"Mommy, you're supposed to do おにぎりすわり when sensei reads a book." This is what my daughter told me yesterday when she was pretending to be my sensei. The "suwari" means sit, and onigiri means ... onigiri. She showed me, and you're supposed to bend your knees so they make a triangle, like a typical onigiri shape. Cute! But my legs are pretty long, so it's a little uncomfortable. Oh well.
ゆきあそび Yuki asobi means ... playing in the snow! The kids are doing lots of this lately, and I have to pack a special bag every week with snow gear just in case they go outside to play in the white stuff. And ゆきだるま yuki daruma means ... a snowman! ゆきだるまを つくりましょう！ Let's make a snowman! I wondered why they just don't say "yuki hito" or something like that to mean snowman in Japanese. It's because the "daruma", that little round guy that gives you good luck on tests and stuff, is a similar shape to a ball of snow, so it made more sense to say yukidaruma. In Japan, if there is a hat it is usually a bucket or something, since there is no history of wearing "silk top hats" in Japan.
This week in Japanese Preschool, my daughter enjoyed the あきまつり "akimatsuri", or Fall Festival. Almost every child had a parent in attendance, too. Lots of kids wore ゆかた "yukata" (summer cotton kimono) or はっぴ "happi" (little festival coat) with headbands. To start out the festivities, the children carried a cute, preschool-y おみこし "omikoshi" (explanation) through the hallways, shouting "wasshoi, wasshoi" (heave-ho, heave-ho). Here is a typical picture (not mine) of the activity below:
Then, they did an おどり "odori" (dance) to some crazy festival music, holding hands in a big circle. Finally, they went around the gym to several set up game stations, like fishing with a magnet, bowling, putting an acorn through a maze, catching waterballoons with a paperclip, making masks, etc. Oh yeah, and there was yummy festival food! If you have an Anime Club or Japan Club at your school, consider holding a "Natsu Matsuri" (Summer Festival) at the end of the school year to celebrate your club. Keep it simple your first time, though. You can do it!
