Several weeks ago, Kuri became a champion. Well, a preschool champion...
Japanese schools have a yearly tradition of the Undokai, or sports day. Unlike the sports days here in America, which tend to focus on individual events, Japanese sports days take a group approach. Classes compete against other classes and the events almost all involve groups - sometimes the entire class. For Kuri's preschool undokai, this same group competition spirit was intact, though there were no other preschools against which to compete.
The day began with lining the kids up in their chairs for the opening ceremony. This is easier said than done when you're working with nine little boys between the ages of two and four. I made my way through a few Russian novels as we waited and then, about halfway through Crime and Punishment, the Undokai was underway.
Kuri had been practicing something at school, but we weren't sure exactly what it was. It turned out that he had been selected to be one of the class representatives to open the sports day. His genki voice rang out across the lawn. We were very proud.
One of the first events was introducing each student dressed up as a famous Japanese train. This was tremendously cute.
Once everyone had been introduced, they all came together to form a magnificent shinkansen (bullet train). It was awesome watching all the kids work together.
There were a ton of fun events, songs, and dances. We even got to watch the kids practice their morning exercises.
The crowd was thrilled by the antics of the kids (well, Mari was for about half an hour).
The kids did a number of running events, a dad and son event, and even events with siblings. We tried to get as many pictures as we could, but soon found ourselves wrapped up too much in the events. At the end of the festivities, each child received a medal!
The competition at preschool didn't just end with the undokai. On Halloween the preschool hosted a costume contest. Kuri, as Harry Potter, took home first prize.
And while it wasn't a competition, the kids all put a lot of work into making some life-like scarecrows.
I'm not sure why Kuri thinks his is a ninja, but who can really understand the mind of a four year old.
Of course, a young boy can't spend all his time doing sports and crafts. He needs to get out and see some amazing cars. So, last Sunday, Kuri, Mimi, and I loaded into the Porsche and headed out to Cars and Coffee. Here they are next to their two favorite cars there: a Dodge Viper ACR for Kuri, and a Ferrari for Mimi (yes, they tend to have expensive taste when it comes to cars. I have no idea who they get that from.)
We even got to see a few genuine race cars. I wonder if, 10-12 years from now, we'll actually get to go racing. Hmmm.
Looking over the past few weeks, I can not express just how lucky we have been to find Kuri's Japanese preschool. His Japanese is improving immensely, he's making new friends, and he's become a confident, yet polite (for the most part), little boy. Thankful too that we can live where all our kids can explore Japanese culture and language while making friends with kids just like them. It's a genuine blessing. We'll see just how much they've learned in a couple weeks when the five of us land in Tokyo. One thing is for sure, both Mimi and Kuri will understand more than me.
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