Little hair dressers!

Hello everyone! Today at Petals we started our day with two exciting activities. First, we started decorating Ohana’ s MIkoshi. Mikoshi is a portable Shinto shrine that is believed to be able to transport spirits in Japan during festivals. This one provided the children a deeper understanding into Japanese culture.
A: What is that big house for?
J: Temple
E: House Temple
R: Oh no, scary!
E: Don’t be scared.
In addition to mikoshi decoration, the children also practiced their fine motor skills through doll haircutting. This sparks some creativity as they styled their dolls' hair.
During our circle time, E led our Good Morning song with Aiden accompanying on the guitar and because yesterday was J’s birthday, we sang a special Happy Birthday song for him. He was surprised we remembered his birthday.
Evita: Yesterday was a special day for someone in Petals, who do you think had a special day yesterday?
A/E/R: J!
E: Happy Birthday J!
J: Yesterday I turned 4!
Evita then focused on the community helper that helps cut and style our hair- hairdresser/ barber.
She started by showing the doll that we gave a haircut earlier and asked the class who provides hair services for us all. This discussion led to the roles of hairdressers and barbers beyond cutting hair.
J: Hairdresser! I got a haircut!
R: I go to a barber.
J: They work, cut paper ( when asked what else hairdressers do besides cutting hair)
A: Only cut hair
R: They cut the baby's hair too!
Evita: Hairdressers can color your hair too. Please look around the class and see who doesn’t have black hair.
M: R!
A: Sayaka’s hair is brown.
Evita: Why are hairdressers/ barbers important?
J: They can protect themselves.
R: They help cut our hair shorter.
Evita: If they don’t cut our hair what will happen? Do you think it is easier to comb, short or long hair?
Y: Shorter is harder
R: I think shorter
A: I think long hair takes time.
To further explore , Evita encouraged the class to style their paper bowl heads with hair ties and clips, fostering their creativity and strengthening their little fingers.
Evita: Hairdressers can style our hair too. Do you know what these are?
A: Bow!
J: I have one at home
Evita: This little girl needs our help, how can we help her?
A: First, we need to cut it.
J: with scissors!
Evita: What do you like to name our paper bowl head?
J: T..O..N..O...B
B: Clarence !
R: Teney
R: Can we cut her long hair?
J: Can I put this clip here?
R: I am going to put curly ones here.
J: Can I cut this? I will put two big eyes, nose and a smiley lips.


Then the class got hands-on practice as they styled their portraits with strips of paper. To end our circle, Evita read, Hair-pocalypse. This story is about a scrubby little boy named Aidan who finally made a compromise after a day of trying to tame his unruly hair. The class learned a valuable lesson in hygiene.
R: I am going to put curly ones here.
J: If we step on the banana peel, we might slip and bump our head.
M: It’s messy
Y: The brush is in the bowl!
R: The hair took the spoon!
J: The hair pushed the bowl away!
M: I eat cereal
A: I only eat when I don’t go to school
R: I also eat cereal when I have a longer time to eat.
J: The hair made a mess!
R: I like the curly hair
Petals: Shower!! ( when asked what is Aidan doing after his hair spelled W..A..S..H..I..N..G)
E: He needs to tie his shoes.


It was a Monday filled with cultural exploration, creativity and learning. Stay tuned for more!
Love,
Petals