Bringing Japan to Our School

Happy Friday everyone! Our school had the great privilege of having two Japanese students from Bunkyo University visit us this week. They stayed with my teammate in her home. It was a lot of fun having them around. They observed my class and taught a lesson called Maneki-neko, or "Beckoning Cat." The students each created their own "Beckoning Cat" which brings good luck. Today was their last day. They gave each one of my students a hand-made paper crane and an origami heart. They took lots of pictures so hopefully they can e-mail them and I can post more! :) If your school ever gets an opportunity like this, take it! It's a great way to bring culture to our kids and introduce them to new things.

The maneki-neko (Japanese: 招き猫^?, literally "beckoning cat") is a common Japanese figurine (lucky charm, talisman), usually made of ceramic in modern times, which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner.

 

 Each group of students looked at two maneki-nekos and had to find the difference between two of them. In one picture, the cat held up its right paw and in the other, the left paw. Depending on which paw it's holding up determines the meaning.

 

The students then created their own and chose a Japanese meaning that they wanted their maneki-neko to represent. They LOVED writing in Japanese!