Hangin' with Seahorses

わたしはロボト

Working in a Japanese preschool there are often times I forget that I'm in a foreign culture and not my own with a bunch of little kids. Through my experience working in various countries I've learned that although every culture is unique and different, children all behave like children and before they've learned specific cultural behaviors they really are very similar. 

And then there are moments like these, where one of my students spends the morning building a giant robot from blocks and speaking in a robotic voice and then I suddenly feel thrown back into Japan and I love it for how special and silly this memory will be.

Octopi Everywhere!

I started working with children in an educational setting when I was eighteen years old. Over the past eight years I've worked with kids of all ages, kids in different settings, kids from different cultures and taught them different subjects, but there is nothing I've enjoyed as much as working with children and art. No matter who the child is or what the craft is, I always enjoy teaching how to use different materials, and guiding them in their creativity. It's important to encourage them to experiment, get their hands dirty, and create something from their imaginations that doesn't have to be anything real. There is no such thing as bad art, and I try to instill this way of thinking in all the kids I work with. Everyone is creative and it is so important to find the confidence in your creativity at a young age so that you continue expressing it as your grow older.

Last year I proposed to my director that I wanted to teach a private English class after school that focused on English through art. I've loved working with a small group of kids every Thursday afternoon, and it has allowed me to teach students that are not in my class. In last week's meeting I suggested that myself and the Milky Way sensei team up to teach a combined art class once a week, and if it went well, schedule it for twice in a week.

The Milky Way class is a year older than Shooting Star, and I thought that by combining the classes, it would give the older kids a chance to both help the younger students as well as set an example for sharing, following directions, speaking in English, and general behavior. It would also be a nice change for myself and the other sensei, as we both work alone without partners. The goal was for the students to benefit from being joined together as well as for the teachers to.

This morning we had all twenty-four kids come into my classroom and we mixed them up at different tables and then began the activity. The project was making an octopus from different mediums, and the students were required to follow multiple steps as well as wait patiently for their turn to rotate to the different stations for the activity.

The kids were amazing, and each octopus turned out adorable and unique!

Our Under the Sea mural is almost complete....

Hinamatsuri and Aurora's Hina Ningyo

In the month of March is a special day for Japan, known as Hinamatsuri. Hinamatsuri, or girls day,  celebrates the health and happiness of the lives of Japanese girls. Each girl gets  a doll, called a hina ningyo.

I learned about this holiday from my partner in Aurora, who planned a craft and lesson to teach the children about it. Working in an international school is amazing because not only do I have an opportunity to share my own culture and experiences with my partner and class, but I also get to learn about Japanese traditions and celebrations and learn the language and customs. 

For Hinamatsuri, the kids all made paper dolls using origami, and pasted them to a paper with sakura in the background. Each set of dolls turned out unique and I love how each child interpreted the project and made it their own. 

Their favorite thing to do right now is to hold up whatever art we are working on, and all shout, "like this? Miss. Allie, like this???" And it doesn't stop until each and everyone of them gets my approval and a compliment on what they've done thus far.