Kakizome and Farewell Party
“Akemashite Omedetogozaimasu!” Today we learned some of the things Japanese people do in the New Years days. We also had a bitter-sweet farewell party for M who will be going back to his home country Australia. We will of course miss M dearly but we know that when we see our Koalas, we will always think about him :)
This morning we had a short free time and as we all joined the circle to sing our hello song, we realised some faces we usually don’t see in the classroom. One friend said, “It’s daddy’s day!” No, it isn’t daddy’s day just yet (we are actually expecting all our daddies to come next Monday…)
Nanako: Other than our friends and teachers, who are here?
E: Adults!
A: M’s mommy and daddy!
Nanako: Oh, is it M’s birthday?
M: It’s a farewell party.
Nanako: Do you know what ’farewell’ means?
E: It is almost going back to Australia.
M: But first I’m going to Singapore.
Nanako: How long are you going to stay in Australia? For a short period of time or for a long period of time?
M: For a long period of time.
Nanako: How do you feel when your friend goes far, far away?
K: Happy!
E: Sad because we won’t see him again.
Nanako: How do you feel M?
M: Both (happy and sad). Happy because I’m going to see my friends in Australia but I’ll miss here.
Surely, we can have mixed feeling about leaving and seeing someone leave. M came to Japan when he was a year old and has been living here for three years. M’s daddy, M and his mommy, H shared a wonderful book about Australia. Our mission was to find out where M will be living. They showed us a picture of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge but M’s home is not in Sydney. We saw other pictures of the beach, under the sea, rainforests and desserts. Did you know that Australia has many faces? There are also many animals which only live in Australia. Can we name any?
A: Kangaroo.
J: A big bird?
H: Yes, a bird that doesn’t fly. It is called Emu.
M: Kookaburra and Koalas!
Guess what, M took out a Koala from a bag and he kindly gave each friend a Koala to take home! This way, we can always think of M.
M: Where is M going to live?
A: Castle!
M: Do you know what this is? This is the Parliament House. It is where the government of Australia lives. Magnus will be living near this building. He will go to school there like he goes to Ohana here. Ohana was his first school.
Y: How are you going to Australia?
M: I’m going to take two planes.
K: What do you want to do when you go to Australia?
M: Dance! To my favorite CD!
A: When are you going to Australia?
M: In two weeks!
Z: It’s 14 days!
Luckily, we still have some time with M in the classroom :) After we played a rhythm game saying the names of animals-this was a little bit challenging because we had to remember what the friend said and then say a new name!-we had a special treat prepared by H and M, a special home-made cookie in the shape of...kangaroos! Yummy yum yum :9
Park Time
Coming back from the park, we talked about the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac: Ne, Ushi, Tora, U, Tatsu, Mi, Uma, Hitsuji, Saru, Tori, Inu, Ii. This year is the year of the mouse, “Nezumi-doshi.” In Flowers there are friends who were born in the year of sheep, horse and snake. We talked about how some people visit the shrine. K said, “Coin you do this (throw).” We also eat a special meal during the New Years days called “Osechi” which include a dish called, “Kobu maki,” “kazu no ko,” “kuromame” or “ozoni”- wishing for happiness, health, long-life, good harvest and big family. There are also activities we one of which is called, “Kakizome.” Traditionally on January 2nd, people made their first calligraphy writing before starting their business or harvesting, putting down their hope and resolutions of the New Year. Today, we learned the tools we need for “oshuji’ (calligraphy) such as “suzuri” (stone mortar) and “sumi” (ink). Most people like to use the ink from the bottle which is handy and easy and when we tried to grind the ink on the stone mortar, it took R, E and M to get the right darkness! When it was time to actually make the strokes with the brush there were so many hands up! Afterall J wrote “Ne,” A wrote “Zu,” K wrote “Mi” and R wrote “Doshi.” Hopefully everyone will have a chance to experience kakizome next week!
Thank you for another lovely day! Love from the Flowers children xoxo
