The Ishigaki trip went into a school notebook

In the mangroves along Ishigaki’s Fukido River, little balls of sand dotted the bank. As the family got closer, the crabs that made them ducked into their holes. What the kids learned on the trip went into their independent study notes for school. The two kids had taken four school days through Ibaraki’s ラーケーション program. At schools that offer it, students can take up to five days per school year to learn outside class with their families. Approved days stay out of the absence count. The third grader’s class newsletter showed the next two weeks of lessons and homework, so she got a head start before they left. Her sixth-grade brother had all four days to catch up on after they got home. For a while, that meant worksheets, practice books and a parent to help when they got stuck.