School Days

Not all of our days are spent shopping and exploring....sometimes we have to stay in the apartment and do some schoolwork.  On days when it is raining or too cold to be outside all day, we will work on school all day long.  When it's nice outside or we need just need to get outside to get some fresh air, we will go exploring and not do any schoolwork at all. 

Homeschooling this way feels really haphazard, but somehow we are still managing to stay about a week ahead of the kids' classes back in the states.  (The teachers are continuing to keep me on their weekly newsletters email list so that I can keep my kids up!)

 

 Utilities in Japan are very costly--it's normal to have a monthly electric bill of U.S. $1000-1500.  We don't want to pay that, obviously, so we are keeping our heater turned down.  Average daily temperatures are in the 50s, so its not like it's freezing outside.  We have our heater set between 55-60 degrees in the day and turn it off at night.  We just received our first electric bill and it's around U.S. $500, so we are feeling pretty good about that.
Because it's a little chilly in the house, we usually hold school time in Mom and Dad's bedroom, where there is a huge patio window.  The sun streams in and it's a nice, warm place to be.  The kids will sometimes bring in their sleeping bags and cuddle up in them while doing their schoolwork.
I had to laugh during a school day when Audra got the Battleship game and set it up as her laptop computer.  She wanted to be like the other kids and do her homework!

Notice the clothes drying rack in the background.  Again, in the need to conserve on our utility bills, we are trying to air dry our laundry.  Got an idea as to how much laundry a family of nine creates???  We do one or two loads a day, and constantly have laundry drying on this rack in Mom and Dad's room.  When it is warmer outside, this rack is out on the patio and we will have laundry hanging on the balcony railing as well.  This was a colder day, so the laundry was inside. 

The kids are keeping a journal with writing prompts that I give them as part of their schoolwork.  For one of their writing prompts, I had them write down some of the things that have surprised them so far in regards to Japan.  Here are their responses:

Caitlin:  One thing that surprised me about Tokyo is how much I hate homeschooling. 
Tayla:  Something that has surprised me about Japan is some of the food the Japanese eat.  I think the tiny fish they eat are gross.  I also think the snails and sea cucumbers, and how they eat chicken raw is gross.  I also think the dried squid and fish are gross. 
Things are really expensive too.  I didn't know that it was going to be so expensive. 
Christopher:  One thing that has surprised me is our church is a hotel.  It surprised me because our church at home isn't a hotel.  Another thing that surprised me is the elevator in the church.  We also have 5 floors!  Also, we had a vending machine in the basement [of the church].  I am sometimes getting lost in the church.
Logan:  Something that has surprised me so far is the streets because they're so narrow.
Nathan:  Something that surprised me about Japan is the Calpis lemon drink.  I like it because it is hot and I can ask Dad to get some when it is cold.  It was surprising that it was a hot drink out of a vending machine.  Another thing that surprised me was the toilets that spray you. 

We all really enjoy the hot Calpis lemon drinks from vending machines when it's a little cold outside.  Every time we pass a vending machine, the kids will all start chanting, "Cal-pis!  Cal-pis!"  They love the drink, but they love the name just as much.  It doesn't sound good when you say it, but they aren't really saying anything bad.  Darn kids.  We have only had the hot lemon drink and cold peach juice from Calpis, and both are really yummy!  When Raymond tried the peach juice for the first time, he took a drink, and then said, "I just went to heaven."  That about sums it up.