Conditions in Japan have improved quite a lot through the month of May. New cases of COVID-19 infections have dropped to around 20 a day, nationwide, with no new cases in the Hiroshima area in the past couple of weeks. As a result, local schools will reopen next week and my kids will resume their school routine after nearly three months at home.
The whole city has its fingers crossed.
In a post I made in early April, I described a creative project that I’ve been working on with my son (in the minority language, of course!) during this lengthy break from school: a coloring book called “Bearded Dragon Daydreams.” (It’s illustrated by a friend.) The idea was inspired, in fact, by Fifa, our own lovable bearded dragon, who’s often staring into space and seems to be daydreaming of exciting adventures.
Here she’s obviously daydreaming of bungee jumping…
So here’s the exciting news: The book is now basically finished and we’ve been waiting to see a proof copy, to check what the actual book looks like. Well, I’m happy to report that the proof copy came in the mail today and it looks great!
Here’s the cover…
This means that the book is nearly ready for the world and will be available very soon. I think you’ll find that it’s not only a fun-filled coloring book, it can be used in various ways to engage children in the target language (any target language!) at the same time. In fact, I’ve included a page of useful ideas to help parents make the most of the book as a productive language tool.
My son and I (and Fifa, too) look forward to sharing “Bearded Dragon Daydreams” with you in June!
