Pottery with Teacher Rika
On Monday, the children reflected on the last time the pottery instructor, Teacher Rika, came to visit and show some elements of clay and how to make a bowl. They remembered that they had to have a plan, and they needed to design what they would like and choose shapes and colors. So they were given sheets of paper with a large circle about the size of a bowl and were asked to draw a plan or design for the big day. Some friends drew shapes, others wrote their names, and other friends drew pictures of their families or lovely designs.
On Tuesday, the big day had arrived: Pottery Day. Teacher Rika brought slabs of clay and taught the children how to smooth it out using wet cloths. Our Nursery friends watched her very closely and did exactly as she said! Next, they put the pieces of smoothed clay into paper bowls and used their fingers to firmly press down so the clay would take the form of the bowl. They used sharpened wooden sticks to trim the excess clay off, resulting in unique forms for every child! Then, they looked closely at their plans that they had previously drawn to try to make the same patterns. The children worked quietly and concentrated so hard using various colors. It was truly impressive to see how interested in this activity they were, and how long it kept their attention. We look forward to the coming weeks as we can't wait to see the finished products! Thank you again to the PTA who kindly contributed to this clay program by allowing Teacher Rika to come and work with the children!
Sumo Preparation
Among the many exciting upcoming Japanese cultural events at the ELC is welcoming sumo wrestlers to our school. This week, the children went up to the community room where Teacher Hisako talked about sumo wrestlers. She explained how important this tradition is in Japan and showed them the steps that the wrestlers take during a match. The children sat, listening intently, sitting with their arms across their chest just as sumo wrestlers should before their matches. She showed them the stances and poses that wrestlers do and was sure to stress that these techniques and motions are to be done only on the mats provided at school and not outside or in the classroom :)
The children were able to 'practice' sumo and take turns by matching up against each other. Teacher Hisako explained that every child will be able to match up against a real sumo wrestler later this month and the children have been so excited, talking about how they will keep practicing so they can win! Our Nursery friends will continue to practice with Teacher Hisako next week.
The children were able to 'practice' sumo and take turns by matching up against each other. Teacher Hisako explained that every child will be able to match up against a real sumo wrestler later this month and the children have been so excited, talking about how they will keep practicing so they can win! Our Nursery friends will continue to practice with Teacher Hisako next week.
Kimonos and Obis
As the kimonos and yukatas have been popular in our classroom we added some more to our collection as well as some accessories which the children were very excited about. They loved dressing up in them and enjoyed adding the obi (sash) to their kimono to put the finishing touches! It really has enhanced their dramatic play as we hear many of them saying that they are a Japanese princess!
Sequencing Rice Making
After making onigiri (rice balls) last week, we reflected on the steps we took to cook the rice. We sequenced the six steps: measure and pour the rice, wash the rice, measure and pour the water, cook the rice in the rice cooker, make the rice into a ball and finally, eat the onigiri. The children enthusiastically shared whether they had plain or nori (seaweed) rice balls and how delicious they were!
Setsubun
On Tuesday, we had a class discussion about Setsubun (Bean Throwing Festival), which we celebrated on Wednesday, February 3rd. Setsubun is the day where we throw roasted soybeans to the oni (a type of troll) to make sure evil spirits are kept away and that good fortune comes to one's family. We also learned a Setsubun song called "Mamemaki no uta" (bean throwing song). After listening to the song, the children felt and smelled the soybeans and some friends commented that it smelled like peanut butter!
Making Oni Masks
After listening to the bean throwing song and seeing a picture of the oni (which the children described as "being angry and having a big nose"), many friends decided they would like to make their own oni masks. The children colored their masks using the colors blue, red and green and drew the eyes, nose and mouth. After they finished drawing, the teachers helped carve out the eyes and added construction paper to the back so the children could put it around their heads. After the Setsubun celebration, the children wanted to take the masks home so we hope you enjoyed taking a look at them!
Making Oni Using Origami
As origami has become popular in our class since we had a special visitor last week, some children decided they wanted to make an oni with origami for setsubun. They did a great job folding accurately, pressing down firmly, and decorating their onis. Some friends decided they wanted to make a funny oni while others made happy or angry onis!
Ehoumaki making and eating in silence
Part of the setsubun tradition in Japan is to make ehoumaki, a type of long sushi roll. Although traditional ones have seven ingredients, we used simple ingredients in ours to accommodate the children's preferences (rice, dried seaweed, furikake and cucumbers) and let the children select what they wanted to put in theirs. As the tradition goes, you are supposed to eat it facing a special direction (this year we were to face south-south-east) and the BIG challenge is to eat the WHOLE thing silently! If you can do this while thinking of a wish, perhaps it will come true. We explained this idea to the children who declared that they could rise to the challenge. Most of them even shared their wishes they would think about when they would eat their roll:
Amazingly, the children ate in silence while eating as much of their rolls as possible. The teachers were impressed and amazed! We truly have a determined and enthusiastic group of friends in our class. Well done, Nursery friends! Thank you again, to Naoko, Mina's mommy, for coming in to help our class make their rolls!
- Michael: (To be) "Spiderman!"
- Mya: "That I'm Elsa."
- Eugene: (To be) "Superman and Batman."
- Mina: "Frozen!"
- Claire: "Barbie."
- Emma: "I be a mermaid."
- Karen: "My wish is mermaid floating in the water."
- Aila: "Frozen."
- James: "I want to be Green Lantern."
Amazingly, the children ate in silence while eating as much of their rolls as possible. The teachers were impressed and amazed! We truly have a determined and enthusiastic group of friends in our class. Well done, Nursery friends! Thank you again, to Naoko, Mina's mommy, for coming in to help our class make their rolls!
We also had time to hear a Japanese story read by Mina's mother before our bean throwing adventure!
Mame maki (Bean throwing event)
Finally, it was time to go and search for an oni (troll) so we could throw soybeans at it. The children were so excited to go on a hunt for one! Before we left the classroom, the teachers emphasized that the oni would be funny (and not scary), and we showed the children a blue mask an oni we might find could possibly be wearing. We also had a discussion about real versus make-believe, and we reassured the children that the oni was only make-believe and a fun Japanese tradition.
We left the school campus in search of the oni as the children said, "Oni san, Where are you?" and found her right past Robot Park! Once the oni came out from behind the trees, the oni started dancing and the children started throwing the beans at her. We were proud of the children for using their gentle hands to throw the beans and that everyone was happily throwing the beans. The children had SO much fun that before the oni left, many friends gave the oni a big hug before running off into the wooded area back home! Well done Nursery friends for being so gentle and brave, and thank you Naoko for being such a fun oni!
We left the school campus in search of the oni as the children said, "Oni san, Where are you?" and found her right past Robot Park! Once the oni came out from behind the trees, the oni started dancing and the children started throwing the beans at her. We were proud of the children for using their gentle hands to throw the beans and that everyone was happily throwing the beans. The children had SO much fun that before the oni left, many friends gave the oni a big hug before running off into the wooded area back home! Well done Nursery friends for being so gentle and brave, and thank you Naoko for being such a fun oni!
At the end of the exciting day, we explained yet another setsubun tradition: eating the amount of beans as your age for a great year. Friends who were interested ate as many soybeans as their age (three or four).They enjoyed the crunchiness and many said it was delicious!
Yoko's Show and Tell Book
Since our Nursery friends have enjoyed reading the Yoko series by Rosemary Wells, Teacher Natalie's son, Yuki, shared his book "Yoko's Show-and-Tell" with the class. The children enjoyed listening to the story and this sparked a conversation about wanting to bring in things (e.g. books or photos) to share with their friends. Following this class discussion, Teacher Julie read a book that Mya had previously brought in and which the children loved listening to....More about sharing things with the class will continue in the following weeks!
The Golden Mask continues...
The children continued on with another step in making their golden masks. First they drew eyes on their masks as they noted that they could not see with it over their faces. Some friends wanted to cut out a mouth our nose while others kept theirs simple. They were able to add some accessories and touches to personalize their colored masks. Some chose jewels while others placed wood pieces and pipe cleaners making sure to drip PLENTY of glue so they would stick. We look forward to exhibiting the finished products in the future! :)
Thank you for a fantastic, fun-filled week. Enjoy the weekend and stay healthy, everyone!
-Julie and Natalie
-Julie and Natalie