We are going to be studying Japan next year as part of a larger study of Asia. Here are some things I have collected:

The Japanese do not call their country Japan. It is Nippon, which means "the source of the sun."

• My favorite site for maps and geographical info is WorldAtlas.com 
• TravelForKids also has some great info on "where to go" as well as recommended literature books to read to your little ones.
• TimeForKids is another neat site with info on daily life, native lingo, and lots more.
• Here's a site with lots of historical and cultural info .
•  Here's another site with culture and arts info. 
• And this is another great site.
• Here's a page called Japan Thru Young Eyes.
• This page lists Japanese seasonal customs.
• Here is a whole booklet of info on Japan put out by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
• The Evangelical Luthren Church In America has a Global Mission site that has some basic info on Japan along with recipes, photos, and a couple of craft ideas.
• My favorite world recipe site didn't list anything for Japan. However, a Google search for "Japanese recipes" is sure to turn up something. In the mean time, you might want to try this "kid friendly" version of Sushi.  Eat it with chopsticks.
• Make Kanten~ to make this special treat for Japanese children you need: 6 oz. can frozen fruit juice, 4 envelopes unflavored gelatine (Knox), 1 cup cold water, 6 0z. package orange Jello, 1 cup sugar, 4 cups boiling water

1. Soften unflavored gelatine in cold water. Add frozen juice.
2. Dissolve sugar and orange Jello in boiling water, then add juice mixture. Mix well
3. Place in a 13"X9" pan and refrigerate. After hardened, cut into blocks and serve. (We used to make these in other flavers too. We called them "Knox Blox.")

• The Utah division of Agriculture In the Classroom has put out this activity sheet called Foods of Japan, no recipes but a lot of great learning.
• Did you ever wonder how Japanese children celebrate their birthdays? Well, you can find out here at the Children's Museum.
• What does Japanese paper money look like? Take a look at some here.
• What do traditional Japanese clothing look like? Find the answer here. And make your own Geta (shoes) using these directions.
• Or you can print off these paper dolls from MakingFriends, and dress them in their tradtional outfits.
• Here you can listen to some Japanese childrens' songs.
• Try to write a haiku poem. The haiku is a short, non-rhyming poem that suggests a mood or a picture, often a season. It contains 17 syllables and usually 3 lines.

1. First line- setting of the poem (5 syllables)
2. Second line- action of the poem (7 syllables)
3. Third line- conclusion of the poem (5 syllables) 

• And here you can listen to some Japanese words and phrases.
• Here's a site where you can learn some more Japanese, watch a YouTube movie that teaches you to count in Japanese, and other cool stuff.
• Here is a play script for Yuuki and the Tsunami, based on a Japanese folk tale. 
• And here is a 4-H file called Games Around The World which lists several games played by children in Japan.
• Play Janken, a Japanese version of "Paper, Rock, Scissors".

  First, choose a "changer," who is the player who sets the challenge for the rest. You use your hand to represent stone, paper, scissors. Stone is a closed fist. Scissors is two fingers extended. Paper is the hand held flat with the palm turned up. The changer stands in front of the group with his hand as a fist and moves it up and down three times from the elbow saying, "Jan, ken, pon." At the last "Jan, ken, pon," the changer quickly makes either stone, paper, or scissors.

  If he makes stone, the other players must make paper because paper covers stone. Similarly, scissors cut paper and stone sharpens scissors. The person who twice makes the correct sign the quickest becomes the next changer.

• Hands On Crafts For Kids is a great place to find project ideas. Here are five I found to go along with Japan: An Origami Mountain Scene, Japna Eraser Prints, Japanese Wall Hanging, Tanabata Lantern, and Paper Bonsai.
• Japanese gardens are designed to inspire a feeling of beauty and simplicity. You can learn about Japanese Gardens here. The create a "bonkei"- a miniature garden on a tray. Start with a shallow dish filled with dirt or sand. Then arrange in it a combination of plants, flowers, moss, rocks, pebbles, and maybe a small mirror to give the effect of a pond. Try to keep your arrangement uncluttered.
• Zoom also has some nice crafts. Like this Koinobori (a fish shaped flag).
• Activity Village also has some neat craft ideas.
• This site has some additional activities.
• And if you visit the website of the Utah museum of Fine Arts, you'll find this Samurai Armor Lesson Plan, including directions to fold a paper Samurai helmet.
• Speaking of paper folding, you might want to read Sadoku and the 1000 Paper Cranes. It tells the story of a little girl who develops cancer as a result of the fallout from the bombing of Hirosima. Here are instructions so you can fold your own paper crane. Cranes are a Japanese symbol of eternal life.
• Gander Academy is a great source of info on many subjects. Check out their origami page here.
• Origami is also a great way to add math to your study.
• Canon has a some more advanced paper craft ideas that older kids  could use with a study of Japan.
• This calligraphy book would be a nice project for any age and would make a nice addition to a lapbook.
• Here are some water color pictures of old Japanese businesses that might also be nice to include in a notebook or lapbook.
• There is an old saying about Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest mountain: "One who does not climb it once is a fool. One who climbs it more than once is a bigger fool." There are lots of mountains in Japan. Find out about the volcanic ones here.
• Here are some sample pages from an Ancient Japan Thematic Unit by teacher Created Resources.
• ABCTeach has a number of printables for Japan.
• If you do notebooking, you might want to consider purchasing these Ancient China, Japan & India History Notebooking Pages from the HomeschoolEstore. They are $3.50 and are available for immidiate download. Print as many copies as you need.
• And while you're there, you may want to take a look at this craft book: Exploring Cultures Through Art: China and Japan or at this Japan Country Unit Study.
  

If this isn't enough to keep you busy, I have a couple of projects in the files section of my Yahoo Group.

This article was written by my mom as a script for demonstrations when she was working at a living history park. I have added some projects so it can be used as a unit study. Let me know if you have any book recommendations that would be good to use with this.

Vocabulary:

wick

saltpeter

tow

hemp

pith

mold

render

tallow

paraffin

bayberry wax

spermaceti

     For over 2000 years, candles were man's chief source of light. Originally they were simply made of fat wrapped in a husk of moss or leaves. The fat was lit and burned with a puggent and smokey flame. Still other early lights were made of the oils of seeds and nuts and placed in a crude container such as a ground out stone. Wicks were sometimes contrived of plants fibers such as spun milkweed, loosely woven hemp, tow or cotton which were soaked in limewater, saltpeter, or vinegar to make them burn brighter and longer. Common rushes were sometimes stripped of their outer bark to leave the pith bare and used as a wick. Even pipe cleaners were used because the metal made the candle burn brighter. Today's wicks are much the same; still being contrived of cotton which is braided or woven and sometimes with a thin metal wire running through the center.

     Candles are formed in two basic ways: by dipping or by molding. Dipped candles were made by repeatedly "dipping" the wick into the melted fat or wax until it was the desired thickness. The candle had to be dipped rapidly, because if it was held in the heated pot too long, it would melt and the dipping would have to be done again. Usually, long wicks were hung over a dowel with both ends dangling down so that two candles would be formed on each end. Wicks were hung along the length of the dowel allowing many candles to be dipped at the same time. Inccidentally, this "candle stick" is what Jack jumped over in the famous nursery rhyme. In between each dip, the candles were cooled by hanging from the dowel or by being dipped in cool water.

PROJECT:MAKE A DIPPED CANDLE

Materials:

     Begin by cutting up your wax in small pieces so it will melt quicker and place it in one of the coffee cans. Fill the other can with cool water. Cut a length of wick 2 times the desired height of the candles plus 4 inches. Tie a metal washer to each end of the wick as weights. Cut a 2 inch piece of cardboard and make a 1/2 in cut on 2 opposite sides. Centering your wick, insert the wick into the niches so that the hanging lengths are equal.

     Put the the coffee can of wax into in the large pan and pour water into the pan, leaving enough room for the water to come to a gentle boil. Place the pan on the stove over medium heat. Don't use high heat and never place the can of wax directly on the heat source as it may cause the wax to catch on fire! Melt enough wax in the pot to accommodate the length of your candle, plus 3 or 4 inches. Stir the wax until it is completely melted and it reaches a temperature of 155 F if you are using paraffin or 165F if you are using beeswax. (Test the temperature by placing the thermometer in the center of the melted liquid).

     Turn the heat down, but keep the water warm enough to keep the wax at a steady temperature: too cool and your candles will be lumpy, too hot and they will melt off the wick while dipping. Stir frequently. The wax at the bottom will be hotter.

     Dip the wick ends into the wax to about 1 inch of the top and hold it there until you don't see any more bubbles escaping. Use a smooth motion and lift the wick straight up out of the wax. Make sure that the wet candles don't touch each other. Dip candles in the cooling can (make sure to let all the water run off before redipping) or hold them above the hot wax to cool before dipping again. Don't let your candle get too cool between dips or the layers will not stick to one another. After cooling the first dip, pull the wicks straight. Dip again to the same level and pull it out slowly but steadily. Don't leave the candles in the hot wax too long or the previous dip will melt off. Allow it to cool again. Dip as before and you should begin to see the wax building up. If it's not, then the dipping wax may be too hot. Try letting it cool down a few degrees before redipping.

      Keep dipping and cooling until the candles reach 1/4 inch in diameter at the thickest end. Then cut off the bottom of the candles evenly, taking off the weights.

     Keep dipping until the taper is the size you want. It will take about 30-40 dips to make a candle 1 inch in diameter. If lumps occur, roll warm candles on a smooth surface.

     Increase the temperature until it reaches 182 F. Dip the pair into the wax one more time for a few seconds. Lift out and let them cool. Use a sharp, heated knife to trim the bottoms to remove excess wax and to create a flat bottom for you candles. Hang candles to cool completely. Trim the wicks to 1/4 inch.

     When a candle was molded, the wick was strung through the center of the mold and held through the end hole by a knot or a piece of potato. The piece of potato was cut and pushed onto the end of the mold to provide a seal over the hole. The hot material was poured into the mold and was allowed to cool. The mold was then dipped quickly into hot water, the candles removed, and the wicks trimmed. Most candles sold in the stores today are molded candles. They are appreciate not only for their light, but also for the beauty and atmosphere they provide. Candlemaking has become a fine craft and hobby for many people.

     The traditional time for candlemaking was in the autumn. It was then that the sheep or cows were slaughtered and the fat rendered out for soap or candlemaking. Hours were spent boiling down the tallow. Because of the heat and the smell, it was an outside chore. The candles created were not very nice. Tallow candles were prone to buckle in warm weather, burned rapidly, and gave off smoke and unpleasant fumes. Bayberry and beeswax were sometimes used, but were so expensive that the candles made from them were only used by the wealthy or on special occasions. Spermaceti was another material used in candlemaking. It wasn't until the 1850's, when paraffin was discovered that the average family was able to afford bright, steady and smokeless illumination.

PROJECT:RENDER SOME TALLOW

Construction Unit Study

The Architectural Alphabet coloring book 

Architecture links

Struts 'n Stuff Lesson

List of Construction Lessons

Construction Work Art Activities

Redecorate A Garage CyberQuest (great math lesson!)

Houses and Homes Through History

How House Construction Works

How To Read Blueprints

Triangle Constructions Experiment

Building Song (music & excercize)