Japanese Culture Exchange Highlights 2015

Toyota City Meets the Motor City. We had the amazing opportunity to meet 3 gentlemen from Japan. They are from churches in Toyota City, Japan, where a large percentage of our Japanese friends return to when they leave Michigan. These gentlemen have the awesome (but challenging) calling to minister to our friend when they return home.

Japan Festival 2015

Over the summer I offered craft classes in our home.

Everyone really enjoyed the classes.

Class picture with Easter baskets.

Japanese Calligraphy Lessons

Japanese Cooking Class

I have learned to cook many authentic Japanese recipes.

Dinner outings with international friends.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Sometimes we forget about the simple things in life. Jigsaw puzzles are a great educational tool for all ages. Working on puzzles and solving them provides us with many helpful benefits. First of all it makes us alert, increases our concentration, expands our creativity. My goal is to use them more often in our classroom to help with cognitive development. 

Some of the various benefits of completing jigsaw puzzles:

• enhances visual perception
• hones coordination
• improves memory
• develops critical thinking
• increases dopamine production in the brain
• heightens creativity
• stimulates the whole brain

BobbleHead 3d Printed Robot

Jaedan completed his first Blender software project a 3d printed bobble-head. It took him two months to complete the online class.  The class was a bit challenging at times but he did not give up. He missed a few major steps but was able to go back and make corrections which took extra time. In the end he is very pleased with the outcome and looks forward to future projects using the knowledge he gained from the class.

Raspberry Pi Minecraft Server