Fall

Tokyo has the same seasons as where we are from the US...fall, winter, spring and summer. However, it stays warmer a bit longer than what we are used to. We have been enjoying loads of time outside at parks. If you remember, I started homeschooling Miss M for pre-K this year. In just my short stint of homeschooling for a mere 3 months so far, I have learned at this young age she still needs lots of play. I was trying to force things, push her, and it was not fun for any of us. So, I have changed my tune a bit. The program I am using is reading based. Along with the stories it provides some fun activities for the kids to do. Each week we are reading the stories, but just doing it at different times - over breakfast or lunch, before bedtime, or when she complains of being "bored." If I know an activity will really interest her, then I make sure to do it, but if not, we skip it and simply enjoy the books together. Three times a week she sits for a hour with her Japanese teacher so she gets school in that sense. I am also trying 3 days a week to do a reading lesson, handwriting lesson, and math lesson. I am trying not to stress too much. If we have a busy week or I see she is tired, I will use discernment. But my goal is to get these things in during the week. I see that she still just needs lots of play - fun outdoors, playing chutes and ladders, playing ponies or with our dolls. It is hard for me as I am very disciplined by nature so not doing something more "structured" has been difficult for my personality. But I know in due time the structure will come and I will regret if I pushed it too soon. All of this to say, we are playing more and these pictures show our play and fun we have on a daily basis.