Robots and robotics are the craze these days. Here is a unit study where your child can feed his/her obsession with these intelligent machines and check the reading and writing box of academics. 

This free robot unit study includes worksheets, book report, writing prompts, vocabulary, an acrostic poem, notebooking pages, book list, video links, rand a fun robot junk art project.

What are Notebooking pages?
Notebooking pages are a fancy way of taking notes and allow you to study about any topic. They give you the flexibility to use any book, yet they give your student some structure, guidelines and spaces to write facts or draw pictures about what they learned or found interesting. In this download you will find robot-themed notebooking pages that have lines for writing and blank areas for drawing pictures (or writing). You can use these pages however you wish.
Click here to view and print this free robot download.

These little engineers build intricate dome-shaped homes and dams. They are the second largest rodent in the world and they enjoy eating a variety of wood and water lilies. In this download you can learn about these amazing water creatures with a Beaver Unit Study! Includes a book list, video links, worksheets and crafts. Perfect for kindergarten through third grade. 19 pages.
​Click here to view and download.

Do you have a child who loves technology, computers, engineering and art? Well, here is something that my techy kid did today. He designed his little brother coloring pages! I walked into our main area to find them coloring together. My youngest exclaimed "Mom! He made me coloring pages!!!!!!" Its one of those moments when you say "aaaah, that's so cool!" and your mom-of-boys-heart melts. As a side note, I dream of glitter, pink, princesses and cute kittens, but for know I love skulls, monsters, knives, guns, and robots. Garett won the best big brother award today!

He designed several coloring pages and printed them out. He used a program called Paint 3D (formerly Paintbrush). It's a simple raster graphics editor that is included with all versions of Microsoft Windows. Do you have a child who would love the challenge of creating a coloring book? Learning to draw in a simple program like Paint 3D is a great way to incorporate S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) concepts in your home which can lead to greater skills within graphic designing later in life.

​Here are a few other ideas of projects to challenge your child with:

• Create Card- birthday invites, Christmas card or a thank you card
• Coloring Book
• Maze
• Insert a photo and then create a fun frame around it
• Draw pictures then print out onto sticker paper

I had such a blast today making Gyotaku with my students! I am so impressed with how well everyone followed directions. I can say that 99% of them loved experiencing the Japan culture with this strange yet fascinating art lesson. You don't want to pass this one up. 
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Click here to view and print this lesson. Be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive more freebies and coupons by clicking here.

The History of Gyotaku Fish Printing
In Japanese, “gyo” means “fish”, and “taku” means “print.” Gyotaku or fish printing was an art form originating in Japan in the mid 1800’s. Originally, Japanese fishermen would use this technique to record the texture and proportions of fish they caught. As time went on, these gyotaku prints developed into an art form.
 
How to Pronounce
Gee-o-ta-ku “g” as in goat.
 
Traditional Supplies Used
Sumi Ink: This is black ink made from a mixture of plant soot and glue solidified into sticks or cakes the ends of which are scraped or ground into water on an ink slab, much used by calligraphers and painters. It is non-toxic so you can rinse the ink off and eat the fish after you print it. You can make the black ink by watering down black acrylic paint. The sumi ink is water soluble and will wipe up with a wet wash and paper towels. Be sure to cover the tables with plastic table cloths because the ink can seep through.
 
Rice Paper: This is the traditional paper used for Gyotaku. As an alternative, you can use any white copy paper or craft paper.  

Where to Buy Fish for Gyotaku
Most grocery stores will save fresh whole fish that are not sold and place them in the freezer for art so, be sure to ask. Our local grocery store gives them away for free. I found a frozen whole octopus for $5.99 at an Asian market near us, if you can find one it will be a big hit with the kids!
 
Artificial Gyotaku: If you don’t want to use a real fish for this then use the picture in my lesson plan. Let them paint it then stamp their paper with it. Another Idea is to use the Styrofoam printmaking technique as an alternative. You can also get Gyotaku replicas online, also called rubber fish.
 
Watch Videos
Gyotaku by Naoki 2:03 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkaK48urU8o This is a great video!
The Art of Gyotaku 1:13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_bVC6lcTTM
Fish Prints with Rob Choi 3:46 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGaeMtSRSpE
 
Preparing Your Fish
If you are using real, fresh fish then here are a few things to know. If you get it fresh and thawed, you can put it in the freezer until your ready to use it. You will want to thaw the fish out completely when you’re ready to print it. Lay the fish on a piece of cardboard- I found this the best surface for the fish because they didn’t slide around plus the cardboard absorbed some of the moisture. Prepare the fish by drying with paper towels- you do not want a wet slimy fish, the dryer the better. You can use a piece of Styrofoam to prop up the tail or fins- I found that we only needed to do this on the rock fish because I needed to pin the tail fin so it stayed open. Now you're ready to paint and print!


Paint Your Fish
Paint the fish with a light coat of the sumi ink. One dip in the ink can cover an entire fish. If your print is too dark then get a second print and lay the paper on the fish to print it again without add any more paint- this second one should be lighter and show more detail.
 
Finishing Touches
Add some finishing touches to give your fish a finished look. Do this by painting the eye with the ink and paint a line around the fish to define the edges. Have your students write Gyotaku in Japanese somewhere on their paper and add their Hanko (and their English name). Glue their artwork to a large piece of black construction paper- I found some large sizes available on Amazon.com. Only add glue to the corners. We found that the rice paper does not lay flat after we did the printing, adding the glue in the corner would have been much easier for us. I placed a copy of the student directions found in my lesson plan on my students’ tables so that when they were done printing their fish they could get right to work adding the finishing touches to their art.

​Write it in Japanese: This is how you write Gyotaku in Japanese: 魚拓


Complete List of Supplies

• Sumi ink or use watered down black acrylic paint
• Small cup or container to pour ink into
• Black construction paper
• Rice paper or white paper
• Cardboard to set the fish onto
• Baby wipes- because kids will get ink on their fingers…and the table 😉
• Large paintbrush for painting the fish
• Small paintbrushes that taper into a point for adding details to the fish and writing “Gyotaku” in Japanese
• Paper towels
• Foam and pins for the fins- I used white craft foam block and cut it to size
• Fresh fish
• Small piece of white paper and red marker for making their Hanko.
• School glue
• Plastic table cloths from the dollar store

 
That’s it!
I have to say, this was such a joy to do with my students and was worth every effort.

Click here to view and print this lesson plan. 

Visiting a pumpkin farm, eating pumpkin pie, and carving cute pumpkin faces are some of the activities we enjoy with our children during the fall season. While I can do without the scary costumes and decorations, I can't resist doing a fall-themed unit study, which is why I made this 36 page download for my 5 year old. As always, I have posted it here for you to enjoy with your kids too. Enjoy my free pumpkin unit study! Perfect for grades Kindergarten through third grade.
​Click here to view and print.

What child doesn't like superheroes? My 2 younger kiddos were hovering over my shoulder while I created this. "Do I get to do that?" and "Are you gonna print that for me?" were questions humming in my ear the whole time. Maybe you have a child who would love to do a superhero unit study too. If so, then your in luck! Here is a free Superhero Unit Study download. Your child will enjoy making their very own superhero book with the colorful and engaging worksheets you will find inside. Enjoy! 
Click here to view and print.

Book: The Mystery at Mount Fuji (Tokyo, Japan) by Carole Marsh
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Book Report Worksheet Download: Click here to view and print my free worksheet set. 

Mount Fuji Art Materials: large 11x17 inch paper, acrylic paint, q-tips (to make the cherry blossoms), small piece of paper and a red marker to make your hanko (**see description to the right)
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Read a book about Mount Fuji and complete the Japan Book Report worksheet set. Paint a picture of Mount Fuji with cherry blossoms. Click the picture of the book to purchase.

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Here is an image of Mount Fuji you can use as a reference. Click here or the picture for a printable worksheet.


Mount Fuji Art
Draw Mount Fuji on your paper. Paint the bottom of the mountain a dark purple-blue. Paint the snow on the mountain and the sky. Use white paint with a small dot of blue mixed in to create shadows in the snow. Paint branches that come from the left side. Use a q-tip and pink paint to make cherry blossom dots. Paint a dark pink center inside each cherry blossom using a small paintbrush. Sign your artwork with your hanko.

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**Hanko is your name in Japanese, usually its a stamp but you can just translate your name online then write it in a red marker on a small piece of paper then glue the paper onto your art work. The circle and square stamp is my hanko and our homeschool co-op name I made on our 3D printer.

Washington State Japan Field Trips
Here is a list of Japanese field trips in Washington State- because that’s where I homeschool my kiddos. Even if you don’t live in my state you may still find this list helpful or inspiring and it will give you some ideas of field trips to plan in your area. One example, the Japanese dollar store called Daiso and Asian markets are scattered all over our country, so you may be able to find one near you to visit.
 
Bloedel Reserve
(206) 842-7631
bloedelreserve.org
7571 NE Dolphin Dr
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Children $6, Adult $17
This place has a beautiful Japanese garden and tea house. They often have a Japanese musician who comes to play the koto by the zen garden. You can look up their schedule of events on their website. I don’t recommend taking a big group of students to this place because it’s a “quiet and calm” atmosphere where you can immerse yourself in nature, however, it’s a great place for a family or small group to go and enjoy. There are many trails, landscape, water views and even a beautiful home to walk through. We loved our trip here and my kids even got an opportunity to play the koto and talk with the musician one-on-one.

Panama Hotel
(206) 223-9242
panamahotel.net
607 S Main St
Seattle, WA 98104
This hotel was built by Sabro Ozasa, a Japanese architect in 1910. During World War two, Japanese Americans stored their belongings here when they were forced to move to the internment camps. The current owner has preserved this history of the building. You can still see some of the items that were never claimed when the war was over. She left the items as they were found and has placed a hole covered with plexiglass in the floor, so you can view these untouched Japanese items. You can also tour the only remaining Japanese bathhouse in America here too.

Playing the koto! A koto I a Japanese zither which is a traditional stringed musical instrument. It is about 6 feet long, has 13 silk strings, and is hollow.

Enjoying the zen garden at Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.