Last Friday, the children received something that they had patiently waited for: their finished clay bowls that they made with Teacher Rika. They were so excited to sit in a circle and unwrap their packages to find the plates that they had worked so hard on. They noticed that the colors were brighter compared to when they had originally decorated them and said their plates were hard because Teacher Rika put them in her magic oven. They decided to display their plates at the upcoming culmination so they can show their parents. We wanted to say thank you again to the PTA for kindly allowing this wonderful opportunity for the children to discover and really experience some of clay's powerful properties.
As the children were so happy to receive their plates made out of pottery clay, this week we continued exploring different types of clay so the children could feel the differences and experiment with them. They used oil clay which they have been working with a lot this school year. Oil clay stays moist even when left out and is a bit harder to work with than play dough but is wonderful for the children's hand muscles. The children have enjoyed putting the oil clay in baby food jars and using sticks and wire with it.
This week they were introduced to wood clay which is made from wood and has a stickier feel to it. Mia said it looked like wood because it was brown, Zoe and James said it felt like sand, and Anna said it did not smell so delicious. The children took turns poking it, pulling it apart and putting sticks in it to see how it felt. We left it out in a tray to see if it stayed moist like the oil clay and the children noticed that it had dried up and felt hard.
This week they were introduced to wood clay which is made from wood and has a stickier feel to it. Mia said it looked like wood because it was brown, Zoe and James said it felt like sand, and Anna said it did not smell so delicious. The children took turns poking it, pulling it apart and putting sticks in it to see how it felt. We left it out in a tray to see if it stayed moist like the oil clay and the children noticed that it had dried up and felt hard.
A Spotlight on Japanese Artist: Yayoi Kusama
As we have been observing colors and feelings throughout artwork and pictures in books, the children began to look into the fascinating artwork of Yayoi Kusama. As they quickly noticed, many of her famous art pieces have something in common: vivid colors and polka dots. The children laughed and made so many comments about her work as we shared pictures of her sculptures and paintings. They were especially interested in her artwork with eyes as well as the rooms covered in polka dots. They said if they did that to their homes their mommies and daddies might get angry. We will continue to look at Yayoi Kusama's interesting artwork and see what speaks to the children and how her masterpieces influence their work.
The children also worked with paper clay to begin creating masterpieces inspired by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. They looked at more photos of her artwork that included paintings and sculptures and continued to observe all of the bold colors and polka dots. They will wait until next week when the paper clay is dry to paint their creations...perhaps with some artistic influences!
More Japanese Culture
Our classes were very fortunate to have two wonderful cultural experiences this week: kimono-wearing and tea cermony. First, the children watched carefully as Teacher Hisako showed all of the various pieces and steps of putting on a kimono. She explained the purpose of each item and the children repeated what they were called. After she put everything on, she showed the children what women wear over their kimono if it rains.
Next, she chose one Nursery friend from each class to be a model and wear a kimono. Beautiful!
Next, she chose one Nursery friend from each class to be a model and wear a kimono. Beautiful!
Japanese Tea Ceremony
On Friday the children experienced a Japanese Tea Ceremony with Teacher Hisako. They wore their finest Japanese attire and sat attentively and watched as Teacher Hisako demonstrated the many steps of the ceremony. The children were so observant and noticed that her handkerchief was in the shape of a triangle and also helped her count to ten in Japanese as she whisked the powder and the hot water. Then, it was the children's turn to try the tea themselves accompanied by a tasty Japanese sweet. We were so very proud of our Nursery friends as EVERY child tasted the tea and many of them drank every drop in their tea cup. Well done again, Nursery friends!
Where We Live and Where We Are From
As the children have become more aware of Japan and that we live here right now, they have become more interested in talking about where they are from or where they travel to often. We have a map of Roppongi Hills hung up in our classroom and the children have become familiar with it and know that we can see our school on it. We recently hung up a map of the world and showed the children that Teacher Julie came from America and Teacher Natalie came from New Zealand. They have been looking at the map more and have been pointing to different parts of the world and asking where certain countries are. We will continue to explore maps with the children and will be asking for parent's help in the near future :)
Thank you for another productive and FUN week. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
-Julie and Natalie
-Julie and Natalie