As we approach the end of the year, many of my students tell me more and more "Oh, I`m so sleepy" or "I am tired from studying" when they come to class.
Around winter time many people will begin to feel more tired more often, It takes more energy to stay warm, more energy to keep working hard when all we want to do is be cozy in our homes. It is important to keep working towards our goal but it is not the only important thing.
It is also important to take care of ourselves and know where our limits are. there comes a point when it is too cold for too long and we are too tired when we simply have to decide "That is enough, I am at my limit, I need to rest" and at that time the best thing we can do for ourselves is to stay home, eat someting tasty, drink something warm, be with people who make us happy and rest.
This winter season, please take time to feel your limits and recharge your own battery.
-Jordan Sensei
CLILという言葉はあまり聞きなじみがありませんが、クリルと読みます。
ｱﾐﾃｨｰではこのCLILを採用しています。ヨーロッパの学校では第２言語を習得する際につかれます。
CLILとは「Content（コンテンツ）、Communication（コミュニケーション）、 Cognition（思考力）、
Culture またはCommunity （文化・コミュニティ）」の4つの特長を持つ、英語学習の主流となった教育方法です。
アミティーでは、この教育方法を「 i Lesson® 」導入以前から採用しており、
グローバル時代に羽ばたく子供たちにとって、今後の英語学習のカギとなるカリキュラムをご用意しています。
Q: Why are there only 25 letters of the alphabet at Christmas time?
A: Because the angel said Noel!
ノエルは天使が話す挨拶です。 ノエルは "No L" のように発音されます。
It's a great gag!
- Michael.
Now that the weather is cold and christmas is close, we are inviting our students to come and do some warm seasonal crafts.
This week I worked with a student of mine `K` to make some puppets, some christmas cards, and even a letter to Santa. These are all popular seasonal crafts in America and Australia, but there are many winter crafts all around the world that are also so amazing.
One popular, and very tasty christmas craft is gingerbread cookies, they can be iced and decorated to look like people, animals, and some people even build them into beautiful houses!
Another fun craft is knitting colorful scarves, gloves or sweaters to give to the people we love, to remind them to stay warm and take care of themselves.
Possibly one of my favorite Christmas crafts though is making snowflakes, If you live in A country where it does not snow, or a place like Kure where it will only snow a very little, this can be a great way to get your very own White Christmas.
What is your favorite Christmas craft?
-Jordan Sensei
Sometimes in life we get caught up in what we`re doing we forget how to see everything else.
One of my students is studying for the Eiken Pre 1st Grade, which is already an incredible achievement, but he has been practicing for so long that he had lost sight of his progress.
During our last class I decided to pull out his practice results from early in his practice, to show him how he has gotten so good at answering what he once lamented as "Demon Questions!"
The other thing that I did was give him a sneak peak of his goal post, I showed him a small section of the 1st grade test so he could see where we were going, however, his reaction was to pick through a few of the vocabulary that, admittedly, even I did not know some of, and then ask "Who can pass this?!"
Focusing closely on our current work can help us to see all the details and produce good work, but sometimes we need to step backm see how far we still have to go, and more importantly, how far we have already come.
-Jordan Sensei
Santa Claus: A brief history
The character of Santa Claus is based on the life of Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian bishop and patron saint of children:
Saint Nicholas was born in Patara, Turkey around 280 AD. He was known for his kindness, generosity, and helping the poor and sick.
Legend says that Nicholas dropped money down a chimney for two younger daughters whose windows were closed. This started the tradition of Santa Claus delivering presents at Christmas.
The name Santa Claus is thought to come from the Dutch nickname for Saint Nicholas, Sinter Klaas. The image of Santa Claus originated in North America in the 19th century. It was influenced by Dutch immigrants who brought the legend of Sinterklaas to New Amsterdam (present-day New York City). The Coca-Cola Company's Christmas advertising helped cement the image of Santa Claus in people's minds.
The character of Santa Claus was also influenced by:
The poem A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Moore, which described Santa as a tiny man with a sleigh pulled by eight miniature reindeer
The Victorians, who wanted a more domesticated Christmas with a generous, jolly, and child-dedicated figure.
- Khanya (Kay) Sensei
Christmas, celebrated by millions worldwide, can be viewed through two distinct lenses: secular and faith based.
The Secular Perspective: This approach emphasizes festive traditions like gift-giving, decorations, and family gatherings. It's about joy , community and the spirit of giving without religious connotations.
The Faith perspective: Rooted in Christianity, this view focuses on the birth of Jesus Christ, highlighting themes of hope, love, and salvation. It encourages spiritual reflection and worship.
Both perspectives enrich the holiday, allowing individuals to choose how they celebrate and connect with the season's meaning.
It's a very special time.
- Michael.
Not too long ago, we hve our parent observations,
We had so many wonderful moments, Parents getting to see how far their child has come, students getting to show their parents what they can do, and parents and students getting a chance to play together on equal footing as they both try to figure out the language.
I recieved many emails from parents saying "The language was so difficult for me, but I saw that my child understood everything!" one mother, who was very shy in class but did her best to join in with her dqughter told me afterwards "My daughter loves her classes so much and has fun every week, but she normally doesn`t like to study, I was so surprised!"
Sometimes all we need is a little bit of time and a chance to show someone what we can do, Our students deserve to feel seen for their hard work!
-Jordan Sensei
冬は様々な試験が行われる、学生にとっては勝負の季節ですね🔥
子どもたちにとってはクリスマスなど楽しいイベントが盛りだくさんですね✨
テストに向けてであったり、冬のイベントを英語で楽しんじゃったりできちゃうのが！
「アミティーウィンターセミナー」です⛄
このセミナーではこんなことができちゃいます👍
１：目的に合わせたオーダーメイドレッスン📝
・英検といった資格試験、冬だけのクラフトセミナーなど、様々な能力を楽しく伸ばしていきます⛄
２：パソコンを使ってリスニングスキルUPレッスン
・アミティーでしか受けられない、ネイティブが英語学習に使うソフトで楽しく学べます♪
パソコン操作も学べて、今の子どもたちだからこそ必要なレッスンです！
３：プログラミングセミナー
・英語でプログラミングを練習！問題解決能力、思考力を集中的に鍛えることができ、
英語も学べちゃいます！
全年代に合わせて最適のセミナーを行いますので、まずはご相談ください♪
もちろん！アミティー生じゃない方も短期で受講可能😊
ご連絡お待ちしております😄
Now that we are entering the holiday season, I would like to share with you a lesson from one of my favourite Holiday movies.
The movie is called Klaus, It is about a selfish man, someone who only thinks about himself and doesn`t care how it hurts others. He is sent to live and work in a selfish town, where nobody helps eachother, or is nice to eachother.
The people are mean, they steal and fight, and none of the children even go to school because they don`t want to.
The selfish man is very unhappy here and looks for a way to run away, and he meets an old man who seems very scary, until he helps a little boy to feel safe and happy, only because he wants the little boy to be happy.
The other children decide they also want a gift to help them feel happy, but The selfish man tells them that they are mean, so they won`t get a gift.
Unlike the first gift that was given in kindness, these gifts would be given selfishly, because everyone wants something. Until the children listen to his warning and start being nicer, instead of taking things and hurting people they start helping people instead. Soon their parents start to join in, and eventually the children even start wanting to go to school they want to learn and be near eachother. The town becomes a wonderful place to live.
The movie tells us that "One True, Selfless act Always Sparks Another"
we can always find a way to be nice to others and it can make them want to be kind in return, this is the best way to make the world a better place to be.
-Jordan Sensei
