What a beautiful sunny day we had for our Sports Day! It's the middle of school holidays but we had a few families keen in meeting up and sharing a bit of their culture with us at the park!
It's only Spring but it felt like a Summer's Day! The sun was shinning, the sky was blue and the park was filled with children having fun and playing in the fields. It was actually very hot and sun scream and hats were a must among all of us!
We had a relaxed day where all the cultures came together to talk about a traditional sport of their country. I started talking about Brazil and we did our usual geography with the help of the world map, followed by Brazilian's most loved sport..... Soccer!! Ben helped me to explain the rules of soccer and all the other children joined in too as soccer seems to be a well loved sport played by many different cultures!
Sandy and Mai showed us how to play the Petanque, a very traditional game in France where people gather together to play as a social event.
Zoya talked about her favopurite sport - Equestrian Vaulting. A very popular sport right here in Kapiti with the Equestrian centre located in Waikanae.
Then was England's turn and Robert talked about Cricket. A sport that is also widely played in New Zealand! In England is very common to see cricket players dressed traditionally all in white playing at the parks in the suburbs. A sport that can last for days! Very complicated if you ask me!
Then was the time for some Martial Arts! Malte talked about Judo and gave some demonstration of this martial art which is very popular in France and other parts of the world. Ben and Daniel also demonstrated the Brazilian JiuJitsu and Sandy mentioned that in Korea Taekwondo is the traditional martial art of the country.
Then was the turn for Aki to talk about a traditional sport in Japan. We were introduced to Sumo - "a competitive full-contact wrestling sport where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The characters 相撲 literally mean "striking one another".
Here is a little bit about Sumo that I extracted from Wikipedia:
The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. It is generally considered to be a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), though this definition is misleading as the sport has a history spanning many centuries. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto religion. Life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Japan Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal "sumo training stables", known in Japanese as heya, where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.
Aki showed us many pictures of Sumo players and the kind of food they have to eat.... a lot! They eat a lot! The bigger you are the better in Sumo!
After our talk was time for some fun! The children had the chance to actually practise the real Sumo! Have a look at some of our pictures below. The day continued with lots of games of cricket, soccer and rugby with the children choosing what they wanted to play. The EdgeWater Park in Waikanae was a perfect place for our day which ended with a shared picnic and lots of splashing in the river! We will definitely have more meetings in the park as the Summer approaches!
Enjoy the pics:
We always start with a bit of Geography
Robert talking about Cricket
Zoya Talking about Vaulting
Malte talking about Judo
Our Sumo session begins!!!!
A bit of Soccer
Great time splashing!! What a beautiful day!
