ピンチに遭遇した時、私達はできるだけ黙って参加者があれこれ考えアイディア出す様子を見守ります。いろんなアイデアでアウトプットを生み出せる性質を持つクリエイティブな発想力は悩んだり考え抜いてこそ生まれるものだと思うからです。周りの人とのコミュニケーションが大切な事も多々あります。何度も失敗しながら、でも徐々にできる様になっていき、Learning by experiencingって大切ですね。子供たちが考え、想像力を膨らましていくその工程を見守るのが好きです。 NYファームステイプログラムでわかったこと、学んだこととして参加者がいくつか教えてくれました。
Summer is here and so many of our students are having a great time spending it with family and friends. 夏がやってきましたね。たくさんの生徒たちが家族や友達と楽しい時間を過ごしているようです。
One of the troubles they sometimes have is keeping up with their English skills. Our most successful students usually find books they enjoy reading. Because they enjoy the book they learn and develop vocabulary and grammar, not to mention communication skills. When they finish one book they are hungry for more, so it’s a great idea to have a few books for them.
We’d like to share some book titles and links for your family to enjoy.
Grades 1-3
Here’s a list of best-selling fun books appropriate for language development for elementary students in grades 1 to 3. These books are not only enjoyable but also promote language skills and imagination:
These books offer humor, engaging plots, and relatable characters, making them perfect for encouraging young readers to develop their language skills while having fun. Remember to select books that match the individual reading levels and interests of the students to make the reading experience more enjoyable and beneficial.
Grades 4-8 and up
Here’s a list of best-selling fun books appropriate for language development for elementary students in grades 4 to 8. These books are enjoyable, age-appropriate, and help foster language skills:
“Harry Potter” book 1 illustrated series by J.K. Rowling
We hope you like the lists. All of the books are read by many of our students and by native English-speaking kids as well. Reading the same books can give them more opportunities to speak with other students around them, too. By purchasing using the links above, you will support us in providing more recommendations in the future.
One more highly recommended book is the “I Survived” series.
Do you remember the first day of your new school? How did you feel?
Student A: When I started school in NY, I was very nervous. I was a 1st grader and I cried. But, Japanese friends in the class helped me a lot when I didn’t understand. On the 2nd day, I didn’t want to go to school and missed my mom. But I went to school every day because I knew I had to go to school. My mom said I had to go to school. And she bought me my favorite juice and it made me happy.
Student B: I went to Milton school for the first time. I was more excited, not nervous. The table setting was so different compared from Japanese school. I started in 2nd grade. I didn’t talk so much, but there was a boy that I could trust. So, I just kept following him everywhere and watched what he did.
Student C: My first day was online lesson because of COVID-19. Starting a new school and experiencing online lessons were both my first experience, so I was so nervous. But when I actually started going to school, I really enjoyed going to school. Everything was different from Japanese school. School had extra English curriculums and I enjoyed the atmosphere, which I felt like everyone was my family.
What was your greatest achievement in America?
Student D: Moving to the USA changed me. In Japan, I didn’t know how big the world was. After I came to NY, for example, every house in Harrison was so big and everyone had a big yard. The parks were big as well. It was very comfortable for me to live in NY. In Manhattan, there were many kinds of people from all over the world. They get together and live in one place. And I felt we all need to get along with each other. Understanding the importance of the world was my biggest achievement.
Student E: I didn’t play baseball in Japan, so I played baseball in NY for the first time. What I learned was everything in English. Learning a new sport in a different language was awesome. Also, I was outside almost every single day with my brother doing sports such as baseball and basketball. That was better than studying and half of my friends I have now are friends from playing sports.
Student F: I could go to school every day and make many friends, and I could pass Eiken 2. They are all my big achievements! Now, I am going back to Japan. And I’m not so nervous about going back to Japanese school because I started Japanese weekend school in America after 2nd grade. I love American school! American school has more fun events like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. I will miss American school.
What is your advice to people who come from Japan or other countries?
Student G: If you can, you can study English before they come to America. If you can speak a little bit of English in school, it will be more fun to go to school. It’s also fun to talk to American friends. American friends are so friendly. People are friendly and kind in this country. And don’t be shy to ask when you don’t know and talk a little bit louder so that everyone in the class can hear your voice. If you don’t speak loud enough, they might just not hear you! Anyway, play and enjoy!
Student H: Do what you want to do! You want to think by yourself so that you will be more confident when you go back to Japan. Your experience in America will give you a new opportunity for your future.
Student I: You don’t have to worry about communicating with American people so much. When I visited another local school and took classes with them one day, the American students tried hard to understand me. They even used Google translate to try to communicate with me. It made me happy. If we all want to understand each other’s hearts, even though we can’t understand perfect language, we can still be friends. Just keep your mind open.
Student J: Just don’t worry about English. You will understand what they are doing and saying by watching and hearing. Don’t stay inside all the time, go outside. Some American houses have basketball hoops and you can play with them and sometimes they would invite you inside their house and you can become their friends. Reading and writing practice help, too, but talking with friendly American kids can teach you better English. They talk a lot!
First time farm experience for all of them. These kids did so many things they’ve never done before.
In the morning, they took care of the pigs – cleaning, bedding, and feeding. Then they had English lessons – agriculture in NY, carbon footprints and the environment, big and small business, cultural differences, and manners. Every afternoon, we enjoyed various activities – horseback riding, fishing, kayaking, swimming, night hike, egg hunting, fossil hunting, and target shooting.
All of the meat we had on the trip was provided by our family farm, Mattland Farm. We could all feel how important it is to treat the animals with respect, take good care of them, and definitely didn’t waste any food.
As each day passed, they took responsibility and helped each other to do the chores. They got done faster and faster and could feel what it’s like being a farmer.
The positive real-life experiences we have may enhance our abilities and play an important role in whether we all grow up to have a sense of purpose at all. We loved to see each kid’s growth.
Thank you so much to our Mattison family for making this program happen every year We are so pleased to have such a caring and supportive family.
With Mark at Mattland FarmEvening nature hike in Mattison landTie dye T-shirts with Chris’ momFossil hunting in Mattison landHorse cart riding at Barb (Mattison Corner farm)We found a snake, too!So much fun!The beautiful horseWith a baby horse. He was born in July’22They cooked their own foodPork Chops from the farmFishing at Mattison pondCollins Knoll FarmCollins Knoll FarmCollins Knoll FarmAfter a calf sucked his fingerPiglet at Mattland farmCollins Knoll FarmMark teaches about pigsGinger is our favorite catA pic from the tructorSalmon river fallsGrass-fed beef from Mattland farmWe found eggs!Feeding a calf at North ridge farmBruce at North ridge farmNorth ridge farmNorth ridge farmRocky and kidsTarget shootingWe teachh safety around guns lunch timeTie dye T-shirts at momsMusic fun with Noah
Our Farm Stay 2022 is 7/25 to7/31 this year. We are in final preparation. Six ambitious participants are all excited as we are. We can’t wait to share time on the Mattison farm! Our regular lessons will be closed from 7/23-8/4. Here we go!
Presenting our student family Photo contest for 2021.
Many of our students enjoyed participating in last year’s event. The activity got students and families to look around to see more. It gave them new things to talk about and try while practicing and thinking in English outside of class. You can do it any time of day. Even when just riding in the car.
We’re looking forward to seeing even more people join this year. We’re looking forward to seeing your creative photos.
We use the photographs to teach a number of lessons, from technology to composition to idiomatic expressions and poetry. It becomes something more than a contest.
Below are the three videos we created from some of the photos that were chosen by the students that took them.
🌻Farm Stay 2021🌻 Mattison Summer Program ⭐1 We had the orientation for the Farm Stay last month with all the participants. Everyone had such a great time meeting each other👌
Farm Stay is all ready to start tomorrow on 7/20! We’re so excited!
Mattison Farm Stay is booked solid this year 2021.Thank you everyone for your interest.
Our preparation has begun!
We have endured the challenges of this past year including canceling last year’s Farm Stay. We can’t wait to show our students a whole new world!
“We want our students to become confident in who theyare and learn to live with others. Even if we are different, we all have something great to share.“
By the way, here is a new farm star at Mattison Corner Farm. This little boy was born last week. He doesn’t have a name yet. Do you have a good name for him?
After skipping this fun Easter activity last year, our Easter activity felt very special this year. Almost all our students in the US took part in the activity in person, even students from NYC. (they regularly take online lessons ) It had been almost a year to see some of them in person! It made us so happy.
We boiled about 20 dozen eggs. During the activity, we carried on conversational lessons about many things to bond with students. We see how our students see and think about all sorts of things, which gives us great hints to develop their English skills even further.
Thanks to all our students for joining this activity.
