ISN Summer School – Grade 4
Week 1, Days 1~3
A Great Start
Grade 4 Summer School got off to a fantastic start! We began the week with a menu of activities, giving students the opportunity to choose how they wanted to spend their time. This encouraged student agency, as they explored different activities, discovered what they enjoyed, and adapted them by adding their own creative ideas.
Building Friendships
One of the highlights of the week was seeing students choose activities that encouraged teamwork and cooperation. As they played together, they deepened existing friendships, welcomed others into their games, and created a positive and inclusive atmosphere. One group even designed and set up a four-square court in the classroom, showing great initiative and problem-solving skills.
Outdoor Adventures
Students enjoyed plenty of time outdoors throughout the week. They challenged themselves on the slackline, relaxed in the hammocks, and visited the park where they invented their own games, created rules together, and made sure everyone could join in.
With the summer heat, we also made the most of some exciting water activities. Students cooled off on the water slide, enjoyed the fun tradition of nagashi somen, and designed and built their own bamboo water shooters, experimenting with different designs before testing them outside. These activities combined creativity, teamwork, and plenty of laughter.
Creativity Through Technology
A programming workshop and a game-making workshop inspired students to think creatively. They learned the basics of coding and game design before putting their own unique spin on their projects. Rather than simply following instructions, students experimented, modified ideas, and created something that reflected their own imagination and interests.
Mystery Design Challenge
Students put their creativity and teamwork to the test with our Mystery Design Challenge. Each team received a mystery box filled with a variety of materials and had one important rule: they could only use the items inside the box. No extra materials were allowed!
Using the design thinking process, students first explored the materials, discussed ideas, and identified a problem they wanted to solve. They sketched, built, tested, and improved their designs as they worked together.
At the end of the challenge, each team presented their invention by answering three key questions:
- What is it?
- Who is it for?
- How does it help?
The challenge encouraged students to think creatively, communicate their ideas clearly, and see that there is often more than one solution to a problem. It was exciting to see how the same types of materials became completely different inventions, each reflecting the imagination and unique thinking of its team.
Day Four – Thinking and Reflecting
As the week continued, students began preparing for Friday’s exhibition by planning how they would share their learning with others. In the afternoon, students enjoyed watching a movie of their choice. They didn’t just watch for entertainment—they practised thinking critically by discussing the plot, characters, and important messages, leading to some thoughtful and lively conversations.
Day Five – Sharing Our Learning
The week finished with preparations for our Summer School Exhibition. Students created display boards and organised presentations showcasing their favourite activities, projects, and learning from the week. They proudly hosted hands-on activities for visiting students, sharing their creativity, teamwork, and enthusiasm with others. It was a wonderful way to celebrate an exciting first week of Summer School!
Grades 5, 6 and 7
Day One
Grades 5, 6 and 7 were very excited to have the usually separate classes combined for the purposes of the Summer School! The students spend time with friends who they usually don’t take lessons with, and welcomed a large number of students from outside of ISN, coming in from Matsumoto, other cities in Nagano prefecture, and Tokyo.
Every morning, the students started their day with a cooperative, teamwork challenge, waking up their brains from the long summer naps. Their first challenge was to work in teams to build a tallest self standing tower, made only of straws and masking tape. A lot of fun and some excellent ideas have come up, with students realizing the importance of building a wide base, and thinking outside of the box. Next up was the first art project of the week: painting our associations to the word “Summer”. The students talked about how art doesn’t have to be realistic, but just an outlet for the artists’ feelings and impressions. In the afternoon, the entire school had a long water play session in the school’s front yard. A big water slide, catching nagashi somen, and throwing water balloons provided some much needed refreshment from the heat
Day Two
On Tuesday, the students played with clay, thinking about the looks and characteristics of their personal superheroes, and then modeling them. We’ve seen mom and dad heroes, plushie heroes and kitchen utensil heroes, among others. This was done as part of this Summer school’s overarching theme for the first week: Board games, inspired by lessons held on board game design every day by industry professionals. The students got to explore various existing board games and showcase their creativity and fresh ideas through creating their own interesting board (and card games), which were played by their teachers and classmates.
Day Three
Wednesday was the day for crafting the fun bamboo shooters – traditional summertime toys made by sawing two pieces of bamboo and filling them with water. Even the older students had a lot of fun tinkering with their creations, and the smiles on their faces when they got to get their friends wet from head to toe were infectious. The students also worked in teams to create their own jigsaw puzzles, creating a colorful design and then cutting out the pieces. A lot of fun was had with the team competing in who could finish the puzzle the quickest.
Day Four
Preparations for the week’s big finale – the Summer School Exhibition, have started on Thursday already. The students discussed packaging design and designed boxes for the board and card games they created in their specialized lessons. They were tasked with making their designs colorful and stand out, as well as listing all important information on their games the players might be interested in. A hot, but fun, afternoon was had at the local park. The students had a picnic, took a walk, did sketches of nature, and played at the play castle.
Day Five
The week finished with the Exhibition. All classes presented the work they have done this past week for everyone else to observe, interact with, and enjoy. They worked very hard preparing for it, but were so excited to show their ideas, efforts, and creative thinking, as well as play with the games and projects made by other grades. The week was topped off by fun balloon play and a refreshing dip at the local pool. Please join us next week as well for week two of ISN Summer School 2026!
