Vancouver… I fell in love with the city. I didn’t want to but some times we all have to do things we don’t necessarily want to do. So, I left. I’m not going to lie. I was really sad to leave the city. All the people I met, all the memories I made, the lifestyle… everything… I loved everything about it.

But a new chapter has to begin sometimes, and now was the time.

JAPAN.

Life works in a mysterious way. Two days after my return, I got hired as a full-time teacher and I started working at a bilingual school in Japan. I now have a kindergarten class and the students are absolutely adorable!

My school is an inquiry based kindergarten. We have monthly themes but that’s about it. No structured curriculum or goals regarding these themes. The kids were working on solar system when I started my job. The students learned about solar system through songs, crafts, videos, and books.

Here are some solar system songs they absolutely loved 🙂 During circle time, the students request these songs. Sometimes I wonder if they ever get sick of hearing these songs but… I guess not!!

Here are some crafts they’ve done. First we made a coffee filter art. Then we cut holes on a construction paper and pasted the coffee filter art to represent their own planet. Glitters and stickers were a great hit!!

When I started working with these students, we decided to start a banner project. Every time we have a new theme or some events, we will be creating a big banner for the class! This is a fun, interesting, and crafty activity but can be very educational. Timing will be the key for this activity. Making a banner at the beginning of the theme can become a tool to know how much the students already know. Any time after the introduction of some main factors of the theme would be a great way to check for their understanding. It can also simply be a tool to introduce new ideas! Here is a picture of the banner.