Month: February 2017

Planning a Japan trip for summer 2017

It’s still February, but I started planning my trip to Japan for summer 2017. As a fact, sometimes, hotel rooms are already full depending on the days. I figure taking a trip to Japan has been gaining popularity.

My trip is for sure for my business, and I am planning to organize several au pair seminars in several cities such as Tokyo and Osaka every year. But this trip also serves an important role for my daughter’s education. My daughter, who is bilingual in Japanese and English, enrolls Japanese elementary school in my hometown of Japan every summer for four weeks or so. This short four-week schooling in Japan plays such an important role to keep up her Japanese speaking ability, and also for her to understand and experience the Japanese culture.

At many of Japanese elementary schools, students clean up their classrooms by themselves. They also serve the lunch food that was prepared at their school kitchen. These are all considered as part of education.

Now living in the US as a Japanese national, I am proud of the Japanese school’s cleaning and serving food education. Even my daughter who was born in the US likes the cleaning time. Of course, she loves Japanese lunch time, called KYUSHOKU, hot and balanced food.

You may impress with the following video posted by AJ+

Valentines??

Valentine’s Day is approaching. If you have school-aged children, it means you will have to prepare valentines for the number of students in your child’s class. I remember I was so panicked and didn’t know what to do when I receive an e-mail from my child’s teacher asking to prepare valentines.

Valentines are small message cards to exchange with students at Valentine’s Day party. I learned we can buy the cards at stores everywhere in the U.S. It is common in the U.S. but absolutely not common in Japan!

If you have Japanese au pairs, please tell them what the Valentines are. Even though you can easily buy the cards, it may be a good project for the au pair and your children to make some Asian or Japanese style cards by using Origami papers. In the past few years, I did make some cards with Origami, and children loved it. Have your Japanese au pair use her creativity to make something unique.

Do not forget to make the BOX to put the valentines cards decorating with Origami papers!

It will be fun!
Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentines_Day