 transplanting rice seedlings, June 18, 2001 (Mon.)
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Cultivating the power to
live through producing rice North Bodaiji Elementary School students experienced rice planting on June 18, a Monday, 70 5th graders at North Bodaiji Elementary school tried their hands at transplanting rice seedlings. This was one of the activities in "general studies." Members of the Bodaiji Asa-ichi-kai, the morning (farmer's) market, responded to the teachers request to cooperate with them to let the children get some good life experience which is necessary to cultivate their power to live. The paddy field had been a strawberry patch until the beginning of June. So children first cultivated the field and made it ready to plant (e.g. fill the field with water) in advance, and then planted the rice seedlings. In this study children will experience not only planting and harvesting rice, but will also deal with all the process of growing it up to begin with preparation, and observe the growth of rice. And members of the Bodaiji Asaichikai will help them all through the process. On the transplanting day, 6 or 7 children each made lines and planted rice seedlings supervised by the instructors. A child who had experienced planting rice in bare feet for the first time said "I like the slimy feeling", and another said "I've planted this many!" The children's cheerful voices filled the field on that day. One of the members of the Asaichikai said "we want the children to learn about their own growth through this experience." |
