kodomo No Ie

KNI Newsletter

March 2013

1: Goals for the children for March
2: Let's sing! - Songs of this month
3: Word of the Month - どうしたの、大丈夫?
4: Ding-dong! New chiming clock rings at the end of the day.
5: Parent Teacher Conference
6: Words from Mr. Yoshinaka
7: Thank you, Sakura students!


The day after Setsubun, we set up in the piano room the very fine seven-tiered hina-ningyo (dolls for Girls' Festival Day) that were donated last year. They're perfect for yayoi (another name for March), the season of hina.
We also harvested big daikons (Japanese radish). This daikon survived multiple bunny "attacks". The children's cheer every morning has been helping the other daikons grow too. We can't wait until we can harvest them.
Mama Bunny gave birth to a baby bunny. Right now is the cutest age.
You can find signs of spring everywhere!


Goals for the children for March


- Make your own hina-ningyo and display them. Enjoy the Doll's Festival through singing songs and listening to stories about it.
- Notice the change of seasons through the observation of new buds, warm sunlight, and the gentle spring breeze.
- Be active and exercise outside, completing jump-rope charts (Kiku class) or ganbari charts (Sakura class.)
- Foster a love of small animals through interactions with bunnies, turtles, fish and snails.
- Celebrate the harvest of daikons, and develop a sense of gratefulness for God and the field for growing the daikons.


Let's sing! - Songs of this month

Renge … Pon Pon Pon to Haruga Kita (Spring is Everywhere)
Momo … Kawaii kakurenbo (Adorable Hide-n-seek)
Sumire … Haru desuyo (It is Spring Time)
Kiku … Inu no omawarisan (Police Officer Dog)
Ume … Harukaze-san to Cha Cha Cha (Cha Cha Cha with Spring Breeze)
Sakura … Utae Bang Bang (Let’s Sing Out loud)
All classes … Ureshii Hinamatsuri (Happy Girls Day)

Please feel free to take a copy of the sheet music placed on the sign-in table, and enjoy singing along with your child!


Word of the Month - どうしたの、大丈夫?

The word of the month for February is "What happened? Are you okay?”, to express your care about your friends.


Ding-dong! New chiming clock rings at the end of the day.


A beautiful chiming clock was donated by Mrs. Otoguro (Sakura class,) the Recording Secretary of the Parents' Association. The chimes ring at 4:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,
and at 5:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays to tell us the end of school time. When you hear the chimes, please pick up after your child and leave the school. We would like to ask for your cooperation to make the best use out of the chiming clock.
Thank you very much, Mrs. Otoguro.


Parent Teacher Conference

Have you already had a parent teacher conference? If you haven't done so, please submit the form for scheduling conferences. We believe this is a great opportunity to discuss your child's development with you.


Words from Mr. Yoshinaka

Hello! My name is Atsushi Yoshinaka. I am a composer and an associate professor of the College of Education, Psychology and Human Studies at Aoyama Gakuin University. Currently I'm serving as a visiting professor for a year at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.
About twenty years ago, I taught music at Kodomo no Ie, and I composed some music for the children to sing during the class as well as the music for the Girl's Day event.
I am now visiting here to observe the Girl's Day event. Also, some of the teachers at KNI are my students, and I wanted to see how they are doing.
It's been twenty years since I was here, and it's amazing to see the church and the neighborhood almost the same as before. Just standing here brought back lots of memories.
I will be staying here for ten days from Feb. 23rd, and look forward to meeting all of you.


Thank you, Sakura students!

On March 3rd, Sakura students participated in the annual Girl's Day event at the Huntington Library.
They introduced Japanese traditional children's games and performed the Hinamatsuri musical play on the stage. All the costumes were hand-made by the parents of the KNI students in the past.
Since the children performed inside the old Japanese house in the Japanese garden, we paid extra attention how the children behaved and told them to be careful with the shoji or fusuma, which are Japanese traditional doors of wooden frames with paper.
It was a wonderful opportunity for them to learn how to behave in a public place.
In addition, the event provided them the rare opportunity to share their culture with others.
We would like to give special thanks to Mrs. Kawakami from the Sakura class, who performed a wonderful Nichibu, Japanese traditional dance, and Mrs. Kuwata from the Saturday class, who played some beautiful music on the Koto - a traditional Japanese stringed instrument - during the intermission.
Last but least, we would like to thank all of Sakura families who participated in our event on Sunday.


Backnumber

[ 2018/05 ] [ 2017/06 ] [ 2017/05 ] [ 2017/04 ]
[ 2017/03 ] [ 2017/02 ] [ 2017/01 ] [ 2016/12 ]
[ 2016/11 ] [ 2016/10 ] [ 2016/09 ] [ 2016/06 ]
[ 2016/05 ] [ 2016/04 ] [ 2016/03 ] [ 2016/02 ]
[ 2016/01 ] [ 2015/12 ] [ 2015/11 ] [ 2015/10 ]
[ 2015/09 ] [ 2015/08 ] [ 2015/06 ] [ 2015/05 ]
[ 2015/04 ] [ 2015/03 ] [ 2015/02 ] [ 2015/01 ]
[ 2015/01 ] [ 2014/12 ] [ 2014/11 ] [ 2014/10 ]
[ 2014/09 ] [ 2014/08 ] [ 2014/06 ] [ 2014/05 ]
[ 2014/04 ] [ 2014/03 ] [ 2014/02 ] [ 2014/01 ]
[ 2013/12 ] [ 2013/11 ] [ 2013/10 ] [ 2013/09 ]
[ 2013/08 ] [ 2013/06 ] [ 2013/05 ] [ 2013/04 ]
[ 2013/03 ] [ 2013/02 ] [ 2013/01 ] [ 2012/12 ]
[ 2012/11 ] [ 2012/10 ] [ 2012/09 ] [ 2012/08 ]
[ 2012/06 ] [ 2012/05 ] [ 2012/04 ] [ 2012/03 ]
[ 2012/02 ] [ 2012/01 ] [ 2011/12 ] [ 2011/11 ]
[ 2011/10 ] [ 2011/09 ] [ 2011/08 ] [ 2011/06 ]
[ 2011/05 ] [ 2011/04 ] [ 2011/03 ] [ 2011/02 ]
[ 2011/01 ] [ 2010/12 ] [ 2010/11 ] [ 2010/10 ]
[ 2010/09 ] [ 2010/08 ] [ 2010/06 ] [ 2010/05 ]
[ 2010/04 ] [ 2010/03 ] [ 2010/02 ] [ 2010/01 ]
[ 2009/12 ] [ 2009/11 ] [ 2009/10 ] [ 2009/09 ]
[ 2009/08 ] [ 2009/06 ] [ 2009/05 ] [ 2009/04 ]
[ 2009/03 ] [ 2009/02 ] [ 2009/01 ] [ 2008/12 ]
[ 2008/11 ] [ 2008/10 ] [ 2008/09 ] [ 2008/06 ]
[ 1201/31 ]