This week we welcomed back students after Obon Holiday. Despite the slight break, students had no problems getting back to their usual routines. Waterfall is really growing up!

We’ve been going deeper with our inquiry studies about animals, and this time exploring the sounds, names, and movements of animals in song form. We learned three new songs this week! “Walking In the Forest”, “Ocean Animals Song”, “Old Macdonald Had a Farm”. By using these songs we not only got to use our bodies and voices to inquire about the form of animals, each song represented a different habitat that animals require to thrive!

While not only singing songs about animals, we made craft about the same animals!! We made masks of forest animals, with each student choosing which animal they like the best. We focused on the animals we can see in Nagano’s forests like deer, bears, kamoshika, wild boar etc. We also created huge models of farm animals! Each student had the chance to paint the models outside, and not worry about getting messy! Both the masks and the large models will be used next week… check back here to find out how we use them in our inquiries!

In September, we will be holding the Shimauchi Campus Sports Festival! Looking towards that, we have been practicing how to run fast in a race. We have been practicing in the gym, as well as outside in a beautiful park in Azumino. Everyone is really getting used to how to follow the track, and give it their best. But there won’t just be races at the Sports Festival, we will perform a dance too!! It is connected to our inquiry theme of animals, and also to the theme of the Sports Festival which is “Community Helpers”. Can you guess what helpers we are going to be in the dance?

Finally, we have also be working nicely on our fine motor and literacy skills through practicing writing the alphabet. Each student goes at their own pace and can choose whether they use a pencil, crayon, or even a whiteboard marker. Students can also choose which letters they would like to write. Even at a young age, we want to encourage students to have agency, and take ownership over their learning.

Next week we will start talking about what foods and products we get from animals, and the relationships between humans and animals. It’s sure to be great fun! See you next week!