Last weekend was the Sports Day at Anthony's preschool. I think the teachers put on a wonderful event for the kids that can serve as a model for any preschool. I wrote a bit about last year's great event at the time, and this year's was just as good.

It involves three years of preschoolers, and this year, they all wore color-coordinated shirts:

1. The younger group (ages 3 and 4) wore yellow ord green.
2. The middle group (ages 4 and 5) wore blue or red.
3. The and older group (ages 5 and 6) wore orange or purple.

It made for quite a colorful day.

Anthony, aged 4, is in the middle group, and wore a blue shirt.

Event #1: Opening Prayer
礼拝

Event #2: Jumping Parade
たいそう｢ぼよよん行進曲」

They then did a song with lots of fun movements (jumping and turning and such)

Event #3: “Ready, Go!”
よーい、どん！

The next event, plain old running, was separated into three stages, one for each class. In each case, the kids would run in groups of four or five, toward a ribboned finish line.

The youngest kids ran a straight “course” of about 15 yards (about the length of three cars).

I particularly like the picture above because of the guy in the background with a purple shirt. I don't know who he was, but he was always had a big smile and was cheering the kids on and helping to create a festive atmosphere.

For Anthony's class, the run was about half a loop around the small field being used.

It was a hot day, so there were plenty of breaks for tea.

These are, of course, the tea bottles I posted about earlier in the week.

The older kids ran a full loop, taking all of perhaps 15 seconds.

There were no “winners” or “losers,” as even these older kids are just five and six years old. Everyone was all smiles when they finished, regardless of their place in the results.

If Anthony got busted like last year, I never noticed it, but I heard that there were times when he was fairly boisterous that I missed.

Event #4: Animals' Breakfast
どうぶつたちのあさごはん

The next event was the “obstacle course” for the youngest class. It consisted of running a few steps to a basket, pulling out a cloth ball, running to a box painted to look like an animal's face, putting the ball into a hole in the box (the animal's mouth), then running a few more steps to a finish line.

It sounds simple enough, but these kids are only three years old, and there were two baskets and two animals (the other having been a blue elephant), so they had to decide for themselves how to proceed.

It was all incredibly adorable.

Event #5: Everyone Genki “Let's Go!”
みんなげんきにレッツゴー！

The next event was the obstacle course for Anthony's middle class. I don't really know how to translate “genki” in a simple way, because it's a word that has so many wonderful meanings. (It's long been my favorite word in the language.)

In one respect, it means “healthy” (the opposite of being sick or injured). In another respect it might refer to a someone's mental acuity (like “vim and vigor”) or state (being mentally ready for action). It can refer to physical activity (kids playing with gusto), and kids can certainly be too genki (leading to their mother getting tired and un-genki).

Anyway, the event started out with the kids walking on cans (かん木履 — “can clogs”) for a short distance....

... then a short run to where they have to go through a hoop...

... then a short run to where they have to stop to get a star...

... and then to the finish line.

I'll pick up with Event #6 on the next post.