International Week presentations (cont’d) and parade, Adult Enrichment

International Costume Parade: One day during International Week, the children all dressed up in International costumes.  It’s time for the big parade!

Wow! Lots of parents were waiting for our arrival in the Upper Recreation Hall!

    

International week presentation (Part 2):   Germany – Mrs. Boehmert came to our class to share with us how the children in Germany celebrate Saint Martin’s feast on November 11th.  They make paper lanterns and carry them in a procession.

We learned about the country’s geography, referring to a map.  We also tasted some freshly baked German bread.

We were shown different types of lanterns that the children might make for the festival.  Then we made our own lantern decorations.

The same week we learned about the United States of America:  Mr. and Mrs. Nash along with Mrs. Farmer talked to us about their native country.  We also had a quizz about sports, popular children’s names in America, food, and so much more.

Since the presentation happened to be on Halloween Day, the children enjoyed playing a Halloween-picture Bingo game.  They also received some Halloween treats to take home.

We even sampled some roasted pumpkin seeds, which, for certain classmates, was a first-time experience.

Halloween – We made jack-o’-lantern baskets and learned how to fold two strips of paper into springs for the arms and legs.

 Diwali is a Hindu celebration of the Lights held during the period between October and November.  It’s a major festival in India.  “Happy Diwali!”

One of the popular classes of Saint Maur’s Adult Enrichment Program is for the parents to dress in an Indian costume.  Our Indian moms volunteered to show any interested parents how to wear a beautiful Sari, consisting of a long strip of cloth that can be wrapped around in various ways.

The moms wanted to show the children their beautiful Indian costumes, so they came up on the roof during recess time.  The children were excited to see their moms participating in Indian culture!

The parents are excited to learn new things, just like the children!  That’s what the Adult Enrichment is all about… to promote life-long learning.

And, here is a two year old making his own discoveries in class, beginning his life-long learning.

Class excursion: mikan-picking

As the hot summer left, and the colorful autumn leaves started to fall, the class went on its first class excursion to Shiba Seaside Farm in Yokohama.  The 20 children and two moms, along with Ms. Mimi and Ms. Hoshi, boarded the school bus. Off we went!

After arriving at the farm, we entered a patch of mikan trees where the children were shown how to pick mikans without using scissors.  The trick was to hold the mikan and… twist, twist, twist until the fruit fell from the branches.   These mikans, rich in Vitamin C, hung low enough for us to pick them.

The first part involved picking the mikans, peeling their skin and enjoying the taste and smell as the class ate near the trees.  Some children loved the sweet juicy mikan so much that they ate three, four, and even more mikans!

Then it was time for us to pick some more.  We were given a bag and could fill it all the way to the top.  We tried to pick the ripe-looking, orange-colored mikans, not the green ones which had not ripened yet.

“We love mikans, we’re still eating!”

   

     

             

 

Our backpacks on the way back to the school bus were a lot heavier than on the way to the farm.

We were getting hungry again.  It was time to have our lunches in the open air.  It was picnic time!

On the way home, some children were fast asleep, lulled by the cadence of the school bus.  Sweet dreams!  Thank you to the two mom-chaperons who helped us all day.  It sure was an exciting excursion.

Elementary sports day:  On November 2nd, the Elementary School had their Sports Day on the field at Futaba Elementary School.  Futaba school is our sister school, and we share the same school badge.  Their campus is located adjacent to ours.

We walked to the field,  watched, and cheered as many of the children have siblings in Elementary School.  They were divided into four different color groups, and they had the color T-shirt of their respective color teams.  Many parents came to cheer them on.