F E B R U A R Y Newsletter. Mochitsuki

Transcription

1 F E B R U A R Y Tedako Preschool Newsletter On January 21 st, our children participated in mochitsuki, a Japanese New Year event. Teachers cooked rice and made preparations to make mochi, a Japanese dessert. The children used wooden mallets pound the cooked rice while a teacher turns and wets the mochi. After all the pounding was complete, the children ate the mochi that they worked so hard to make. They added Kinako (soybean flour), and soy sauce to add to the flavor of the rice cake. They really enjoyed this afternoon snack and look forward to this event each year. Special thanks to Chieko Sensei for organizing the event and to the voluenteers, Tedako parents: Ishikawa-San and Aoki-San and OIST Drivers: Hanashiro-San and Kina-San! We could not have done it without you. Save the Date: Mochitsuki Book Bus Parents Art Exhibit Night Out February 6 February 16 February 11 Little Artist of the A children s Children can World in the library on enjoy activities OIST Center Wheels and a and their friends building opening at story tellerwill from 4:00-8:00 at 4:30 vist the CDC Birthdays February 17 Party at school for all the children celebrating a birthday in February at 3:00. Kugani/ Shinka Field Trips February 2 See Cherry Blossoms February 23 Strawberry Picking February 24 Sugar Cane Farm

2 Classroom Updates Kukuru Class Tanka-yu-e 1 year old Celebration Tanka-yu-e is the celebration of one s first birthday in Okinawa. In this game it is said that the first item the child reaches for will predict his or her future. Similar events take place for one year old birthdays in China and Korea too. No matter what is chosen, all the children enjoy his or her first birthday cake. Meet Umusan and Kafuu Class We would like to introduce you to the Umusan class, formerly known as the Yui Class. Since the other two toddler classes have the -san suffix, a teacher proposed a name change for contintuity. Previoulsy there was one 3-year old class at Tedako, but since the Shinka class moved out of the CDC main building, there was room for the 3 year olds to spread out. For now, Aika, Chelsea and Ayumi will lead these 2 classes with the days partially combined. There has been a request to OIST to hire a new Full time teacher to join the 3-year olds in the next fiscal year. 2

3 Circle Time Fun in the Churasan, Kansan, Umusan Classes From the toddler class, children start circle time and group activities. They become able to sit in chairs, copy each other, and start to match colors and shapes. Around 2 years of age, children become interested in letter and numbers and start to recognize shapes. When they become closer to 3 years old, children can start to count in the correct order and read their friends names! Teachers use a variety of things to engage the children such as pictures, music, instruments, dance, toys, books to engage children. Iraida above is using a magnetic board with numbers, Sanae is doing a baking soda vinegar science experiement and Cheiko is reading a book. You can see children are concentrating, listening carefully and feeling various things from the pictures. 3

4 Nuuji/ Kafuu Class Science Fun! This month Nuuji class had some fun creating their own play-doh through scientific sensory discovery! We mixed cornstarch with dish soap to see how the substances react! Nuuji class were amazed at how the powder and dish soap could congeal and create a fun material for them to play with. This sensory scientific activity was great fun, and the Nuuji class students had a lot of sensory fun playing with the end substance. We added food colouring to make our dough even more exciting. Our little scientists did a great job! Nuuji and Kafuu Class Frees the Toys! This month Nuuji class also learned about freezing and melting substances. We sang a lot about five little snowmen, who melted in the sun and turned to water. In one activity, we demonstrated how solid ice, melts into liquid and what causes this to happen. The students were given a sensory box filled with frozen balls that contained little fizzy balls trapped inside. The students had to creatively come up with ways to free their fuzzy balls the fastest from the ice; they used warm water, cold water, paint, and methods of separation before they discovered that that heat caused ice to melt. We discussed this in circle time and the children learned that out snowmen melt away due to the hot sun, and stay frozen when it is very cold. Good job 3 year old class! 4

5 Kugani Shinka Literacy Skills! Last month the Kugani and Shinka classes continued to work on their English and Japanese literacy skills. In the above picture the children practicing their sight word recognition during a game that we play during our English circle time. The teacher says one of the sight words, and then circles that same word on the opposite side of the board. The children must then come up and circle the sight word that the teacher previously said. The teacher then turns the board and reveals if the words match or not. The children love playing this game and it also boosts their sight word recognition through play! In the other picture one of our oldest children is showing off his kanji writing skills, very impressive! The kanji characters that he wrote are quite difficult for a child his age. Keep up the amazing work everyone! Kugani and Shinka s Field Trip to Nakagusuku In January the Kugani and Shinka classes went on a field trip to Nakagusku park. The park is very spacious with a wide variety of play equiptment for children of all ages. The hot attractions were the long roller slide and the Tarzan rope swing. The children also enjoyed running around in the grass and playing tag after their picnic lunch. Not only was the trip fun, but it was also a great way for the children to continue developing their large motor skills. 5

6 Ishikawa Police January Guest Presentations On January 23, we had a presentation from the Ishikawa police station that is designed to educate children to stay away from danger. This included various story telling (puppets, read aloud, and kamishibai) to teach children about stranger danger, encourage traffic safety, and what to do in emergency situations. How to cross the street was demonstrated and practiced with the children and the children learned 2 Japanese mnemonic to remember safe strategies. For stranger danger ika no osushi Ika... "Ika nai (Do not go) with people who do not know No... "Nora nai (Do not ride) in the car of the people you don`t know O Oh goe (Use a loud voice) to call for help Su... "Sugunigeru (run away quickly) from strangers Shi shilaseru (inform) tell a trusted adult For disaster prevention okashimo O osanai (do not push) Ka kakenai (do not run) Shi shaberanai (do not talk) Mo modoranai (do not go back) We never know when earthquake or other disasters will occur but we are greatful to the Ishikawa police for taking the time to educate us about crime and disaster prevention, and add to our personal safety. CoCo Animal Hospital On January 25th Dr. Yamashita, a local Veterniarian brought 2 assistants and a Bunny Rabbit to the CDC. Dr. Yamashita had stethascopes so that the children could listen to the rabbits heartbeat and they got to hear the heart beat of some of their friends in the Kugani and Shinka classes as well. There was a thorough presentation and a very cute video about how to handle guinea pigs that the children loved. Through this, they learned how to handle and care for small animals. At the end of the presentation, the children held and petted the bunny rabbit. For many of the children it was the first time for them to hold a rabbit. We would like to thank Coco Animal Hospital for the wonderful expierence. 6

7 Tedako Announcements 4 nd Annual Art Exhibit: Little Artists of the World In February our children`s artistic talents will be showcased at our annual CDC Art Exhibition. The Famous Artists themed art will be on display on level C of the center building. The opening of the exhibit will be on Thursday February 16, at 4:30 (after tea time). We encourage all parents to attend this event, but for safety reasons, it is very important that children stay with his or her class teacher unless they are signed out of our care. If you would like to attend this event with your child, please pick them up at the tunnel at 4:15. These children must remain parent`s responsibility. Parents Night Out If your child is in any of the Baby or Toddler classes we ask that you allow your child to stay with his or her class teacher as the separation from parents is very difficult on them unless you are able to attend the entire event with your child and plan to go home directly after the event. We will be open on Saturday February 11 from 4:00-8:00 pm. You can enjoy a walk on the beach, or a dinner out while your child plays at Tedako Preschool. Tedako offers this service free of charge to show appreciation for the support that we receive throughout the year. Please RSVP to tedako@oist.jp by Wednesday, February 8. We ask that you prepare a bento for your child`s dinner and we will provide a snack. Children may come in pajamas and can rest on their nap set if they get sleepy. 7

8 CDC s No Nut Policy Due to severe allergies, no nuts are allowed. Please be aware that some prepackaged snacks contain nuts. Please check the ingredients on all packaging carefully before sending it to school with your child. PATO Tea Time Come mingle and get to know CDC and After-school care families at the next bi-monthly PATOathering! We are organizing an Afternoon Tea with simple drinks and snacks with fun activities and games for kids and the whole family! Everyone from CDC and After-school families are invited, you don t need to be a PATO member to join! Please bring a dessert or anything you love to eat to share! If you don't have the time, don't worry, just come with an appetite :) Venue:OIST Seaside House Deck Date:February 18th, 2017 Saturday Time:3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Fee:500yen/Families If you are interested, please RSVP to oist.pato.group@gmail.com by 10th February. PATO: Parents At Tedako OIST PATO is a grassroots group of parents seeking to support CDC and build community with other OIST families. If you are interested in PATO, please contact us at the address below. Oist.pato.group@gmail.com 8

9 February 2017 AM ( 午後 ) Cream Cheese / Crackers クリームチ PM ( 午後 ) Substitutions Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Banana/Milk Tangerine Apple / Cheese バナナ / ミルクみかんりんご / チーズ ーズ / クラッカー Oatmeal / Raisins オートミール / レーズン Tomato / Soy Milk トマト / 豆乳 Snack Calendar Cereal / Soy Milk シリアル / 豆乳 Edamame/ Ca Senbei 枝豆 / カルシウムせんべい Due to availability or ripeness of fresh fruits or vegetables, substitutions may occur. Berry Smoothie ベリースムージー Rice / Furikake ごはん / ふりかけ Young toddlers will not be fed Senbei (Rice Crackers), Dried Fish Chips or Crackers. Especially made rice crackers for babies will be substituted. Birthday Cake and Milk: On February 17, we will celebrate all February Birthdays and the children will enjoy cake and milk for snack. SETSUBUN Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan and it is February 3rd this year. It is a festival to drive away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them by throwing soybeans to a demon (Oni) and eat sushi roll for good luck. We planned to make sushi rolls as cooking activity on Friday, February 3th. We will put rice on seaweed, spread it out, and put cucumber on it! We will eat them as our afternoon snack. It seems things are more delicious to eat things that are hand made. 9

10 February 2017 Lunch Calendar Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 1 Grilled Fish Mayo Sauce Stir fried Bean sprouts Chinese Cabbage Salad Daikon Miso Soup 2 Grilled Chicken Meat balls Sautéed Spinach Seasoned Boiled Okra Kouya-dofu Miso Soup 3 Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce Sole fish Cabbage & Ume Salad Egg Miso Soup 6 Pork Chop Stir fried Green Vegetable Hijiki Salad Fu Miso Soup 13 Sweet Soy Sauce Roasted Hoki Fish Simmered Burdock root Okra and Corn Salad Nameko Miso soup 7 Saikyou-Miso Marinated White Fish Goya Champuroo Cabbage Salad Kouya-dofu Miso soup 14 Grilled Pork w/green perilla Stir fried Bean Sprouts Green Beans Salad Onion Miso soup 8 Curry rice Yuzu Flavored Chinese Cabbage Salad Grape Jelly 15 Seasoned Rice Grilled Herb Hoki Fish Sweet Sour Pork Green Papaya Salad Sweet Potato Miso soup 9 Rice Cooked Red Fish w/tomato Dressing Cooked Tofu & Green Vegetable Stir fried Eggplant Vinegar Soy Sauce Shredded Kombu Miso soup 16 Rice Gyoza Dumplings Thai Style Harusame Salad Beans Salad Kouya-dofu Miso soup 10 Okonomi Omelet Western Flavored Cooked Kiriboshi-Daikon Nanohana Asian Salad Pumpkin Miso Soup 17 Simmered Red fish in Tomato Sauce Western Style Cooked Potato Kuzukiri & Crab Flavored Fish Cake Salad Vegetable Miso soup 20 Sautéed Pork w/grated Radish Sauce Sautéed Chinese Cabbage & Mushrooms Taro Miso Soup 21 Grilled Shio-kouji Marinated Hoki Fish Western Flavored Cooked Kiriboshi-Daikon Eggplant Vinegar Soy Sauce Kombu Miso soup 22 Tofu Hamburg Steak Japanese Style stir fried Lotus Root & Pork Bell Pepper Asian Salad Okinawa Soba 23 Steamed Shrimp Dumplings Simmered Minced Chicken & Pumpkin Spinach Salad Sesame Seeds Vinegar dressing Nameko Mushroom Miso Soup 24 Green Onion & Salt Seasoned Stir fried Chicken Okinawan Style Stir fried Kampyou Broccoli salad Fu Miso soup 27 Yakiniku Flavored Chicken & Mushroom Sweet Sour Meat Balls Burdock root Salad Egg Miso soup 28 Ume Flavored Grilled Hoki Fish Cabbage Champuroo Marinated Green Vegetable Onion Miso Soup