School's out for summer

Today was so hot it was like a “Frying Friday”. If we would have gone to the park later in the day we would have fried like French fries. Even early in the morning we were sweaty and hot and still had fun with our teachers and our friends. Today we did a lot of throwing and catching. We have a small squishy football which is light and when you catch it, you can squeeze it so it is easy to hold. We climbed on the climbing equipment as well and had a great last play together in the park with everyone. We had a picnic too for snack time and Sui’s sister Ryone, who spent the day with us, gave us some snacks to share. Shelley also put a container of cookies out for us to eat. So many treats! When we returned to school we played with toys on the second floor as it was a lot cooler to be on that floor than on the third floor. We had new puzzles and games and we spent time working together and sharing. Darren brought down the large box of origami paper and we all chose a colour and made a boat. We used markers to decorate them and we also pasted a piece of blue paper that looked like the ocean, onto it. The second thing we made was a game. You use your forefinger and thumb on both hands to open and close it. It has a Japanese name and in English, we are not sure it called. You can also write things inside it. All the time while we were playing, we were trying to stay cool and keep hydrated. It was difficult as the heat just never went away.

We lay down on the floor and read books while resting our heads on the large pillows. Our morning circle was so much fun as we chose to sing some of our favourite  songs and do our favourite dances. First we stood in a circle holding hands. We took one step forwards and one step backwards and we did this a few times. Then we took two steps to one side and two steps to the other side. Then we put our hands up and pushed against the people who were on either side of us. We had to push really hard otherwise they would push us over. Then we turned around and held hands and walked forwards and backwards. This time, because we couldn’t see our friends because we had our backs to them, it felt really weird. The last thing we did was spin around and sit together on the floor.

We sang “Open them, shut them”; “Hello”; “Let’s tap our hands together”; “I am a little flower”; “I hear thunder”; “When you’re happy and you know it” and “Ame dear ame”. We adapted our song, “I am a little flower” as it was just before lunch time and Shelley changed the word flower into carrot. In the beginning we were a little confused but then we knew what to do. We love holding hands with our friends and dancing. We laughed a lot.

After lunch Sui and Ashling lay down on pillows and fell asleep so quickly. Sui was holding the little soft dog and Ashling was holding the baby doll. Darren went upstairs with Finn and Renshi and they also had a quiet time and then they sorted the electronic pieces that we didn’t use for our robot that we made last week in “Cool Construction”. There were pieces of wire, small screws, metal plates etc and they sorted them into parts that were similar and then stored them in containers.

It has been a wonderful time at Ohana International School Summer School this year. We are sad to say goodbye to Renshi and Sui and wish them luck “as we wave them goodbye” and all the best at their new schools. We look forward to welcoming back Finn and Ashling in the new school year, with our other friends and wish you all a safe, happy summer vacation.

Love Shelley and Darren