Last night we went to the Nakamise Shopping Street, which was the local place Alexis picked for her school project. She did all the research about what to expect and successfully navigated getting us there on her own. The majority of the walk there was along the Sumida river and took us about 45 minutes….
Tag: Homeschool
Miraikan – Stepping Into The Future
Yesterday, we visited the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. This museum is also known as Miraikan, which in Japanese means ‘future museum’. At times it really did feel like stepping into the future. The museum is known for its cutting edge science where you can explore a variety of topics. There were exhibits…
KitKat Tasting and Pajama Friday
Last night we did a blind KitKat tasting competition. It was so much fun! KitKats are a big thing here in Japan and are seen as a good luck charm. KitKat sounds like Kitto Katsu – a phrase in Japan that means ‘surely you will win’. They are often given with a good luck message…
The Bad and Unexpected
Alexis reminded me today that when I started this blog I said I would share it all – the good, the bad and the unexpected. She pointed out that I haven’t shared much of the bad and unexpected. We all did some brainstorming of things that have been hard or did not go according to…
Field Trip Fridays and Family Movie Night
When we got ready to start school this morning, Braxton asked if we could have pajama day. This reminded me that Fridays were often a fun day for him in school. In 3rd grade he had ‘Friday Fun’ which involved getting to play games on his chrome book. In 4th grade, they had something very…
Zombies Staggering Into Tokyo
Today we ventured out to our first temple and restaurant. We are still not fully recovered from our jet lag, but wanted to start exploring the area more. Prior to going to the temple we researched appropriate attire and behavioral expectations. Shoulders and knees should be covered, it is customary to bow before entering the…
Jet Lag Curveball and Japanese Language
We all went to bed last night thinking we would sleep all night and wake up feeling less jet lag. Like a lot of things so far with our gap year, we were taken by surprise. We are experiencing what AI called a ‘jet lag curveball’. Apparently, the second day of jet lag can be…
School in the Morning, Pura Vida in the Afternoon
Our first week of school has gone fairly smooth overall. There were a few power struggles, but nothing we didn’t anticipate. The kids worked hard on all of their subjects! Alexis completed a paper on the history of Costa Rica and Braxton wrote an opinion essay on his experience at El Miro. We all enjoyed…
Homeschooling Begins – Learning Where Our Feet Are
Today was our first day of school! Our original plan was to start in September once we were settled in Japan, but we changed our minds. We realized we would like to have more flexibility to take days off throughout the year. The state of Colorado requires that we log 172 days of school and…