And excursion = fun! A nice change from in the classroom, last Friday i went on an excursion with some of my grade 5 & 6 students to the neighbouring island, Awaji-shima.
It didn’t take us long (45mins or so) to reach the first destination of the day, Awaji Bokujo (Awaji Farm). After getting off the bus we were ushered into a large hall to make butter, manually. The task proved to be quite tiring on the arms; we were each given a small container to shake for a good 5 minutes to turn the cream inside into a butter ball. Upon completion we were given crackers to enjoy the spoils of our efforts.
After our morning snack we were escorted out the back to meet the providers of the cream; two mammoth cows. After a brief talk and explanation we were all given the opportunity to milk the cows. It appeared relativey simple however technique was required. The kids seemed intimidated by the size of the cows (understandably) but once I’d made an effort to pat one of them, they did likewise.
Following the milking we returned to the bus and on to our next destination, the Nojima Fault Line. This fault line is the scar of the Hanshin Earthquake which struck the port city of Kobe in Western Japan in 1995, killing over 6000 people.
Besides the actual fault line, there was an extensive display explaining earthquake phenomena and maps showing the plethora of fault lines that run through the Japanese islands. The display was conveniently presented in English too. Unfortunately when we arrived it was nearing midday and all the students (and myself)could think about was lunch so they whizzed through the exhibition in record time.
Once we’d viewed the exhibition we enjoyed our ‘bento’ (lunchbox) picnic lunch on the expansive grounds besides the main exhibition hall. The weather was absolutely perfect for the occasion; a warm, sunny, autumn day. Once the kids had eaten they ran around and played for a while before boarding the bus and returning to school. A very pleasant, accident-free excursion was enjoyed by all.
