Back into the Groove

Well, the summer vacation has ended, and the boys are back into the swing of their daily schedule.

Each weekday starts at 6am (ideally) 6:15 (most days) or 6:30 (on those really sluggish days). Breakfast in a rush, then a last minute run-around for all the bits and pieces needed for school. It doesn't matter how much we prepare the night before, it seems we've always got a frantic morning. Out the door at 6:50 (again, ideally) or at the latest 7:00 (followed by Mom's voice yelling "RUN"!).

School starts at 8. These days they arrive after their 3km walk, a sweaty mess. Taiga sometimes has to change into his gym strip for the day, and hangs his clothes out to dry. Yuck! The end of the school day depends on the grade and the day of the week. Very annoying to have to look at the schedule every day to know what time the kids will be coming home! Taiga is usually done at 3, but Kai's grade goes until 4 most days.

Then the real fun begins. Keeping track of the days of the week is essential for us!

Mondays: twice a month advanced English lessons for bilingual kids from 7-8:30, 30 minute drive away
Tuesdays: shorinji kempo from 6-8, 40 minute drive away
Wednesdays: kendo from 7-8:30, 5 minutes drive away
Thursdays: swimming lessons, 4-5 for Taiga, 5-6 for kai, 10 minutes drive away; then aikido from 7-9 (last hour is just me), 20 minutes drive away
Fridays: English lesson for Kai and friend, 4:30-5:30; shorinji kempo (same as Tuesday)
Saturdays: English classes all day for me (Taiga joins 1st grade class 3:45-4:45); calligraphy class 5-6 (5 minute drive away); kendo from 6:30-8:30, 5 minutes away
Sundays: 9:30-10:45 gymnastics class, 60 minutes drive away; aikido class 4:00-6:00 (again last hour just me)

....

Whew!

We do miss a lot of Aikido classes, but otherwise pretty much follow the schedule. Too much? I'm sure many think so. The boys don't, so I guess that's what matters. There are never any battles about going. They love all of them, and would have a hard time deciding if I asked them to choose one to quit. Luckily for me, they both enjoy all the same activities. I'd be in trouble if they decided that they they wanted to do different activities from each other!! Do I mind all the taxiing? Not really. I LOVE my little car, and I sure get a lot of good use out of it. I'd feel differently if they were into sports that I have no interest in, but I enjoy watching all of their activities.

Even as I type, I'm sitting in the pool lobby, watching Kai. He's learning the butterfly. I've never learned it, and never could figure out the movement of it. He's like a fish, that kid. He swims well enough to stop taking lessons, as far as I'm concerned, but he love them. Taiga is just getting started on the crawl. We'll see how far he goes with it.

Somewhere in there, I'll be going back to work soon too. I love the university schedule, that gives me an extra 2 weeks at the end of summer to enjoy some time off without the kids home. My Fall schedule is busier than the Spring - 4 days a week at my main school, one afternoon a week at the Agricultural College, and 2 mornings a month at the preschool. Then the Saturday classes all day at my 'home' school...

Such are our days.

Summer School

Every summer, we spend 2 weeks in Kobe, attending the Kobe Bilingual School's Summer School program. For 2 weeks we stay with the school's owner and her family, and go to school every day. I help teach, and Kai and Taiga join the program. It's a wonderful and fun experience, where the kids study and learn in English rather than actually studying English.

This year's theme is Africa. We're learning about some of the countries in Africa, the animals and the habitats, and learning some African games and songs. Kai is at the main school (where I am) and Taiga is with the younger kids at the satellite classroom. Everyone is having a wonderful time, and nobody speaks any Japanese at all, all day!!

This is the Rainforest Relay Race we did in the park! Balancing (?) boxes on our heads, we ran the obstacles, picking up all the lost African animals along the way.

Dancing the “Waka Waka” song!

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Our very first kendo tournament

The boys took part in their first kendo tournament last weekend. It was a practice tournament, to show all the newcomers (like us) how to do it. It was good fun. Taiga was a bit overwhelmed by it all and had a breakdown after his first match - overdose of adrenalin, I think. He bounced back though, and was great for the rest of the day. (Taiga is the one wearing dark blue on top and bottom)



Kai was a star, and although he didn't score any points, he looked good and often kept his opponents at bay. You can tell that this is his first tournament, and that he doesn't really know how to get a scoring hit in - it doesn't show that he's only been doing kendo for 3 months though! (says proud mom!) By the way, Kai is the dark one. The opponent in white is a girl, I think. In the primary years, the teams are co-ed. From junior high, I think they separate the girls from the boys.

Kai learning kendo

just testing a video link here...

Aiki kids

Kai has been attending aikido classes for a few months now (off and on), and is getting quite confident. The Sensei is quite impressed with how quickly he picks up the techniques. In this video, he's working on 'irimi-nage', where you step in behind your attacker, use their own momentum to swing them around, and then effectively clothesline them. We of course practice it in a very slow mild form.

Taiga has recently decided to join us, and you can see him in the background working on his falling technique. In aikido, you have to learn how to fall before you can start to learn anything else.

Now we just have to work on getting Daddy into the dojo!

Family Vacation

We had our first annual family vacation this year! 3 generations, from Jiichan & Baachan, down to 5 grandchildren! It was a great trip, but only 2 days. Lots of great memories though. Have a look!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Look out kids, Mommy's on a roll!!

That's right! For the first time in 15 years, Mommy is rolling around on the aikido mats again! A small aikido dojo opened up in nearby Naruto, and I've finally got myself over there to (somewhat sporatically) practice again.

It's amazing how one's body remembers the important stuff, like how to roll, turn, and fall. As for the rest, I'm a ground level beginner. The techniques I once knew so well are now a vague blur, and only the names sound familiar. True to the form of aikido, the practitioners are all wonderful people, and are very welcoming and helpful. I myself am struggling with the memories of having done it all hard and fast, versus the reality of my 37 year old overweight out-of-shape body now.

Kai has decided to join me, and enjoys the kids' sessions. Sensei is impressed with Kai's progress, as am I. I'm (very) slowly starting to recall my basic movements, and can usually get through the class without too many embarrassing blunders. It sure feels good to be back though!