Happy Halloween!

We went trick-or-treating with friends,


everybody was all dressed up,


even the pizza delivery guy!

Crowds at Disneyland

Last Monday, October 27, we went to Disneyland - unfortunately we were not the only ones...


Our children had vacation from the school and we thought there would not be too many people on a normal weekday.


How wrong we were!


It was almost Halloween...


...and the line to haunted house was 2 hours 40 minutes!!!


For Winnie the Pooh's house 2 hours 30 minutes!!!


And for Buzz Lightyear 2 hours 10 minutes
(about 2 hours before the park closed...)


We did our best avoiding the crowds and it was an enjoyable day after all. The decorations and parades were wonderful!

Riikka's book on the front page of Daily Yomiuri

Yesterday Riikka's book was featured in the front page of Daily Yomiuri. Last week the original story was published in Japanese.

National News

Finnish math

A former teacher from Finland publishes an arithmetic drill book for Japanese children, containing techniques used at schools in the country that has been ranked top in the world. Page 3

Finnish teacher writes math book for Japanese kids

Akiko Yoshinaga / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Riikka Pahkala, a former primary school teacher in Finland, recently published an arithmetic drill book for Japanese children in the lower grades of primary school.

The book contains techniques commonly used for teaching arithmetic in Finland, which has been ranked top in the world in the Program for International Student Assessment that is compiled every three years for 15-year-olds by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development since 2000.

"Rikka-sensei no Tanoshii Sansu--Tashizan, Hikizan" (Ms. Riikka's Enjoyable Arithmetic--Addition and Subtraction) contains basic arithmetic taught in the first to the third grades in Japanese primary schools, including addition and subtraction from zero to 100, how to compare the size of figures and how to distinguish even and odd numbers.

The book aims to entertain as it educates. For example, one practice exercise suggests children collect 100 1 yen coins, grains of rice or pieces of candy to concretely grasp the concept of the number. It is illustrated by a popular Finnish artist.

The goal is for children to understand arithmetic as it relates to real life. One question asks: You are planning a party for 10 people, but you have only seven cups and six pieces of cake. How many cups and pieces of cake are you short? Another question is: There are 15 toy cars at a toy shop. If you buy six toy cars as gifts for your friends, how many cars will be left in the shop?

According to the 2006 PISA survey, Finland was ranked second in applied mathematical skills (Japan was ranked 10th); was top in applied science skills (Japan was 6th); and second in reading (Japan was 15th).

Pahkala, 39, taught for 10 years at a primary school in Finland and obtained a license for special needs education from Helsinki University. Since her husband was transferred to Japan three years ago, she has been living here with her son, 11, and daughter, 6, and sometimes holds lectures and writes about Finnish education.

When Pahkala was a teacher, she held supplementary after-school classes for students who had trouble keeping up with the rest of the class and she checked their progress through e-mail with their parents. In teaching arithmetic, she says she tries to connect it with children's daily life.

"When I taught what a unit is, I showed my students by measuring a liter of juice in the classroom to show them the actual amount of one liter," she said. "It's important for kids in lower grades to get a concrete grasp of figures."

She recommends using the drill book to review what is taught in class. "I want them to gradually gain a good grasp of arithmetic," she said.

Pahkala is scheduled to give lecture at a primary school in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, on Nov. 7, and plans to exchange ideas with Japanese teachers afterward. "I'd like to learn more about classroom education in Japan," she said.

The book, published by Gakken Co., is available at bookstores or Amazon.co.jp for 1,365 yen including tax.

(Oct. 27, 2008)

Oskari on the loose

Oskari got a bit wild this weekend, see his blog for his adventures.

Learning Japanese - Opi Japania

I friend of mine introduced me to a cool tool to learn Japanese - iKnow! They call themself an intelligent social learning platform - and really seem to be such!

Go check the iKnow demo



This recent article about iKnow has a bit more information about them.

Originally the tool was designed to teach English to the Japanese people, and that market potential is huge!

Riikka's book featured at Yomiuri Shimbun

Today Riikka's book was featured in Yomiuri Shimbun. We haven't seen the actual paper yet, but below is the article as it was in the web (available only in Japanese at this point). (28.10. Now available also in English)

フィンランド式算数本

フィンランドの小学校教師だったリッカ・パッカラさん（３９）（港区南麻布）が、日本の小学校低学年向けの算数ドリルを執筆した。経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）の国際学習到達度調査（ＰＩＳＡ）で、世界トップクラスを維持している同国の算数教育のヒントも入っている。「算数は生活に役立つ」と実感させる１冊だ。（吉永亜希子）

　ドリルのタイトルは、「リッカ先生のたのしい算数　たし算ひき算」。０から１００までの足し算、引き算や数の大きさを比べる方法、偶数、奇数の見分け方など日本の小１～３年程度の内容を学べる。足して１０になる数字を「仲良し組」として覚えるというアドバイスや、「１００」の数字を実感するために１円玉や米粒、あめ玉を集めてみようという練習問題もあり、親子で楽しみながら取り組んでもらう狙い。フィンランドの人気画家の挿絵も豊富だ。
長女ラウラちゃん（右）にドリルの説明をするリッカさん

　友達１０人でパーティーをするのにコップが７個、ケーキが６個しかない場面を挙げて「足りないのはいくつ？」という問題や、「おもちゃ屋さんに車が１５台あり、うち６台を友達のプレゼントに買うと、お店に残るのはいくつ？」という問いかけなど、算数を現実の生活に即して理解させようとしている。

　フィンランドは２００６年の同調査で、「数学的応用力」が２位（日本は１０位）、「科学的応用力」が１位（同６位）、「読解力」が２位（同１５位）だった。パッカラさんは１０年間、小学校の教壇に立ち、ヘルシンキ大で特別支援教育の免許も取得した。３年前、日本に転勤となった夫と長男（１１）、長女（６）とともに来日。母国の教育についての講演や執筆活動をこなしている。

　教師時代、わからないという児童がいれば放課後に補習をし、保護者とメールで子どもの理解度を確認し合った。算数では日常生活と結びつけた指導を重視していたという。「単位を教える時、１リットルがどれくらいの量か、実際に教室でジュースをはかって見せた。低学年では具体的に数を感じることが大切ね」

　学校で学んだことの復習教材としてドリルを使うことを勧め、「ゆっくり着実に身につけて」と話している。

　「リッカ先生のたのしい算数　たし算ひき算」、学研から出版され、ＡＢ判１２８ページ、税込み１３６５円。書店で購入できる。１１月７日には福島県郡山市の小学校で講義をする予定で、「日本の教育現場も知りたい」と日本人教師との交流に期待している。

（2008年10月18日 読売新聞）