PETALS 2020
“Today, we will have our Sports Day!” Our teachers excitedly announced while we were having snacks.
“Nooooo!” we all replied.
“Sports day is finished,” A explained.
“But we’re going to have our own Petals Class sports day— we’re going to have our own Olympics!” Pauline said. Now, we’re intrigued! When we finished our snacks, it was time for our circle time.
“So what does ‘Olympics’ mean?” Pauline said. “Can we eat it?” she asked.
“Noooo!” We replied.
“It’s sports,” A explained. Yes, she was right. Pauline said that there are man, MAAAANNYYYY different sports played during the Olympics.
“But do you know what teams play in the Olympics?” Pauline asked.
“There are two color teams,” A said.
“Boys and girls have their own teams. Blue is for boys, and pink is for girls,” U said.
“But what if a girl wants to join the blue team, is that okay, too? What if she doesn’t like color pink?” Sayaka wanted to know.
“But she can only join pink team. Blue is for boys,” A said.
“I guess she can join the blue team, too,” U said. We then talked about how it’s okay to like any color you want, whether you’re a boy or girl. You can like pink, blue, orange, yellow, green, etc.
There were more good ideas on what teams competed in the Olympics, but our teachers told us that the teams that compete are from different countries! Like, there’s Team Japan, Team U.S.A., Team Philippines, Team Israel, Team Peru, Team Australia, etc. Pauline then asked us about a word we learned from Kai yesterday: opponent, which mean the other team someone is playing against. We also talked again about “Good sportsmanship”, which means showing respect to the other team. If you lose, you shouldn’t be angry or upset with your opponent; instead, you should congratulate them and shake hands with them.
“You can say, ‘I’m sorry, I can do better next time’,” A suggested. That’s a nice way to motivate yourself. Then, the teachers asked us about what if we win? Pauline pretended to win against A, and then she stuck out her tongue at him and said, “Haha! I won! You lose!”
“That’s not good sportsmanship,” A commented. “You can say, ‘I’m sorry I won’,” she suggested.
“You can say, ‘I’m sorry, I won. But you did a good job.’,” A added. Those were very nice suggestions showing good sportsmanship!
Sayaka also told us a story about sportsmanship. She is a lacrosse player and coach, so there was one time she was holding a the ball, then another playing from the opposing team pushed her, so she dropped the ball. The opposing team cheered, and they even said, “Yes! Do it again! Haha!” So, the referee blew his whistle and pulled out a green card for the opposing team. The referee gave a warning to them, saying that if they don’t respect Sayaka’s team, they will be out of the game.
Our teachers asked us what does “referee” mean. They said that the “referee” is like the police officer who watches over everybody to check if everyone is following the rules, and if everyone is respecting everyone. If someone is not following the rules or not respecting anyone, they blow the whistle and give a warning. They can take a player out of the game if they are not playing nicely.
So, with these things in mind, Pauline divided us into two groups. She gave us some smocks to wear.
“Welcome to Petals Class 2020 Olympics!” she announced with her megaphone. “On my left side, wearing yellow smocks is The Apple Team!” she said, and they cheered. “On my right, wearing green smocks, is Team Triceratops!” and they also cheered wildly. Yes, we were the one who talked with our teammates and decided on the team names ourselves.
Our first game was tamaire, but instead of baskets, we had one blue bucket for each team. In 20 seconds, each team must work as fast as they can to fill the their team’s bucket with as many balls as possible. Sayaka and Pauline were the referees, and when they called out Time…. Starts… NOW!” Everyone scrambled for the colored balls! For the first two rounds, Team Apple won the game with 37 and 41 balls (It was a good way of comparing big numbers and finding out which number was the biggest). Our referee blew the whistle twice as some friends were interfering with the counting. They were very strict! They also gave a warning to whoever tried to touch the ball before the signal of the referee. Team Triceratops clapped for Team Apple after they won and they said “Good job!” Wow! That’s good sportsmanship! For the final round, Team Apple won, and only some of them clapped.
“Pauline… they’re not clapping!” A whispered to her.
“It’s okay… maybe they’re still sad,” Pauline said. “Let’s wait until they’re not sad anymore,” she told him. So, it was Team Apple= 2 points, and Team Triceratops+ 1 point.
The next game was an obstacle race. While the teachers set up, we had our toilet and water break. The rule for this game is: the team that finishes the race the fastest wins! We had to go inside the Play Huts, under the table, balance on the tactile path, and turn around the white chair. We cheered loudly for our friends, urging them to run as fast as they can— other classes said that they heard us! Haha! Team Triceratops won the first round and tied with Team Apple as they had 2 points, too. The final round came and we were all nervously excited. Team Triceratops won again, and they were ahead of Team Apple as they had 3 points in total!
“And the winner for our Petals 2020 Olympics is…….”Pauline paused for dramatic effect. “TEAM TRICERATOPS!” she announced loudly through her megaphone. Team Triceratops went wild, and some of Team Apple became quiet. In the end, both teams came together to congratulate each other and we shook each other’s hands and hugged each other happily. It was a good ending in our book of “Good Sportsmanship”!
Aside from our Petals 2020 Olympics, we also had an interesting circle time as we played “Bug in the Rug” with Sayaka using an empty carton box, and we did our best to assemble a small wooden chair. We thought it would be hard– but it was pretty cool!
That’s all for today— how about you? How was your day?
Love,
All the energetic little bunnies in Petals Class