Are we nearly there yet?

Typhoon coming?

More f%@*ing sports day practice. Inane bollocks achieving square root of sweet f. a.

Scotland said No

Morning spent with my long lens actually shooting the sports day practice. Afternoon ditto the taiko.
Lunchtime bento outside, betting & winning on Hina finishing last.

Legs11 & iLeader frisky, but lots of tired looking kids.

TV wants to see English school talking about the referendum - my friends & staff interviewed on the subject at my school in my abscence. Gormless set up, as it turns out - glad I wasn't there! Doubtless "Igirisu" continues.

Turns out wasn't the only one startled at size of iOS 8 download, glad I stopped uninstalling apps!

iOS8 or Scotland; which is bigger?

Til 11 outside drilling sports day; keeping out of the way in photographer pose, but need to keep out of actual photographer's shots lest somone notice I'm trying to keep track of the Scottish Referendum on the sly. Must be 'No' for me - UK & European progress knackered otherwise.

Double dipping Legs11 this week; suits me!

EdTech news =  iOS 8, requiring enormous 4.6GB space. Costs me how many apps?

Nine Eleven

Large buses blocking the street carelessly, not an issue during the day, as it is empty, but is a rat-run full of distracted mums at this time of the day.

The lad Anji back at school, but off colour = fine with me ...lots more kids have joined in football with his absence. However, I'm feeling stiff & immobile (autumn chill creeping in); runny noses & coughs started Tuesday :(

Lots of mums around, for some reason - big deal today = sports day practice. Erm. Think we know what I think about that! Avoided action (aerobics to inane loud J-Pop far too fast & incomprehensible steps) pretending to take pics.  Little kids scared of running into the finishing tape, others can't run straight or handle the corners.

Four teachers (inc. new face Akio-sensei) in Minnie's room today. As usual, look forward to her relaxed, competent teaching.

Occurs to me that this is my mate Ant's birthday, but also the fact that none of this school's kids were anywhere near born when the Twin Towers attacked.

On that note, would Union Jack ever feature in a sports day uk? Stars & stripes would be all over an American one; marching behind hinamaru (Rising Sun flag) bit worrying here.

10 min lunch with pink then moving drums & stuff back. Belted in the head by kid called Kai (an odd sort to be sure) but while holding a box for drum stick returns & unable to defend myself; well pissed off.

At a loose end, playing & sharing my iPad app failed again - overwhelmed with pushing & shoving, climbing on any part of me available & jabbing fingers from spoilers. Solution would be project to a screen, but we know that is not going to happen, as it is not my call and they are dead-set analog.

Legs11 giving a nice debrief of her class efforts this morning, praising all for having a go & not about winning - keep going to the end. Asked them what felt good etc. Nicely done.

What is my time worth?

Dozens of 'must do' jobs hanging over my head for over a week & no chance redemption while I continue with this waste of my time/Luna's MVP. NOT minimum cost utility player on a free.

Sports day jog out practice, needless to say. At least nice weather, taking photos to keep me out the way.

So England qualify for Euros after first game beating mighty Swiss away? Since when has that had to count as a footballing achievement?

Drip drop drip like an April shower

Pre-camping, in tiny tiddlers class.

Sports practice "rained off" by couple of drops! What is it about Japan & inability to endure a bit of rain? I could understand if it was torrential/yard flooded, but so very not the case. Put on macs!

And now it isn't raining even that little bit at all; Jim time was spontaneously requested (grumble, but can do and will do with a smile...but then mid-planning now being ditched for 'maybe later'. Not sure how they'd view their educational contributions being mucked around/sidelined like this. Guess this confirms that my part in the grand scheme of things very much the afterthought. Outside to boredom after all. 

Jim Time re-requested but for after lunch. Not a copy/paste job because this is the back of an envelope (no wifi, still) and it needs to be a completely different plan as they are low & slow after food - just before sleepies for this crowd.

Make a circle, ss1:2

One little finger, ss1:4 

Skiddamarink, ss3:14

Not a killer plan by any means, but need to have the resources handy and flexibility to slip it into action regardless the kids' situation. All sitting down on chairs? Still sat at tables? All standing up & no furniture? Need to be done in 5 minutes or stretch it to 15? Revving up or revving down? A capella or has the CD player turned up? 

One last sleep left to Sports Day!

Once more into the playground...

I had the sneaky feeling today would be the big rehearsal before the big sports day...and seeing as I am not able to come tomorrow (got myself double-booked on the old sports day calendar thing!) thought I might apply myself to some photography instead. "Joining in" hat off, photojournalist's on.

It was nice to be ignored, which a zoom lens affords me, with only the occasional wave of recognition = a nice candid pic. (Or 700, I realised later, when it took 40 mins to download them all!)

For lunch I debut with I-sensei, who has a lovely manner with her class, always got a smile going on and is calmly on top of everything. Her off-sider K-sensei tries but comes over much more angry-mummy & insincere, and is the one person who has not said hello to me yet. Yes, I would say hello to her, but not so easy when eye contact impossible to make!

Just how mach can you do with play dough?

With even smaller tables & chairs, trying to digest with my knees up around my ears proved hard. Eating quickly did not pay off either, as I ended up being pulled in all directions by play dough ninjas with runny noses...several groinal area collisions left me grateful they take an enforced nap mid-afternoon. Time for my scrotum to rediscover its more normal position from just under my ears.

I-sensei did spot one of my buddies hitting a playmate over the head (had missed the previous 30-minutes of pandemonium as she had to write in everyone's diaries). Liked the way she dealt with that particular issue, addressing the class if certain behaviour was OK or not - so deviant pugilist would have a hard time arguing with the massed agreement of her 34 peers. Teacher not the bad guy nor the policeman. Harder to do in a smaller group, I think (and in a foreign language, though we did achieve that at my pre-school at Luna!).

After-lunch self-amusement

Wheels on the bus was a very popular diversion...

Copacabana, baby!

A case of the Manuels?

I was very amused to see some of very basic footballing 'tricks' being copied this morning, with varying degrees of success...applaud the trial & error and not giggle at the tangled legs! One little kid (well, my mates are all tiddlers but this one is tiddlier!) is very good indeed - can read where the ball/team mates will go & move into the spaces vacated (while everyone else runs after the ball kicking each others ankles!). My mission will be to get him to use his left foot.

An attack of the Spanish Waiters to the sound of Copacabana! Bit bewildering, shall we say? Jackets matching the colour-coding of the classes. The Chief explained there is a 3-year theme rotation. I wondered who made the costumes?

1. Spanish Bullfighting
2. Brazilian Samba (this year)
3. Japanese (need ideas!)

I needed to be told their was a 'pirates' theme for the dances, but K sensei looks every bit the aerobics teacher she also moonlights as. The teachers nevertheless hold quick councils of war to fine tune & re-drill parts of the 'show'. Is it really necessary?

Learning our lines

C-sensei needed a gap-filler...provided her class with the sotto voce Hokey Kokey, sans clattering middle eight. Usually get boisterous boys knocking each other out/ramming the teacher at testicle height. Been there, done that!

Am thinking Primary Songs from CUP will provide me with ammunition as I try to find niches to be useful beyond impromptu sing songs. Think I will also need an ammo pack of paper cups, plates etc to get through the post-lunch boredom of felt-pens & play dough (my classmates are one or t'other inclined).

A-sensei realised her class was being especially rowdy today (but did nothing about it at the time)...and reviewed class rules as a group, sat, as she pointed out examples of less than stellar behaviour. Pity she missed my arms being pulled out of their sockets & my leg getting humped. Hardly in the mood for that but angelic Hiroko then delivered a neck massage right on the spot.

How's the gravel?

Megu, also with a sore neck (mine has been stiff since the day I started here) is my voyeur partner as our classmates actually do some sports practice. She's good fun, and we have a giggle by ourselves. A lap around the chalk track in 4s. The girl with coke-bottle glasses used her girth at the start to elbow her way to the front - and then they all followed her as she followed the nearest line she could see off at an hilarious tangent! 

As this was also unfunny, arm-hair pulling pain in the bum girl from lunch, I could see no reason why a belly laugh was not in order :)

Which group am I in?

Where is my line?!

As nominated 'big kid' I got to go and fetch the ball when the goal-keeping team (3 less mobile kids, shall we say) hoofed the football out of the playground. I was very impressed the posse did not chase after it or me, but understood RULE 1 = "Do not chase a ball into the street!"

I spent today with the blue class, again a mix of older & younger children who again did a rotating classroom thing & completely confused me - who is my group? Important that, isn't it? Which kid do I need to follow/copy to get things right & not get lost & laughed at?

The sports day practice a case in point. We kept marching places in lines, beeping whistles punctuating mysterious moves & changes of direction. Imaginary lines as well as some chalk ones in the yard. I used to be in the cadets but this was way harder (knees up & micro steps!).Who do I follow?! Arranged by height - I can handle that but I just lost the kid who seemed to know which way to go - now I've got an unidentified dribbly girl holding my hand like she'll never let go!

Granny & Grandpa portraits

Do I need to practice rolling in the gravel, sensei? I've got a hospital appointment at 4 then classes til 10...don't look at me like that! Oh dear, kid standing by puddle felt obliged to lie down & roll in it - pretty funny & reminds me of a Club Med incident in Noumea...now that was a cool job, drifts off for a moment.

Lunch and selected to be a 'Toban". Don't know what the words are when we have to chant whatever - smile :) Deliver food to hungry mites and get quite a lot of thank you's. Could do this quicker guys? Sweet chicken curry - not my fave but I'm famished. Cucumber in vinegar? Bring it on. At least I did not have to do the pillion position for 45 minutes, waiting, open-mouthed...

Paint it Black

Grandparents: couldn't really contribute to this well-run teacher-led chat (as mine are not going to be visiting next month for open day). My roomies offered up ideas for presents they could give gran & gramps for coming, negotiating towards making portraits of them after discarding some rather cute ideas along the way. Crayons ready: go! I mingled & monitored, this activity had my mates very engaged (mostly), and all schools of art represented. Ohh! Watercolours too? Again, remarkable lack of carnage or catastrophe - as well some hefty self-restraint I think on behalf of les artistes!

Again, this activity was brief & results collected by teacher for work later...drying on the piano. "Can you sing us a song?" No. But, I found a cable to plug my iPod into your CD player - wanna try?

Super Simple Songs' "Walking Walking" got its first outing...killer success, starting quietly and demands for a replay :) Ask nicely, perhaps? Never done this with 36 kids before...No problems - we've got that school show in Feb covered already!

So I could make my way come gravel-free. Ah, but I got sunburnt instead? Ow, my neck!

Storytime - I want to try!