“Living Like Totoro” – 7-Day Homeschool Schedule
ðą DAY 1 — Arrival & Settling Into the Totoro World
Evening
- Arrive, unpack slowly, open windows, let the house “wake up”
- Light sweeping of porch (engawa)
- Brew mugicha (barley tea), Japan’s summer drink
- Explore the yard: find a “Totoro Tree” (biggest tree becomes home base); give it a hug and say, “Hello, Forest. Thank you for having us.”
Dinner
- Make onigiri (rice balls) for your first countryside bento
- Eat outdoors on a blanket like Satsuki + Mei
Wind-down
- Quiet walk around the yard to explore: collect leaves, tiny branches, feathers, fallen flowers
- Learn your first Japanese word: æĢŪ (mori) – forest
- Create a “Nature Altar” in the home (like Mei’s treasures shelf)
- Start nature journals; candle journaling: “What do I hope to learn this week?”
ð DAY 2 — Chores of a Country Life
Morning Chores- Sweep porch & shake rugs (tatami-cleaning tradition)
- Make natural cleaning spray (vinegar + citrus peels)
- Craft: Make a mini shimenawa (sacred rope) for your Totoro Tree
Lunch- Simple miso soup + rice
- Teach chopstick skills (hashi)
Afternoon- Read an old folk story under a tree
- Quiet time drawing the house from outside
- Origami: frogs, cranes, sakura flower, or Totoro face
- Play ohajiki (Japanese marble-like game)
- Learn Japanese nature words:
- mori (forest)
- kaze (wind)
- tsuki (moon)
- kodama (tree spirit)
Evening (Candlelight)- Make shadow puppets
- Storytelling circle: “If Totoro lived here…”
- Perform a kamishibai style story (Japanese story cards)
- Write “Today I served the house” in your journal
ðļ DAY 3 — Foraging & Harvesting
Morning Chores- Gather pinecones, sticks, acorns, leaves, bark, moss (for crafts); Gather acorns → make “forest spirits” later
- Forage: Collect herbs, flowers, grasses, soft moss, clover, mint, or fallen items/petals (old Japanese summer activity); gather acorns and natural treasures
- Gather acorns & natural treasures
- Observe mushrooms, cicada shells (semi no nuki-gara), birds, & dragonflies (tonbo), and draw them in your journal
Lunch- Prepare tsukemono (quick Japanese pickles) to enjoy later
- Eat rice + pickled veggies + fruit
Afternoon- If allowed: harvest garden items or collect eggs
- Prepare a small “meadow salad,” foraged bouquet, or herb bundle/herb seasoning mix
- Make pressed flower pages for your journal
- Draw or paint nature scenes
- Nature craft: Create forest spirit acorns; make soot sprite characters from acorns/pom-poms & yarn
Evening (Candlelight)- Sit outside quietly: look for fireflies
- Nature listening ritual; listen to nighttime insects
- Record nature sounds in journal (“What did the night teach us?”); “What did the forest whisper today?”
ðŊ DAY 4 — Candle Making + Old-World Crafts
Morning Chores- Wash dishes outside in basins (like old Japanese homes before plumbing)
- Sweep pathway or porch
- Hand-wash 1 clothing item or towel (basin washing)
- Hang laundry outdoors to dry (furoshiki-style folding practice after)
- Organize clothes using KonMari-style folding (kid-friendly)
Lunch- Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled eggs) + rice
- Brew fresh mugicha
Afternoon- Beeswax candle making
- Make herb sachets from lavender, mint, and rosemary (placing one under your pillow is Japanese tradition)
- Begin weaving project (placemat or bookmark,traditional Japanese textile vibe)
- Japanese brush calligraphy (shodo)
- Practice kanji like: æ (moon), éĒĻ (wind), å (earth), åŋ (heart)
Evening (Candlelight Only)- Use the candles they made
- Write letters with calligraphy pens/quills
- Calligraphy practice → write “ããããĻã (arigatou)”
- Read by candlelight (classic childhood magic)
- Whisper “Oyasumi, Totoro” before bed
ðū DAY 5 — Cooking Like a Totoro Neighbor
Morning Chores- Gather herbs, wash them, dry them on a rack (old Japanese homes hung herbs from the rafters)
- Scrub and wash vegetables outdoors
- Fill water basins for dishwashing
Lunch Cooking Project- Kids make:
- Make butter in a mason jar
- Harvest rice bowls, rice bowls with toppings
- Miso soup with greens, veggies
Afternoon - Japanese Desserts- Make dango (sweet dumplings)
- Or roast yaki-imo (sweet potatoes)
- Craft: furin wind chimes using bells + painted paper strips
Evening (Candlelight)- Candlelit dinner
- Hang furin chime outside → listen to its soft sound
- Draw your dango, meal, or wind chime in nature journals
- Tell stories of Totoro (maybe the one at the bus stop)
ðē DAY 6 — The Totoro Forest Walk
Morning Chores- Sweep and tidy home; clean house (Japanese hinoki wiping — damp cloth on wood)
- Wash and fold anything dirty
- Prepare a “forest offering” of flowers, herbs (child-safe, respectful)
Lunch- Onigiri picnic under trees
- Drink mugicha outside
Afternoon- Long, quiet forest or meadow walk
- Identify plants, trees, birds
- Look for:
- Interesting bark textures
- Roots that look like spirits
- Look for tree “faces” (kodama spirits)
- Sketch the “faces” you see in trees, bark patterns and roots
- Collect final nature items for display
- Sit still and silently (meditate) for 10 minutes — “Quiet Like Totoro Time”
- Create a Totoro Museum Table (take a photo) with:
- Pressed flowers
- Calligraphy papers
- Candles
- Dango sticks
- Wind chimes
- Nature collections
- Weaving projects
Evening - Totoro Feast- Kids prepare one dish each (bread, soup, salad, herb potatoes, etc.); use the pickles they made
- Light all candles and tell legends around the candles
- Tidy home by hand (Japanese custom before holidays)
- Write a final reflection: “What did the forest show me today?”
- Tsukimi (moon-viewing) ritual
- Light a candle
- Eat a small sweet
- Write a moon haiku
- Stargazing like Satsuki and Mei
- Share journals and stories
- Blow out their homemade candles as a “thank you” to nature and to “seal” the magic of the week.
ð DAY 7 — Closing Ritual
Morning- Sweep porch gently
- Pack belongings calmly
- Hand-wash last items
- Create a small offering to your Totoro Tree (flowers, herbs)
- Bow to your Totoro Tree and say: “Arigatou gozaimashita, Mori no Kami.” (Thank you, Forest Spirit.)
