Japanese

The children have been participating in Japanese class every Wednesday and Friday from 12:15-1pm with Aki Sensei, a native speaker of Japanese, mother of Juno and Luka, and skilled teacher.  The children are completely immersed in the Japanese language, as Aki Sensei only speaks Japanese during this period.  The children often begin their lesson with an active game.  They sing a song in Japanese accompanied by a finger play about a fox which involves common greetings.  They also go through a series of movements which are healthy for their bodies help them to experientially learn common words like "sit," "stand," "run," and body parts.  They observe and act in the natural setting learning words like "tree," "stone," and "apple" through games.  The children folded origami cranes, envelopes and airplanes. For the final lesson of the 6 week block the children made onigiri, rice balls with nori (seaweed), and optional umeboshi (plum) and fish.  They love the class and relate to this language and culture with enthusiasm.

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Fox song

 

Kocchi kara kitsune ga dete kitayo     ( watch the fox come out from over here)

mimi oogokasuyo piku piku piku          (let's wiggle the ears)

mae o mooite konichiwa                    ( face forward and say hello)

kon kon kon kon sayonara                  (say goodbye to the fox now)

 

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Clap with one finger

 

ichi(1) no hakushu  ichi no hakushu     (what does it sounds like if you clap with 1 finger)

kikasete kudasai donna oto?

 

(repeat the above refrain with 2-5)

 

ni(2)

san(3)

shi(4)

go(5)

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Rock, Scissors, Paper

 

goo choki pa de                                    (what shall we make with rock, paper, scissors)

goo choki pa de                                   

nani tsukuro nani tsukuro

migite ga goo de hidarite  ga choki de katatumuri  (make a rock with your right hand and scissors with the left to form a snail)

(the rest is just variations on this theme of making different things with rock, paper, scissors, like a swing, tent, etc.)

 

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Letters Block and Storytelling

During this language block, I tell the children a story every day in the cedar grove.  They listen in silence the first day, then act it out the next day before they hear a new story.  They do this with great enthusiasm.  These stories feed their souls and they come up with glorious pictures in their imaginations.  I tell stories that have a main character who has a particular sound in their name.  Then we draw that picture with beeswax crayons as a very simple color drawing.  The form of the letter then emerges from the picture and the children love to discover this!  From then on we find everything we can that has that sound in it or the shape of the letter in nature.  For the letter B, I told the story of "Snow White and Rose Red" which you can find in Grimm's tales.  We drew a big brown bear.

And this is as good a time as ever to mention that we've been observing the B-B-Bees as they prepare for the Winter.

Here are some other stories I've told:
"The Giving Tree" A poem by Shel Silverstein
"Wyeast, Klickitat, and Loowitlatkla" A Tale about Mt. Hood told by the folks of this land
"The Golden River" by John Ruskin
"The Adventures of Northwestern Garter Snake" tales from Teacher Frankie's heart and class
"Little Tuppen" An old tale retold by Paul Galdone

Trips to Johnson Creek

We have been walking to Johnson Creek every other Tuesday after main lesson.  We observe and experience how it changes though the season.  Our first lunch spot is already completely under water!  During this letters block, we look for things in nature that have the sounds in them that we are working with or find things that look like the letters we are learning to write.  The children have participated in many activities such as games and stories while on the trip.  This also offers deep nature immersion and different perspective (literally, from across the creek) on the farm and our school.

Here is one of many wooly bear houses they built.  Soon, we will be bringing our flutes and craft activities with us to Johnson Creek to play for the spirits of the land and waters.  It's a short walk away from the school down the street and through a friendly neighbor's yard.  Ms. Maura accompanies us.  The Tuesday field trips will end October 29th.  We may still plan field trips, but Tuesdays will be held on the land until the Spring.