This is the final installment in my description of Anthony's preschool Sports Day, coming on the tails of Part I (events 1 - 5) and Part II (events 6 - 11).
Event #12: Penguin Dance
ダンス「とんでペンギン」
The next event was a Penguin Dance of some sort for the youngest class.
I wasn't the only one with a camera, of course. The guy in the photo at left, using the same D200 + Nikkor 70-200/2.8 that I had, introduced himself to me, telling me that he got that lens after having seen me feature it on my blog. (Despite having the same equipment, he got away without having the same battery issues that I had.)
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — full exif
Lotsa' People with Cameras
Event #13: Relay
リレー
The oldest class then did a relay race, four teams of which each kid took one lap around a mini track delimited by a chalk line and a bunch of Moms dotting the inner perimeter.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 95mm — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100 — full exif
Relay Passes one of the Track-Marking Moms
Event #14: Mom, Dad, Everyone Try Your Best
お父さん、お母さん、みんながんばれ
There was then a tug-of-war for all the family in attendance (kids, parents, grandparents). I opted to remain with the camera.
Event #15: Dance “There's Tomorrow”
ダンス「明日があるさ」
Then all classes combined for a little soft-shoe dance number.
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 140mm — 1/1000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 320 — full exif
Awaiting the Start
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 116mm — 1/6400 sec, f/3.5, ISO 320 — full exif
Differing Levels of Softshoe Participation
Event 16: It's Great to be a Person
にんげんっていいな
The final event was a parent/kid dance involving swinging arms and trains.
The lady in the picture above had her hands (er, back) full during the paddy-cake portion of the dance. She's the spiker in the first photo on this post of Volleyball pictures from February.
Awards and Exit
Finally, each kid got a gold medal, and a paper star.
(This was the same scene for the picture I used on the announcement for my calendar-building script the other day.
Despite the oppressive heat, it was a really fun day and well organized. As with last year's event, I'm very much impressed with the mix of events, how each is so well thought out and age appropriate.
I like that at this age, the emphasis is on being a kid and having fun, while at the same time working together and respecting others. There will be plenty of time for them to work on being competitive as they get older, and now is just not the time for it, so I'm really happy with this school's approach.