Yesterday I went with a couple of other ALTs to do some volunteering at the local children's home. To be honest, it didn't feel like volunteering; it felt like a lot of fun. We arrive in the afternoon when the children are playing and we just take part, playing whatever games they want to play and hopefully aiding the building of international relations that JET is so big on.
When we arrived the kids were busy playing 囲碁 (i-go), a board game for two players where you place black and white stones on the board to capture as many of your opponents pieces as possible. I had no idea how to play, so a member of staff whisked me off to a table and taught me (in Japanese, so I had to follow his actions very carefully). Shortly after, each of the kids took it in turns to play with a different opponent and received a stamp for their efforts. They were so good! I lost time after time against 6 year old boys who gleefully snatched up my pieces as I made one dumb move after another! They quickly filled their stamp sheets, after which the staff gave out prizes to some of the kids who had made the most effort (not just in the game but in other activities too.)
Shortly after, we all went outside to play. I quickly discovered that with small children, the language barrier doesn't mean a thing at playtime. With the other ALTs I spent an exhausting half hour chasing the kids around the yard for a game of tag. Some of them invented their own rules as the game went along though, so I had trouble keeping up! 'No tag back!' 'You can't tag me up here!'
One of the boys taunted my friend from the very top of the climbing frame - 'Come on!' he teased in English. We both made concerted efforts to reach him, but he had far more energy than we could muster.
One of the little girls asked me a question but said it too quickly for me to understand. When I asked her to say it again she looked confused for a second and then a look of comprehension spread across her face. 'It's your first time here, isn't it?' she said knowingly. I had forgotten how incredibly astute small children could be.
I'm already excited about going back next month, it was one of the best Saturday afternoons I've ever had!
When we arrived the kids were busy playing 囲碁 (i-go), a board game for two players where you place black and white stones on the board to capture as many of your opponents pieces as possible. I had no idea how to play, so a member of staff whisked me off to a table and taught me (in Japanese, so I had to follow his actions very carefully). Shortly after, each of the kids took it in turns to play with a different opponent and received a stamp for their efforts. They were so good! I lost time after time against 6 year old boys who gleefully snatched up my pieces as I made one dumb move after another! They quickly filled their stamp sheets, after which the staff gave out prizes to some of the kids who had made the most effort (not just in the game but in other activities too.)
Shortly after, we all went outside to play. I quickly discovered that with small children, the language barrier doesn't mean a thing at playtime. With the other ALTs I spent an exhausting half hour chasing the kids around the yard for a game of tag. Some of them invented their own rules as the game went along though, so I had trouble keeping up! 'No tag back!' 'You can't tag me up here!'
One of the boys taunted my friend from the very top of the climbing frame - 'Come on!' he teased in English. We both made concerted efforts to reach him, but he had far more energy than we could muster.
One of the little girls asked me a question but said it too quickly for me to understand. When I asked her to say it again she looked confused for a second and then a look of comprehension spread across her face. 'It's your first time here, isn't it?' she said knowingly. I had forgotten how incredibly astute small children could be.
I'm already excited about going back next month, it was one of the best Saturday afternoons I've ever had!
