Under the weather...

I've had another slight cold that lingered from strange weather we've been having in Yokohama. It varies between warm/humid, rain/thunder, and random tornadoes. Yes, tornadoes. Everyone is coughing from the sudden change in weather and I'm not happy with this at all. It's draining when teaching children of a wide range. But I wasn't the only one affected, my students were under the weather as well.

It was hard to motivate my students, who suffered from dreary weather syndrome. They said they were sleepy, tired, and hungry. So I had to bring out the big guns early into the lesson: Aloysius Snuffleupagus.

The Culprit

 The creation of Snuffy at the work place: I went to sesamestreet.org and printed out this exact picture and cut Snuffy out. I laminated him and taped him to a handle I made from an old wire coat hanger, where I use him as a mask or as a pointer to point at flash cards on the board.


Anyway, that brightened up my sixth grade students. Yes, you read right. Sixth grade students! When I pulled him out, they all went, "Snuffleupagus! He's out! The mammoth's out!!!" And soon they were excited to get into groups and play the game.


I'm not sure what the magic is behind having Snuffy around. Kids of all ages love him. He was the character I loved the most as a kid because he was nice and wasn't selfish. I thought it would be good to introduce him to the students. Besides, the Japanese people have a problem of pronouncing "f" and it sounds like a "p" or an "h" sound. His name is a good way to separate the constants. Now they can say words with an "f" sound with no problem.

The students requested I make more of him, walking, eating or sleeping. I thought about introducing more characters but I haven't decided on who and if I should stick to Sesame Street or not. But I think because I only use him, it makes class all the more magical.


So that was my day. A cloudy rainy day that became bright and sunny because of Snuffleupagus.


Thought for the day: Who is your favorite Sesame Street character?


-P. Bear