It’s already March!!! Can you believe it? It’s a new year and we’re learning new things every day!

But we wanted to share with you some of our memories from our 2011 Christmas Party here at English Now, Myogadani!

With everyone dressed in their best, we all had a lot of fun singing Christmas songs together.

Which made us hungry! So we then had a yummy Christmassy snack:

Of course, the kids (and the mummies and daddies!) used English to get their snacks, thank the teachers, and ask for the trash bag after they had eaten.

We also made a cute Christmas tree decoration. It was a fun challenge for the kids, who used more English to ask us for help.

Then it was time for everyone’s favorite part of Christmas – PRESENTS!!!!

As well as exchanging gifts amongst themselves, the kids also got treats from a very special visitor:

SANTA CLAUS!!!

It was a very fun day for all of the kids, parents and, of course, us teachers!!! It was great to hang out with you all.

See you again this December!!

“Like Mother, Like Daughter” –> this is a common expression in English. It means that a daughter will be like her mother. So if the mother smiles a lot, so will the daughter!

We are hoping to make this expression true when it comes to using English, too!

For a long time, our English Now kids have been memorising and reciting stories – and doing a fantastic job with this!

Now, we’re also giving moms and dads an opportunity to learn with their kids – parents can recite stories too!

Recently, both Hanayo and her mummy recited the story, “Buttons, Buttons”! Mom read the story first (perfectly!) and then Hanayo followed her Mommy’s example by reciting it perfectly as well!

Well done, Hanayo and Hanayo’s Mommy!

Mahiro and Yuta’s Mommy also set a great example for her two sons by reciting two stories!! The boys were very proud of their Mom!

We hope you’ll be inpsired to try this too, all Moms and Dads of English Now kids!

お父さま&お母さまが絵本暗唱を頑張る姿には、いつも感動させられます♪( ´▽｀)

AfterschoolのK君も、ママと一緒にストーリーを暗唱してくれました！！

K君とママがお互いに応援し合って合格を目指している姿を目の当たりにしてとても感激。
　　
ママによると、はじめの頃はK君に暗唱を頑張らせようとしていたけれど、なかなか思うようにやってくれなかったとのこと。
ママが『教える立場』だったのが、ある時から『ママと一緒に頑張る』になり、それから驚くほどの変化があり、立派に覚えて上手に発表できるようになりました！

初めて絵本を暗唱できたときの感動は忘れられないですよね！！
K君の頑張りに加え、それが『楽しいこと』なんだ！と思わせているママの力が本当に大きいと思います。
合格した絵本の一冊一冊に、ご家庭でのドラマがあるんだなぁ～‥としみじみ思ってしまいました。

　　
ママと二人で一緒に練習して、二人で一緒にドキドキしながら発表して。ほんとに素敵な笑顔が見られます！

ちなみにK君は、『ママもお勉強したの！！』と嬉しそうに他の先生やお友達に伝えてました(^^)

子供ってまねっこの天才ですね～！！
と、以前ブログに書きましたが、
最近ではこんなまねっこがありました。

2月&3月は、”How Can I Help?”という絵本を教室で読んでいます。

実際に絵本を読む前に、先生たちが絵本の内容の劇を見せています。

劇の内容を簡単に説明すると、
“How can I help?”とNickyが聞くと、Help Station（お手伝い機？）が、お手伝いの仕方を教えてくれる、というものです。

“I can help take care of my baby sister.”

子供達はこんな表情で劇を見つめています。興味津々！

そして、Play timeにはまねっこ。
自分たちで同じ劇をしながら遊ぶのが最近の流行りです。

Aちゃんが大きな声で”How can I help?”と聞くと、穴から何か出てきます。

ちなみに、穴からおもちゃを出しているのも子どもですよ！
“I can put my toys away.”

思った以上によくまねっこが出来ていて、よーく見てるな！と驚かされる場面が沢山あります。ほんと、子どもってなんでも遊びにしちゃいますね！

Happy New Year!!!

 For the first month of 2012, we have been learning about different ideas for our kids’ futures with our theme of occupations!

We’ve sung songs, played games, and had general all-around fun as the kids have learned about some different jobs, including mail carrier, fire fighter, doctor, bus driver, teacher and baker!!

Craft is a super fun way to learn, so we also made these super cool baker hats:

The kids did such a good job using the names of shapes and numbers during the craft:
“May I have a square, please?”
“Three circles, please.”

The last part of the craft involved tying the headband – a bit hard for our little ones, so we offered a little help…once they ask nicely, of course: “Help me, please!”

 Our little bakers were very proud of their creations and, just to really make sure we were real bakers, we sang, “Pat-A-Cake,” (from our November food theme), while wearing our baker hats!