Welcome!

This is my first attempt to place one of our homeschooling courses online. I recently was emailing with some other ladies who also share an interest in things Japanese for a variety of reasons. I made the comment that I might actually make the time to put a class together on paper. I thought, "Why wait?" and dove right in! Literally moments later I began to put this together. This class is designed for younger students and is typical of what and how I teach basic Japanese to our children. It will include basic phrases, counting, songs, games, and a listing of other sites as well as my recommended resources. I intend to include food, geography, etc as well as this is often an easy and fun method to introduce your children to another culture. I welcome your comments and feedback in order to improve this page and future classes/courses I would like to put on the site.
One thing I would like to know right away is which would be easier for you to teach from...a phonetic system or correct Romanji with a pronunciation guide? (Since Japanese is not based on our alphabet it has been necessary to create a method or format in which to "write" it so westerners can understand it. Romanji is the language that Japan has created in order to most accurately reflect the English language. It is typically not used except in translation situations, advertisement meant for the western person or for words that are based on western items that are not Japanese like "hottudogu" or "hotdog"!) See "Family members below for an example of the difference.

BASIC PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
COMING SOON!

COUNTING 1-10
1 - ICHI
2 - NI
3 - SAN
4 - SHI or YON
5 - GO
6 - ROKKU
7 - NANA or SHICHI
8 - HACHI
9 - KU
10 - JU

COLORS
COMING SOON!

FAMILY MEMBERS
MOTHER - Oh-ka-a-san...OKAASAN
FATHER - Oh-toe-oh-san...OTOOSAN
EVERYONE - mina-san
MORE COMING SOON!

GREETINGS!
GOOD MORNING - Ohayo
HOW ARE YOU? - Ogenki desu ka?
ANIMALS
SONGS
FOODS
LANGUAGE LINKS
Japanese Online

WRITING
Nihongo de Onamae!
(A fun place to look up your name in Japanese!)
If you'd like to try your hand at writing in one of the forms of Japanese writing...check out this site!

CUSTOMS/CULTURE
Kids Link - Japan
A Few Tips About Japanese Customs
Festivals and Holidays in Japan

GEOGRAPHY
Okinawa

CRAFTS
An Asian Doll Friend to Make

This comes from a friend in Japan
"We've done origami sites before, but this one from Yamaha (yes, that Yamaha) takes the cake. Full color reproductions of animals and automobiles will leave you with your mouth agape. The best part is, you can download the paper and instructions on how to make yours look the same. However, don't expect them to look this good on your first shot - this stuff is very advanced!"
Paper Craft


RELIGION/BELIEFS

Japan Unit

HISTORY

Life in Japan 1890 -1920

GENERAL INFO
All About Japan

RECOMMENDED READS
These came from some other homeschoolers I email with and I thought they might be helpful to you too.

Gift from the Mikado by Elizabeth P. Fleming. (from Leah) It was written in 1958, and my edition was put out by the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club--my, how society has changed!
It's about a missionary family who goes to Japan after Perry opened it up. Most of the Japanese people had never seen a white man before. It describes their culture and festivals, etc. The author was the baby in the story; it's the stories she heard over and over, once they got back to the states. Note--the family homeschooled (not their terminology, though!) and ended up leaving the country because the oldest child was ready for high school. time period--1880's or so.
It would be worth a hunt. I found ours in a junk store!
Library of Congress Cataolg Number: 58-5129

We studied Japan earlier this year and here is the historical fiction we read: (from Mary)
*The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck
*Born in the Year of Courage by Emily Crofford
Samurai Castle by Fiona MacDonald
Grandfather's Journey (This is in Five in a Row)
*The Master Puppeteer by KatherinePaterson
*Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
*Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun by Rhoda Blumberg
*The Cat who Went to Heaven (Buddhist Perspective, won the Newbery in the 1930's) by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Ai - Chan's Secret (an OMF book)
*Silkworms
Shiokari Pass video - I bought it through Mount Carmel, perhaps it is available to the general public through Billy Graham Assn.
Hiroshima by Laurence Yep
I am an American by Jerry Stanley
Count Your Way through Japan by Jim Haskins
The ones marked with a * are available through Sonlight, in the 5th year program.
The biggest hit of all with my 11 year old son was a Shogi (Japanese Chess) game that I picked up at a thrift store. It is similar to regular chess, but has a few differences, one of which is that you get to put all the pieces you capture from your opponent back on the board on your own side.
We also tried Origami, and we were able to attend an Ikebana (flower arranging) demonstration and a tea ceremony demonstration. It was really amazing that these opportunities became available to us, being that we live in Oman.

This is "Just my 2 yen worth..." (from Laura)
I have a book suggestion, Shiokari Pass by: Ayako Miura (translated by: Bill & Sheila Fearnehough). It's an adult reading level book, but the story is fantastic. This book has also been made into a video. I really can't say where you can get these in the U.S., but the book is an OMF book, so you might try checking with your local Christian book store. (ISBN 9971 972-23-9)
Also, there is a Japanese man who does wonderful artwork buy painting with he brush in his mouth...similar to Joni. I know that several of his books have been translated, but again as to their availbility out side Japan I'm not sure. His name is, Tomihiro Hoshino and his materials are distributed by Word of Life Press.
Last idea...try some cooking. I pretty sure I saw this cookbook in a US library! It's one of my favorite Japanese cookbooks because it's easy to follow and there is a picture for each dish. It's called, Japanese Cooking for Health and Fitness by: Kiyoko Konishi. (ISBN4-05-151330-0 C0077)


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