Konnichiwa! こんにちは！ I am Amy sensei. Welcome to Guided Japanese Learning: the Montessori Approach to Learning Japanese.  This class is designed in response to the child's natural tendency to want to write, draw, read, and interact with their peers. 
 (Please reach out to me if your learner needs handwriting support). 

This class is the continued progression for students who have taken my prior classes, as well as for students new to Japanese.  This class is for learners who like to write, draw, and play interactive games with their peers to support learning Hiragana in a casual, fun, way.   This class is Part 1 of a Two Part series.  



In this class we will be learning the initial Hiragana sounds from a-to.  To fully participate in class, your learner will need the weekly printouts, a pencil, and notebook and folder to keep all their Hiragana flashcards and printouts organized. 

I have created handmade hiragana cards learners can print at home. Five new sounds will be shared each week.  Each learner will draw with me additional vocabulary starting with the hiragana sound. 

I recommend playing games with the cards 5-10 minutes per day.  In Montessori we “isolate the difficulty” by breaking memorization into smaller parts allowing the learner to gain confidence with the content.  We will also use our Hiragana cards to "build words".

Each weekly lesson will have the following routine:
1. Greetings in Japanese
2. Practice/Flashcards, Song
3. Hiragana Writing and Vocabulary Drawing. 
4. Games that support speaking, reading, and writing
5. 1:1 Reading Time using Fun Hiragana Mini-Readers.
6. Sharing Time    
 
 
Instructional Language: Please note, this class is not an immersion class as instruction will be in English and Japanese, especially when explaining about Hiragana and new vocabulary.  Learners are allowed to ask me questions in English.  However, they will also be learning classroom phrases  shapes, colors, body parts and simple adjectives will be incorporated naturally into drawing time together. 

Next Class: This class is part 1 of a 2 part series.  As this class is only a brief introduction to Japanese and covers only a portion of the hiragana alphabet, students are encouraged to continue their learning in Part 2. 

 If your learner misses class, the video will be provided so your learner can watch and draw before the next class session.  I am incredibly grateful if your learners background is quiet so they can engage in communication practice and enjoy socializing.   


Week 1: 　 Greetings and Introductions
                  What is Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji? and a VR Trip to Japan
  　             A Column The first five hiragana vowels:  あ、い, う、え、お 　A,I,U,E,O
                  A Column Vocabulary
                  Drawing and Writing 
                  Hiragana Song
                  Sharing Time

Week 2:     Greetings and Introductions Review
                  A,I,U,E,O warm up review game　
                  KA Column:  か、き、く、け、こ      KA, KI, KU, KE, KO
                  Drawing and Writing
                  1:1 Reading Practice: Hiragana Mini Reading Time 
                  Hiragana Song 
                  Sharing Time
                  

Week 3:　A-KO warm up review game
                 SA Column さ、し、す、せ、そ
                 Drawing and Writing
　　　　 1:1 Reading Practice: Hiragana Mini Readers
                 Hiragana Song 
                 Sharing Time
                 

Week 4:  Hiragana Bingo Game a-so Review
                TA Column　た、ち、つ、て、と
                Drawing and Writing
                1:1 Reading Practice: Hiragana Mini Readers
                Hiragana Song and Shiritori Game
                Sharing Time

          Week 5: 　
                  NA Row of hiragana:  な、に、ぬ、ね、の　NA NI NU NE NO
                  NA Row Vocabulary
                  Drawing and Writing
                  Shiritori no Uta
                  Word Build/Reading Practice
                  Sharing Time