Felt Finger Puppets

I got the idea for making finger puppets after seeing a bunch of adorable quiet book pages. I started with farm animals because they can be used for so many things--Old MacDonald, BINGO, Three Little Pigs, Five Little Piggies, The Farmer in the Dell, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Baa Baa Black Sheep, teaching animal names/sounds, etc.

I also made monkeys for the song, Five Little Monkeys, and The Monkeys and the Crocodile. And while I was at it, I made Five Green and Speckled Frogs.

What do you think?

Felt Board Ideas

I made my felt board from an IKEA easel that I bought on sale because it was used in the showroom--score! If you can find a cheap easel, I highly recommend covering it with felt! All you need is a large piece of felt and double-sided tape! I trimmed the edges with an exact-o knife after (well, actually my husband did that for me because he's better at those kinds of things!). It's much better as a felt board than a chalkboard because it looked like the chalkboard was difficult to erase--plus you know chalk gets messy. This is one of my most-used classroom tools.

I created some pieces for The Three Little Pigs, BINGO, Old MacDonald and Alice the Camel--all are a hit in my classroom, but the camel is probably the most popular (although I think she's kind of ugly! ha!).

Classroom Library

Here are some of the books I bought for my ESL classroom. What are your preschool/ESL library favorites?

I find board books a little bit difficult to use with 1 and 2 year olds because they basically just want to hold them and flip through the pages themselves--screw the reading! So I mostly use books with preschool students. My students love Good Night, Gorilla and it is nice that it doesn't have a lot of words but my students can identify the animals and describe what is going on. I also love The Greedy Python, but I think some of the words are difficult for beginner readers.

Reading books is a great way to get my students to wind down and keep them engaged. I'd love to get more Eric Carle books and books that teach song lyrics, like The Farmer in the Dell.

I also love following thekaledoscopeca on instagram--such interesting book recommendations that I hope to collect for my children someday!

Product Review: Raccoon Rumpus

This game is also part of my recent Amazon classroom materials haul. I don't know why but educational materials and games excite me so much these days--so many creative ideas out there!

First of all, how cute is this? I taught a unit on clothing to my students and I don't think any of them remember what I taught them so I thought this would be good reinforcement. However, the dice only really allows you to teach "shirt", "pants," and "underwear," but I think those three words are about right for their level. Clothing vocabulary is so hard for Japanese kids to pronounce because of all the "sh" words, singular and plural words, and because Japanese words for clothing are similar but have different meaning (for example, "pants" means underpants in Japanese and "zubon" means pants).

The packaging is super cute and colorful--everything is stored easily in the box, which has instructions written on the inside of the lid. The cards are thin, so again, I was nervous to let my students touch them (I don't know if it is just my students or if all kids are like this because they always surprise me). The raccoons are hollow plastic heads mounted to cardboard--again, something I with was all thicker plastic because even though I warn them every time, I know those heads are bound to be pushed in and dented and one of the cards is already bent because a boy wanted to test its strength...sigh....sometimes I am sad that I can't let more students use the game because I know they can't handle things gently. WHY? The set of die are really nice though--heavy and sturdy and they don't look like the images will peel or chip off easily.

So you roll both die and then I have the player say the color and type of clothing (for example, "yellow shirt"). It is interesting to see if they can find the correct picture. All of the cards are like costumes instead of regular outfits, so I would love if they made another version with regular clothes. More advanced students say the costume name, like "cowboy" or "doctor," which is nice, but I sometimes wonder if it is confusing for them that the dice shows pants but they can choose a skirt. I guess the correct words to teach would be "top" and "bottom" instead of "shirt" and "pants," but I wanted them to practice those vocabulary words.

Overall, I love the concept and design of this game but would love for it to be sturdier. Or maybe I would just love for my students to not try to break everything! Ahh!

all images are from Amazon.com

Product Review: The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game

I purchased this game on Amazon for my classroom. It is recommended for ages 3+ to teach fine motor skills and color recognition, but I have mostly used it with 6 and 7 year olds because my younger students are too hyper and I'm worried they will ruin the pieces....

The idea of this game and the packaging itself is so cute--kids love it. The pincher tool is shaped like a squirrel and was a little difficult for my students to manipulate but I like that it wasn't too easy. Some students did get frustrated though.

The main thing I would change is making the logs that you place the acorns in out of plastic instead of cardboard. The sticker covering the cardboard is peeling underneath and I could see my students trying to pick at it and peel it off...sigh....also, sometimes I swear my students have never seen a game or toy before because they always try to take things apart as soon as I place them in their hands! :( They tried to push the acorns ALL THE WAY into the holes, which would have ripped the cardboard, which is why I wish the logs were made of plastic.

I have my students say the color they land on, "windy" (all acorns go back), "one acorn" (color of your choice), "two acorns" (two colors of your choice), "sad squirrel" (lose a turn), or "sneaky squirrel" (steal an acorn) when it's their turn. It is interesting to watch them play and see what acorn they choose and how they place it into their logs--all my students have different levels and capabilities.

I'm using this as a reward at the end of my lessons if there is extra time--it takes 8-10 minutes to play with 2-4 students, including setup/instructions. I'm very happy with this purchase!

all photos are from Amazon.com

The Hunt: Maternity and Nursing Bras

Nursing Bra trial & error by melindaokasho featuring wireless bras

Gilligan O Malley wireless bra
target.com

Uniqlo wireless bra
uniqlo.com

Coobie
amazon.com

Uniqlo wireless bra
$25 - uniqlo.com

Uniqlo wireless bra
uniqlo.com

【楽天市場】ママラボ　ラクラク授乳ブラジャー(ハーフトップ)(ボーダー)（グレー）[891005]：アカチャンホンポ楽天市場店
item.rakuten.co.jp

【楽天市場】ママラボ　らくらくフィットハーフトップ（サックス）[891023]：アカチャンホンポ楽天市場店
item.rakuten.co.jp


One challenge with being an American living in Japan while pregnant is the lack of selection of maternity/nursing bras. If you haven't seen Japanese bras before, let me tell you they are ridiculous! They usually are frilly, full of padding, and look either like they are made for little girls or very old people. From the slim pickings, here are some of the ones I've tried and would like to try next!

1. Uniqlo Wireless Bras: When I first noticed a change early on in my pregnancy I found the Uniqlo wireless bra (top left) to be the most comfortable. I loved the material, the fit, and thought it had the perfect amount of lining--ooh and they have lots of different colors and patterns! I loved mine so much that I bought another one from the sale bin with the lace trim (middle row, right side), not because I liked the style but because it was $5 cheaper than the regular-priced ones. Turns out that one fits differently! :( Is that why it was on sale??? So I loved the first one and do not love the second one. I then saw recently that they came out with a new style (bottom right corner pic) and I looooved that one, too. BUT the XL barely fit me so I decided not to buy because things are only going to get bigger...such a bummer!
Pros: Affordable, soft and comfy, just enough lining and support to be worn day or night Cons: I am already busting out of the XL and that is the biggest size, so I recommend this bra if you are a 34C or less! Every bra is different! Even though they come sealed in bags ask if you can try them on before purchasing.

2. Mama-labo "half top" (light blue): This was the first Japanese maternity/nursing bra I bought and I even bought the maternity underwear from the same line. I liked that it was non frilly and a sports bra style. It's that seamless material that a lot of people like, but, after wearing both for a short time, I do not like either of these products. The bra, although it is XL, is too small already and rides up. It is also hard to keep the removable cups in place after washing it a few times. The band on the underwear, hitting right in the middle of your bump (is that normal?), is not comfortable to me either because I feel like it cuts off circulation.
Pros: Nice material, less than $20.
Cons: Runs small, not very supportive, gives you a weird, pointy shape.

3. Mama-labo Cotton "half top" (grey stripes): This is one of my latest purchases and I originally thought it would be perfect for sleeping in and great for my growing chest because it is one of the few Japanese XL bras that still had some room to grow. I needed to try something new after not loving the first Japanese nursing bra. Well, turns out I do not love it. :( It has way too little support, even for night, and it is just not comfortable.
Pros: Cotton, removable pads, four notches on the hook and eye closure, less than $15.
Cons: Not very supportive.

4. Coobies: I heard about these from The Daybook and thought they would be worth a try so they are next on my list! Hopefully they will fit me since I'll have to order them from the US and probably can't return them.

5. Target Gilligan O'Malley Nursing Bras: I believe I heard about these from another blog as well...I can't remember where now (top right). For two for $22 I think they are worth a shot. They look like they have a pretty solid band going around the bottom that will give me the support I'm looking for. Since they are American size, I'm hoping a large will work for me. I know I'm not an American XL!

Any other recommendations for a comfy, supportive, wireless, sports bra style? I don't want to order a regular bra style from the US since I don't know what my size will be after having the baby and it seems like the biggest size in Japan is already too small!