Tools of Gardening

Where are all the gardeners?

A Gardener

Here she is!

Another Spring, Another Year : Happy Blogoversary to Us!

Ethel was my first post last year. Click on the archives to read more about her. She is now eighteen years old. Here and There Japan is now one year old!

Unlike last year, Ethel did not brumate. She did not sleep through the winter. I guess it was just too warm this winter.

Today we noticed our wisteria is blooming for the first time in five years. That's a gift!

Thank you, regular and new readers, for visiting HTJ! There's so much more to show and tell, so come back.

Fifth Grade Math Textbooks

Little Brother used these math books in fifth grade last year. They are long, narrow books. There are 40 pages in each book. The book on the far right is the answer booklet.

Do you recognize the character on the front of the textbooks? He is called Astro Boy outside of Japan. He is called Atomu in Japan. The girl is Uran.

The first page of each book is a table of contents. Here are the first pages of math problems in each textbook. Click to enlarge.

There is a certificate of completion at the end of each book. They did a lot of math worksheets, too. They call them purinto. It's the English word "print" in Japanese pronounciation.

They studied fractions, decimals, and geometry, etc. in fifth grade.

Math Notebooks

Homework is done in a notebook like this one. Students have notebooks for each subject.

Fifth grade math homework is done in a notebook like this. It has paper with small squares. At our school, parents correct homework after it is finished. A circle is used to show that the answer is correct. See the little pawprint? Little Brother's teacher stamped it to show that she saw the work and recorded it in her book. There is no grade for homework. Just a check, or rather, a circle in the teacher's record book.

Here are examples of the work he did last year. Note the different ways the problems were written on the page.

See the red writing near the top? Papa wrote "mimashita, Chikamatsu". "I saw it, Chikamatsu."

Last Year's Fifth Grade Textbooks

Little Brother used these textbooks in fifth grade last year. They are all paperbacks. Some of these books were used in one semester and others were used in another semester. In other words, they didn't work from all of these books in one week! I guess we could say that some of the textbooks were divided into two or three paperbacks. So, they didn't have to haul heavy books back and forth every day. All public school students walk to school.

Click on the labels below to see the school bag and more school items. Or do a search of this blog.

A Question about Pen Pals

Hi, M.B. Thanks for your question and for your work for the animals of the world. I would suggest joining the online forum of Voices for Youth. It is a safe forum for children from around the world to speak to one another about issues. You can post information there to find others who have similar interests and concerns. It is hosted by UNICEF.

Best of Luck!

Fifth Grade Class Schedule

This is Little Brother's fifth grade class schedule from last fall. The kanji on the left at the top says ji kan wari hyou (schedule). It is one word, but I separated it to make it easier to pronounce. Check the link to see how to pronounce it. The grade (5) and the class (2) are written in the middle and then the semester September 1 - December 25. Underneath are the days of the week in kanji. Each day except Wednesday had six periods of study. They had two recesses and lunch every day, too.

Here are the things he studied in the fifth grade (I put them in order of first period, second period, etc.):

Monday-- homeroom, social studies, Japanese, research & presentation, calligraphy, and club.

Tuesday--math, Japanese, home economics for two periods, science, outdoor gym.

Wednesday--Japanese, music, social studies, math, research & presentation.

Thursday--social studies, Japanese, arts & crafts for two periods, math, ethics.

Friday--indoor gym, math, Japanese, science, music, research & presentation.

As you can see, they had different subjects every day. They studied Japanese every day, but at different times of the day. During that time, they learned new kanji, practiced them, and read stories. Little Brother takes his new sixth grade schedule to school with him every day. I'll try to post a picture of it at a later date.

Dr. Bestor's pronunciation chart

Flag Patrol & First Graders' Hats

I had flag patrol this morning. For the first two weeks of the new school year, all students at our elementary school meet in their neighborhood group. They walk to school together two by two as a group. The oldest student in the group is the leader. Mothers stand on corners along the way with flags like this one.

This hat was Little Brother's when he was in first grade. First graders wear yellow hats throughout their first year of elementary school. The style may be different in different areas of Tokyo and Japan. Yellow is easily seen on these gray, rainy April days.

Certificate for Clean Teeth

Elementary students have their teeth checked at school. Students line up in the gym to have their teeth examined by dentists. They get a sheet of paper that tells them they need to brush better, they need to make a dentist appointment, or they have perfectly okay teeth.

Little Brother got this certificate at his school a few years ago. The pink paper says, "Perfect Award, Congratulations!" Older kids just get a regular white sheet of paper with their results.

Flashcards

Little Brother was cleaning his room and found these multiplication flashcards. He got them in second grade, I think. They were part of a home study program called Challenge from a company named Bennesse.

Blank cards on rings are sold in stationery shops. Students can write what they want on them to drill themselves. I wonder if you have these in your country?

School Worm Check

In the first year of elementary, junior high, and high school, students have their hearts checked. Every year in elementary school, they have their teeth checked. Their urine is tested and they are checked for worms every year. Big Sister reminded me that these tests are not done in junior high and high school.

Little Brother brought this worm test home on Friday. He has to follow these directions two mornings in a row. The plastic strip has two sides that are used for each test day. He will put the strip in the little white envelop. His name and grade and class number are already printed on the other side. He will have to carry it to school on Tuesday. He told me, "Kids are never happy about this."

The Number 4

It was Friday the 13th. The number 4 is the unlucky number in Japan. There are two ways of saying 4, yon and shi . Shi also means "death". I have noticed that there is no parking space number 4 in some (most) parking lots. Hospitals don't have a number 4 doctor's office or patient's room. I have visited some hospitals where there is no number 4 on the elevator's panel. I wasn't able to get pictures of this. I'll try another time. Little Brother said his elementary school has a classroom number 4.

Sets of plates, bowls and cups are sold in fives not fours. Food items, too. Trays or boxes of five mochi or cakes are sold.

P.S. 4-17-07 I bought a tray of four fish at the grocery store. It was the first time I had seen four fish in a package!

School Pencils

These are the ends of Japanese pencils. Some have smooth painted ends. Some have bare ends that show the lead inside. There are no erasers on the ends of pencils here. I posted pictures of erasers last summer. Please do a blog search to find the post.

Some pencils have designs on them. The three pencils in the middle are used in a game. The "2H" and "2B" indicate the hardness of the lead. I think you use a #2 pencil in school in the U.S.

That is a permanent marker at the top. From third grade at our school, students have one in their desk box. Students also have red pencils to check their own work sometimes. Parents were supposed to check homework in Little Brother's class last year. And again this year.

Weeds?

Some of you may be interested in weeds. You'll have to click to enlarge the pictures. You may recognize the one in the picture above. It will have tiny purple flowers. A milky white goo will get all of your hands if you pick it.

Note the cherry blossom petal on the left. It blew into our garden from the park down the street.

Another weed. See our hose?

I don't know any of the names of these weeds in English or Japanese. But I think this one is called crab grass. I have a lot of weeding to do!

Clothespins For School

Little Brother took two of these to hang his zokin on the front railing on his desk at school. He hangs them there to dry after he uses them to wash the floor or desks.

Click on the labels below to see zokin and more school items.

More Fields of Blooms

The white blooms are daikon plants that were left in the ground. They went to seed and bloomed. The yellow blooms are very common here. I'll have to look those up to find their name.

The Broccoli is Blooming, Too!

 

These plants were here all winter. The farmer didn't harvest the broccoli. Now, they are blooming. The broccoli is blooming!

Have you ever seen broccoli growing in a field? I had never seen it before I came to Tokyo. We live in one of the biggest cities in the world, and we can see broccoli growing in fields on our way to the train station!

School Bags at TOYS "R" US

There are probably only two TOYS "R" US stores in Japan. The one near us sells randoseru, public elementary school bags. Black for boys and red for girls is the tradition, but in recent years other colors have appeared in stores. This is the display at TOYS "R" US.

Note the prices. These bags are expensive everywhere in Japan. These prices are average or even lower than prices at other stores. Can you figure out the prices in your country's currency? In recent years, the bags are lighter in weight.

Here is a stand made for the randoseru. It's the first time I have seen one of these. It's a good idea! That is, if you have room for it in the house! (Some kids don't have their own room. The four of us used to live in only one room.)

To see Little Brother's randoseru, do a blog search. For some reason, the labels below don't bring up that picture.

Cherry Blossom Ice Cream

We had soft cream when we went to Jindai Botanical Garden the other day. There was only one sakura (cherry blossom) soft cream left. We all took a taste. The one on the right was the sakura soft cream. It had a light taste. It didn't taste like cherries. Cherry blossoms have a different flavor. The one on the left was strawberry.