From a CANVAS Facebook post

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[Kids Creative Lab at the University of Tokyo, Hongo Campus]

Here’s a look at the Kids Creative Lab held at the University of Tokyo’s Hongo Campus on Sunday, October 18!

This month’s theme is “Words.” In the preschool class, we did an activity
focusing on names. First, let’s use our mouths to get familiar with our names.
Names of animals we’ve never heard of, names of slightly odd-sounding islands, our own names, our friends’ names… We’ll try saying
all kinds of names out loud.
When it was time to be called by their own names, we encouraged the children to make requests like, “Call me this way!” This led to all sorts of requests, such as, “Call me in a scary voice!” “Call me ○○-chan!” and “I want you to call me in a quiet voice!”

Next, let’s get to know our names better using our eyes and hands! The children decorated each letter of their own names, which were printed in large letters. The materials for
decorating came in a variety of colors and textures! They carefully looked at, touched, and savored the materials as they made their selections.
Just as everyone’s name is unique, the way each child decorates it is truly one-of-a-kind. Some children are particular about
color and decorate using just one shade; others enjoy the bumpy textures and create three-dimensional shapes; and still others leave their mark by stamping their handprints.

Perhaps because we had spent a little more time getting to know each other, I felt like I saw them calling each other by name while working on the exercises more often than usual.

The elementary school class created a “Personal Dictionary” using words they made up themselves.
Doesn’t it kind of look like that? With insects, rocks, and plants lined up in a row… “Specimens!” “So a dictionary is a collection of word specimens, then.”

First, we’ll try collecting words, just as we might collect insects or rocks. From the “forest of words” spread out
in the classroom, students search for words they want to include in their own dictionaries—their “personal words”—and carefully cut them out.
After carefully pasting the cut-out words onto a sheet, they create an entry page for each word, just like in a real dictionary.
Some children took on the challenge of introducing difficult words, looking them up in a dictionary to create example sentences, while others added easy-to-understand illustrations to explain them. Once they added a
cover, their “Personal Dictionary”—filled with the words they’d searched for and collected—was complete!
Finally, they enthusiastically showed their families how to use the dictionary and explained the meanings of the words.

Next month, we’ll be holding a program centered on the theme of “Food”!
We look forward to seeing all the kids again next month!