We learned about Japan and celebrated Girls’ Day today by making mochi. We started right away so that it would have enough time to cool. Mochi (our baked version) is made with sweet rice flour called mochiko. When it’s done it is sweet and sticky.
After getting the mochi in the oven we found Japan on the globe. I showed them that it was an island like Hawai’i, but it’s very far away.
I wanted the chicks to hear what the Japanese language sounded like, so I found a Japanese children’s storybook called Turtle’s Flute on Youtube. I really liked it because it had Japanese subtitles, so the chicks could also see how the writing was different. I only planned on showing them a minute of it, but they really liked it.
Then they watched a read along book called Suki’s Kimono on a story book website called Tumblebooks.
I really wanted to do some kind of origami, but I knew it would be a little difficult for 2 and 3 year olds. Then I found a tip from someone who said to pre-fold the paper. Genius! I found a cute simple box that they could make to hold their mochi. Even with the pre-folding, they still needed a little help. They learned words like kimono (Japanese dress), obachan (grandma), and geta (wooden clog).
Lunch was somen noodles and spam with chopsticks. Not a hit with the chicks. I need to stop trying to be creative with the lunches. Pizza always works.
That was our day. If you’re wondering what happened to the mochi, it didn’t come out. I’ve made it dozens of times, and this was the first time it didn’t work. I was really bummed. I blame the off brand mochiko I bought when my regular brand wasn’t available. Koda Farms, Blue Star mochiko has never failed me.
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