American Flag Origami Even a Five Year Old Can Do

My daughter is now five and has been doing origami since she was three, so she is pretty decent at the easy ones. But I was surprised when she picked up this latest one I showed her after only being shown once. It's a 3D puffy heart. It's not that hard, but kindergarteners often get frustrated when the paper won't cooperate. My normally codependent five-year-old was surprisingly independent and motivated with this origami, which was neat to see.

Omochitsuki お持ちつき : Japanese for 'Let's Help Five-Year-Olds Pound Rice With a Giant Mallet'

Every Japanese elementary school has a giant wooden mortar and a hugely heavy mallet for this fun activity called Omochitsuki おもちつき, which is translated as rice pounding. Omochi is cooked rice that is so banged up that it resembles dough, and my daughter says that's her favorite food. Yeah, I know ... did she even consider chocolate? This beginning-of-the-year activity is fun because everyone gets a turn at pounding the rice with the sledgehammer thing, regardless of age. And you end up with an edible product. Bonus! When I lived in Japan, my host family took me out to the grandma's town in the countryside where they cooked the rice in stacks of bamboo steamers over an open fire for the event. When it was done, the whole neighborhood took turns pounding the rice, but with two people doing it at the same time with some kind of rhythm. A little nerve-wracking, but it was fun.

FREE JAPAN FESTIVAL IN NOVI

The Japan Business Society of Detroit is hosting a Japan Festival on Sunday, October 2nd from 1-4pm at Novi High School (24062 Taft Road, Novi, MI). Hey, it's free of charge! The program will include: Cultural Performances, Workshops such as Tea Ceremony（茶道）, Origami（折り紙）, Calligraphy（書道）, Traditional Games & Childrens’Attractions（縁日）, and Japanese Food（日本食）.

Do Your Friends Have Piano Teeth?

My daughter checked out one of the Dekoboko Friends (でこぼこフレンズ) books from her preschool's library. It's one of my favorite series(es?), and it's easy to read for a beginner. They have the craziest 12 characters, like the guy with piano teeth, an egg that gets really mad and cooks himself with the heat from his anger, and a chestnut who can't jump rope without tangling it on his huge nose.

If you don't happen to have a Japanese school to send your child to, try finding easy Japanese-language books such as this for reading with your child to expose them to more Japanese. Besides Dekoboko Friends, my suggestions include Anpanman (あんぱんまん is a character made out of pastry) and Nontan (ノンタン) is a selfish cat who reluctantly learns to share, etc).

Respect for the Aged Day

In honor of "Respect for the Aged Day" (Sep 19 in Japan), my daughter's preschool is taking the kids to the post office to mail letters to their grandparents. They get to go up to the counter and buy a stamp and everything! That means at our house we are currently writing letters to her five grandparents, 2 grandmas (obaasan), 1 grandpa (ojiisan), and 2 great grandmas (hiiobaasan). I take dictation and my four-year-old daughter tells me what she wants to write. Here is a sample of what she wrote: "Dear Grandpa, I love you, and have a wonderful day. I love you very much. We went on an airplane. Love, Sheradyn." Have you written to your grandparents lately? Above is a picture of an American woman's gift to her 105-year-old grandmother. Wow!

Sit Like a Rice Ball

"Mommy, you're supposed to do おにぎりすわり when sensei reads a book." This is what my daughter told me yesterday when she was pretending to be my sensei. The "suwari" means sit, and onigiri means ... onigiri. She showed me, and you're supposed to bend your knees so they make a triangle, like a typical onigiri shape. Cute! But my legs are pretty long, so it's a little uncomfortable. Oh well.

Finish your Hello Kitty obento!

"Mommy, don't put so many edamame in my obento," my daughter has told me. "And don't put corn in it." What a micro-manager a four-year-old can be! Geez, can't she just leave it there if she doesn't want to eat it? Well, I found out that she can't.

A while back, I went to pick up my daughter early from preschool because she had a slight fever. When I arrived, I panicked a little because I could hear a faint cry from down the hallway. Was she so sick she was crying? Oh no! I was relieved to go in the room and see a DIFFERENT kid crying and my daughter perfectly ok, quietly laying down. So what was the crying about?

Two little boys had not finished their obento lunches and the teacher was cheerfully encouraging them to eat so they could go outside and play, and it was one of those boys who was quietly sobbing. Meanwhile, the rest of the class was already outside playing. So they sat, and sat, and whined, and ate tiny bites. But lo and behold, they did finish eventually! This whole school year my daughter has been coming home with completely eaten obentos, and I had been patting myself on the back thinking I'm such a great mom and culinary genius. But now I find out the teachers actually train the students to finish their lunches. Some days I am positive I gave her too much food, and now I feel so bad! But I'm so glad to know this because I can continue to pack healthy food for my daughter knowing it will never go to waste.