Today's activities included an interesting version of Red Rover, walking on stilts, playing with hoops and sticks, music time, and tea ceremony. The event concluded with a traditional style puppet show.
When we first arrived, there were kids running everywhere in the playground. It was fun to see all the kids in their color coded hats. Each class has a different color hat for easy identification. I've always thought the children in their school hats are so cute! After a warm up dance of stretches, the activities officially began.
My son joined the Red Rover game right away. We broke up into two lines and sang a little song as the lines danced back and forth. Then we picked a kid from the other team to run into the center and play jan ken pon (rock paper scissors). The winner took the looser back to their line. It was quite different that the arm breaking version I played as a kid!
Next my son wanted to try the stilts. He quickly decided they weren't very much fun and went to play with the hoops. They offered old bicycle wheels to be rolled around with the help of sticks, just like the traditional game played by kids from long ago. He was pretty good at it for being the first time to try it. He got it rolling several times and the teachers cheered for him, which made me smile with pride.
It was time to enjoy the tea ceremony. They had a volunteer dressed in kimono, showing small groups of children the proper way to whisk and serve the tea. My son loves to try new things - especially if the new thing involves food. He was interested in why she was whisking and what the special spoon was for. A woman came over to where we were sitting and tried to explain the process in English. It was a nice gesture, but felt a bit weird.
After he ate the little sweet (pressed sugar into a half moon shape) and drank the bitter, but frothy matcha tea, we went to another room to join the music time. Unfortunately, we had spent too much time playing outside and they were packing up the instruments.
Five minutes later, it was time for the puppet show. All of the kids - students and future students alike - gathered in the gym for the entertainment. The show featured four puppeteers telling a story of a man and a woman. I can't go into further detail because I have no idea what the story was actually about. The puppeteers were dressed in all black, including covering their heads, so the audience cannot "see" them. The show reminded me of a Bunraku show I saw 15 years ago. Bunraku is a traditional form of storytelling with puppets that take three puppeteers to maneuver the puppet. It is quiet impressive, even when you don't know the details of the story. The kids were entertained by the show, and so was I.
After the show, the same woman approached me. It turns out she is part of the PTA and fluent in English. So the school staff asked if she could explain things to me when needed. It was a nice gesture.
Then it was time to go. I really like these open house opportunities. It helps the kids so much as they prepare for a huge change in their lives.
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