14 July 2009

Having Fun and Learning about International Cultures at IPC

Massey Kids Club Visiting IPC Campus

By Shirley Ghozalli and Emu Izaki. Edited by Moira Blake.

The girls trying out yukata	What are the Portuguese names of the colours?	Chasing around in the 'dropping a handkerchief' game
Learning a Japanese song	Folding origami (Hayato Yoshikawa in red jacket)	Writing own name in Thai characters with Ratchanee Piyarat (left) and Nawin Boonsaenunt (right)

On Thursday, 9th July, IPC campus received a group of visitors from Massey Kids Club, which is a facility to provide after school care for the children whose parents are studying at the university.

The 2-hour visit was part of the club's winter activities that encourage children to get to know about cultures of other countries. Around 30 children and the staff taking care of them arrived in the Recreation Centre building and were welcomed by IPC first year students. These first year students were from Athena Knight's Foundation class and Jane Rainford's English Skills class.

The children were divided into small groups of 3 or 4 and they then enjoyed various kinds of games and activities with the students. These were writing their names in Thai or Japanese language, playing a traditional game played in a circle, in which a handkerchief is dropped and there is a lot of chasing , singing a Japanese children's song, learning how to do origami, playing cards, wearing a yukata, and remembering the names of colours in Portuguese language. The children seemed to be having a fun time.

Hayato Yoshikawa (a student from Japan), who taught origami to the children, said "The crane was popular with the girls while the leaping frog was popular with the boys. With the boys, together we made some paper planes and soon after that, we had a flying contest!"

Other students, Ratchanee Piyarat and Nawin Boonsaenunt (both from Thailand), commented, "We taught kids how to write their names in Thai language. It was good to practice English skills especially in speaking and listening."

According to Jane Rainford, the students could practice their English by conversing with the children and explaining the rules of the games. This year, the students are an International mix from Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Brazil. "I think the children enjoyed meeting with these students very much."

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