After our busy and enjoyable AKIS Summer School, we are back to regular school. We were so lucky that our neighbor invited us to pick grapes at Kyu-Imagawa Junior High School (which is in front of our school). This week our students learned about different kinds of fruit, and especially “grapes”. We made grapes during arts and crafts. We also compared red grapes, green grapes, and raisins. We then tried to figure out how we can make raisins.
Then on Friday, we were lucky to be able to go grape picking. Each bunch of grapes had been given a white paper cover, which meant it was difficult to see how big each bunch was. So the students tried to gently feel the size of the bunch through the paper cover. After their careful assessment, they each chose two bunches of grapes to pick. They used scissors to carefully cut the stem from the vine. This year because of the many hot days, grapes are much sweeter than average, the staff said. The children were so very happy to bring the grapes back to school. Then in the afternoon, they tried to guess how many grapes were in a bunch. After that we counted the grapes. The older students tried counting them by 2s, by 5s, etc.
Because Respect for the Aged day is on Monday the 15th, our students made bookmarks for their grandparents. Each class used a different technique: Penguin Class made their handprint, Starfish Class drew a face with a handprint, Seal Class made theirs with threading, and Whale Class made it from paper weaving.
We hope all the grandmas and grandpas enjoy their special gift! Happy Grandparents Day!