“こんにちは” (Konnichiwa), which means "hello", was the greeting that our children heard from friends across the globe in Japan. Although they were 5,000km apart, distance was not an issue. Thankfully technology made it possible for PPS children to interact with similarly-aged students during their cross-cultural exchange abroad, albeit over Zoom.
The Japanese children from Hoppel Land Ushigome Preschool welcomed PPS Woodlands children with waving Singapore flags! What a heartwarming sight it was. The children were thrilled to be introduced to a cute little host, a “fish” called Magoo (voiced by one of their English speaking Japanese teachers)!
The session kicked off with a game of hide and seek. The children were tasked to find Magoo as he was hidden within different parts of the sea bed
Bright smiles were seen on our children's faces as they took turns to locate the entertaining fish. After that, each centre also shared some songs and learnt the actions together enthusiastically.
The highlight was when the children had an opportunity to get to know one another through the question and answer segment! For example, they asked each other questions like "what is your favourite colour?" and "what are you scared of?". What a wonderful experience it was! Some of them were also surprised and excited to find out that they had a common love for the same cartoon characters. Our young ones sure enjoyed interacting with and learning more about their Japanese friends, and are looking forward to their next cross-cultural exchange!