From Tokyo with Love

We have now been working with the kiddos for a week and a half. They are so cute! I am the lead teacher for the 3-5 yr olds. We have several who only speak a little English. It is so fun to learn Japanese words while they are learning English words. The first week our theme for camp was pirates. We made pirate hats, hooks, eye patches, swords, mosaic boats, and the pirates friend parrot. We taught the kids about maps, telescopes, and catapults. Every day the kids looked for a different part of a treasure map and on Friday they had a treasure hunt. The treasure included candy, pencils, erasers, and shiny beans. They loved it. Also on Friday we had a barbecue and ate hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. In the afternoon we watched Peter Pan.

 This week the them for the week is animals. So far we have talked about zoos and safaris. The kids have made paper plate animals and a safari back pack. They have enjoyed pretending to be different kinds of animals and making animal noises.

I love seeing the children's lunches they bring. They are so creative and cute! Their moms or nannies make them with cute rice ball wrappers, seaweed faces, and animal picks. They pack them in cute little boxes and include placemats, cute silverware or chopstick holders, and wet towels to wipe their hands and face.

The lunches the kids bring are called bentos. You can also get them at convenient stores. I have had several since I've been here and they are pretty good. I also enjoy eating Ramen and rice bowls. I love drinking milk tea!

The weather has been relatively cool with just a couple of days of rain. It was only really rainy one day, the day I survived my first experience with a typhoon!

When we aren't working with kids, we've been out doing more sight seeing. This past weekend we went to Tokyo Tower, the Imperial Palace, the Zojoji Temple, and the Meiju Jingu Shrine. We also saw a different perspective of the Shibuya intersection and the Tokyo skyline at night.

Off to Tokyo Disney this weekend! I'll let you know how that is in my next post. Hope all my friends in Texas are surviving the heat! Praying for those in Colorado enduring the wildfires. 

From Tokyo, With Love,
Rachael