The purpose of the Japanese Children｡ｯs Playgroup in Penang was borne out of very personal needs｡ｭ as parents of mixed-heritage, often between Japanese and Malaysian citizens living on the permanent basis here in Penang, we felt that very few avenues existed for us to introduce our Japanese heritage to our children outside of the Japanese school curriculum. Indeed, many of the children attend local schools, and have almost no interaction with other Japanese children or culture.
While it is possible to teach our children Japanese culture in our own homes, we felt that if many parents worked together with a specific aim and curriculum to introduce the various aspects of stories, song, dance, arts & craft, we will be at least more diligent in our efforts to remind our children of their heritage. In fact, whilst drawing up this curriculum, many of us were reminded ourselves of our heritage through the old songs, games and Japanese festivities (which can be troublesome to organize when left to our own devices!) we use to enjoy as children eons ago｡ｭ
The attached curriculum follows the seasonal themes found in Japan. Of course, we don｡ｯt have the four seasons here in Malaysia, but we felt that precisely because of the lack of distinguishable seasons, we could draw attention to the beauty and the passing of nature and its seasons.
Our art and craft session allows the children to re-create the atmosphere of the specific seasons whilst listening to Japanese music and conversing in Japanese to promote Japanese-style cooperative work. This AUDITORY exposure will form the foundation to the language and creativity of the children, which we hope to develop.
Our monthly ｡ｮpicnic｡ｯ sessions allows the children to TASTE the seasons through the different foods, candies, special festival delicacies while seated under their art creation depicting the theme we are celebrating.
Cornerstone of any language and culture is the understanding of the folk and urban stories, which will be vividly recounted through story-book sessions conducted by experienced story-tellers. Other modes of story-telling include ｡ｰPanel Theatre｡ｱ or ｡ｰApron Theatre｡ｱ where story characters are played out by the story-tellers onto felt-panels and Aprons - a truly imaginative way to capture a child｡ｯs attention.
Songs and Dance reminiscent of Japan cannot be missed and with a fun and professionally trained dance teacher at hand, the children will get a chance to exercise their muscles and lungs while absorbing tunes that will delve deep into the psyche of the child.
The curriculum is of course by no means complete. We are after all, a parent-run playgroup and not a professionally-run kindergarten. However, we feel that by maintaining this ｡ｮamateur｡ｯ status, it allows ALL parents to participate in the curriculum, and hence contribute to the education and wellbeing of their own children as well as others in their care.
For this reason, participating families are also required to volunteer time working with the children on a rotational basis. No experience is required ｨC the mere fact that you are a parent qualifies you to be an ｡ｮAssistant Teacher｡ｯ. Our expectations of the parent is low｡ｭ but we do have high expectation that our children will ENJOY the sessions and want to come back!
Finally, we would love to welcome children who are non-Japanese to join us as well, on the understanding that this opportunity will enable the child to immerse him/herself in a Japanese-speaking environment. Certainly, there will be confusion and apprehension in the beginning, but most parents running the playgroup are bi-lingual, if not tri-lingual, so we｡ｯll make them feel at home by speaking to them in the language they are comfortable with at first, but only in very soft whispers｡ｭ
We hope this brief introduction has been of use in explaining our objectives and methods we intend to apply at our Playgroup sessions. Should you have any queries, please don｡ｯt hesitate to get in touch with any one of the following organizers. Omachishiteorimasu!
Emi: 012-413-9096 (English, Mandarin, Japanese)
Yuriko: 012-4138988 (Japanese, Mandarin)
Hitomi: 012-5345196(Japanese, English)
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