Well Done

 Most of our students who did the Eiken test in June have passed!  I am so happy as they worked hard.  The ones who didn't pass only missed by a few points.  We are getting ready for the next tests in October.  I know it sounds a long time but the weeks rush past so quickly!

Rainy Season

 The rainy season started on Monday.  Non stop rain.  At the moment it is still cool so doesn't feel too bad. 

I'm often asked if there is a rainy season in England.  We get a lot of rain all year but no rainy season.  Because of this we have a lot of ways to describe rain.

It's raining cats and dogs means very heavy rain.

Another saying for heavy rain is "It's coming down in buckets", I can remember my Mom saying this.

A short shower that lasts for just a few minutes is a sun shower or sneeze.

Light rain is a drizzle. As is a mist.  

There is also a cloudburst and torrential rain.

There are many more, most of them are regional.  

I grew up with this kind of weather.  The day could start out nice and sunny but by lunch time wit could be pouring down.  I could never be bothered with carrying an umbrella with me so I often got soaked through.  I still don't carry an umbrella, after all it's only water!

Sorry ....Again!

 I really don't mean there to be a long gap between posts but time seems to get away from me.

Talking to some of the students I can see that they are really struggling with English in the last few years of elementary school.  I was wondering if part of the problem is the parents not being able to help. I remember when my kids were in elementary school and needed help my husband had to help as I couldn't read Japanese!  ( still can't!).  I was thinking a group of Moms studying together would be nice.  It would give them a chance to learn some English and help their kids out.

So any Mom's out there that want to study English?

Sorry

 I've been really busy the past few weeks.  The curriculum for junior high school has changed.  There is a lot of new vocabulary added also the students are expected to be able read and write after just a few lessons.  The first test the students had they had to write a self introduction,  at least three lines long.  After just two months of study that is really hard!  One problem is the students now have English in elementary school, so it is expected that they already have basic vocabulary but most elementary school teachers don't have English and rely a lot on ALT, most of whom are not teachers but hold some kind of degree!  The result is that the students English experience varies a lot.  Some love it but a lot hate it and find it difficult and boring! I would love to go into the schools and teach the teachers so they can do better!

To help the kids that come here I've been rethinking how and what we teach.  I want to make it more relevant to what they have to learn in school and hopefully make it easier for the kids and more enjoyable.  My biggest problem is my lack of Japanese.  I need to study more to be able to explain things more clearly.  I have my work cut out for me!

More Halloween Pictures

 

Mikey has a class in the next town.  The parents there asked for a big party, putting all the kids together.  Because it would be over 2 hours long Mikey did a magic show for them!  From what I've heard he did very well.  He is hoping to turn professional soon, it should of happened last year but covid stopped that!

Mikey getting wrapped up as a Mummy

Floating table trick

Halloween mask!

Halloween Parties

  It's that time of year again, where ghost stories and games rule our English classes. In Japan the second term of school is very long, September to the end of December without any breaks.  By this time the kids are already flagging and finding it hard to concentrate and there are still two months to go.  To give the kids a break, especially after working hard for an English test, we have Halloween Parties the last week of October.  The kids look forward to it, the younger ones dress up and invite their friends to come.  I use to do cookies but this year I realized that I don't have the energy to bake over 200 cookies in my small kitchen!  So we bought a load of candy, cookies and chocolate and made up small gift bags for the kids to take home.  I was hoping to hire the local community center and do two big parties but parents are still worried about Covid 19 so we stuck to doing parties for each class.  Two more days to go then need to think about Christmas!

Girls looking cute in their costumes

Christopher!!!!

Halloween table. 

I put the Halloween table out the beginning of October, it makes a good conversation piece for the kids, they ask questions or make comments on the different things.  Makes for for more natural learning than just from a book!  

Getting Ready For Halloween

 I've finally got Halloween decorations out and they look nice.  The kids are enjoying them.  We spend time in the lessons talking about what's on he table.  Even the older kids get a kick out of it. 

All set for Halloween!

This week has been hard, most schools had there field day last weekend so kids have been tired. Plus junior high and high schools have mid term tests coming up.  Seeing our Halloween table helps cheer up the kids a bit!  

Last Push

 This coming weekend is the Eiken test.  We have about 10 students taking the test and hoping that everybody can pass!  Last week and this week we are giving past tests to see where the weak points are and helping the students gain confidence.  I feel sorry for a lot of the junior high and high school students as they have mid term tests this week as well.  Almost done then Halloween.  Last week of the month will be Halloween parties, Mikey will perform some magic tricks.  We wanted to rent a place and do two parties, one for younger kids, followed by one for the older kids but with the pandemic we decided to do individual parties for each class.

One of cats is helping us get ready for Halloween.

Alan and friend!

A Murder In My City

 Japan has a very low crime rate. The city we live is safe enough for Hannah to walk back from her part time job at 10 o'clock at night.  In the 13 years we have lived here I've only heard of a few crimes near here, one was when a woman was attacked, another was some guy flashing girls near the library.  But murder, not unheard off but very rare.  It seems to me that murder in Japan seems to be very extreme, either a massacre such as the fire at the anime study that killed 33 people or very brutal, the beheading of a 11 year old, the head was then placed on the school gate are two incidents that come to mind.  But a cold blooded murder in my small city has really shocked me.  Apparently a university student traveled 120kms (about 74 miles) and killed an elderly woman who was in her garden weeding.  He had a steel hammer with him and hit her repeatedly around the head.  He then traveled 130kms (about 80 miles) and to another prefecture where he walked into a police station and confessed his crime.  He had no relation with this woman, never met her, she was just a random victim.  As much as I feel sorry for the ladies family I also feel sorry for this young man.  According to one article he had tried to set fire to his house before.  I think he has some serious mental health problem but that is not talked about in Japan.  Mental health is brushed under the carpet, people are expected to just get on regardless of how depressed they feel or how strong their stress is.  I know that in public schools the counselor has at least five schools to deal with, they don't have the chance to really see what the kids school life is like.  One of our students spent weeks talking to Mikey about her fears when her classmate tried to commit suicide, she had nobody else to talk to.  I'm sure over the next week or so this murder will be talked about on news programs with all the hand wringing and wishing it wasn't so but I doubt anything will change.  

Thinking and Doing

 I think about writing this blog but doing seems difficult.  I always have so many things to do and finding time for this is difficult.  But I want to change that!

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons.  In the UK it is the beginning of the school year, so I still have the feeling of renewing, starting again in September.  So that is what I want to do with blog.

One reason I love autumn is the feeling of cooler days and the evenings drawing in.  I love to read and the idea of being curled up with a good book, a nice cup of tea and the evening getting dark is ideal to me! I am hoping that the weather will cooperate and cool down.  This week should be cool, rain most days and a typhoon coming this way.

We are preparing for the second Eiken test in October.  Lot of work but the students are diligent and working hard.  After that is Halloween, which is always a lot of fun!

Thinking

 The past year has been difficult for most people on this planet.

Covid 19 has changed our way of life.  The other day I was watching a concert that was recorded before the pandemic.  People were crowed together, singing, dancing and really enjoying themselves.  I wonder if we will ever get back to that.

Shopping has become really stressful.  Here everybody wears masks, it's almost normal but I still feel nervous when somebody coughs near me.  I know that most of the time coughing will have nothing to do with the coronavirus, probably more to do with seasonal allergies.

So I've been thinking about how to make my classroom feel safe for students.  One thing is that all students use sanitizing gel when they enter the classroom.  I keep my window open and change the air between classes by opening another window to help the air flow through, as it gets warmer these  windows will be open all the time.  Between classes the tables, chairs and other objects get wiped down with alcohol spray.  Two or three times a week I do a deep clean, wiping off books, bookshelves and the entrance where the shoes are kept.  

Doing these things takes time and sometimes feels to much but I want my students to feel safe and I don't know what else to do!