Classroom

• Activities
  Japanese art visuals have been purchased in Japan and at the Art Institute in Chicago for use in the art classroom. Pictures of scrolls, kimonos, hand painted silk screen, bonsai creations, handcrafted artifacts, reproductions of the art works of Japanese artists; Hokusai, Hiroshige and Rakuten, lacquerware, posters and travel guide scenes of Japan have been organized on poster board, laminated, and are now being displayed on the hall walls of Graham School to promote student interest in Japanese arts and culture. These visuals will remain on the walls through December and will be used in the art classroom, as needed, for Japanese art lesson presentations.

• After reading the book, Sadako, to fourth and fifth grade students, they will work on assembling a "sembazuru", chain of 1000 origami cranes, during the school year. When the chain has been completed, it will be displayed in the school library, then sent the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in May of 2000.

• The Japanese Pokemon video tape, which I purchased in Haoan, will be viewed by students in grades K-2, at the end of art class, when time permits. Pokemon drawing books, comic books and posters will be used to assist K-2 students in drawing their own Pokemon characters for individual and group posters.

School

• Activities
  A Japanese Arts and Culture Center has been established in the Graham School library. Handcrafted items and Japanese toys which I purchased in Japan have been displayed in a prominent corner shelf at the entrance to the library. Kokeshi, Daruma, bamboo and silk covered dolls in kimonos stand among wooden toys, paper balls, boxes, umbrellas, origami cranes, and samuri hats. A small tatami hat, a hand carved wooden horse and birds, a woven straw basket, horse and bird on wheels, and a paper mache cow with a bobbing head await the students’ curiosity. Chop sticks, rice bowls, and chop stick rests sit next to sumi-e painting and calligraphy supplies. Brightly printed origami papers, beautifully decorated fabrics and wooden "nikko-geta" shoes are displayed to entice curiosity. Carp kites, a Japanese flag and a shimenawa hang from the ceiling above the center, along with folded paper dolls dressed in kimonos, wind chimes, birds, string ball ornaments, and fan mobiles. Books about Japanese culture, Japanese folk stories and Japanese art and craft books and video tapes reside on a shelf below the displayed artifacts. I have taken each grade level to the library, during art class, for an introduction to the Japanese artifacts. Students are encouraged to carefully touch and play with the cultural center items. These items will be displayed in the library throughout the school year.
• I have organized, mounted and labeled photographs from the 29 rolls of film which I took while in Japan. Presently they are displayed on the Graham School hall walls. Students will have the opportunity to view the photographs of my trip to Japan during the months of November and December. These pictures will again be displayed during the Graham School Japanese Arts and Culture Festival planned for March or April of 2000.
• A reproduction of the Japanese artist, Hokusai Katsushika’s "Great Wave" wood block print from the series, "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" will be permanently painted on a Graham School wall in recognition of this year’s Japanese arts and culture program.
• A Pokemon mobile will be constructed for display in the school library, as a part of the Japanese Arts and Culture Center. Medium sized, plastic Pokemon toys, which I purchased in Japan, along with the Burger King Pokemon toys, donated by students, will be assembled into a mobile using dowel rods and fishing line.
• Third, fourth, and fifth grade students will participate in a Haiku and Tanka Japanese poetry workshop presented by professional poets. Students will learn about the two forms of poetry and write a Haiku or Tanka poem. Their poems will be shared with students, parents and the community at the Japanese Arts and Culture Festival, sponsored by Graham school, in March of 2000.
• Ikebana and bonsai floral arranging will be demonstrated in the school library. Each class will sign up for a 10-minute time slot to view the demonstrations. Finished floral arrangements will be displayed in the school lunchroom during the Japanese food-sampling event.
• The Graham School PTA will be asked to become involved with the Japanese Arts and Culture Program by funding and preparing a Japanese food sampling for students and faculty during all five lunch periods on a specific day. Prepared foods will be sticky rice, Ramen noodle soup, yakitori (chicken or beef on a stick), nori (seaweed), and an artistically prepared assortment of vegetables served with chopsticks and iced tea in Nagano Olympics glasses, which were donated by a parent who works for the Minute Maid Corporation. In preparation for the Japanese food sampling event, parent volunteers will attend a Japanese food preparation demonstration and will be given instructions and supplies for the foods that they will prepare for the students.

School District/Community

• Activities
  I will offer a staff developjment class to all district employees which focuses on Japanese arts educatoin. Photos, art visuals, video tape of Japanese schools and students, Japanese artifiacts and written, Japanese based art lesson plans will be shared with colleagues. I will also offer a staff development class on grant writing and program funding opportunities.
  
  I am presently organizing a Graham School Japanese Arts and Culture Festival which will take place in early April of 2000.  The festival would be held on a week night or on a Saturday afternoon at Crone Middle School or Neuqua Valley High      School to accommodate parking spaces for anticipated festival crowds. (Graham School does not have adequate parking   space for large numbers of vehicles.) Koto string musicians, Buddhist Temple Taiko drummers, Okinawan dancers and       martial arts instructors will be invited to perform. Japanese art work, created by Graham School students, will be displayed.  Haiku and Tanka poems, written by third, fourth, and fifth grade students, will be read. Students, parents, and community will be invited to attend the festival.

  Next year I plan to write an art education resource/reference book which includes a K-5 art curriculum guide. The Japanese art lesson plans which I will develop and write this year, will be added to the K-5 art curriculum guide which I have almost completed. I will include at least two Japanese art lessons at each grade level. In January of 2000, I will request a sabbatical leave for the 2000-2001 school year from my school district, for the purpose of completing the writing for my book.

Personal

• Activities
  Mrs. Kiyono Takeno plans to vist my home in Naperville. I and my husband are planning a trip to Japan. We have been invited to visit the Takeno home while in Omiya. Recently, I received a letter from Kiyono Takeno to let me know that ther friend's daughter will be visiting Wheaton, Illinois, which is located five miles from my home. Kiyono and I had tea with her friend while I was staying in Omiya. I plan to invite her daughter's friend to my home sometime during her stay in Wheaton.