Japan Champions the Day

Due to pure serendipity, the World Travelers and toddlers learned about Japan today. A few hours later the US women's soccer team lost to Japan in the World Cup, but at least our kids knew about the country that beat them. Silver lining?

David McKee gave the World Travelers an amazing tour of Japan. He taught them about his work there, the hot springs where he went to relax (monkeys like a good soak there, too!), and the two primary religions of the country (Buddhism and Shinto). Then the travelers tried their hands at origami, making cups, balloons, and cranes. To end the lesson, David and his wife Melissa introduced them to the wonders of sushi. None of the travelers had ever had sushi before and they all tried it - even the tuna nigiri. Lauren described their reaction to the Japanese treat the best when she said, "it's better than Mc Donald's chicken nuggets." High praise indeed!

The toddlers also had fun learning about Japan in the nursery. Guest teachers, Natalie and Megan, read them the story Global Babies. Then they colored a picture of Japanese children in traditional attire and played otedama, a game involving tossing bean bags. In Japan, the bags are usually made of silk but we got by with canvas ones!

I would like to thank David and Melissa McKee and Natalie and Megan for their exceptional lessons today. The kids learned a lot and had fun in the process. The best of both worlds!