One of my elementary schools is actually following the Maebashi Board of Education’s new curriculum. The fifth and sixth graders have a new unit every week and have to present a finished project at the end. The current theme is “Let’s make a story book.” Last month’s theme was “Let’s be reporters and make a newspaper.” They wrote simple questions in Japanese which their teacher translated for me and I answered in English. Then their teacher translated my answer. Not a whole lot of English practice for the students. But their newspapers about me were pretty cute. My favorite one was done by a group of fifth graders.

One of the favorite questions of the students was “Do you have any pets?” I would tell them that in America, my family has five cats! Neee?!

Lauren sensei’s Dream

2. Nyan, Nyan (the Japanese sound for “meow”)

3. Nyan, Nyan

4. It’s cute… but… painful! Why is that?

It might be a cute comic strip, but these kids are on to something. This is the problem with having a cat loving family. You start with one or two and during the night, they mysteriously multiply.