Konichiwa!
Our momstown Milton mamas and tots had a great time traveling to Japan at our Trip Around the World program.
We started off talking about the Japanese language. We learned that the word "konichiwa" means hello, and looked at how the word is written. We first looked at the English word "hello' and the children identified the letters. Then we looked at the Japanese word "konichiwa". We learned that Japanese characters are different from the abc's that we use in the English language. Next, we watched a short segment of Japanese Sesame Street so that we could hear how speaking the language sounds. I think the kids were surprised to see Elmo speaking Japanese!
We then talked about the flag of Japan. Our travellers identified that the flag was made up of a red circle and a white rectangle. Japan is also known as "the land of the rising sun", and the red circle represents this. We all made a flag - a very quick craft!
After the flag, we talked about the delicious food that comes from Japan. There are so many great dishes, however I chose to focus on sushi. We talked about the different ingredients that go into sushi - the special rice, the nori (seaweed), and the filling - we chose avocado, cucumber, and yams. Our World travellers had a chance to taste some nori. A hit with some, but not for all!
The children were interested to see sushi being made. Once the sticky rice was spread over the nori, the sweet potato was added. Using a sushi mat, I rolled it up and voila! Sushi!
The children were interested to see sushi being made. Once the sticky rice was spread over the nori, the sweet potato was added. Using a sushi mat, I rolled it up and voila! Sushi!
Everyone was invited to try some rolls, and received a small amount of soy sauce on their plates for dipping.
Once we were all finished with the yummy sushi, we talked about origami, a popular activity for Japanese children. We made simple hats. This could easily be done with a sheet of newspaper for party hats, pirate fun, or a rainy day activity. Our hats were about the right size for a doll, or for an adorable baby!
We headed to the back yard where everyone was given a colourful origami boat to float in the pool! This was a hit with the kids! Making a boat is really easy. Our boats floated, but didn't last too long in the water! The boats falling apart in the water was also very entertaining for our little travellers, so no one seemed to mind when boats started sinking and falling apart!
It was a wonderful morning. Thanks to everyone for coming out, and thank you to all the brave travellers who tried sushi for the first time today! Sayonara!
Once we were all finished with the yummy sushi, we talked about origami, a popular activity for Japanese children. We made simple hats. This could easily be done with a sheet of newspaper for party hats, pirate fun, or a rainy day activity. Our hats were about the right size for a doll, or for an adorable baby!
We headed to the back yard where everyone was given a colourful origami boat to float in the pool! This was a hit with the kids! Making a boat is really easy. Our boats floated, but didn't last too long in the water! The boats falling apart in the water was also very entertaining for our little travellers, so no one seemed to mind when boats started sinking and falling apart!
It was a wonderful morning. Thanks to everyone for coming out, and thank you to all the brave travellers who tried sushi for the first time today! Sayonara!
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Submitted by Paula Porter, a momstown Milton member and
mother of two amazing girls.
