A Fantastic Japan Night!

Last night, the students treated all of us to a wonderful evening.  They transformed the Trojan Center into a
fun and lively place!  Enjoy the pictures below from Japan Night!

The program:

Abbot and Costello -- I mean Takeru and Daisuke, welcoming all of us to Japan Night:

Saori, Taiga, Saki, and Takashi explaining Tanabata, the wishing tree:

Tadashi, Fumiaki, and Azumi explaining Dagashi, which they said translates to candy that is "cheap, lasts a long time, and filling."

Shoko and Keisuke explaining origami:

Here Daisuke, Eisuke, Shunsuke, and Rina explaining Sumi-e, Japanese-style painting.

A group making origami:

Eisuke's sister, Saori Doi, is an artist and generously gifted one of her paintings to DSU.  Here is Eisuke and Dr. Ben Jones with the painting, and here is another piece by Saori:

Tadashi and Fumiaki selling their Japanese wares:

Our wishing tree.  You write a wish on a slip of paper and tie it to the bamboo.  This is called Tanabata:

Beautiful lanterns:

Rina and Daisuke showing us how to do Sumi-e:

Everyone had a wonderful time!  Thank you, Tamagawa students -- you did an EXCELLENT job!

True South Dakotans

Today, we made true South Dakotans out of these kids.  They learned, they researched, they rode horses, they went to the lake, and they checked out motorcycles and ATVs.

 This morning, the students were given their last major assignment, which is an individual presentation, with research, about one of the places we have traveled to thus far.  We had a discussion about giving effective presentations, and then the students began to research their topics in the computer lab:

After lunch, we drove out to a real, working horse farm (thanks, Dorine!), where they rode horses and experienced life as a farm kid.

Here are pics from our day:  farm pics, pics from Lake Madison, and finally, a stop at InterLakes Sports to check out the motorcycles!

I sure am gonna miss these awesome kids.

Little House, Big Prairie

Another stellar day today.  We started out the morning with conversation about whether the students would rather live in a big city or in the countryside.  The students overwhelmingly said they would like to live in the countryside.  They talked about seeing the stars at night, about the beautiful prairie, and about how peaceful it is in the country.  After our morning conversation, we moved into our classroom instruction and English Language Learning.  In my class, we discussed pioneer life and the frontier and in Amy's class, they learned about Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

After lunch, we got in the van and drove up Highway 81 and across Highway 14 to De Smet, SD.  Along the way, we say many pelicans, herons, egrets, and cormorants.  Once we got to De Smet, we visited the Ingalls Homestead.  As always, we had a blast.

Here are Daisuke and Takeru playing on a seesaw and the girls taking a spin on the merry-go-round:

Eisuke, Fumiaki, and Takashi watching Takeru pump water from the well:

Shunsuke and Eisuke petting a 3-weel old kitten:

Taiga, Shunsuke, and Amy learning how to make a pioneer toy out of a button and a piece of string:

Shoko, Rina, and Saori made a new friend!

Farmer Keisuke plowing some fields:

The group going on a covered wagon ride:

Takeru, Tadashi, Daisuke, Takashi, Rina, and Eisuke on the wagon; schoolgirls in the schoolhouse below:

The class paying rapt attention to our teacher; Eisuke, Shunsuke, and Saki helping lead the lesson:

After school was let out, Rina and Eisuke got to drive the covered wagon!

On the way to and from De Smet, the students also learned about another important South Dakota pastime:  waiting for pilot cars in road construction.  ;)

It was another fantastic day!

Kiss the Cooks!

Today, we spent the day out at the St. Thomas Rec Center on Lake Herman where we had a beautiful view of the lake.  The students were responsible for making all of lunch today, so they planned, shopped for, and prepared the entire menu.  It was a lot of fun, not to mention delicious!

Team Obara deciding on their menu:

Daisuke, Shoko, and Saori writing their menu on the board:

This is what we went shopping for at Sunshine Foods:

Takeru getting a push from Takashi:

Keisuke prepping lunch out at St. Thomas:

We're in America for sure!

Busy cooking away!  The students made fried rice and beef curry, a pork, egg, and noodle dish, cheese pizza, Caesar salad, and cut up lots of fresh fruit.  It was delicious!

After lunch, the students played catch and soccer on the lawn.  We were lucky to have another gorgeous day:

Here's Takashi and Rina playing soccer:

It wasn't all fun and games, though (even though it kind of was!).  We worked on listening skills, played an alphabet game, and studied definite and indefinite articles.  It was another great day, and the students showed great teamwork and patience with each other in the kitchen.  Tomorrow, we head to De Smet, SD, to see the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder.