Hana's Leaf Shop

 This is the scene I came home to recently. My good friend Michiko sensei was looking after the girls and they had gone outside and collected some leaves. They were all arranged on the table with little price tags. This was her "Leaf Shop". She would measure the leaves with a measuring tape and what ever the number of centimeters became the price in yen. 18cm would be 18 yen. Then she would make little price tags. She and Rika were playing store clerk and customer. Michiko was encouraging her to measure things, an important math concept. She would measure the length and width and write them down on a piece of paper. I suggested that the price should be based on how pretty or colorful the leaves were, but nobody cared for my idea. It's amazing, with a little encouragement and creativity, kids can make a game out of anything.