Since I rotate around three junior high schools and six elementary schools, I have had a lot of Halloween events lately. Some of them have been limited to lessons on the holiday while three elementary schools have had full blown parties for the students. One I already wrote about, but here are some interesting parts of the rest.
The first of the two biggest parties boasted American-style pumpkins fully carved into jack-o-lanterns, even, grown specifically for the event by the particularly zealous organiser teacher and some students.
Without further ado, I give you the chicken dance:
At the party and after my little introduction speech, the kids made costumes mostly out of garbage bags and construction paper, some using toilet paper to assume mummy form. Japanese kids are nothing if not inventive, even when it’s impossible to get them to answer in class.
Making costumes from coloured garbage bags and construction paper.
Making of a mummy.
Peace.
Azumi, the cutest little princess ever, until my nieces are this age.
Teachers ran a few games, me at the “use your mouth to take the mini apple on a string” game and others at ghost fishing, bowling, and ring toss games.
Apple on a string game.
Just fishing for ghosts and things.
The bowling game proved to be a little too difficult.
We sung and danced the chicken dance, skipping around in a big, ridiculous circle. Finally, I randomly chose a few students for the best costume prizes for each grade pair.
The organiser donned a paper-mâché Yoshi (the lizard from the Mario Bros. games) costume, while I went for my classic bling pirate look. Another teacher had a simple but well put-together witch costume. The rest of the teachers looked like… a hot mess. The principal was Santa Dog (iconic red coat, fake beard… and dog nose), another teacher wore a devil horn hat and a full-body Dalmatian costume that could also pass for a spotted cow, and yet another merged Doraemon and some other cute Japanese cartoon character of a bird.
Witch and Devil Dog
Santa Dog (principal), Hen (sounds like "weird" in Japanese), Doraemon-Bird Man
