リズムとダンス Music! Music!

今日は久しぶりの青空でとても暑い日になりました。先週までは、あまりプールに入れなかったので、今日の子ども達はみんなとても元気に水浴びをしました。大きいお友達はどれだけ長く息を止められるか競争してます。部屋に帰ってからは先生と一緒にリズム遊びとゲームをしました。ゲームは、みんなで輪になって鈴を後ろ手にまわしながらどの人が持ってるかを当てるゲームでしたが、みんな見つからないように一生懸命隠してる姿がとてもかわいらしかったです。終わりのダンスはもうみんな覚えたようですね、しっかり腰をシェイクしてましたよ。来週は野菜スタンプをします。日本人の私は昔小学校でやった記憶があります、楽しいんですよね。外国人のみなさんはやった事があるのでしょうか？お母さん達も子どもに戻って楽しんでもらえたら嬉しいです。10：00からはプールに行ってますのでプールに入るお友達は来てくださいね。
Bees are not around. Nice, hot, sunny weather. Pool is on today! 12 kids came today so the pool is pretty packed. We have a new friend joining us from China today. Welcome! After lots of splashing at the pool, everyone came up and next it is music time. Using different types of instruments like tambourines, castanets, bells and maracas, the kids moved their instruments to the music. It is like a mini orchestra. Next the kids and mothers sat in a circle and passed a bell behind their backs. One kid will be it and stand in the middle with his or her eyes closed and when the rhyme stop, the kid has to guess where the bell is. As usual story telling in Japanese and English and also dancing to English songs. Next week, pool time and also vegetable stamping. Come and join us.

お化け紙コップ Paper Cup Ghosts

今日は夏休みに入ったこともあり、たくさんのお友達が来てくれました。今日の製作は紙コップとビニール袋を使って飛び出るお化けを作りました。みんなでビニール袋に好きな絵を描きストローにつないで空気を入れるとお化けがニョキニョキ出てきます。みんな大喜びで必死に膨らましていました。お友達同士で絵の見せ合いっこをして大騒ぎで、とても楽しそうでよかったです。その後に手遊び、絵本を読んで最後にダンスをしました。今日は普段幼稚園に行ってる大きいお友達もいたのでダンスの時間は大盛り上がり、みんな腰をシェイクしてノリノリでした。来週は晴れてプールに入れたらいいなと思います。遊びに来てくれるお友達は水着を持ってきてくださいね。来週もたくさんのお友達が着てくれたら嬉しいです、」待ってます。11 kids came today. Summer holiday is on in Japan so the older kids that are in kindergarten came to join us today. We also have a new friend from Thai today. Welcome! As it was drizzling this morning, we did not have pool time. We made paper cup ghosts today using paper cups, plastic bags and straws. In Japan, they like to tell ghost stories during the summer as supposedly being afraid will send the shivers down your spine and cool you down. The kids drew on the plastic bags with markers, decorated the paper cups with stickers and blew on the straw to blow up the ghost. After that they will attack the blown up ghost and make it small and keep it back into the cup. It was a hit amongst the kids. There is also story telling in Japanese and English and singing and dancing in English. Next week, we will have a Let's Sing Together session. Come and join us. If it is sunny, bring along your swim suit and towel.

水遊びとはち Water Toys

梅雨も明けてとっても青い空が広がっています。思いっきりプール遊びをしようと出て行ったのですが、蜂が何匹か飛んできました。水の中やマットの上に止まっていたり、ぶんぶん飛び回ってくるのでとても危険でしたので、場所を変えて水を使った遊びだけをしました。保育園のお友達も一緒でとても楽しく過ごしました。入り口にはお花がたくさん咲いていてそれもきれいです。子どもたちは本当に水遊びが大好きで、顔に水がかかっても泣いたりしません。これから長い夏休みの間、たくさん遊んで大きくなって欲しいです。今日からまた新しいお友達もきました。来週は水遊びと紙コップを使ったお化けを作ります。どうぞいらしてください。
Bees! There are bees flying around our normal pool area today so we moved the small pool and played at a different spot. Hopefully, we can find the nest of the bee and remove the bees by next week. We have new friends joining us today from India and Britain. Welcome! Water toys. Using plastic bottles, we made handles from strings and pierced holes at the bottom of the bottles. Then using colorful plastic tapes and markers, the kids decorated their toys. Also using a milk carton, we made a slide where you can pour water and let the water run. It is hot and sunny today so playing in the water is a lot of fun. As usual, we read some English story books and sang and danced to English songs. Next week, we will be making a Paper Cup Ghost. Do you know what it is? Why not come and find out. Remember to bring along swim suits and towels.

Pot Luck Party

Pot luck party today. Food! Food! Food! POTATO play group members, Japanese class members and English class members joined the party today. Lots of different types of food. Peruvian, Korean, Malaysian, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese to name a few. After food, we played some Japanese word games. It is like charade where you try and guess what the word is except that instead of using gestures you have to explain the word in Japanese.

You may wonder about the Japanese class mentioned here. Well the place that POTATO play group gathers is actually the venue for a voluntary Japanese class. Class fee is 2000 yen per month. Classes are held on Wednesday and Friday morning (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.) and afternoon (1 p.m. and 3 p.m.). Child care assistance is also available. For more information, you can refer to the link below.
Voluntary Japanese Class

Hello! Hello!

Not raining this Thursday. Yippee! Pool time is on. The kids played at the small pools set up at the back of the building. They had lots of fun. One of the kid did not bring his swimming things and played in his diaper. After that, we made a telephone using string and paper cups. The kids decorated the telephone with pictures and stickers. The mum will go a distance and speak through the paper cup and it is just amazing to see the eyes of the kid light up and their lips curl up in a smile when they hear their mummy's voice. I guess to the kid, there is no one greater than mummy and daddy. As usual we have story telling and dancing and singing in English. We have a new friend joining us today from India. Welcome and do continue to join us. Today, the POTATO play group members exchanged contacts and arranged to meet each other at their houses. It is nice to see that POTATO is facilitating as a place to meet new friends. Tomorrow, we will be having a pot luck party at room 403 from 11 to 2 pm. Do come and join us. For next week, there will be pool time and we will be making toys to play in the pool. Till then, see you.

Japanese Star Festival, Tanabata

Japanese Star Festival, Tanabata Festival is a Japanese tradition wherein people write their wishes on tanzaku papers (colorful, small strips of papers) and hang them on bamboo branches. Depending on regions, tanabata is celebrated on July 7th or August 7th (which is near July 7th on the lunar calendar). People decorate bamboo branches with various kinds of paper decorations and place them outside their houses. Many cities and towns hold tanabata festivals and have tanabata displays, decorating the main streets. In some regions, people light lanterns and float them on the river, or float bamboo leaves on the river. Today, we brought a bamboo branch and prepared Star Festival decorations using paper cups, colorful streamers and stars. However, as it was pouring this morning, no participants came. Next week, we will be making a toy phone. Do come and join us. Also next Friday, July 10th, there will be a pot luck party from 11 to 2 pm. All POTATO members are invited. Bring a dish and come.