Rokkasho English Camp

Heyoooooo!



I had the privilege to help out with the annual English camp in Rokkasho for the weekend. I got a small group (9) Elementary school students. Thomas did a great job of coming up with the challenges and doing all the prep work and running around making sure that things ran smoothly. He even took the time to pop in and help me out with explanations for the activities I was trying to convey to team Rainbow 9 so we could ensure our victory with 2 gold medals and a bronze.

To begin with, all the students came up with their own English names and made name tags for themselves. The teachers got Japanese names (I was Sushi, Joseph was Nashi... that's Eggplant) and every group came up with their own team name and poster. We practiced short self-introductions and then it was time to gather in the main hall to share our creations with everyone. For the first game, every student was given 3 pieces of paper and had to go around introducing themselves to each other. After the introductions, they played junken (rock, paper scissors) and the winner would claim a piece of paper.

Next, we reviewed phonics and put the finishing touches on our posters if required. The mass game after lunch pitted the teams against each other to tag, out of the 4 written on the white board, which sound Thomas said (ie If he said 'buh' they had to choose 'b'). Rainbow 9 was pretty boss at this game. ;)
The competition that afternoon was a verb relay, where I would tell the student at one end of the line a verb we reviewed and then, via 'telephone' they would pass the word down the line where the last person would run to grab an envelope posted up in various places around the hall with that verb on it. Each envelope had a word in it, and once the students had collected all of their envelopes, they had to unscramble the words to make a sentence.

Saturday night, there was a small gathering at the lovely Joy's house.
Tim made spam musubi, and a vegitarian alternative for Jenny. I picked up bevvies.
Jenny brought home made cake and Twister... in German! Also a game of Catan broke out. Goooood times were had by all. :)

Sunday. The main focus of the morning was to prepare a store front. The students made signs, came up with prices and set up their shops in the doorways of their classrooms to sell juice, chips and cookies for lunches. The challenge was to see who would make the most money from their businesses. The JHS students had made pizzas for everyone to buy for the main course. I wish I had been able to grab some video of the kids in action. Every class was split in half, half were shoppers the others were shopkeepers, and eventually switched so that everyone had a chance to 'buy' lunch. The kids were *so* into it, it was great. They had one person standing out front shouting "いっらしゃいません!!!" and announcing price changes. Eventually my team had cut their prices in half and everything was on sale for $1! Some kids sold sets of items and one of the pizza tables slashed their prices and caused a frenzy! It was awesome.

After lunch, we prepared for the final challenge. Using the verbs we had focused on the day before, we practiced spelling them in preparation for the mass game. Every group was given an envelope filled with all the letters required to spell out the verbs. For every verb they spelled, the earned a point and a ring to toss. Once the points were totaled, the students were given their rings and attempted to earn bonus points via a big ring toss game. 1 point for getting a ring on their own assigned peg and 2 points for the large center ring. If their ring landed on another team's, the other team got the point.

All in all a wonderful way to spend the weekend.