This week, Ms. Ann spent time with the Rainforest. We also celebrated the birthday party together with her.
In our UOI lessons this week, we continued exploring the theme of teamwork through a variety of engaging activities. To think about how to become a good communicator, we started with a game of “Whisper game.” In this game, short sentences like “I like oranges and apples.” are whispered into a friend’s ear, then passed along to the next person. Sometimes, even if the message was delivered, the content would change along the way! Through this, the children realized the importance of speaking clearly when conveying a message.
Next, we divided into four groups and played a game where each team had to build the tallest pyramid possible using paper cups within a time limit. At first, many teams struggled—towers would collapse midway, and some disagreements even broke out within groups. However, after taking time to reflect and discuss as a team before trying again, most groups were able to build taller and more stable towers much more quickly!They were able to communicate well within their teams, using phrases like “This one goes here,” “No need to add more,” and “We’re done, please sit properly!”
On Friday, we had a special guest speaker—one of the Rainforest parents—who came to talk to us about “teamwork” in basketball. The children were delighted to see a familiar dad walk in wearing his basketball uniform—everyone was all smiles!
He shared three key things with us: the rules of basketball, what players should avoid doing, and how to win a game. He explained that to win, it’s important to practice a lot and improve your skills, get plenty of sleep to build a strong body, and most importantly—work together as a team. The children thought carefully about what it means to win and were able to share their ideas within their groups and present them to others. It was a wonderful opportunity that also gave us some meaningful lessons we can apply during our Sports Festival practice as well!
We also enjoyed lots of delicious treats this week!
We had some watermelon that was kindly donated by one of our parents. Using a big watermelon, we even tried suikawari (the traditional Japanese watermelon-splitting game)!
Even though the Rainforest children gave it their best swings, the watermelon just wouldn’t break. They started wondering, “What should we do? How can we eat it?”
Thankfully, the office staff helped cut it up nicely, and we enjoyed it during snack time.
The edamame we carefully grew from seeds have finally reached the perfect size to eat!
Although the strong sunlight made some of them turn a little yellow, the pods grew plump and looked delicious.
Each child harvested their own edamame, and we enjoyed tasting them together after cooking.
Many children asked for seconds, happily saying things like “It’s so sweet!” and “Yummy!”
Even some children who didn’t like edamame before were able to say, “I like it!”—a big step in overcoming their dislikes.
There’s something truly special about eating something you’ve grown yourself!
Have a great weekend!
