Day 36: Challenge Yourself

This morning I awoke ready for another week of teaching at Notre Dame Elementary. Being at the Hotta'’s house is relaxing and I feel a bit reenergized. Everyday I open the shades wide open so that I can see the beautiful garden outside. I took a picture which actually turned out well. The garden is very peaceful and relaxing, so I often work at the table right by the window. This morning I packed up my computer, had breakfast with the family, and hit the road.

When I arrived at school, the first activity on the schedule was an all school assembly in ND Hall. The school let the students vote on what the new school motto should be. The students were able to choose from four proposals made by Sister Beatrice. I think that two of them really stood out for me: always challenge yourself, and never give up. They are both good, but I like the motto that encourages the students to always challenge themselves. I still think they should never give up, but continually challenge oneself is how we become better people. Coming to Japan to teach is the challenge that I am currently testing myself with. I think that the students will be better off in life if they are brave and take on new challenges.

After the morning gathering, I spent some time planning the second grade English lessons with Afrela Sensei. We decided to start each class with the body parts song the kids sing to while I play the guitar. Next, we moved on to studying family. I drew a family tree on the blackboard, held up word cards, and the students had to tell me who the person is before I would place the card on the family tree. The students then played a game using the family tree in their English books. One person would cover up a family member, and the other would have to guess who it was. Afrela and I created a dramatization of Disney characters introducing their family members. The kids really enjoy when we do skits for them, and they all pay close attention too. I acted as both the father (reading a newspaper) and the brother (playing with a ball and wearing a baseball cap). Once the students seemed to have a good grasp on the storyline and the family members, I made them put their heads down while I removed one of the cards. The students had to be able to speak the words from the missing card to earn points. I then mixed up all the parts of the story on the black board and the students had to put them back into the correct order. Afrela, Miko, and I focus a lot on vocabulary and sequence with the first and second grade students.

Whenever I have a free moment in my office, it seems that everyone knows. Mr. Yukita asked me to edit a letter he had written to send to the principal of a school in Australia who is arranging home-stays for the Discovery students. I spent about a half hour making some changes to the letter on his computer. Mr. Yukita also asked me to teach with Chuck Sensei tomorrow, since he will be teaching alone. I was planning on helping Afrela Sensei, but I agreed to help Chuck instead.

Throughout the day I put together some activities for today’s advanced English class. After school I headed over to the advanced English house and waited for the kids. First, I had the students practice communicating ideas to their peers through a fun game. We learned the names of many different shapes using a large posterboard I brought along. The students sat back to back and one partner had to draw two of the shapes on their paper. Then, the students had to explain to their partner how to draw what they drew. Most of the kids did very well, but I had to emphasize some things they should describe, like size, orientation, and location. The students enjoyed the game.

For our second activity we worked with word families and rhyming. I had volunteers help me read the story Green Eggs and Ham to the other students. After reading the book I wanted to work with some poetry, but we simply didn't have time. I sat in a circle with the kids and started a simple rhyming game. I started with a word and then passed the ball of yarn to another student. That student had to say a word that rhymed with mine, and so on. I had to change the rhymes a couple of times, because the kids got stuck. Overall, the activity really got the students thinking, using their vocabulary, recognizing word patterns, and learning new words from their peers. The yarn added a fun twist to the activity, and we ended up all tied together in a large web of yarn.

Back at the Hotta's house I had some time to work before dinner was ready. You will not be surprised to hear what Junpei said before the meal was even finished: "Ryan. Second floor. DVD?" "Yes Junpei. When I am finished with my beer," I replied. We ended up watching Jurassic Park II, which is exactly the same as Jurassic Park I. I enjoy spending time with the little man, and I can tell that he enjoys my company.