{"id":384,"date":"2017-03-12T20:58:56","date_gmt":"2017-03-12T11:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/?p=384"},"modified":"2017-03-13T06:47:33","modified_gmt":"2017-03-12T21:47:33","slug":"spring-is-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/2017\/03\/12\/spring-is-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring is here!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Although mornings and evenings are still chilly, yes, spring is\u00a0definitely on its way. Look at the early sakura tree in full bloom on our school playground. \u00a0And around Sister Carmel’s sakura tree are little children dancing to celebrate the coming of spring.<\/p>\n

From our classroom we can witness\u00a0this tree changing with the\u00a0seasons. \u00a0Now it’s the most colorful time\u00a0with blossoms of\u00a0pink, and the emerging\u00a0green leaves; with the\u00a0strong winds, the petals will fill the ground soon. In a couple of weeks, we also won’t\u00a0need our jackets anymore. \u00a0The tree continues to grow … and so do\u00a0the children.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Last month\u00a0in February, the Elementary School students participated in a\u00a0Rice Drive. Their Student Council showed appreciation by sharing with\u00a0all three\u00a0Montessori classes gluten-free popcorn\u2014passed out in\u00a0popcorn bags. \u00a0Of course, we “love” popcorn! \u00a0So on Valentine’s Day<\/strong>, Tuesday, February 14th, after reading some Valentine stories, the children\u00a0wanted to pop some kernels. \u00a0The popping sound could be heard inside the microwave range; and, sure enough, the smell of popcorn filled our\u00a0classroom. \u00a0It was decided to take the treat\u00a0home for Valentine’s, along with the cards the children had\u00a0created. \u00a0Popcorn was put into paper cups, and placed\u00a0inside bags. \u00a0Using a\u00a0twister to seal each container proved to be\u00a0a bit\u00a0challenging, as some of the children told us they had never used a\u00a0twister before. \u00a0Each child learned how to “twist” using their\u00a0fingers.<\/p>\n

With the\u00a0month of March arriving,\u00a0Girls Day<\/strong>, on Friday, March 3rd, was observed by the children taking home some “arare<\/em>” in a Hina<\/em> doll bag that each child had\u00a0colored. \u00a0The second week of March was our annual Montessori Japanese Culture Week.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Japanese Culture Week (3\/6-3\/10)<\/strong>: \u00a0 \u00a0On Monday, we made some sushi. \u00a0Looks good, doesn’t it? \u00a0Getting hungry?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Look closer. \u00a0See? \u00a0Well, these sushi were made by the children … using styrofoam, bubble wrap, straws, construction paper, tape and glue. \u00a0Six moms had prepared the materials for us, so we all had fun rolling the long strips of styrofoam, then\u00a0putting straws in the center. Tamago<\/em> (egg) nigiri<\/em>\u00a0was\u00a0actually a thin piece of yellow sponge! \u00a0Ikura<\/em> (salmon eggs) were bubble wrap\u00a0colored with red markers. \u00a0Oh, they all looked so real, and so much fun to make!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We went to different table stations to create\u00a0a\u00a0variety of\u00a0sushi. \u00a0When all was\u00a0done, we packed them to\u00a0take home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Then on Wednesday, March 8th, three moms introduced us to a famous Japanese traditional story called “Momo Taro” (“Peach Boy”). \u00a0We watched the kamishibai<\/em>\u00a0way of storytelling within a wooden frame, as the moms took part in reading the lines by different characters. \u00a0Their babies were also listening along with our\u00a0Montessori children.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After the storytelling, the children drew a picture of the peach that had drifted down\u00a0the river, the strong healthy Peach boy, and of his adventures with the ogres to save the villagers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On Thursday, March 9th, we made a pretty sakura<\/em> collage and designed our own\u00a0name\u00a0slips.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the last day of Japanese Culture Week, Friday, March 10th, all\u00a0three Montessori classes participated\u00a0in\u00a0a parade, walking\u00a0around the Upper Rec Hall in Japapnese costumes. The parents also were treated to the children performing\u00a0two songs: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with\u00a0Japanese lyrics, and “Gu, choki, pa ” (the “Stone, paper, scissors” song). \u00a0In the afternoon, we stood on stage in\u00a0the Fine Arts Auditorium to perform\u00a0these two songs once again, this time before\u00a0the Elementary, Middle School, and High School students. \u00a0We felt proud to be a part of the all-school collaboration for\u00a0Japanese Culture Day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier, on Tuesday, March 7th, the Montessori children, 4 years and older, were invited to watch an\u00a0Austrian Ballet Performance<\/strong>, along with our\u00a0Elementary School and younger YIS students, in the Fine Arts Auditorium. \u00a0It was the\u00a0well-known story of “Cinderella,” which\u00a0the children enjoyed watching such\u00a0a\u00a0visual production. \u00a0What a full and fun-filled week it has been!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although mornings and evenings are still chilly, yes, spring is\u00a0definitely on its way. Look at the early sakura tree in full bloom on our school playground. \u00a0And around Sister Carmel’s sakura tree are little children dancing to celebrate the coming of spring. From our classroom we can witness\u00a0this tree changing with the\u00a0seasons. \u00a0Now it’s the…
Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":430,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions\/430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.stmaur.ac.jp\/mom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}