What a week filled with wonder, discovery, joyful learning, and little moments that made big memories! We visited the Matsumoto Art Museum to explore the many ways people express their feelings through drawing and painting. Before entering the gallery, the children listened carefully to instructions on how to behave in the museum and demonstrated their understanding throughout the visit. As they walked through the exhibition rooms, they encountered different environments, some dark and others bright, which sparked their curiosity. The children explored the displays respectfully without touching the artworks; some pointed at interesting pieces, while others whispered their observations to their friends. It was a stimulating and enriching experience that encouraged the children to observe, wonder, and appreciate how art can communicate feelings in different ways.
After our museum visit, we headed to Agatanomori Park for some refreshments and outdoor fun. We enjoyed a lovely picnic together, followed by plenty of excitement on the slides, swings, and other playground equipment. The children had so much fun playing, laughing, and enjoying the fresh air with their friends. It was a wonderful way to round off our outing and create more happy memories together!
Back at school, we continued our discussion on the different ways people express their feelings. The children shared and explored various ways of expressing emotions, including clapping, smiling, laughing, frowning, speaking, keeping quiet, hugging, crying, singing, going to bed, and drawing. We introduced the sentence structure, “When I am happy, I smile” and “When I am happy, I sing,” giving the children opportunities to practise expressing their ideas. Some children came to the front of the class to act out different expressions and actions, while later, during playtime, one child spontaneously extended the discussion by saying, “When I am happy, I play!” We also revisited our visit to the Matsumoto Museum, reflecting on the different drawings, paintings, and artworks we had observed. This led us to consider how an artist’s feelings and emotions might be reflected in her paintings. The children recalled their observations, sharing comments such as, “I saw a flower,” “The pumpkin is yellow,” “I saw plates,” and “It was colourful.” Through these conversations, the children continued to develop their understanding that people express their feelings in different ways and that art can be one of the expressions.
Learning through play makes every gym session an exciting adventure! After our warm-up, the children were challenged to sit just outside a hoop and use their toes to lift it over their bodies. This proved quite difficult for them, as it required coordination, balance, and patience. After several attempts, a few of the children were beginning to get the hang of it, which was lovely to see. With more practice and time, we hope they will improve this skill.
We had a wonderful time celebrating our monthly whole-school birthday party, where two of our children were the stars of the day! They were delighted to wear their birthday crowns, receive everyone’s birthday wishes, and answer questions such as “What is your name?”, “How old are you?” and “What birthday present did you get?” The celebration continued with an exciting magic display in which water magically transformed into different juices, including grape, persimmon, and mushroom juice. The children watched with amazement and excitement, making the birthday party a joyful and memorable experience for everyone!
The week ended with a beautiful and exciting Halloween party. Seeing children come in their parents adorned in various Halloween costume and playing the games available brought so much joy.
We must say it has been a wonderful week filled with learning, laughter, merry making and discovery. We look forward to another exciting week of exploring, growing, and making beautiful memories together. Have a lovely weekend!
