Dear Parents,
In Prep the focus is on making use of this time when little children can absorb language. Rather than trying to teach language through sets of rules, they play games in Japanese, learn Japanese songs that children in Japan learn at this age and they listen to very exciting, traditional Japanese stories. The aim is to get their ears used to new sounds and to make them interested in a new culture. Term 1 is a general introduction with greetings, numbers, classroom instructions and basic expressions. The focus of Term 2 is on Body Parts, Health and Fitness. This includes the kanji for body parts, playing recognition games and reinforcing the message of 'Healthy Body Healthy Mind'. The focus of Term 3 is animals and the sounds they make. I am very excited about this because I love animals (we have several at home) and I know many students have pets too. I will also be showing students the kanji (Japanese script) for some of the animals. In Term 4 we will be learning about Festivals and the New Year Celebration. The Christmas season is celebrated in a different way in Japan with different foods and customs. Visiting a Temple or Shrine is an important aspect of the New Year. Students will learn how to visit a temple correctly and how to make some of the traditional foods.
I will be adding some hiragana as it is something that the students are incredibly good at recognising (compared to adults!) Why not try and learn what they have learned? Ask them how they have remembered each character and you might be surprised at the detail in their answers.
In Prep the focus is on making use of this time when little children can absorb language. Rather than trying to teach language through sets of rules, they play games in Japanese, learn Japanese songs that children in Japan learn at this age and they listen to very exciting, traditional Japanese stories. The aim is to get their ears used to new sounds and to make them interested in a new culture. Term 1 is a general introduction with greetings, numbers, classroom instructions and basic expressions. The focus of Term 2 is on Body Parts, Health and Fitness. This includes the kanji for body parts, playing recognition games and reinforcing the message of 'Healthy Body Healthy Mind'. The focus of Term 3 is animals and the sounds they make. I am very excited about this because I love animals (we have several at home) and I know many students have pets too. I will also be showing students the kanji (Japanese script) for some of the animals. In Term 4 we will be learning about Festivals and the New Year Celebration. The Christmas season is celebrated in a different way in Japan with different foods and customs. Visiting a Temple or Shrine is an important aspect of the New Year. Students will learn how to visit a temple correctly and how to make some of the traditional foods.
I will be adding some hiragana as it is something that the students are incredibly good at recognising (compared to adults!) Why not try and learn what they have learned? Ask them how they have remembered each character and you might be surprised at the detail in their answers.
Story: Ocean, Ocean How are you?
There are several online games available for students to play. Click on the orange button to link to the games, OR play the game directly below.
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Movie: My Neighbour Totoro
My Neighbour Totoro, a Studio Ghibli film, is about a family who shift to a house in rural Japan to be near a hospital that their mother is in. It is in the late 1950s. The two daughters, aged 4 and 10 befriend some magical creatures living under the house, as well as three 'Totoros', a larger creature who lives in the hollow of a large tree and two smaller versions. The adventures had by the girls and their new friends are both entertaining and heart-warming. Enjoy watching this movie. Available on Netflix.
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How to draw Totoro
Game: Learn the animal words in Japanese
Story: Here comes Tarzan
In this story animals are introduced along with their kanji and the sound they make. What sound do you think a Rooster makes in Japanese? Tarzan is feeling shiawase (happy) as he swings through the jungle.
Song: kobuta, tanuki, kitsune, neko
This is one of many well known children songs in Japan. There are two versions here. It is about four animals and the sounds they make in Japanese. It is an easy song to sing as there is a lot of repetition and comes with gestures. The animals are a piglet (ko for child and buta for pig), a racoon (tanuki), a fox (kitsune) and a cat (neko).
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Origami: neko & inu
You can try this simple origami at home. You just need some square paper.
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Children's Day: May 5th
Please click on the orange button below to see what the class learnt about Koi Carp, Flags and traditions surrounding Children's Day in Japan. I hope they brought home a coloured in Carp Streamer today.
Song: Atama, kata, hiza, ashi
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This is Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Japanese. The lyrics are:
atama - head kata - shoulder hiza - knee ashi - foot me - eye mimi - ear kuchi - mouth hana - nose (the word to, pronounced like toe, is also in the song. It means and) |
Story: The Greedy Crocodile
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This story presents some more body parts, and also shows the kanji for these body parts. The key sentence is:
___ ga itai. e.g. ashi ga itai - My foot hurts mimi ga itai - I have earache/ my ear hurts |
Song: ohayo ohayo |
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This song teaches various greeting words. They are:
Verse 1: good morning, hello, goodbye, see you tomorrow.
Verse 2: hello (for answering the phone only), good evening, good night, see you later.
Your child should be able to sing this song with gestures.
Verse 1: good morning, hello, goodbye, see you tomorrow.
Verse 2: hello (for answering the phone only), good evening, good night, see you later.
Your child should be able to sing this song with gestures.
Song: o genki desu ka? Hai, genki desu.
song_o_genki_desu_ka.mp3 | |
File Size: | 1360 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
Song: The Robot Song
We call this song the 'Robot Song' as that is the style of dance the students do when we sing it in class (the song is actually called 1,2,3 Let's Dance). The main focus of the song is numbers. It is a fantastic way for students to learn the numbers 1-10 as they are repeated throughout the song. I do not teach the meaning of the other sentences explicitly but rather through the actions of the dance. The lyrics are:
Put your hands in front Put your hands above Put your hands in front Put your hands below 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 Let's walk....forwards...backwards 1,2,3 turn around, jump Chorus: 1,2,3 everyone, let's dance together |
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Learning numbers 1-10
Here is a song we sing to learn numbers 1-10. It can be a little confusing (such as counting backwards) but the repetition is great and it is easy to follow..