Another spring picnic

Today was the warmest sunniest day and we took advantage and spent a large part of the day, outside playing in the park. We actually went on a Hanami picnic to a new park in the neighbourhood called Mamiyana Koen. It was quite a job to find the name of the park as our teachers didn’t pay too much attention to it when we got there. Then Susan, Eva and Oliver’s mum said that it was very near to their home and our teachers still didn’t remember it. Sabine researched the area on the computer and BINGO…………she found it. It is a beautiful park with lovely equipment and a little shrine with three Torii gates. There is also a little flower garden and a pond with a water feature. We had a wonderful time there and ate lunch underneath the sakura trees. Getting there was quite a job as we had to cross some really busy roads and raise our hands and sing our song every time. We crossed so many streets and ended up singing our “Hands up” song over and over. In fact, when we came back from the park, some of us were so exhausted, our teachers decided that the only way that we would get back to school without too much trouble, was by singing. So all the way back to school, we walked in the beautiful warm sunshine singing “Twinkle, twinkle little star”; “The ABC song”; “Where is Thumbkin”; “We’re walking back to school”; “Lalalalalala (to the tune of the Farmer’s in the Dell)” and many more. Some people along the way, also put their hands up when they were crossing the street. Shelley often tells us that we are teachers and we usually think that she is being silly. However today, we saw how we were teachers because the people in the street were copying us and learning from us. When we arrived back at school some of us were so overtired that we needed Goh san and Sabine to rock us gently in their arms and we fell asleep. We are so lucky to have such kind, caring teachers who really look after us and our needs.

Upstairs Darren was amazed at how well we concentrated and worked when we arrived at school today. We had the light box on the table with words describing things that we had been learning about e.g. cocoon, caterpillar, egg and butterfly. We chose markers and traced the words onto white paper. We did a really brilliant job and felt proud of ourselves. We like to do “work” at school.

We watered our Cosmos seeds and measured how tall they had grown on the scale that is in the pot. We looked at the one that was the smallest and the one that was the tallest. We then measured them with a ruler and learnt the word “centimeter”. While we were watering them, we counted to three so that we were all giving them the same amount of water.

Upstairs we read the book “Me and my little sister” and downstairs we read “D.W. Thinks Big”. At the activity tables downstairs, we examined the nature that was on display and some of us wanted to draw. Clodia finished her heart wish for Eva’s birthday and she, Eva and Emily put stickers on Eva’s crown all in preparation for her party on Wednesday at school. Tomorrow is her real birthday and we want to wish her a wonderful day and look forward to celebrating her second birthday with her. Happy birthday for tomorrow Eva! We are also pleased to tell you that Finn’s little sister Lily will be starting at Ohana on Wednesday. Welcome Lily!

Love Shelley, Darren, Goh, Kana and Sabine