Tuesday, December 31, 2013

BE About the Tradition - Japanese New Year - Slice of Life 2013

 
A Slice of Life is a weekly blog hosted by Two Writing Teachers, Ruth Ayers and Stacey Shubitz. Click on Two Writing Teachers to be taken to their website to learn more about this week's Slice of Life.
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I was raised by a Japanese American, emphasis on the American. Raised by a father who wanted his children to be loyal United States citizens, my dad ethnically represented Japanese but everything about him was about being "American". As his daughter, I grew up knowing very little about Japanese language, culture, foods, or traditions. It was not until in my 30s, when I was down in Los Angeles celebrating New Year's with my Aunt Suzye and Uncle Chuck, that I experienced the Japanese tradition of making mochi.

Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a sweet rice. We use a special rice cooker that steams the rice and then pounds it into a paste. While still hot, we mold the sticky rice paste into round cakes. Traditional rice pounding is a labor intensive process that involves two people taking turns physically pounding the rice with a wooden mallet while the other person "flips" the rice and wets it. There's a rhythm to it or someone can get hurt. I like my hands and fingers so I'll skip the traditional pounding and take the rice cooker. Thank you very much. :0)

In 2008, my dad brought my grandma's mochi rice cooker home with him from California-that was the year dad and I started making mochi together as our way of celebrating Japanese New Year. By 2009, dad had his cancer diagnosis and the time spent making mochi quickly became treasured time. When January 2010 arrived, I was 8 months pregnant and dad had already surpassed the timeframe that doctors had given him for his terminal cancer. Dad and I spent this time together knowing it would be our last (he died June 2010) Japanese New Year together and he wanted to make sure that I knew what to do to make mochi.

Today, was the third year making mochi without my dad. 

It's a bittersweet time, though, because this year, Maddie, just shy of four years old, is old enough to be genuinely interested in knowing what Mommy is doing. And, she wanted to be a part of things. This has been a new year where I particularly miss my dad because he would have loved having Maddie be a part of the activity. He would have loved even just watching her be a part of things. It was a HUGE gift he gave me making sure that I knew what to do, right down to knowing what rice to buy (he was particular about brands), so that I could build this as a tradition on my own with Maddie. It is now more than a time that I miss my dad. It is now a time to share wonderfully fun stories with Maddie about her Papa. It's my turn to show her what to do.

Thank you, Dad, for this wonderful tradition of mochi for Japanese New Year. 

Maddie helping me wash the rice to soak the night before.
Time to steam our first batch of rice.
Rice is finished steaming and now it's time for the rice to be "pounded".
Rice pounding!
Our first batch of mochi to welcome in 2014 - the Year of the Horse.
May each of you reading this have a prosperous 2014.
Happy New Year!!!

Monday, December 30, 2013

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12.30.13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is an opportunity for everyone to share their book journeys: where we've been for the week and where we plan to go next. To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? with a kidlit focus, jump over to Jen Vincent's blog, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee Moye's blog, Unleashing Readers.


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Whooooo... boy! It's been weeks since I posted. A job change with a longer than expected transition, adjusting to the responsibilities of a new job, & coursework for maintaining my administrator license meant that I spent quite a bit of my reading time reading the grant I manage (and related documents) & lots about school boards and being a superintendent. Not my favorite kind of reading. But, I'm back and excited to be reading MY books. 
 
Maddie's reading life did not suffer, but I don't have our weekly set of #bookpics because a lot of the reading slack was picked up by Daddy, Grandma, & Aunt Tracey. 
 
Here's a sampling of where Maddie & I traveled through picture books this past week:
Ladybug GirlPinkalicious
 
Duck for PresidentThe Twelve Days of Christmas
 
  Here's where I ventured:
Pie  
And now for where I plan to travel:
Bud, Not Buddy

#audiobook  
Umbrella SummerWaiting for the Magic
Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits
LCSD Reads Facebook Book Club
Happy New Year!!!!!!
What are YOU reading?
 

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Picture Book Review: Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

 Title: Llama Llama Holiday Drama
Author: Anna Dewdney
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Publication Date: October 2010
Genre/Format: Picture Book Fiction


Llama Llama Holiday DramaGoodreads Summary: Llama Llama holidays. Jingle music. Lights ablaze.
How long till that special date?
Llama Llama has to wait.

If there's one thing Llama Llama doesn't like, it's waiting. He and Mama Llama rush around, shopping for presents, baking cookies, decorating the tree . . . but how long is it until Christmas? Will it ever come? Finally, Llama Llama just can't wait any more! It takes a cuddle from Mama Llama to remind him that "Gifts are nice, but there's another: The true gift is, we have each other."
 

Grade Level: PreK+
Kristin's Thoughts: Madeline is three (four in February) during this holiday season and really exhibits for the first time, behavior that reflects some of the craziness that takes hold of this time of year. There's the talk of Santa, the holiday decorations everywhere, the toys at the Fred Meyer where we shop that are strategically placed at little people level, the newly decorated Christmas tree at home, and the fact that our coastal grounds are covered with the white stuff (a rare occasion for us). Maddie is in full affect with the constant questions around "is it Christmas yet?" not to mention the ongoing "I need...." which translated means "I want...."
Llama Llama Holiday Drama was a good reminder that sometimes what we (not just kids, moms too) need is a loving hug. I couldn't agree more that "the true gift is we have each other." Reading this book together ended with some pretty special cuddles.