100 Days Smarter

When Jayce had to do a 100 Days of School project it involved me sending 100 small items to school.  He came back with the number 100 made up of toothpicks.  For Grahm it was a "family project".

I thought it would be fun to do a project that had to do with Okinawa.  Grahm and I brainstormed and we decided that we should do Shisa Dogs. 

Wikipedia gave this great definition.  Shīsā (シーサー) (Okinawan: siisaa) (shishi or shisaa) is a traditional Ryukyuan decoration, often in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawa mythology. People placed pairs of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from some evils. When in pairs, the left shisa traditionally has a closed mouth, the right one an open mouth. The open mouth wards off evil spirits, and the closed mouth to keeps good spirits in.

You see Shisa at homes, businesses, entrances to the freeway, etc...  I thought this project might take us awhile, but it only took about 2 hours to collect 100 pictures.  Each picture is a different Shisa.  I love the handmade ones the best.  One of these days I will make it to the pottery area and make my own.

 Since making this poster, we have been further educated that it is a common mistake to call them Shisha.  I was told my Grahm's teacher (who was raised in Okinawa) that it is acceptable to call them Shisha.  However, I think we will change it for us.  Grahm was sick on the day that we put it together.  Jayce, Jason and I had to do it alone while he left us to sleep.  I didn't get a picture until he brought it home.