Linda Santoro’s Blog

Today we went to visit the Hikarigaoka Elementary School. We got there just as the children were arriving. Everyone had a hat on and a black or red backpack. The girls have red backpacks and the boys have black.
I overheard someone say that they thought the backpacks were 20000 yen each. That is about $200.00. Can anyone figure out about how many yen equal a dollar?

As the children entered the school they had to take off their shoes, put them in a cubby and put on slippers. This is what they looked like.

We had to take off our shoes too. I bought a pair of Japanese slippers to wear in the schools.
I noticed that many of the children were carrying bags of cans. I later found out that the children bring all of their recycling to school.

The Japanese students are very interested in protecting and helping their environment. They also recycle by making art projects out of household items.

The classrooms looked very similar to ours. Each room has one computer and they also have a computer lab. Look closely at some of these photos and see if you can see some things that are the same and other things that are different.

I even saw some lessons that are the same ones we teach. Here is a balancing lesson and a lesson on rounding numbers!

It was fun to participate in the lessons and games. I made origami and played a game to help children learn English.

I got to eat lunch with a fifth grade class. The students served everyone. I had a vegetable stew with what looked like hotdogs in it. We also had yogurt, milk and bread which tasted like a donut. After lunch I took out my laptop and showed them photos of our class. They were amazed that I only have one student who walks to school. They all walk to school, even if it takes them an hour! They were also a bit envious at the fact that you get to buy lunches (like pizza) and bring a snack. When I showed them the photos of us building structures I explained how were talked about earthquake loads. They asked if we had earthquakes, and I said no. They asked if I had ever been in an earthquake. Again, I said no. They said it was terrifying.

At the end of our visit the fifth and sixth graders did a performance. They played the American National Anthem on recorders and then sang it. They also did a dance that was a mixture of Japanese and European dance. It was amazing because every sixth grader danced. (about 80 students)

We’ll go to a middle school next.

Miss Santoro

PS The total cost of my meal at the sushi place the other day was 990 yen. Congratulations for those of you who got the right answer or an answer that was very close.