2019年1月7日月曜日

2018/12/2 Multicultural Playgroup Ichigo-Ichie Report

2018/12/2 Multicultural Playgroup Ichigo-Ichie Report


(日本語でのレポートはこちら)

The 20th Ichigo Ichie took place on Sunday, December 2nd. 61 participants including 39 adults and 22 children, from Korea, China, Taiwan, Australia, USA, Albania, UK and Japan had a fun time together.

<Christmas song>

We began by singing “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer” in Japanese and English. Both the kids and adults enjoyed singing together.




<Children’s Play and Playground in Winter>

The theme of the day’s playgroup was “How to Spend Winter.” The guest speaker was Reiko, a guide and mother of 3 living in Nara. Reiko gave us her great recommendations for things to do with kids during the cold winter months.




・Spending Time at Home
First Reiko shared with us some fun activities and games we could play at home such as making marble crayons (using a microwave and silicon mound), a drawing guessing game, and shiritori (first letter game) with pictures.

・Going Out
Next we learned about some outdoor activities, parks and indoor play centers to visit. A popular activity in December is visiting “Illuminations” or light ups, where places are decorated with beautiful coloured lights.
Some interesting museums included the Children’s Toy Museum in Nara machi where you can enter for free and play with traditional Japanese toys. There is also an Owl Museum. For kids who like insects, there’s a Bug Museum and park in Kashihara city.
Other places to visit included some parks, heated pools, indoor play centers and an ice skating rink.
Next we made groups and shared recommendations for things to do in Winter. For example playing with LEGO at home, Heijo Palace Site craft corner where you can make a key holder and Kobekoland, a free craft and play center in Kobe.





<Winter Games>
We also learned some fun new games from different countries. Participants demonstrated a "Drop the Handkerchief" game from China and a dice game from Korea.


<Saran Wrap Ball Game>

Next we made groups and played the “Saran wrap” ball game from America. People take turns to wear oven mitts, and try to unwrap a big ball of saran wrap with several gifts layered throughout the ball.  Meanwhile the next person rolls the dice until they get a pair, then the next person takes a turn unwrapping the ball. You get to keep the gift you unwrap along the way. It was difficult even for adults to unwrap the saran wrap with oven mitts, so both the kids and adults were excited!





<Balloon Game with Santa>

Santa came to visit for the next game! The kids made 2 groups and tried to collect the most balloons in the bag. The team that got the most balloons won a prize. The kids had a great time playing together and we all learnt some fun winter games and activities!



<Christmas Greetings>

Next we learned some useful Christmas greetings in English, “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays", Spanish “Feliz Navidad", French “Joyeux noel”, Italian “Buon natale”, Albanian "Gezuar Krishtlindjet", German “Frohe Weihnachten”, Russian “С Рождеством”, Chinese “圣诞快乐”, and Korean “메리 크리스마스”.


<Story Time>

Lastly, we had story time. Kaori from Japan and Risha from China, read the picture book “Who ate the food?” in Japanese and Chinese. The children loved listening to this book in 2 languages.
Upcoming Meeting




<Upcoming Meeting>

The next Ichigo Ichie is to be held on Sunday February 3rd at the Exchange Hall on the 2nd floor of the Seika-Cho City Office. The theme will be “Stretch and Massage for the body.” A professional yoga teacher will teach us about stretching and massage. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the next Ichigo ichie!

(Reported by Aiko. Photos by Shin-ichiro.)