Rainbow Origami Slinky!

I’ve made a lot of things out of origami in my lifetime, but I have never made something as fun as this! I was inspired by Kozue (of Kozue’s Show and Tell) to make a slinky out of origami paper (折り紙スリンキー). You guys, it is seriously so cool!

The instructions for this slinky are pretty simple (video at the end of this post). BUT you have to fold 50+ pieces of paper so it takes quite a bit of patience. It took me about 2 hours to complete my slinky (while watching a movie with the kids), and mine used 64 pieces of origami. My 5-year old daughter attempted to help me, but she did not have the patience to make more than one ;). This would be a great little project for a child in elementary school, or really, anyone for the matter. It would be the perfect activity for an airplane flight, or a great cure for summer boredom.

One piece of advice I have is to tape all the pieces together as you go (using just a little bit of tape). If you’re going to put a lot of effort into something, you don’t want it to fall apart right away! My kids have been playing a little rough with this slinky so I am very glad I reinforced it with tape.

Another thing: I actually didn’t use “real” origami paper. I used paper from a Memo Cube (mine is from Staples)! If you go this route, make sure the paper you get is not sticky on the backside. My daughter’s favorite color is “rainbow”, so she was thrilled with this slinky!

Sorry I went a bit overboard with the number of photos in this post… I had too much fun taking the pictures!

Here is the how-to video by the creator of the origami slinky, Jo Nakashima!

What is the coolest thing you have ever made with origami?

P.S. “Slinky” in Japanese is “Slinky/スリンキー” or “Rainbow Spring/レインボースプリング”. 

Japanese Hand Washing Videos てあらい

Those of you with kids… you know that hand-washing (てあらい) is a huge part of daily life! Not only are you needing to wash your hands after helping a child use the bathroom, making food multiple times a day, every time you wipe a snotty nose… but constantly reminding your children to wash. We don’t want germs and sickness ruining our fun! I probably wash my hands a few dozen times a day! After all this washing, I know we sometimes get lazy about it and not spend enough time scrubbing. These fun Japanese videos about handwashing will surely inspire us to spend a little more time washing our hands! :)

Video by ACUVUE(R):

Video by UNICEF Japan:

Video by Biore:

Video by LION:

Click on the links to learn more about handwashing (in Japanese).

Ashida Mana-chan

Ashida Mana-ちゃん is the sweetest, cutest 8-year old girl. She has starred in TV shows, movies, and music videos in Japan. Little girls love her, including my daughter. Learning the lyrics to her songs might be one way to build Japanese fluency :).

Here’s some of our favorite songs:

And of course, the most famous “Maru Maru Mori Mori” song (click to view). Do your kids listen to any Japanese singers? Who do you recommend?

こんなことできません

We were inspired by a segment of Pitagora Switch/ピタゴラスイッチ (Japanese children’s TV show) called “こんなことできません” (translation: “You can’t do this”). Basically, you think of something that humans normally wouldn’t be able to do, and use stop-motion video to make the impossible happen! Our camerawork isn’t great but my 5-year old daughter and I had fun making it. You can see other examples on the show’s website. If you make your own video, please share with us!

Here are some videos made by other YouTube users:

Pitagora (Pythagoras) Switch for Adults

It’s almost spring! Spring in Japan means Hinamatsuri (Girls Day), Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day), cherry blossoms, graduations, beginning new classes, etc. It is a wonderful time of year.

Our family has been very busy lately with new jobs, birthdays to celebrate, etc., so I am sorry for the sparseness of new posts. Hopefully I will find the time (and motivation) to blog again soon. In the meanwhile, enjoy this YouTube video from “Pitagora Switch for Adults (大人のピタゴラスイッチ)”, that can also be enjoyed by children. You can also follow me on Pinterest! Have a wonderful weekend :).

ゆめがあるなら: Animated Picture Books and Songs

Our current favorite Japanese YouTube Channel is “動く絵本・童話童謡のゆめあるチャンネル“. (Translation: Animated Picture Books/Children’s Songs Full of Dreams Channel). There are dozens of wonderful and classic Japanese songs and stories made into quality animated videos. Check it out! Those of you with young toddlers or preschool-age children will especially love it! :) You may also want to check out their website, and free iPad/iPhone app.

 

Here are some videos by Yumegaarunara (some videos are in English):

PS Valentine’s Day is in 2 days! You can read my past posts about Japan-inspired Valentine’s Day activities HERE.

PuniPuniJapan Website

I just happened upon this website, Puni Puni Japan, awhile ago. It is not super-useful to me (because I’m pretty fluent) but I thought some of you beginners might enjoy it! There are short videos that teach Japanese phrases, vocabulary, and grammar. There is also a free printable kana workbook you can download.  Here is an example video:

Fun Kids Show: シャキーン！

This morning we spent our TV time watching a Japanese show called “シャキーン！(Shakiin)” via YouTube. It is a 7am show designed for elementary-aged children to help wake their brains up in the morning. It has been entertaining and educational for me as well. Here’s the description of the show by NHK:

子どもたちを “シャキーン！”と目覚めさせて、楽しい一日のスタートを切ってもらう知的エンターテインメント番組。「いつもとは違うモノの見方」や「柔軟な発想力」が 楽しみながら身につきます。舞台は、雲の上まで突き出した木の上にある謎の秘密基地。愉快な仲間、ジュモクさん、あゆちゃん、ナオト、ネコッパチが、学校で友だちと話題にしたくなるようなトピックを次々と紹介します。クイズにアニメにエクササイズ、即興ゲームや思わず考えさせられてしまう歌など、子どもたちの五感や記憶力・観察力・表現力を育むコンテンツが盛りだくさん。朝から「ハッ！」としたり、「へえ」とうなるバラエティに富んだコーナーで、「体の目覚め」と「心の目覚め」を促します。

(Can’t read Japanese? Try using Google Translate)

You can watch a few Shakiin episodes below:

Setsubun 2013

There’s only one week left until Setsubun(せつぶん/節分)! Do you have your supplies ready to celebrate this fun Japanese holiday with your children? (Unfamilar with Setsubun? You can read about it HERE, and see my past posts about it HERE, HERE, and HERE). Setsubun is next Sunday, February 3rd.

Here’s my suggestions for how to celebrate Setsubun:

1) MAME-MAKI (Bean-Throwing)

Materials Needed:

- dried beans (traditionally roasted soy beans, but you can also use peanuts, marshmallows, candy, etc).

- A box to hold your beans (you can make one out of origami HERE )

- Oni Mask (make your own or print one out, see my past posts)

How:

- Designate one person to wear the oni mask.

- Everyone else throws beans at the oni, saying “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!”

- Everyone eats their age+1 in beans, for good luck.

Here’s our little family last year:

2) Eat Ehou-Maki

Materials needed:

- Ingredients to make a sushi roll (rice, sheets of nori, filling such as smoked salmon)

Just Bento has a great Ehou-maki recipe HERE.

How:

- Facing the lucky direction of the year (in 2013 it is south-south-east), eat your entire ehoumaki (futomaki) in complete silence.

3) Other Activities:

- Fold an Oni and Fuku out  of origami. Below is a great tutorial by Daily Origami. If it looks too advanced, click HERE for other options).

Read more about Setsubun (in Japanese) HERE.

Today we worked on making homemade oni masks. Tutorial coming soon!

Adorable Nontan Videos

Here are some more Nontan videos for your little ones!! We all love げんきげんきノンタン at our house :)