Bringing it all back home
During our week’s review during morning circle, it became clear that we have learned a tremendous amount about Peru, Japan, Australia and Mongolia! One of our kids summarized, “all the countries we learned about are really close and connected to nature.” Spark Explorers discussed ways to bring that connectedness to nature into our lives right […]
Painting our Japanese teacups
We painted our teacups in organic shades of browns, blacks and off-whites and even added some gold leaf for extra oomph!
Making Zen Water Gardens
Kyle, our guest teacher, visited us in the yard to teach us the word for “water” in Kanji. We used ink to try out our calligraphy skills! Kyle then had us choose our own water carrying vessels, in which we carefully passed water from one friend to another. We took our vessels and created water […]
The Tanabata Star Festival
Just last month, Japanese children celebrated Tanabata, or the July Star Festival. Families go outside on the night of July 7th to watch the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi (also known as Vega and Altair) meet across the Milky Way, known in Japanese legend as the river Amanogawa. Children write wishes and hang them on the […]
Our Japanese Tea Ceremony
The practice of the Japanese tea ceremony is a graceful and meditative one, meant to open up the senses. Gigi sat the kids down to explain that one of the purposes of the tea ceremony is to remind guests of the beauty and value in simple, small things that might normally go unnoticed, such as […]
Circle Time in Japan
Konnichiwa! Day 2 of our global tour brought Spark explorers by Shinkansen bullet train to Japan, land of the rising sun. We sang the Spark Arts Studio Song, which helps us remember where we are traveling for the day and how we will travel to our destination. Each member of our class had a chance […]
Free play
On Tuesday, we began our mornings with several art stations. Since we were learning about Japanese culture, we used tools and our fingers to make designs in a Zen Garden filled with lavender-scented sand and rocks. We used copper wire and beads to make our own bubble blowers. We also looked at the intricate patterns […]