A Special Week

Our final full week of the summer found us exploring and learning about Japan. We are fortunate to have two families from Japan in our classroom. They were able to provide us with stories, pictures, and games native to their culture. It enabled us to experience Japan on a slightly more personal basis.

We were able to see pictures of Yuri and her sister in Kimonos. A Kimono is a traditional Japanese dress that girls wear on a special event, such as the New Year. We also looked at a picture of Kenshin on Children’s Day, May 5th, in Japan. They provided us with a picture of the beautiful Himeji Castle and of Kinkakuji (Golden Temple), which is one of the most famous temples in Japan, and of the highest mountain in Japan, Mt. Fuji.

We were able to play an origami sumo wrestling game, made by Kenshin’s mother. The students really enjoyed tapping the corner of the game to make the paper wrestlers move, trying to make their opponent fall from the board first. We were able to see many examples of origami, such as a cat, a dog, a frog, and a heart.

This week was a true learning experience as we were able to incorporate real pictures, real games, real stories, and real people into our education! We would like to give a special thank you to both Kenshin and Yuri’s family.