Grammar Notes...

I tried to simplify the notes a little bit for:
 much, a lot, far
a little, slightly, a bit

I think these notes will help you all understand this grammar point A LITTLE MORE....

Study Hard!

はらぺこあおむし ....

I heard from Senri's mom that Senri had a picture in the Nagano Dentetsu gallery...
So Ayako sensei and I went to take a look on Sunday. 

She drew a picture of "はらぺこあおむし"... It's very cute, don't you think?

 

Good job Senri!

Mikey! Adjective Review +++

Alright...This is the first week back after summer vacation...So...instead of Shimura we are going to do Mikey for a couple of weeks.

In the Mikey stories we are going to meet a new boy at Mikey's school .... Nick.
Nick doesn't like Mikey and wants to be better than him at everything.  So when we do this story I want to concentrate on many of the 比較級　and  other adjective patterns....

Hope you are all ready for NICK VS MIKEY!!

 

 

 

Hot Pal!!

We decided to have another add put in Hot Pal....And for the 1st time in a long time we will have an add for kids classes...
We had to take the picture today.... So Ayako sensei took my picture with Kazuma, Yudai and Senri...
They all look really cute, don't they?  I just look old...

 

 

I think the 2nd picture is the winner... Take a look in the September issue of Hotpal...

 

English Conversation Travel Game...

Here is 1 of the new games I have prepared during the summer vacation...

This game is a speedy game which is full of action.  There are 75 cards altogether in the game…and each card has a different airport travel question on it.

There could be 1 to 5 yellow, red, blue or green suitcases on each card.

Players have to watch for sets of exactly five suitcases.

The deck is dealt evenly between the students.
All students hold their cards face down in front of them and when the teacher says “GO!” everyone turns one card face up in front of them.


If there is no match…Each student answers the question on their card.
This continues until five of the same colour of suitcase appears…

As soon as 5 suitcases of the same colour appears, players  should try to be first to ring the bell.

If the player who rings the bell is correct, he/she gets to keep all the cards on the table.

If the player is wrong, he/she has to pay the other players one card each.

If a player runs out of cards, he/she is out.  

When only two players are left, they play until the bell is struck once more, then the game ends and the student with the most cards wins.

Blood Types ~ Shimura Story

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer holidays...
I have been enjoying my holiday and I have done lots of things...

1. I have drawn some pictures.
2. I have finished a couple of games for the adult classes
3. I have taught a lot of summer classes.
4. I have taken part in a "mukaibon"
5. I have enjoyed coffee and donuts and Mr. Donuts
6. I have watched about 7 DVDs

7. I met some friends at Binzuru...

8. I have been to Hokuto Bunka Hall to watch a ballet concert...

As you can see I have been busy....

Well...Tonight I decided to make a vocabulary list for Blood Types 25...

If you have time...please try to remember these words...

See you all really soon....



"Jichinsai" is Finished...August 11 / 2012

On Saturday Canadian Voice had "Jichinsai" for its new school in Kawanakajima.

“Jichinsai” is a Shinto ceremony to purify a building site.  

We chose to have the “jichinsai” at 11:00 on the 11^th of August. (The 11^th was considered a lucky day on the calendar… “大安”)

We had to prepare a number of things before the ceremony:

1. A large fish ~ (Your choice…いなだ / ます / たい)

2. Rice ~ (三号 = 541 ml)

3. Salt ~ (about 1 handful)

4. Fruit ~ (bananas, oranges, apples)

5. Vegetables (“根菜” ~ root vegetables or “葉物野菜” ~ leafy vegetables)~ (daikon, carrots, spinach, cabbage, etc)

6. A bottle of sake (一生=1.8L)

Before the ceremony the items were all placed on a table which was in the centre of where the new school is going to be.

A priest offered Shinto prayers to protect the builders and to ensure a safe completion of the building.

The ceremony took about 30 minutes。

Ayako's mother also came to watch the ceremony. 

Thank you to everyone who took part and helped in the ceremony.

Site for the NEW Canadian Voice in Kawanakajima...

Here is the site for the new Canadian Voice.  A priest will come and do "地鎮祭”on Saturday.

1. The Jichinsai ceremony is a Shinto ritual intended to calm the kami (God) of the earth whenever a new building or other construction begins.

2. It is believed that without asking for permission from the earth kami, any building constructed would make the kami angry.

3. Another purpose for the "jichinsai" is to pray that construction goes smoothly .. without any accidents. 

The builders will come and start building the new Canadian Voice in September.

I have to prepare many things for the "jichinsai"...

A fish with its head and tail still attached

vegetables with the leafs still attached

rice

salt

sake

& fruit

I am looking forward to taking part in this event.  I'll try to take some pictures to show you all.

Good Night!

Summer Holiday 2012...

Enjoy your summer holidays and see you all in a few weeks....

Blood Types 24 ~ Shimura's on a Plane!

Shimura Travel Story...

Here is the "New Vocabulary List" for this week's Shimura's story....study hard...

Study hard!!