Hello Macedonia and Belgium!

Good morning Tuesday! All of us went to find our favorite toys that we have in the room. We also had some play dough activities in the morning and some coloring books as well. In our circle time, we learned a song about “gentle voice”. John said that the baby can’t sleep because some animals were making horrible sounds. The lion roared, the bear grunted and the moose made a weird sound all the time. The baby was really crying and we felt that we needed to do something. So, we asked the animals to be quiet. We all said “Shhhh, gentle voice please…” And we all sang a lullaby to the baby by humming the songs that we know.

               It was a very special moment to understand the meaning of using your gentle voice all the time. Most of the time, other people want to speak to you in a very gentle manner and so we have to do the same.

We welcome Kaia’s parents today. Walter and Fanny had prepared many things for us. They were so talented in arts and we were very entertained by what they showed us today. First, we have experienced Macedonia and Fanny (Kaia’s mom) let us have a look at the different paintings that she made with Kaia in the past few days. We saw the different fish in the ocean, a boat and the clear blue water. Then, we saw some beautiful mountains and the swan family that flocked together. It was a very beautiful art work they made just for Buds class. Lastly, we saw some mountain tops and forest. In the forest, we also noticed that there were eagles, bears, squirrels and butterflies. Sofie was so attentive and she answered all of Fanny’s questions. We also learned today that bears like to eat honey and they also have a sweet tooth just like us.

                After showing us these wonderful illustrations, we also saw some traditional costumes and places from Macedonia. There was an old famous church beside the lake. And Kaia’s mom said that they got married in that same church. It was a lovely place and all of us were so fascinated by the various scenic spots.

Next, we went to Belgium. Walter (Kaia’s dad) is from Belgium. This time he let us see the beautiful castles and sculptures that we can find from his country. It was so amusing that Sofie, Rei and Lisa were elated to get a closer look at the pictures because they heard the phrase “the house of princesses”. He also told us that waffles and chocolates came from Belgium and of course, the famous saxophone.

               And surprisingly, he brought his own real saxophone with him. We were all excited to see how he would play it. He also introduced us the parts of the saxophone. We learned the body, the neck and the mouth piece. It was just like us too. When he started playing, the sound was so deep and modulated. We were really focused with big smiles on our faces. Kaia’s mom started singing a Macedonian song entitled, Makedonsko Devojce (Macedonian Girl). The song was very unique from the regular songs that we listen to everyday and Fanny’s voice was so good that it caught our attention from the beginning until the end. We also requested some songs that Walter can play for us with his saxophone. We began with “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” and the Japanese version of it. We all sang together like one big happy family.

The whole presentation was amazing and we all went to our table to eat some treats that they brought. We had some Belgian cookies and chocolates. We didn’t have a lot to eat but the taste was so deliciously sweet and we all loved every bit of it. After finishing the delectable snack, we went back to our circle to sing our “Thank You” song for both of them. We enjoyed every moment that you guys did for our class.

               We can’t go to the park today so we decided to continue our handprint leaves with some of us who haven’t done it yet. And then the other kids, who have finished, continued to play and interact with one another. Nikolas put on his magic helmet again and the scarf around his body. He said that he was a fireman. Sofie, Taiga, Kaia and Dominik put some Mickey Mouse costumes and walked around the classroom as if they were like real mice. As always, Rupert got the fire truck and he moved it along the road map mat that we had on our circle time corner.

Thank you so much again for the wonderful time! And we hope to see and experience more fun activities at Ohana! Have a blessed day!

Lots of love,

John, Sayaka and Maki