気温が上がったり、下がったりと身体の負担は大変なはずですが、毎日元気にアトリエに来てくれる子どもたち。
先週は運動遊びを行い、子どもたちは皆で一緒に体を動かすことを楽しみました。二種類の運動を行い、一つ目の運動は人形やボールをペアで教室の中を一周するゲーム。二つ目は動物ヨガ。
人形やボールを運ぶゲームはとても簡単だと予想していたのにもかかわらず、意外にも苦戦する子どもたち。二つのプールスティックの間に人形やボールを置き、上手にバランスを取りながら運ぶゲームです。難しいのはバランス感覚やお互いがペアの相手のスピードに合わせて運ぶ事だと思っていましたが、それ以上に難しかったのはきっと感情のコントロールだったかもしれません。面白いからといって走り出してしまうと人形やボールを落としてしまうし、自分の順番が回ってくるまで席で待たなくてはいけないことは私たち大人が思っている以上に大変だったかと思われます。そんな中、みんな笑顔で参加してくれゴールすると達成感からかもう一度やりたいと言ってくれるお友だちが多かったです。
また、動物ヨガでは座ることも難しい子や知らないことに挑戦するのが難しい子もいました。それでも多くのお友だちは楽しくポーズを取り、出来ると嬉しそうに笑顔を向けてくれました。中には自由時間にヨガのポーズを取る子もいたほどヨガを楽しんでくれる子もいました。
皆で動くことは難しいこともありますが、小さなことでも出来ると嬉しいという気持ちが発見できればいいなと思います。

The children come to the Atelier every day with great energy, even though the temperature rises and falls and it must be a great burden on their bodies.
Last week, we did some exercise, and the children enjoyed moving their bodies together. We did two types of exercises. The first was a game where they carry around the classroom in pairs with a big stuff-doll or ball. The second was animal yoga.
Although we expected the game of carrying a doll or a ball to be very easy, the children found some difficulty. The game involves placing a doll or ball between two pool-noodles and carrying it while balancing it well. We thought that the difficult part was the sense of balance and matching the speed of each partner to carry it, but perhaps what was even more difficult was controlling their emotions. If they start running with excitement, they will drop the doll or ball. And also, they had to wait in their seats until it's their turn might be more difficult than we think. Although everyone participated with a smile, and when they reached the goal, many of them said they wanted to do it again, perhaps because of the sense of accomplishment.
Also, some children had difficulty sitting during animal yoga, and some children had difficulty trying things they didn't know. Even so, many of the children enjoyed doing the poses and smiled happily when they succeeded. Some children enjoyed yoga so much that they even did yoga poses in their free time.
It can be difficult to move around with everyone, but I hope they can discover the joy of being able to do even small things.