Getting Back into the Groove

After our 2 week hiatus everyone returned, excited to learn.  Week 3 was very short, so we combined it with week 4 to get the best learning experience.

Art

For art this week we made a giant wall collage.  As a class we worked together to make our collage.  It was the first time we were working together as a class.  Some of us has trouble sharing, while others had trouble working in a team.  In the end, we managed to make a beautiful collage.  If you look closely you will see that the sun and water feeds the flower and makes it grow into a bigger flower.  Just like us, flowers need food (sunlight) and water to grow.

Sketching Part 1

On the way back from Heiwa no Mori 2 weeks ago we picked up some flowers.  We were going to use them for a different art project, but due to the 2 week closure we couldn’t get to do the project.  Instead, the flowers were nicely dried.  We noticed it wasn’t wilted and brown like the other flowers, so we decided to sketch them.  Some students moved around, looking at all the angles before sketching their flower.

Sketching Part 2

On the way home from the park we stopped by Shimachu to look at the plants in the garden section.  We saw a plant that was sick and wilting.  Since it was on sale, we bought the plant so we could take it back to school to see if we could nurse it back to health by giving it sunlight and water.  Before replanting it, we sketched the roots.  Some students noticed the roots were small compared to trees.  They reminded each other “Don’t hurt the roots,” as they took turns looking at one plant.

Outing Day to Kita Shinjuku Park

For our first outing day after a long break, we went to trekked to Kita Shinjuku Park.  It was one of out longer walks, but we made it to the park without complaints.

At the park we noticed some younger children from the nearby nursery playing on the equipment closer to the entrance to the park.  We decided to explore deeper into the park instead.  On the way up the hill we saw many trees that looked to be crying.  “What’s that?  It’s wet.”  One of our students said as he noticed the tree.  There was some sap coming out of the cracks of the tree.  We explained that the sap is sticky, but the ants love it.  “Don’t touch it’s sticky!”  One child said, disgusted with the sap.  “It’s ant food, right?”  Another said.

After that we continued on deeper into the park.  We saw a few more trees with sap before finding a large slide and log stairs that tested our balance.  They enjoyed walking and balancing on the longs, as well as sliding down the long slide.