full and exciting study!
I like the idea of planning a tea ceremony for a finale, maybe with pretty fans as gifts for the moms (I found this site for paper craft fans). At the same site, there are Japanese Friends (paper dolls) for the younger kids to make. And we'll have to plan our tea when the cherry tree is in bloom!
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MaryM wrote:
| Of huge interest to all the little boys is study of the Samuri and Ninja. Lots of cool stuff there, but don't have time to write more. |
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Mary, we will definitely have to explore this aspect of Japanese history ~ our coop is comprised of 2 girls and 10 boys! When we did Rome, they all really got into the Gladiator theme, so I'm sure this will appeal to them.
MaryM wrote:
| There is a great book called Night of the Fireflies (Winnick) about a festival in Japan and the firefly lanterns they make using the fireflies. |
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This book looks beautiful, and a good crossover into nature issues ~ where *have* all the fireflies gone?
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Dawn
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happyheartsmom wrote:
| Hey Dawn, we did a Japan notebook based on all Japanese picture books, haiku and folk tales. |
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Meredith, thanks for reminding me! I visit your blog often (it's just lovely) so I should have remembered your beautiful notebooks. As I mentioned, this will be our first *official* attempt at making lapbooks (we started one on stained glass windows, but never got it going ) ... so looking over your children's books is inspiring *and* instructive!
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lapazfarm
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This is the most incredible thread! We were not planning on doing Japan any time soon, but the ideas here are so rich and tempting! Perhaps we can alter our plans to include all this when we get to Oriental architecture-not like we ever follow plans anyway!
You ladies are my most inspiring resource!
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Theresa
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Japan ideas?
