A chronological log of all posts to this site. In the Navy, there is usually a sailor that is tasked with maintaining a chronological log (chrono-log) of all significant events! Just indulging in a little nostalgia 🙂
Amazingly delicious Japanese Hoshigaki, persimmon ‘fruit of the gods’!
Jan 8, 2024: We tried a new thing this year! Making hoshigaki- dried Japanese persimmon in the old style! An amazing journey through Japanese tradition!
Saving money DOES NOT EQUAL Adding value!
Nov 20, 2023: It is truly astonishing how much time and anxiety we spend on the pursuit of ‘saving money’. Retrain your focus on ‘adding value’!
Amber Museum in Iwate: home of Japan’s amber heart!
April 19, 2023: A field trip to the amber museum in Kuji Iwate Japan is the perfect day trip for a young family with just enough to keep you busy for the perfect amount of time!
Homeschool vouchers: a trojan horse, but I still support
April 15, 2023: Accepting Homeschool Voucher money has its risk, but it might also be the best way to preserve our way of education in perpetuity!
Koiwai Farm Field Trip – with some advice for large families!
April 1, 2023: A homeschool farm field trip to Koiwai Farm in Northern Japan is perfect context for demonstrating some hard-won lessons in planning!
Mid-life with no real skills? Teach what you lack!
March 28, 2023: Somewhere between childhood and the responsibilities of adulthood, we often find we have developed no real skills outside our careers.
Self-Reliance: an arrogant sin, or a lost art?
March 23, 2023:We teach our children skills to be self-reliant. But shouldn’t we be teaching them these skills to make them better at helping others?
The philosophy of ants. And a free vocabulary worksheet for kindergartners!
March 19, 2023: Carpenter ants do incredible damage if left unchecked. But they also show, by their example, a stoic philosophy of teamwork and determination!
Danshari and Christian minimalism: strong medicine for the chaos of a large family!
March 16, 2023: Navigating the chaos of a large family is learning how to ride the waves of chaos! Danshari and Christian minimalism are powerful tools for taming the storm!
Japanese Carpenter Ants: The creepy-crawly friends beneath your bath!
March 13, 2023: Old Japanese kominka have some natural enemies! Including carpenter ants and termites. Found a huge colony under…the bathtub!
A Japanese timber-frame kominka renovation: Surprises behind the walls
March 8, 2023: Taking our first real look at the timber-frame structure behind the walls of our Japanese kominka! Recycled timbers and Japanese builder’s marks!
Choosing vocabulary words: Don’t guess! but…. yes its a guess!
March 4, 2023: Choosing vocabulary words appropriate for your children is more art than science. But there are some general principles and guidelines that can help!
A place beyond decision: difficult decisions are not accidents
March 2, 2023: “Thoughts become habits, habits become character, character becomes destiny, and destiny is a hard chain to break. Difficult decisions are not accidents.
Objectives: Don’t forget the reason for teaching this lesson!
February 28, 2023: Our next step in building an effective and usable lesson plan is to look at our actual objectives: what are trying to accomplish?
Lesson Planning: Why? – How to design a lesson plan that actually works!
February 24, 2023: Let me convince you to engage in deliberate and systematic lesson planning. Professional lesson planning will refocus your educational goals!
Free Lesson Plan! The Science of Snow
February 21, 2023: Join me as we develop a ‘Science of Snow’ lesson plan for our second-grade homeschoolers using Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy!
The best homeschooling base in Japan is an Akiya!
February 16, 2023: Akiya – vacant Japanese house. A perfect place to start building a country living base for homeschooling a large family!
Field trip: Admiral Togo’s flagship, Mikasa – memories of the past
February 13, 2023: A field trip to the Battleship Mikasa in Yokosuka Japan. A fascinating history and some thoughts in conducting an effective, educational field trip!
A learner-centered homeschool is easier than you think!
February 4, 2023: Creating a learner-centered homeschool environment isn’t all the difficult, but it does require deliberate thought and intentional design.
Homeschool educators start as amateurs – not good enough
January 31, 2023: Homeschool educators must seek out continuing education to move from ‘amateur’ to ‘professional. Know where you are, seek to get better.
