Yesterday was Friday. I woke up early to a phone call from Yoko. She informed me that it was raining and that she would come and pick me up at my apartment and drive me to the train station. I got ready for school and sure enough, she was there, right on time. When I got to the station, Mariko was there to meet me. She was me escort today to Midori Nursery School in Fukuyama. We rode the train for an hour and then Yuko, the principal, picked us up at the station and took up to the school. As soon as I walked in the children were saying, “Hello Amanda Sensei!”
They had a school wide assembly for me (very small, keep in mind). It was great! All of the different classes stood up. They all sang songs and did motions. We ended my doing to Hokey Pokey. The kids were hysterical, especially the babies!
Afterwards I went to the 3 year old classroom. Yuko asked me if I minded teaching the 3 year olds for 10 minutes each week. She wanted me to teach them songs and dances. They all introduced themselves. (MY NAME IS….) It was so funny. It kind of reminded me of the time we had the recital and the little kids walked on stage during set changes and said, “My name is …. And I love my dancing school!”
I met the 4 year old next. I will see two groups of them. They introduced themselves and asked me questions. Then we read In the Mirror. The 5 year old class is small so I will see them all together. They introduced themselves, asked me questions, and then we read Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Their English was really great already. I’m excited about working with this school.
Something that I noticed in all of the schools that I have been in is the autonomy that the children have. If they get into an argument they are expected to work it out. The teacher may mediate, but the students do the talking-no matter what their age it. I am so happy to see this! I do this in my own classroom and it is encouraging to see it being done even with the 3 year olds. Another thing that the children do to solve problems like who will go first, second, etc. is play Rock, Paper, Scissors!! I asked Mandy if she taught the kids this game and she said no. It’s just really popular in Japan. It cracked me up because my own first graders do this in America to solve problems or see who gets something or goes first.
After meeting the children I went to the Kato’s house for lunch. I checked my email and ate and then I have about an hour to myself for a rest. I read my book which was so nice. I never get duty free lunch at school unless it’s a special day or something. Here I get is every day. Jealous, friends?
I gave the teachers lessons after that. We talked about the curriculum that I was going to cover and them we just had conversation in English. We talked about our families, pets, homes, etc. I had the teachers in two groups. Usually I will start at 10:30 and end at 6:30 but today I finished at 3:00. They took pity on the tired American who looked as though she was going to fall asleep on them. I am also getting a chest cold. I think it might be bronchitis. I used to get this when my room was damp and muggy and that is how the air is everywhere here.
The train ride home was great. Another hour of reading. It was raining when we got to the station so I got to ride home in a taxi. Very stinky. Back at the apartment I curled up with my book again and listened to it rain. Yoko came by. It seems that Yuko, the principal at the school, had called her and told her that I had a cough. Yoko brought me some cake and had come to see if I was sick. She said she would call me in the morning to see if I wanted to go to the doctor. Nothing is a secret with these people--they are all looking after me!
Today is Saturday. I wanted to go exploring across the street. There are these neat little shops I can see from my window. I got out my binoculars the other night and tried to see into the stores. I couldn’t see very well but I think some are clothes and one might be books. Anyway, I wanted to walk over there and check it out. It’s raining though so I don’t really need to get out in that.
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