Tuesday 25 December 2012

And now, that Christmas party with some blues!

I have been buzzing since our end of year Christmas party on Sunday; the room was bulging with children - many of them them very young and dangling off mummy or older sisters! Two or three were so little they managed to sleep through the entire afternoon - the innocence of youth (but absolutely wonderful to see Miki-chan, Anna-chan, Fumi-chan as mummies again!). Not everything went to plan - hope you didn't notice! Main thing was that everyone was involved and everyone seemed to win something!

For the first time we "dressed" the tree - a new idea I came across through twitter last week as an alternative to musical chairs (we don't have enough!) and pass the parcel. We had an enormous alphabet soup which took a while to figure out, and then tackled Naomi's wonderful Christmas picture montage. Yukari & Mayumi delivered a delicious Christmas lunch, before a surprise guest in a red suit arrived to give everyone a present.

Enjoy the show, as we enjoyed the day!



You can find all the photos on flickr right here

Sunday 23 December 2012

ijiwaru jimbo's photostream

Who's that?Jim's favourite AnnaAiri's mumSanta scrumMiki-chanSanta smorgasbord
Primary coloursHinata's certMichael's egg nogNaomi pic - beforeI can jump...Super Starter Masa
With Michael & Jim senseiNaomi pic - afterSee you SantaOur special guest...Pulling mussels from a shellKids in the bath
Colouring frenzyBig Red ElfXmas_gig 026Naomi explainsXmas party 101Airi colours

A very hot edit of the fun and games we had this afternoon at Luna! If you have your own photos, please do share them with us here, on Facebook or on Flickr!

A massive party which we must say thank you to Sho, Naomi, Misuzu & Michael for making things go so well. Backstage Mayumi got us out of jail, and Yukari was unbelievably strong. Thank you so much. Oh, Father Christmas too - good job, big guy!

Children - you were very good today and we all had a lot of fun with you! Thank you for being so well behaved, and to the bigger ones for looking after the smaller ones!

We especially love seeing old friends come back - you know who you are...really makes us feel that we are 'a family'. Mums who were once students are starting to make @oyajim feel old - but also really proud that you trust us to teach your children.

We are now talking a break for the holidays - classes start again January 7th. If you don't have enough homework, make your own and show us!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas - whichever way you celebrate the holiday all the very best from us xxxx

Wednesday 19 December 2012

How many arms do you have? (We need ten!)

Four students is a very nice number to be working with. Ever noticed how most board games & activities are designed for four players?!

We have heard this song a few times now in class and at home, and have pointed/stabbed numbers on the table. Thought we'd warm ourselves up the other afternoon, and get physical with our numbers from one to ten. The song is one of the delightful tunes found in the Everybody Up (Starter) book from OUP - haven't really come across a bad chant yet in it. What I do like especially about the songs is that they are long enough (and repeat the same verse) that we can change around in the middle ie assume a different 'role' - in this case two new numbers. This does mean children are adapting quickly/being more flexible with the vocabulary, and putting it 'in order' in their heads.Catchy music gives them 'hooks' to hang this all on, and as long as it is a mutual giggle and not a command performance, everyone will try; brave ones might even sing.

I know a lot of inexperienced YL teachers panic about 'losing control'...a class out of control is a nightmare, to be sure. The key I find is to know what you are trying to do and have a number of options handy; plan A might not be suitable if the children arrive tired or hyper; plan B might not work because the cheerleader in the group is absent or 'the monster' is on form; plan C might not work due to missing CD or xyz malfunction. Whatever. The children will give you a break if you give them a break! If they can laugh with you and about themselves, then you can be the focal point of mayhem rather than one of them, which gives you time for transitions/finding the CD track, flashcards etc. Involve them in your problem eg "Where's my book?"

Compare that with "Sit down. Next we are going to talk about animals. This is a cat. Repeat. This is a cat. Do you like cats? Yes I do. You say that. Yes I do. What's this....."

Another thing children love to do is test the teacher (linguistically, rather than emotionally!). Using numbers is important, but one of the easier things for learners to pick up I think. The question bit is what they need to use just as much!  Gang up on the teacher? Even better! After they have exhausted a picture with each other asking eg "How many.......s?" and you are happy with the monitoring you have done gently - challenge the teacher. Make a big deal of being confident, and get the answers wrong :) This will generate plenty of student talk ha ha!

What games do you like to play with numbers? Love to hear about them!


Tuesday 18 December 2012

The Adventure Capital of the World - review

The book I read title is "The Adventure Capital of the World".

In this book, it tells you about extreme activities in New Zealand. The activities are bungee jumping, jetboat, helicopter and hiking. I would like to do the jetboat and the bungee jumping, because the jetboat looks so fast, and it's cool! I love fast boats. Bungee jumping looks fun! I think it's very fightening and scary. You might think that you flew in the sky!

I will be in Queenstown for a week. I will do bungee jumping, ride a jetboat, get on the helicopter and skydive.

I would like to go to a farm. On the farm, I'd like to ride a horse, feed the animals, milk the cows and eat steak.

I would like to go to New Zealand when I get bigger.

Tomoro

Reading to write - boardwalking (running!)

We had an end of term kind of feel yesterday, and playing one if our favourite 'race' games went down well. Re-reading an old reader is never a waste of time, but my copy seemed to have lots of mistakes in it as I read it aloud!

When the children noticed a "mistake" they ran to the board to spell out the proper word. Lots of giggles and rethinking/double-checking. Silly teacher can't read - but the students can, and they can spell!

Monday 10 December 2012

Postcard from Barcelona, Spain

Hola, Jim & NHK members

I'm writing this card in an Euromed left Barcelona for Alicante. The Meditarranean Sea from the window is so calm like a mirror. I visited Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo yesterday. The impact was beyond description. I enjoyed Jamon Iberico & Cava, Que bueno! You can imagine how excited I an here in Spain, can't you?

Chisato

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Christmas ninja? Take the test!

Christmas Quiz (Questions)

Monkey's Paw - after reading

I read "The Monkeys Paw" and did #2 of afer reading as below

#2 Perhaps Tom Morriis's friend wrote a letter to Tom before he died. Complete his letter with these linking words.

Dear Tom
I am going to die soon and I want you to read this letter before I am dead. I have no family , so you can have all my things. You can have the monkey's paw too, but be very careful. Think and you make a wish. My wife was very unhappy because I wished for the wrong things. It's never good to want to change things, and the wishses don't bring happiness. The old Indian told me that, but I did not listen to him. So, please be careful, Tom.

Sherlock Holmes and the Sport of Kings

After reading 5.

I found the fourteen words in the word search.

1. HORSE
2. TRACK
3. TRAINER
4. OWNER
5. TASTE
6. SCARF
7. SAFE
8. KICK
9. SHEEP
10. OWN
11. LAME
12. BET
13. MUD
14. WIN

I think the words in 1. to 4. can be make a headline for the hewspaper report.