Okashi wo kurenai to itazura suru yo!
(updated in response to a request for pictures)
Some English conversation schools for kids have full-on Halloween parties, large affairs with the participants in elaborate costumes. Me, I run a fake English school in which half the student population of two shares a good deal of DNA sequence with me. So it seemed fitting to have a half-assed Halloween party (but not until we went through the 18 alphabet flashcards and 30 vocabulary flashcards first).
I bought some individually wrapped candy and cookies at the local supermarket, and witches' hats and Halloween decorations at the 100 yen store.
Then the Pumpkin Mommy, Daddy, Princess, Prince, and the neighbor girl took turns being the trick-or-treaters and the neighbor.
The Pumpkin Daddy was assigned the role of the neighbor who didn't celebrate Halloween, and got TP'd.
When planning this "party," I'd considered having them TP the house for about 0.02 seconds before deciding against it. I mean, how are you supposed to explain the concept of TPing to a neighborhood of Japanese folks in their 60's and 70's?
When the Pumpkin Princess and the neighbor girl started turning Daddy into a Mummy, the Pumpkin Prince started crying "don't hurt Daddy!" so we had to stop.
5 comments:
So sweet! Any photos of the Pumpkin Daddy haf-mummified?
Here you are, Anne! Most of them had a full view of the neighbor girl's face. This is the only one that didn't.
If someone decides to net-stalk the Pumpkin Daddy, I am sure he can protect himself.
Good luck with your little school! One thing I've found that is good with little kids is teaching them how to play 'Go Fish'. They have to be able to ask for the card they want ('Do you have a ?') and say 'please' and 'thank you'. Or 'Concentration' where they turn over a card from a group of face-downs and say the picture on the card and search for the matching card. When you count up the cards at the end of the game(s), they have to be able to name the card and not just count how many they have.
A good book I've used in a kids' class is Longman Children's Picture Dictionary. It has workbooks and CDs and is really easy for all levels of beginners. (longman.com) I got my book as a freebie from FBC (Foreign Buyers Club) about two years ago, they might still have some available.
Hello, Tia, right now I am using New Finding Out, suggested by our lovely mutual friend Vicky. I don't do card games with a clear winner yet because the Pumpkin Princess is a sore loser and I don't want the nice neighbor girl to have to put up with that. She comes for free, when I should be paying her 5000 yen a month or thereabouts for helping me run the school :) Apparently, however, her mom thinks SHE should be paying ME 5000 yen a month for English lessons and compensates by bringing store bought sweets and taking Yumi to entry-fee based shopping center play areas, which is another can of worms for another post.
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