Kindy

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The Kindergarten (called MEK - Miyazaki English Kindergarten) is a 7 minute walk away. It is a tiny centre for the amount of children that attend - 60. There are three classes - we have our own classrooms but they are tiny:

Koala Class 3-4 year olds - Belinda
Panda Class 4-5 year olds - Me!
Bear Class 5-6 year olds - Alek - Macedonian/Australian and he’s 23. (before anyone asks, no I’m not interested in him)

The children are all of course Japanese and like all kindy children, some are much cuter than others! I’m kind of lucky to have gotten the middle class as they have already been at the kindergarten for nearly 2 years and know some English. They know basic things like animals, colours, basic instructions etc. I was surprised that I learned all their names in a week. And they all know mine - Marissa Sensei, which means Marissa teacher. Some of the kids names in my class are - Boys - Sota, Kota, Taketo, Yuki, Shota, Shoki, Kanta - Girls - Arisu, Sumire, Runon, Reia, Anri, Yoshino. The only English name is Karen. My worst nightmare came true haha…I have twins in my class, twin boys, Haru and Kaede! They’re identical but Haru’s hair is a bit longer.

When we and the children arrive at the kindy, we have to take off our shoes and put on our ‘room shoes’. The children arrive in a proper school uniform but then change into play/sports clothes. As you can see all the boys are in blue and the girls in pink. Obviously this makes it difficult to tell them apart from the back! Most of them wear name tags or have their name written or embroidered on their clothes which is a big help!

Lunch time is so funny, Australian kids would freak out if they saw what these kids eat. *Photo coming soon* Most of them eat with chopsticks at lunch too! They all drink black tea with their lunch, which I have to pour for them.

Their kindy year ends at the end of March, so then the classes will change.

The Monday of my third week was parents day. All the parents came to the kindy to watch me teach! It was only for 45 minutes so it wasn't too bad. We went through the morning routine - roll call, day, date, weather, radio taiso (a 3 minute exercise video) and story. Then I got the parents to help the children make ogre masks.

Thursday and Friday mornings, I have to do a bus run. This involves, getting on the minivan, driven my Mr Shiokowa (who doesn’t speak English) and picking up about 9 children and making sure they all have their seatbelts on.

Three afternoons a week I have tuition classes. They are small groups of 3-6 children who come to learn English. Their ages range from 4-12. They have a text book we work through and practice conversation skills. Sometimes I have no clue what to do with them so I just make up games and stuff. I have introduced one group to the game Jungle Speed, which was a hit!

3rd February - Ogre Day/Setsubun

I had to throw peanuts and lollies while saying

Oni wa Soto, Fuku wa Uchi

("Out with the ogre! In with the happiness!") as the children rushed to collect as many as they could.


*Info from a website* Setsubun has been celebrated in many ways, but perhaps the most common custom found throughout Japan is the traditional Mame Maki or the scattering/throwing of beans (mame) to chase away the evil oni (ogres, evil spirits, as depicted in the illustration which heads this article). In some ritual forms, the Toshi Otoko will throw mame within the house or at someone perhaps dressed as oni and repeat the saying Oni wa Soto; Fuku wa Uchi (Get out Ogre! Come in Happiness!). After the ritual throwing of the beans, family members may then pick up the number of beans corresponding to their age; eating these brings assurance of good fortune in the coming year. These days, of course, it is not uncommon to see children dressed in masks of oni, others madly throwing beans, and all gleefully shouting for evil to hit the road. Prominent temples in Japan may also find monks or celebrities showering large crowds of people with mame to ward off spirits and welcome the renewal of the coming New Year.

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Photos

MEK
This is the kindy building. In front are green tea hedges.

My Classroom
The orange pillows on the chairs are in case of an earthquake. The children have to put them over their heads and crawl under the tables.

Ogre Day
Shion & Sumire

Comments

[Peter]

Have fun in Japan
Hi, Just came across your Blog. It is quiete interesting and fun to read your blog and your experiance with the japanese way of teaching. I wish you all the best there and keep on posting. Regards, Peter The Netherlands.

[Nadine]

[e-mail]
Hi there I too was a teacher at MEK - Bunny class. 1996- 1997. Am trying to track down some of my gorgeous kids on facebook, to no avail.