July 15 writing

Hello again from Francesca, rhythmics teacher at EYS!

As the rainy season comes to Tokyo, I’m embracing the change in weather; it’s the perfect excuse to play with rainsticks, enjoy the pitter-patter sound of raindrops and sing a few choruses of ‘Rain Rain Go Away’ together! I love teaching the children (and parents!) all the different onomatopoeia words we have in English for the different kinds of rain sounds we can hear and being from the northern part of the UK means I’ve experienced my fair share of rain! I also love exploring the sounds in Japanese too and playing with both languages – it’s fascinating to see how different cultures ‘hear’ the same sounds but in different ways. The children in English rhythmics classes get a chance to hear how both cultures articulate these natural sounds; my aim is to not only support early language development through English but also to foster cultural understanding and develop open, curious minds. Hearing the variety of sounds also helps to develop the children’s imaginative skills, helping them to create their own sounds, vocal or otherwise, in response to the environment around them. They sound like big aims, but it just goes to show the far-reaching impact of early experiences and the amazing learning power children have; their sensory receptors work like crazy processing so much new information!

Weather sounds of all types are great fun for rhythmics classes. Thunder is obviously a lot of fun; 2 year olds really enjoy filling a paper bag with air and then punching it for the thunder crack -*BANG*! Excellent if preceded by an ominous drum roll. Of course, this is all a little bit too intense for babies! But they certainly enjoy shaking suzuran tape pom poms to make the sound of the wind rustling through the trees or hearing me blow quickly through my flute for a whirling jet whistle sound *WHOOSH*!

And best to enjoy these sounds now before summer comes and the rain dries up and the wind calms down…well, until typhoon season that is! Stay dry!