The Day the Oni Came to School

Like what Sayaka told us yesterday, the day finally came– the day the oni came to school! Today is Setsubun!

Setsubun started off like any other day- we did our morning jobs, we chose if wanted to eat snacks or not, and we were busy during free play. Our favorite things to play with right now are the rubber fruit counters and the toy ice cream that numbers on it. We usually take it to our newly- renovated house. Some of us helped Kai make mame (beans) out of newspaper, so we can drive away the oni whenever it comes. We also had friends who helped Sayaka finish decorating the big oni faces we had from yesterday. They turned out quite scary… but cute (It doesn’t sound possible, but you can check out the oni picture we have today)!

Pauline asked us to pack away a little bit earlier. Then she took the basket with all the magical mame we made and said it’s important that we head downstairs. “Do you want the oni to come to Ohana?” she asked to which we replied with a resounding “NO!”

We headed downstairs and formed a line behind our basket of mame. Then……. The oni arrived!

The oni came through the door and started prancing around with its arms held out, like it wanted to grab us. “Grab a mame! Grab a mame!” The teachers told us. “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” Was what we recited while throwing the mame. We saw H and R holding up a plant, shaking it in front of the oni. We were able to successfully drive the oni away! Everybody cheered, “Hooray! YAY! We did it!” and we excitedly jumped up and down. 

We went back upstairs for circle time, and we sang our morning songs as Pauline strummed on her ukulele. She introduced a new classroom job to us today- the Attendance Monitor. She asked who wanted to volunteer for the Attendance Monitor job, and A, because she was raising her hand nicely and quietly, got the job. Pauline asked her if she can count how many friends we have in Petals Class today. “One….two….three…..four….five….” A counted out loud until she got to fourteen. What numbers make up fourteen? Pauline held up single- digit numbers which we identified: nine, six, five, 2, seven….. We then learned that we had to combine one with four to make….

“Fourteen,” C answered, when Pauline asked what number was one and four together. One and zero is–

“Ten,” B pointed out. One and one is eleven, one and two is twelve, and one and three is–

“Thirteen,” H said. One and five is fifteen! Phew! Such big numbers! But we were going to learn a bigger number later on….

Pauline read a kamishibai about setsubun. She borrowed it from Flowers Class, and it explains that during setsubun, the oni appears and wants to come inside the house through the windows or doors, so that’s why people can prepare different  things that can make the oni go away like the head of a sardine (The oni doesn't like smelly things), the holly plant (Because the pointed leaves might poke the oni’s eyes and give them an ouchie), and mame that people can throw on windows and doors while saying “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” just like Sayaka told us yesterday. Oh- remember the plant that Hiori and Reiri were waving in front of the oni? That is actually a present from H to Petals Class, and it’s holly! Thank you, Hiori!

On the night of setsubun, the oni goes away, and the next day marks the first day of spring! We’re excited about finally getting to see flowers bloom. 

We also talked about how we should eat mame during setsubun to bring in the blessings or good luck. For example, if we are three years old, we should eat three mame. Pauline asked if we knew how old she was.

“Umm.. five!” C said, holding up five fingers. Actually, Pauline was a looooot older than that. She took number three and seven and together it makes….. 37! She said that she will turn 37 this year on her birthday. So that means…. She gets to eat 37 mame! But, on the kamishibai, it says that if you are old and need to eat a lot of mame, you can just mix this with tea leaves and drink it as tea! That sounds yum!

All this talk of numbers got us talking about where we live, or on what floor we live in.

“I live on… six,” M said, holding up six fingers.

“Seven! I have a big house! You can go to my house!” C said excitedly.

“If the teachers can go to your house, what can we eat?” Pauline asked.

“Chicken nuggets!” C said.

“Pancakes!” C said.

“With syrup!” C added.

“Chicken nuggets,” L agreed with C.

“I have yogurt at home,” O said.

“Banana? I have banana,” K said.

“I live in 8!” A shared enthusiastically.

“I live in 12,” C said.

“My house is 12! My house is taller!” L said.

After our circle time, we headed to the temple again and played with the rings. We like rolling them on the ground or connecting them together. We’re glad to enjoy such beautiful weather outside today!

That’s all for today. How about you? How was your day?

Love,

All the brave children in Petals Class