PAL International School understands that New Year’s Day is very important to Japanese people. So it is traditional for the school to spend January learning about Japanese culture. In keeping with tradition, teachers transformed PAL’s western-style Housekeeping Centre into a Japanese house.
They added a tatami mat, changed the dishes to rice bowls and chopsticks, swapped clothes for kimono and zori, and replaced the dinner table with a low table so everybody had to sit in Japanese style.
The children followed a few Japanese traditions such as removing one’s shoes when entering a house, and learned some Japanese songs and greetings.
They played with Japanese toys and games such as spinning tops, kites, daruma otoshi, kendama (“ball-in-a-cup”-type toy), kakizome (calligraphy), and hanetsuki (badminton-like game).
PAL’s boys and girls love it when their school is transformed like this! For more information see http://www.pal-school.com.
— MAKIKO KOIDE
