One Last Trip to the Beach

With all the chaos that has happened our summer fun time this year was pretty limited. Usually we would often go to the beach about a 2 hour drive away during summer vacation but not this year.

On a warm autumn day we took one last trip down to the beach of the Boso Peninsula. Still the fear of another tsunami had me planning escape routes as the girls pounced around the seashore. We have taken the children to very few places this year, especially involving the outdoors for obvious reasons. Radiation being another one of them.

The girls love the beach and love the water and it was difficult to keep them from jumping in.  Although they did get their feet quite wet. Afterward we warmed up in Ashi-yu or in other words took a foot bath. 

It felt very nice. Ahhhh I want to go back

Cana enjoying the warm foot bath after walking on the beach.

As this video shows the girls were very excited and I am trying to make sure they are okay, especially Cana who is always trying to keep up.

We ate dinner at the restaurant over looking the ocean and stayed till the evening.  We dined on fresh sushi and shellfish from the water below and counted our blessings as we enoyed the meal and atmosphere.

We are certainly going to miss places like these...

Growing Girls

The girls on the lawn by the outside food area at Costco, Japan

The girls are getting heavy, I carry them to bed sometimes and it really is getting difficult. They do more, eat more and energy seems to be unlimited. Meanwhile mommy and daddy are trying to recover our strength whenever we can get the chance. 

When they play together it feels like heaven, when they are fighting, or annoying one another and making messes it feels like a nightmare. Guess which one we experience more often.

All three girls are at different ages and different stages. It is quite difficult to manage and rarely do we have solo time with them to check on their "progress". The way mommy and daddy treat the group versus one on one is quite different. In a one on one opportunity we either discipline, encourage or instruct and this happens occasionally.  However, most of the time the girls are in the same room and it is somewhat hard to tell whether they are playing together or seperately.  Well unless somebody starts crying and the parents have to once again investigate. They go back and forth freely making a team of three and then two and then playing by themselves. It is like watching some sort of chemical reaction with a lot of energy being released.

The girls playing a pogo stick jumping game at an arcade in Yachiyo, Chiba

Just as they are growing I too feel like I am growing in my capacity as a parent and my understanding of the dynamics of raising children.  Growing children are always learning and teaching each other as well. Even if it is mistaken. Children enjoy teaching each other things and sometimes I have great joy in watching them tell each other stories or teach a song or dance to one another.  And isn`t that what life is all about?

"GROWING"



Learning to Label

Drawing by Anna on the chair. She tried to hide it with her hand while doodling it during our conversation.

Recently we have been catching Anna writing with marker on things. It first started with drawings of characters she likes, or creative portraits of her and her sisters, but now she is writing labels on things. Like Anna`s cup, Everybody`s chair, and the like. She is learning the fun of labeling and it is getting a little out of control.

My first reaction is to sigh and get angry with the fact that she hasn`t stopped even though she has been warned, but then I step back.

In her world objects have little or no value. She doesn`t know the price of the chair or cup or book. To her they are just things and things have a purpose and that is for people. The innocence of her actions tell me that for her it is important to know who is using or should use those objects.

At such a young age it starts with labeling your stuff but soon it moves to labeling people and places. And that can become a tricky subject to say the least.

But it has begun, she is developing the ability to clearly label the world around her. Now comes an important time as a parent to guide her and help her understand such concepts and teach her in the way she should go.

I am in awe of it all, like watching a flower blossom. But also aware I need to protect that precious flower within her.

Thanks for reading

Anna`s UNDOU-KAI

A boy waves the flag for the red team (Anna`s Team), as a girl drums the taikodrum behind him as the runners race around the track at Field Day UNDOU-KAI

A few weeks ago Anna had her first Field Day (UNDOU-KAI) on Saturday.  It is a custom for Elementary schools to hold these events on the weekends so that parents, grandparents and friends can watch the students participate in a variety of competitive games such as tug of war, relay races, dashes, hurdles, ball tossing, and many more.  They even have special dances performed by entire grades.

Anna in her dash was put against the faster runners in her grade and she came out in 1st place.  She also was chosen to run in the relay race but her team finished in 3rd. It was great to see her compete and do her best.  That morning she woke up with great excitement and determination.  It was like she had prepared, worked hard and knew she was going to win.  And just for the record, I am not the type of parent to pump up and train my kids to be super over-achievers.  This was all her! I just told her to go run and have fun today and "You`ll do great Anna!" As you look at the pictures you may wonder why Anna is wearing a mask.  She lost her two front teeth and decided that she should wear it. Here are a few photo highlights from the day.

Anna is wearing the mask and has her hands out in victory after finishing first place in the dash.

The school grounds were filled with about 3,000 people and everybody had their cameras out and the weather was quite warm as well.  It will certainly live on to be a great memory for us and Anna.  She was beaming after she came home that day knowing how well she had done and enjoyed such a time with her classmates and friends.

The children compete by tossing colored balls into a hoop and the team with the most balls wins.  TAMA-IRE

Anna during the Disney Dance.  She loved practicing for this and still does it all the time.

Amidst all the hardship and trials she has been through it brought a little tear to my eye to see her so satisfied and happy...

Watching Anna Grow

Took this photo at a studio we took the kids to almost two years ago.

My first born daughter has the advantage and disadvantage of being the first child to go through each developmental stage.  The advantage being that she has her parents full attention and focus, but the disadvantage being that we lack experience in the situation.

These days she is going to school and learning to listen to her teacher`s instructions and many times she forgets her assignments or doesn`t tell us what needs to be brought to school the next day, etc.  She is learning to focus her high energy and learn with by it and after a couple months it seems that she might be doing okay.  Of course all I really know is what she says and what her teacher writes down in her communication log which each student receives.  In Japanese it is called a Ren-Raku-Chou. （連絡帳）The entries are not daily, but are written at the discretion of the teacher when they want to share a concern or let the parents of a child know how things are going or possibly share a story from class about their child.



Apparently Anna`s teacher is quite strict and often doesn`t give her full marks on her assignments or homework.  Anna has a hard time with this being a very temperamental child who strives for perfection.  She cries often when she is not able to meet expectations that she puts on herself.  One time Anna had to practice writing the character よ and got so frustrated that she ran out of the house.  She didn`t return for quite awhile.  My wife became concerned and contacted me, but then Anna suddenly came home.  In fact she returned bearing gifts for everybody.  She had walked down to the market and with her own money gone and bought snacks and chocolate for everybody.  Of course Yumi warned her not to go out like that, but she couldn`t help but be moved that Anna would do something so sweet. She even chose the brand that her sisters and mom like.  It looks like she pays more attention to detail than we realized!



Anna`s grossed out after I caught a crawdad at the park with a stick and some squid for bait. I asked her if she wanted to hold it while I took a picture :)



Anna is showing us more and more that she can learn on her own and that she has a very sweet side behind her rambunctious, energetic, and sometimes harsh personality. I truly pray for her and wish her joy and happiness as she lives out her childhood.  She has endured so much from infancy and now she is growing into a fine little girl.

By the way she lost her two front teeth and it looks like more teeth are loose as well!

Starting School



Anna on the way to Opening Day Ceremony at school



Well, it has already been a week for Anna.  She started school last week on Monday with a ceremony and now has entered the ranks of Shou-Gaku-Sei. (Elementry Student).  You can imagine how troubled we are to see her go off to school, with all the earthquakes happening almost daily. 

But Anna was in high-spirits as the week began.  She woke me up 3 hours before school started asking me if she could go to school yet.  She was so excited and inquisitive about school and things she was going to do there.  Not growing up in Japan, I really couldn`t answer much but the general stuff about what school is like.

So after eating breakfast and making doubly sure of all her stuff we began to walk to the meeting point, so Anna could meet with some friends to walk together to school.  So I took my cane ( Yes I am recovering from hip surgery by the way!) and we began to walk, but Anna went ahead much faster.  She even turned back to me and said, "I know the way. you don`t need to come, daddy."

  

So I followed from afar just to make sure.  It is about 5-8 minutes to Anna`s school.  Anna, being determined as always, walked quickly noticing some other kids up ahead. She walked past the meeting point and continued to go towards school following the flow of the other children.  Being in my condition I couldn`t chase after her, so I decided to wait and apologize to Anna`s friend and explain to her mother that Anna had gone ahead to school.

So ended the first morning of the send off. 

As the week progressed, Anna started to become tired.  The early morning preparations and stress began to take effect.  She said, the all but familiar phrase, " I don`t want to go to school anymore!"

Upon hearing that I had to laugh, knowing how pumped up she was at the beginning.  Of course with some coercion she was able to go and keep the streak going.  Today she arose a little late, but was in plenty of time to go to school determined to do well

Anna has a lot to learn, and so do I about school in Japan.  There are a lot of responsibilities and tasks given to little first graders.  There are a lot of necessary items and equipment that must be remembered.  It is quite daunting for these little 6 year olds to have to remember so much. 

I just hope that Anna doesn`t lose the pure child-like heart, as she begins the journey of education.  She seems to be enjoying meeting many new faces and playing at school and hearing that makes me smile.

I am sure there will be more stories to come about Anna and her adventures on the playground and in the classroom.

Turning the Page

Well, just one more month to go and we are in a new chapter.  Anna will be starting first grade in April. There a lot of preparations that still need to be done, clothes need to bought, and other various school supplies as well. 

The thing that I think I keep putting off is the mental preparation.  It hasn`t hit me yet...  I still cannot imagine it clearly.  My little girl, who I use to hold in one arm, will be going off to school all by herself.  Part of me is afraid to think about it.  The other part is shocked that we made it this far already.

Having three children keeps me busy, and I must confess that it is difficult for the oldest one.  They have a higher set of expectations placed on them and as a parent you lack the experience to guide them, because for you it is the first time too for everything.

My mistakes as a parent will ,no doubt, be apparent as my daughter enters school.  In Japan, school is serious business and I am far from serious when it comes to study myself.  I am confident in my daughter`s abilities, but fear for her weaknesses.  I can only hope and pray that she is able to engage herself and connect with good people.

As the time draws near and the page begins to turn, I feel my heart yearn for the time of her infacy, her precious little smile, and the look of joy and peace in her eyes as a new born babe, but it is passed.  We must go forward, despite our many failures and struggles, regrets and short-comings. 

We must turn the page and witness the events of the lives of our children, hoping to cherish it all, but weather the storm of parenting them through it all.

If you really want to see what you are a made of, taking care of three little girls will definitely teach you a thing or two!

Stray Cats

On the weekend I took Anna to the park by her request.  Everyone has been under the weather recently and she was getting quite stir crazy.  We went to the park to play, but Anna found a group of stray cats.  She spent over an hour following them around and watching them intently.  She would study and copy their movements and smile back at me. 

Then I thought about it a little deeper.  In America, I had cats and a dog and a backyard to play in.  Anna has never experienced raising a pet or spent a lot of time with animals.  It was a special time for her, something I take for granted having growing up in a different place, a different time.

Appreciation for life is an important lesson for children to learn.  The only way to learn it is to actually spend time with animals and experience the life in them.  These days, especially in Japan, it is getting harder to teach children about the value of life.  The outside world is filled with risk and even danger for children, but also discovery.  It was a blessing to watch my daughter discover and interact with the stray cats. 

Most of these cats were thrown away by their owners and live off of the generosity of those who come to feed them on occassion.  I wonder what she thinks about it all.  I could see her processing it, but not quite sure how to feel or express it in words.

Just another little story from raising children in Japan...

Please leave a comment :)

Anna`s Quest

Yesterday, my eldest daughter had an idea.  She was at preschool at the time.  She wanted to go around and record the names of all the girls in the school and write them down on a paper.  Recently she has been learning how to write, and is very excited about it.  She decided on her own that this would be her new project.

So she started her quest, to get all the names of the students and staff who were girls and then write them down.  She was diligent in searching out every girl she could find and asked each one their name.  She asked the teachers one by one until she was finally finished.  Then one of the teachers asked if she had asked the principal yet.  Anna reacted with surprise.  "The principal has a name!", she said.  She immediately went to ask the principal. The principal was delightlfully surprised and answered, "Teruko"  Anna never had heard that name before, so she reacted with a smile and astonishment, "Teruko!"  She then continued to go around the school telling everybody the principal`s name. And then wrote it down for everybody to see.  Her quest was finished and the story was so funny that the prinicipal told it to all the mothers while waiting for pick up time.

So when I came home guess what was the first thing Anna showed me?  Her list of names and she explained to me how much fun she had on her little quest.

Hope you enjoyed her story too.  If you did, please leave a comment :)



アンナの調査


アンナの幼稚園にお迎えに行くと、必ず園長先生（みんなにばあば先生と呼ばれてます）が
インフォメーションで今日の出来事やニュースなどを話してくれます。

昨日のインフォメーションで、ばあば先生が

”おもしろことが今日ありました。入学前に自分の名前を読めないと困ると思ってか、
おうちでひらがなの練習などをされているようですね。
ある年長の女の子が、女の子全員の名前を聞いて紙に書いて回ってました。
先生にも聞いて、事務のまり子先生にも聞きにいったら、ばあば先生にも聞いてごらんと
言って、私に名前を聞きに来たんですね。
てるこだよっていうと、その子はすごいびっくりしていました。
私のなまえはばあばだと思っていたんですね。それでみんなに戻ってばあば先生の名前は
てるこなんだよって言いに言ってました。
ばあばって思っていて微笑ましかったです。”


という話でした。


アンナを教室まで迎えに行くと、アンナがいつものように画用紙に何かを書いたのを
手渡します。

いつもは大体絵ですが、広げてみると、見事に女の子のお友達の名前がずらり。。。

もちろんそこには
てるこの名前も。。。。

今日のばあば先生の話はアンナのことを話されていたんだなと思いました。

アンナからばあば先生はてるこって言うんだよっていう報告ももちろんありました。

私はこの幼稚園の方針のように自由保育、幼児のうちはのびのびと方針なので
文字なんて教えたことはありません。
でもアンナは自分で興味をもって年長になってすぐ文字を覚えたのでした。