Hooray for elementary schools!

It's a special week. I'm teaching at a different elementary school each day!

As much as I like teaching junior high school students, I loooove elementary schools because of the excitement, the activities and the darling kids.

When I walk into an elementary school classroom, I feel like a celebrity. The kids immediately stand up and start clapping like crazy! They have giant smiles on their faces, and they're fired up about learning English from me. The excitement is contagious!

How can you not feel special when there's a welcome sign just for you?

Another thing that makes teaching at elementary schools different from middle schools is the hands-on games/activities/crafts that we do.

For example, we play "fukuwarai" (福笑い)-- a game where one blindfolded student has to put together a face (like the one on the blackboard above), while another student gives directions. Before playing, I teach them "up," "down," "left," and "right."

At elementary schools, there are cute things in the hallways...

Jump ropes are popular at all the schools.

As you can see, all the backpacks look the same.

There are also super cute kids at all the elementary schools...

It's hard to read, but her shirt says, "Pure love." She has pastel colors on her pants, her socks and her shoes! Lovely.

Students of all ages throw up this hand sign and say, "Wish!!!" They tell me a famous Japanese singer named Daigo made that really popular.

Stay tuned for more of my fun elementary school experiences...