March 22, 2011

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Today we explored many aspects of Japanese culture including the symbol of the carp fish. We learned that the carp is a symbol of strength and the human spirit. Families typically have a carp displayed for each male in the family. Children made a carp fish windsock as a reminder of this Japanese custom.

We heard a story called "The Crab and the Monkey" from the book Japanese Children's Favorite Stories. Children took turns acting as different characters in a live drama production.

After the story some children tasted cherry tomatoes as a grace and courtesy lesson, and we wrote a song about Sushi.
I Love Sushi Rolls
(to the tune of "I love Rock and Roll")
I love Sushi rolls,
take another dip in the soy sauce baby.
I love Sushi rolls
wasabi and ginger and chomp on me!

Over heard at the snack table:
Q (child age 4): "why are we having bread and butter?"
A(child age 6): "because no man can live on bread alone"

HELP WANTED
We would like to do Ikebana Flower arranging. This will work nicely if each child has a shallow dish or tray to use. Please consider donating shallow plastic containers similar to ones that hold greek yogurt, or frozen dinners. We hope to have 20 collected by next week.

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