CURRENT EVENTS

• 2019.02.21Intermediate English Open Class

  

  Class 4
  Today we had a wonderful time in Class 4! The children were all excited to help their friend Peter the Pig. They could do many challenges to help him! The children had English Conversation Time, sang the song “Sing-a-ling”, did a spelling challenge, and also did a world quiz. For the world quiz, the children described country flags and landmarks like “It has a yellow eagle and three stripes,” as well as say what food people in those countries eat. Other children listened carefully and guessed what country it is like, “Is it Egypt?” When all the challenges were cleared, the children got to meet Peter since they helped him. We were so impressed that each child spoke lots of English to answer questions and describe many things. Everyone did so well and had lots of fun. Thank you very much to the families for coming today and your continued support. It has been a wonderful year and we will make the most of the remaining time!
  
  Class 5 and 6
  Classes 5 and 6 had a great time today helping Mr. Zookeeper and his animals at I.Y.K. Zoo. We traveled around the world to India, China, Japan, Australia, and Egypt to look for nice, warm clothes for the animals. The children could say where each animal was from in a big, confident voice, “It’s from China / India / Japan / Australia / Egypt.” Everyone also asked “What do you need?” and answered by saying “I need a hat / scarf / jacket / glove / boot” in a clear voice. We even got to see their special animal dance at the end, and we had so much fun! We were so impressed that the children could use so much English. Everyone did a great job! Thank you to all of the parents who took the time to join us today. The children were so excited to see you. Well done, classes 5 and 6!
  

• 2019.02.20Senior English Open Class

  

  Class 7
  Today was the Senior English Open Class for Class 7. The children storybooks had been taken away by Mr. English Stories. He had also set the children several challenges as the books were kept in a safe with a special combination. First, the children completed the song and vocabulary game challenge to gain the first number. They knew a lot of different countries in English and could make a song together. The next challenge was the spelling challenge and it was impressive to see that the children could write so many words and be confident in English. Next was the interview challenge where the children could talk about what they did yesterday to the friends and find different members of Class 7 to interview. And finally there was the story maker challenge where the children put back together different story books about some of the other English teachers at the kindergarten. The children could finally open the safe and all of the storybooks were there along with a letter. The letter revealed that Mr. English Stories was Enchou Sensei and he had been watching the children all along. Once again I would like to extend a warm thank you to all the parents who attended this open class and I hope you could see your child’s growth in English.
  Class 8 and 9
  Classes 8 and 9 did a great job helping all the athletes to find their sports equipment and get on the right planes to go home. All of the children were able to use big confident voices to ask each other today’s target questions, “What does he / she need?” to find out what sports equipment they need and “Where is he / she from?” to find out what plane they needed to get on. They were also able to correctly identify different sports based on what the athlete was wearing and when to use ‘He’ or ‘She’. Everyone did a wonderful job of showing their parents what they learned this year. Thank you again to all the parents that took the time to join us today and show the children their support. Congratulations to classes 8 and 9 for a super job!

• 2019.02.19年中　文字かずChallenge

  

  今日は年中の文字かずChallengeでした。昨日文字かず王国のキングから“最後のチャレンジの準備ができた！”という内容のお手紙が届いた年中のお子さま達。「これがクリアできたら年長になれるってこと？」と、ワクワクしながら文字かずChallenge当日を迎えました。登園すると、「いつ文字かず王国に行くの？」「難しいかなぁ？」と、少し緊張しているお子さまや、楽しみにしているお子さまと様々な様子が見られました。みんなで気合を入れていよいよ文字かず王国へ出発！おなじみのCaptain Planetが登場し、「今日は２つのチャレンジにクリアすると、年長の文字かずに挑戦できる切符がもらえる！」という話を聞き、やる気十分になったお子さま達は、1つ目の“かずのチャレンジ”に挑戦！目の前に出てきたのは、所々に穴があいた１～５０までの数列表…クラスみんなで協力して穴埋めをして、５０までの数列表を完成させるというチャレンジでした。前のマスに書かれた数字を見て順に埋めていき、最後の1マスはH.Tが書き入れ、３クラス無事に正しい数列表を完成させることができました。続いて、２つ目のチャレンジは同頭語を見つけるひらがなチャレンジ！Mr.Danが持っているカードに書かれたひらがなと同じひらがなで始まることばが書かれたカードを探して、それぞれの家に貼っていきました。Mr.Danのひらがなカードをよく見て、たくさんあるカードの中から同頭語を見つけ出し、家に貼ることは少し難しいかな？と思いましたが、そんな心配はよそに、楽しくカードを選び取り組む姿にお子さま達の成長が感じられた一日でした。２つのチャレンジを無事クリアして喜んでいるところに、何やら聞き覚えの無い声が…なんと！文字かず王国のキングがみんなの頑張りを見て、プレゼントを持ってやって来たのです。年少ぶりのキングの登場に大喜びのお子さま達。プレゼントBoxを空けてみると、中には修了カードが…。年中組の文字かずChallengeはクリアし、年長組でも文字かずChallengeができる切符を手にたお子さま達は、「年長さんの文字かずってどんなことやるのかな？」と、期待を膨らませていました。修了カードは本日持ち帰っています。年長組になっても文字やかずに楽しく取り組み、またキングに会えるといいですね！

• 2019.02.18Today’s class 9

  

  今日の9組は、3クラス合同の卒園式練習から1日が始まりました。皆勤賞・健康努力賞の賞状の受け取り方を練習し、「感謝の言葉」から「Precious memory」、退場までの流れを何度も確認しました。登園したばかりの9組でしたが、真剣に参加する姿がかっこよかったです。言葉はとてもよく言えていますが、歌の歌詞がところどころ不確かな部分があったので、本番に向けて何度もうたっていきましょうね。次回はいよいよ通し練習です！本日の給食は7組のリクエスト給食でした。から揚げやメロンパンなど、お子様が大好きなメニューばかりだったこともあり、皆すぐにたいらげて、おかわりは長蛇の列になっていました。9組のリクエストは21日のランチで食べることができます！楽しみですね！午後はMusic Lessonがありました。楽譜を見たり、安江先生に教えてもらいながら新しい曲を練習することを楽しんでいました。Lessonを待っているお子様はクラスで絵本製作を行っていました。下書きが終わったので本書きがスタートし、幼稚園最後の集大成となる製作を楽しんでいました。明日も元気いっぱいで楽しく過ごしましょうね！

• 2019.02.15Today’s ICEC　文字かずChallenge　～年少～

  

  ICEC Special Memories – Today’s International Cultural Exchange Club (ICEC) was focused on talking about a special memory from 2018. Mr. Dan spoke about his family coming to visit him in Japan during the summer, while Mr. Mike spoke about his trip to Noboribetsu with his family. Mr. Luke also joined ICEC for the first time, and spoke about his brothers’ wedding in Florida. We had fun listening to everyone’s special memories, looking at photos and videos, and asking questions. There were some very special and exciting stories, including trips to the aquarium, Kyoto, Hakodate, canoeing on Lake Shikotsu, and a trip to Tazmania! We also played a fun points game called “Zonk!” at the end, in which teams answered questions in order to get points. Thank you very much to everyone who came, and we look forward to seeing you again at the next ICEC meeting.
  今日は年少組の文字・かずChallengeがありました。今回もやってきたのは文字・かずポリス！しかし、今回のお願いは少し違っていました。年少組で頑張って文字やかずに挑戦してきたお子さま達のために素敵なプレゼントがあるというのです！ひとつ目は、文字かずポリスからもらったカードに自分の名前を書くというチャレンジ！お子さま達は、自分の名前カードを見つけ、見本にしながら自分の名前を書いていました。次に行ったチャレンジは、お子さま達がゲットしたカードに丸や三角、四角の形の画用紙を使って装飾するというもの。文字かずポリスが見本でつくった丸、三角、四角を使った絵をしっかりと確かめながら図形を貼り合わせてカードを装飾していましたよ。全ての挑戦を終えた後には、修了証のプレゼントが！来年度の4月からの文字やかずの取り組みに向けて意欲を高めた年少組のお子さま達でした。

• 2019.02.14Today’s Class 8

  

  今日の８組は、まずEnglish lessonからスタート。冬のスポーツについて触れながら楽しいゲームをしたり、歌をうたったりしました。グループに分かれてのゲームでは、選んだカードを見ながら、教えてもらったフレーズで質問をしたり答えを言ったりすることを楽しみました。Lessonが終わってからは、絵本作りを行ないましたよ。今日は初めて絵の清書をする日です。先週で書き終わった文章を見ながら、丁寧に絵を描きました。「早く持って帰りたいなぁー！」と完成した絵本を家族の方に見てもらうのを楽しみにしているお子さまもたくさんいました。そして、今日は卒園式の練習もありました。７組と９組と一緒に卒園証書を受け取る場面からスタートすると、しっかりと集中するお子さま達。3クラス全員受け取る練習は初めてでしたが、全員が受け取るまで長い時間しっかりと待つことができました。安江先生のピアノに合わせて歌をうたったあとは、退場の仕方を覚え２回やってみました。練習が終わり給食を食べ終えると、カルタやトランプ、製作、パズルと好きな遊びを存分に楽しみ、８組の一日が終わりました。明日はみんなの知らないゲームをすることを聞くと、「どんなゲームなの？」「楽しみー！」と明日に期待をもちながら降園していきました。

• 2019.02.13Today’s Class 7

  

  All of the children of Class 7 were very excited to go to the park in the morning with Class 4 and 1. After we came back we did craft for the up coming Hinamatsuri festival. Everyone did their best at cutting out small shapes and drawing nice faces. After that we learned about some foods from around the world and proceeded to make Tacos from Mexico. The children did a very good job at cutting out the different vegetables and putting the meat together with the tortilla. Today we also started diary writing in Class 7 and the children could talk and write about what they have been doing recently. We finished the day with story time about hats and a new song where the children could make some of their own lyrics.

• 2019.02.12Today’s Class6

  

  今日の6組さんはSwimming Lessonがありました。元気いっぱいの挨拶から始まるLessonもあと2回。最初は苦手意識をもっていたお子さまもいましたが、気が付くとみんなが大好きな活動の１つになっていました。諦めずに最後まで頑張ると必ず結果につながり、できるようになるということを身をもって体験し、自信につなげているお子さま達です。年中組最後のテストに向けて今日も頑張っていましたよ！さて、Swimmingのあとは、お待ちかねのランチタイム。体を動かした後のランチはまた格別。「おかわり～！！」と、World Lunchのボロネーゼはあっという間に食欲旺盛のお子さま達のお腹の中へ…。ランチの後は再びクラスでブームになっている“コサックダンス”で盛り上がり、またまたいい汗を流し、6組の1日は幕を下ろしました。明日は、Captain Planetが遊びに来るようですよ～♪元気に幼稚園に来てくださいね！

• 2019.02.09The 17th English Speaking Contest ~ Elementary Level

  

  The 17th English Speaking Contest ~ Elementary Level, was held this afternoon. There were many changes to this year’s listening and speaking sections. The listen test was split into 3 very challenging sections: Putting the household items in the correct rooms/locations within a house, following directions on a map to get to an unknown destination and identifying shops and their location, as well as a conversation based recorded test. The Lower level speaking test was based on children going to shops to buy different items and explain why they had chosen each item. The Higher level speaking test was very cultural based, with the children asking and answering questions to get missing information as well as explaining in English how to use different Japanese items. We were all VERY impressed by how much and how naturally the children could use English to sustain conversations. Everyone should feel very proud of themselves today and we hope you all continue to enjoy speaking in English long into the future.

• 2019.02.09The 17th English Speaking Contest ~ Kindergarten Level

  

  The 17th English Speaking Contest ~ Kindergarten Level, was held this morning. This year saw many changes to the way we held the test, with more focus being put on natural conversation skills as well as putting the emphasis on the children having as much fun as possible! The children all completed the listening test first, which was split into new, action, classroom instruction and conversation based listening tests. Next, we were visited by ‘Grandma & Grandpa’ and were asked to go shopping to help them prepare for Grandma’s birthday party. The children all used so much English to communicate with each shopkeeper to collect all of the items on their shopping lists. The English teachers were very impressed with the high level of English being spoken this year and we all had so much fun! Well done everyone, you should all be very proud of your achievements today!