When you strolled through the CE Auditorium, you would have thought you were in Japan!

The second-grade students hosted An Evening in Japan through a variety of cross-curricular activities. The evening began with a kimono parade where the students entered the auditorium wearing colorful kimonos while stealing smiles from the audience. From there, each student played an important role in our play of the Japanese Folktale Momotaro. The children learned their roles, and their music and that night we proudly saw the result! Laughter was heard in the audience as the musicians, narrators, and actors worked together to tell the story in a beautiful and expressive way.

After the play, each child participated in one of the twelve stations prepared by the students. Each of our students chose a subject to talk about and they presented in individual stations. Topics ranged from sushi and tea ceremonies to tsunamis and earthquakes, just to name a few. The students shined while proudly showcasing their topics to the audience. The children were assertive and eager to tell all, and to show their artwork. To end our evening, Mr. Pomeroy used a seismograph to explain how earthquakes occur. Our second graders demonstrated the movement, and the seismograph captured the “earthquake” energy as expected.

We incorporated science, art, and music into our Social Studies curriculum throughout our study of Japan. We are very lucky to be part of a great team of educators who made this cross curricular project fun, hands on, and memorable for all of our students. We express our gratitude to Mr. Elstein, Mr. Pomeroy, and Mr. Wallace for their invaluable contribution to the success of our event.

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” - Confucius