December 21st, 2017 [Mike`s Diary]
Hello everyone!
Today was bitter sweet. It was the last regular class for the rest of 2017, but Christmas and New Years is very close. We are all excited with the progress that the children have made over the past year, and look forward to what they can accomplish next year.
We checked the Advent Calendar to see what today would bring. It said "Sweet House". We would be making a Gingerbread Cookie House during craft time!
We had a very active dance time. It was fun making funny faces while we sang Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes.
We set up an obstacle course for the kids. We have balance beems, hoops and even a slide!
The children got to see the Pipi Christmas tree for the last time this year. Hopefully they will get a lot of presents from Santa!
We had a fun Flashcard session, that included a couple of students helping as a teacher. It is always nice to see kids helping each other learn.
During the craft time, the children identified different parts of the house and idividually decorated each house to their own taste.
After a nice lunch that included a prepared bread, the children had a very productive workbook seesion. We then ejnoyed some free play and constructed many items out of blocks of various sizes.
We can't wait to see the kids again. On behalf of Pipi International School, we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
December 12th, 2017 [Mike`s Diary]
Hello everyone!
We had another fun filled day at Pipi International School today.
The childern started the day by reading a story and talking about the type of pets we have at home. We found out that cats and dogs are very polular with the kids. We then discovered that Santa Claus also has some pets. He has reindeer at the North Pole.
We checked the Advent Calander and discovered the phrase, "Rudolph's Red Nose".
The children played a game where they had to try to place Rudulph's Red Nose in the correct position on the blackboard while their eyes were covered by Santa's hat. To my surprise, all of the children were able to get pretty close to the right position. It probably helped that the other kids were giving commands, such as; "Up", "Down", "Left", and "Right".
We continued the lesson and danced to some silly songs. The kids liked when we pretended to be snakes on the ground.
During Flashcard review, we discovered that tadpoles are just baby frogs.
We read a Christmas book and talked about how Santa will sometimes use the chimney to deliver presents to good girls and boys. We didn't have a fireplace or chimney at Pipi, so we made one for Santa.
The kids decorated bricks and placed them on the chimney. After we were done, we had a visit from Santa. He came down our new chimney to say, "Hello.".
In the afternoon, we delivered a book to Teacher Masayo that was made by the students at Pipi. Each page contained a letter from the students wishing Masayo good luck, or stating that she will be missed.
We finished our workbooks and had some time to take advantage of the fresh snow in our back yard.
December 7th, 2017 [Mike`s Diary]
Hello everyone!
Today proved an excellent opportunity to have fun in the snow!
We started the day by checking our Advent Calendar. The students found the 7 on the calendar and checked what was written under the number. It read, "Go to the park!".
.jpg)
We made sure everyone had all their winter clothes, then we loaded up the Pipi bus and headed to our favorite winter park.
-40461.jpg)
Everyone wanted to play outside today, so we walked through the deep snow to find a perfect spot to try out our sleds.
-2654a.jpg)
-db58e.jpg)
We had fun helping each other.
-9d285.jpg)
After a fun but tiring sledding experience, we decided we should take a rest under the protection of a friendly owl.
-43f4f.jpg)
It was time to go. We took the bus back to school and made sure we still had dry clothes. We ate our lunch and brushed our teeth when we finished.
-ead47.jpg)
We completed our workbooks and had time to try on some funny glasses!
-28f1d.jpg)
-4036f.jpg)
We built a ship for our favorite hedgehog, practiced our Christmas song, and said, "See you next time!".
November 27th, 2017 [Mike`s Diary]
Hello Everyone,
Today was fun, and the kids were full of energy. We had a visitor from Tokyo. He is a cousin to one of the regular students. He participated in all of the activities, and hopefully, made some new friends.
We introduced the guest and worked on our motor skills during the morning circle today. One kid had to stand inside of a hoop while his or her partner lifted the hoop above his or her head. The kids had to make sure that the hoop did not touch his or her partner. The kids pretended to be shocked if the hoop touched them.
The children reviewed flashcards and had to distinguish between objects that have wheels, and those that do not.
The children also had to each guess the cards based on clues about the object. Each child was quizzed based upon his or her English language skill level.
The children had to choose between two books today. We talked about different animals and what they eat during the story time. The book had illustrations that were interesting and interactive.
We wrote letters to Santa today during craft time. The children had to write their name, age, what they want for Christmas, and what treat they will leave for Santa. The most popular gift answer was toy train, and the most popular treat for Santa was cookies.
During the craft time the children took turns painting the bottom of their foot and leavign a footprint on the window of the Pipi school. The kids were very excited, and had fun washing their foot when they were done.
After lunch and workbooks were completed, we had the opportunity to go play in the snow. The kids enjoyed making snow angels, throwing snowballs, and sledding down the hill in the back of Pipi.
November 21st,2017 [Mike`s Diary]
Hello Everyone!
Today was an extra special day at Pipi. We celebrated 2 birthdays. A boy is turning 3 years old and a girl is turning 4 years old.
We started today by reenforcing the concept of the calendar and reviewed the current date, as well as the months of the year.
The children always find a way to encorporate dancing into the lessons. We were able to move our bodies while reviewing flashcards today. The children named and identified different items for cleaning and different items for writing.
Teacher Marco helped strengthen the childrens' alphabet and writing skills today when we talked about writing brushes. Each child was able to recite and write a different letter based on their individual skill level.
The children had fun simulating playing a cello during story time. In our current book, Aaron the Aligator enjoys playing the cello.
In the spirit of today's birthday theme, we made a present with shiny ribbons and a bow on top. Each student decorated their red or blue present and helped tape on the ribbons and bow.
Before lunch, we identified the birthday students and all sang "Happy Birthday" together.
Birthday kids took turns blowing out the candles on their cake, then we all shared a meal. Thier mothers were in attendance.
November 8th, 2017 [Mike`s Diary]
Hello Everyone!
Today was a busy, but fun day. We started out by reviewing the alphabet. Then, the children were given small toys that represent each letter in the alphabet. The children needed to identify the object and identify the first letterof each object.
The children identified objects from flashcards that were present in the classroom during flashcard time. I was very pleased when the children told me that the broom card and the dust pan card should go together. It was nice to see them make the connection without any prompt in this case.
We enjoyed abook about a monkey race today. The children were able to use alot of English words to associate to the pictures in the book. They also practiced their counting skills.
After the book, the children were given a choice in craft time. They could make a monkey that was either standing, jumping, or upside down. Jumping and upside down were the most popular.
We had a better than usual lunch time today. There are usually slow or picky eaters, but today everyone finished their food and didn't need too much convincing to do so.
The afternoon included a good workbook session and alot of physical play. We finished the day with a story about the impact of sharing and how it can be positive.
November 1st, 2017 [Mike`s Diary]
Hello Everyone,
Today, during our opening circle time, we talked about the transition from October to November. We correctly chose the appropriate month, day of the month and day of the week. The children were able to recite the months and weekdays with little effort.
We said、”See you next year!” to Halloween. We removed the remaining Halloween decorations and packed them up for next year.
During Flashcard time, we talked about the importance of cleaning up our toys when we are done playing with them. We also talked about what to do if we break something, such as a lamp.
We also took some time to try using our hoola hoops. Teacher Mike was easily able to keep the hoop from touching the ground!
We talked about how Mommy and Daddy might change the car tires from summer to winter tires. We made cars for Craft Time today. The children glued together cars and used their creativity to decorated the cars with crayon. There were some very interesting designs.
The children enjoyed the `What Time Is It Mr. Wolf` game. The game teaches them how to properly say the time of day and also strengthens their counting skills.
We ended the day at Crystal Park. We took advantage of a warm and sunny day. The swings, jungle gym and the slide were the most popular activities today.
Spiders in the web [Mike`s Diary]
Hello! I am Michael Bardo. We had fun at Pipi International School today.
The children were pretending to be sleepy during the morning circle time, so Teacher Marco enjoyed a quick pretend nap with the students. 
We focused on the calendar during circle time, and the kids practiced the days of the week.
During story time, the children practiced telling time on a clock. They took turns moving the hands on a clock face.
Each child made a spider during craft time. The children practiced Halloween words and phrases. The children added their spider to the web on the wall. 
The children enjoyed playing with blocks in the afternoon, and even set up a donut shop with different flavored donut blocks.
■PiPi International Preschool スクール ホームページ
■PiPi International Preschool ケータイサイト
当スクール代表が書いた本
井戸からでたカエル 医者が気づいた幸せへのヒント
作者: 菊地 一也
出版社/メーカー: 文芸社
発売日: 2010/05/01
メディア: 単行本（ソフトカバー）
いつも あおぞら!
作者: 菊地一也
出版社/メーカー: ブログハウス
発売日: 2010/02/10
メディア: 単行本（ソフトカバー）
メルマガ
QRコード
