Last night Bellwood Discovery video conferenced with Kashiwagi. It was technologically perfect and the voice quality was very clear. It looked terribly cold, however, at Kushiro-- which prompted my students to open their laptops and check the weather. It was VERY cold there, and we are expecting a powdering of snow (at long last) here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, tonight.

We opened with greetings and got right into how America celebrates New Year's. The students drew pictures, made props, had speeches and told about New Year's. We even threw confetti. Then the Kashiwagi children did the same. About half way through the Kashiwagi performance, the Bellwood kids began to notice parallels.

First, at Christmas we use fresh pine boughs and other evergreen decorations. This is done in Japan for New Year's. We noted games and customs, like Moon Cakes, that are gaining popularity in this part of the country (Nissan, largest Laotian population in Southeast). At one point we had both kids doing Kendama and going crazy. Kashiwagi has some fabulous kids in this regard.

Parents came and enjoyed the antics, especially the Chopstick Challenge. The Bellwood kids again won, but the Kashiwagi kids put up a good fight.

The nicest part was when the 6th graders serenaded us with recorders. The song was crisp and cool, and the Bellwood kids said it reminded them of winter...and calmed them down. They are beginning to do recorder and were astounded at the skill level. The song was wonderful.

I will post some pictures when I get my new memory card from the school. Could not take pictures last night.

Cynthia Jones
Bellwood Discovery