Job Discussion Forums

[jbeyak]

I'm heading off soon to teach for Peppy Kids Club in Hiroshima. I was thinking about bringing some teaching supplies with me, and I was just wondering if that was a good idea, or if I could just get them in Japan.
I was thinking about bringing some stickers with english "good job"etc, some scratch and sniff stickers, some flashcards with pictures, two English-language Childrens books (I was thinking about Dr.Suesse) and photos of where I'm from.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what to bring/not to bring for the classroom? I have a bit of room left in my suitcase.
Thanks

[lajzar]

I'd drop teh scratch and sniff stuff. I've never seen anything like it here, so they probably wouldn't know what to do with them. You can get plenty of stickers here saying good job etc, but most will be in Japanese.

Flashcards and photos are a great idea. I've never found a school that kept a decent selection of flashcards in stock. Childrens' books too, but you might find Dr Seuss beyond them (sensei, what's miff muffered moof?)

[PAULH]

Not an expert on this, but I have heard teachers of kids say that the thing they wish they had brought was 'Blu-tac' which is the sticky plasticine stuff used to stick things on walls. Not sure if you have that in your country though or it may be under a different name.

[Gordon]

Bring pictures of home, maybe some books on kid's games, flashcards are good too because they are so expensive and a musical instrument if you play something. Kids love songs and you would be a hit if you have some musical abilities.

[daj]

I worked for Peppy Kids Club for about 2 years. They are a respectable comany in the sense that the classroom is stocked with heaps of flashcards, posters, pens, paper, white boards, and a few toys (such as balls and blocks). You definitely don't need to bring flashcards, music tapes/ CD's or videos as they have their own. Peppy Kids is part of a publishing comany and they will discourage use of anything from rival English publishers in Japan such as Disney. You don't need to bring stickers for your students - when I was working for Peppy they didn't allow the use of any stickers other than their own. However, you will meet other in children in Japan through your friends, etc, and perhaps you could give them scratch 'n sniff stickers. They would be interested in them because they don't have them here. I agree that you should bring photos of your family and friends from home and pictures of Canada too. Also, teen magazines in English were popular with my Junior High students during our free conversation time when we weren't studying the Junior High text. It's interesting for them to see what other teens around the world read and we had great discussions about it in English. I don't work for Peppy Kids anymore, but in my current job I use the Dr. Suesse 'ABC' book and tape. The kids crack up whenever we use it. They find the drawings in the book to be funny and interesting. Peppy Kids might not let you use Dr. Suesse though, but again, bring some books for the other kids you might meet during your time in Japan.

[Mike L.]

The scratch and sniff stickers were a tremendous hit!!!!

Bring them!!!!!!