Kanji

We started learning kanji today. Not for very long, though. We just looked at ten characters and read their pronounciations before moving on to something else. I think we're supposed to learn them ourselves.

We learnt: 日 (sun), 月 (moon), 木 (tree), 山 (mountain), 川 (river), 田 (rice field), 人 (person), 口 (mouth), 車 (car), 門 (gate).

Unfortunately I've just realised that I've left my kanji book in the classroom. Damn the clever desks: they have little storage shelfs underneath the main surface for books, but it means you can't see them. I suppose I'll have to do my homework on paper then, and copy it back in later.

I taught this afternoon after lessons for the first time outside of Linden Hall. This was for Yoko who provided me a with a lesson plan despite having told me to plan to do something for an hour. My ppor mother thought about that plan for a long time, and then I basically didn't do any of it.

There were six children between 4 and 5 years old, so it was a kindergarten class, and their English was limited. We started by singing 'Ring a Ring of Roses'; I told Yoko what it was about beforehand as she didn't know, but we refrained from telling the children. Hehehe. I love the hidden messages in nursery rhymes. Anyway, after that Yoko disappeared for a bit and I showed them some flash cards of verbs and said "I can" and "I can't" do whatever the flash card said. Getting them to say what the flash card said was a big chore, though, me not knowing the word for 'say' in Japanese.

Upon Yoko's return we just did more 'I can', 'I can't' stuff (mostly I can since they seem to be able to do everything). Most of the lesson was spent with me saying something in English and her translating it for the children. I suppose the point is that they just here an English person speaking as opposed to understanding what they were saying.

After that, I read a book to them. Well, not so much read as turned the pages and pointed to the animals therein. It was about dancing animals, but there didn't seem to be any story. I just asked them what each animal was, and sometimes the colour, or the number of them. And that was it.

Everyone's gone out drinking again tonight in Kurume this time (the opposite direction to Tenjin). I don't really like going out at night. I think I'd much prefer exploring in the daylight - I can take pictures then!