Beyond Picture Books: Books About Japan

While there are many great picture books which highlight points of life in Japan, what about when you are ready to dive deeper? Here are some of our favorite:

 英語で紹介する日本 Experience Japan Series 英語で紹介する日本 Experience Japan A bilingual books with photos and easy to understand information.

  Japanese Customs and Culture in English イラストで解る! 英語で日本のしきたりと文化を伝える本 This book goes into manners and cultural practices/traditions for various situations.

  An Illustrated History of Japan Great for visual learners of history.

  The Complete Illustrated Guide to Japanese Systems 全図解 日本のしくみ [政治・経済・司法編] A bilingual Book for those who are trying to figure out how things work in Japan. 

  Chonological Guide to Japanese History 英語で読む日本史 A "must" for students - and their parents who are trying to catch up ;-)

Hand Washing Help

One of the most effective things we can do to fight the flu, covid19, strep and many other common germs is to wash our hands.

You may wonder though,
If it is as simple as that,
How do we make it a habit?

Making something a habit takes time and even if it is a habit we still will forget at times of not wash properly. 

One of the greatest things we can do as parents and teachers is to help kids create good habits.

Zilla, Mega and I happened across some fun and interesting hand washing videos on youtube. We've also found some free printable posters and a science experiment worth trying. Take a look!

Science:
Bathroom Hygiene Myth by MythBusters
How Germs Spread by Cincinnati Children's

Songs:
WashYourHandsingTon by Washington State Department of Health
Wash 'Em by Jefferson Health
We're All About Those Hands by Lake Health
Hey Mickey - Go Wash Your Hands by Heritage Village
Japanese Version お願いお願いかめさん　English Version - Foaming Hand Washing Song

Other hand washing links:
"I Wash My Hands" poster & song
CDC Hand Washing Fact Sheets
CDC Hand Washing Posters for Kids
Hand Washing Science Experiment
Experiments with Glo Germ Powder

Maybe tomorrow we'll research masks?

This blog sometimes uses affiliate links for Amazon, Kotoba & Sign and a few other sites. Commission earned goes toward my tea and a book or two. As you can tell from the bookshelves in the back of the pics, we are always on the lookout for another good book. Thanks for your support!

Strive to Thrive

As the situation heats up with the new/novel corona virus, now known as covid19, we find ourselves once again facing unknown challenges and searching for ways to support and encourage each other. Way back when, this blog was started as a way to share ideas and inspire. 

A couple of years ago life happened - both time and the motivation to blog fadded. However, at this point in time, I'm once again seeing a need for an easy way to share helpful information so I'm resurrecting the Little Lessons with Zilla and Mega blog.

Zilla and Mega are in elementary school now and due to covid19 they will have an extra long spring break. Like many moms in the affected countries, this means I have to organize things for them to do so we don't drive each other nuts while we're essentially on house arrest.

I've been very blessed to get great ideas and advice from families who began their time in lockdown before us. We also have our own experiences from past near lockdown situations so I hope to blend those experiences with new ideas so that we can thrive, not just survive, in this time of unknowns.

As this blog has been dormant for a while some of the old links are no longer active. I hope to go through and fix that where possible. Patience and understanding is appreciated!

There are also affiliate links with Amazon, and a few other sites. Commission earned goes toward  my tea and a book or two. As you can tell from the bookshelves in the back of the pics we are always on the lookout for another good book!

Thank you for your readership, comments and ideas. I pray we can to support, encourage and inspire each other!

Breakfast With a View

One tradition we have is getting bread from eh local bread shop for breakfast on Saturday morning.
It has become a treasured tradition as our weekends are often hectic. The Saturday breakfast is a chance to touch base, talk about the past week and go over weekend schedules.

This we aren't all together but we are still enjoying fresh made pastries. Having a beautiful place to eat adds to the flavor of the food. This morning's scones are from the local Farmer's Market and happen to be made by a family friend.

The Luther quote comes to mind as I spend time in the garden and caring for the yard. It is perhaps a small taste of what Adam and Eve did in caring for the Garden of Eden?

When looking for a source for the quote I was surprised to find that the Lutheran Witness #36 has a selection of letters, one of which includes this quote from 1530. "In spring he loves to direct her attention to the little points and tufts of life peeping everywhere from the brown earth or the bare branches Who he said that had never witnessed a springtime would have guessed two months since that these lifeless branches held concealed all that hidden power of life It will be thus with us at the resurrection God writes His Gospel not in the Bible alone but in trees and flowers and clouds and stars."

Summer Homework - Again!

This is the 5th year of summer homework for us and the 3rd year of elementary school summer homework.