Natsumi is a girl with one big personality. Everything she does is on a scale too big for everyone to handle. She is always too fast, too hard, or too loud, and her family is tired of taming her big actions though they are never malicious. The only person who doesn’t stop her from being herself is Grandfather. The neighborhood festival of Japanese traditional arts is coming up soon, and all the family and community is practicing hard for their performances. Natsumi tries to join in but is unwelcomed because of her expressiveness that is just a bit much. Grandfather finds her feeling down, and assures her that she will eventually find a place she can fit in. He leads her to discover a space where the sound of Japanese taikodrums dance in the room, and Natsumi’s drum practice becomes a little secret between her and Grandfather. On festival day, Natsumi surprises her family by showing up on stage along with other taiko drummers of the village. Her unstoppable personality and energy beams from the stage and contributes to her strong performance. Through playing the taiko drums, she finds her place in the community.
Reminiscent of “Ojiichan’s Gift” by Chieri Uegaki and Genevieve Simms from my last post, this is an endearing story where the grandfather takes a pivotal role in shaping the protagonist’s character. There’s a tendency to overlook grandparents as those who spoil the grandchildren, but they seem to have the sharpest observations of the kids. I can attest from own experience, being raised by my grandparents in my early years. My grandparents did spoil me and raised me with tremendous care (maybe a little too much), but they were also way stricter than my own parents. It is precious to have people in your life who accept you for who you are and guide you to places where you can express your most authentic self.
I started training to become a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCYT) in February. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about themes and concepts to teach students from Pre-K to 12, especially related to mindfulness and self-awareness. This story is a wonderful introduction to discuss the following to Pre-K to 3rd graders:
- What does it mean to “be yourself”? (For older kids, you can introduce the word “authenticity”)
- Take 2-3 minutes to think about you like and don’t like, and what makes you “you.”
- Take another 2-3 minutes to think about who or what supports you stay true to who you are, and what you appreciate about them.
I’ll be restructuring this blog to include books and topics that inspire mindfulness in children in a way that I’ve been learning through my RCYT training. As a recently certified yoga teacher registered through Yoga Alliance, I’m hoping to discuss some themes related to yoga and parenting that I’ve been thinking about during my teacher training and through daily practice.
“Natsumi!”の主人公のナツミは元気はつらつで、悪気はなくとも有り余ったエネルギーで人の邪魔をしてしまう女の子。はしゃぎ過ぎたり、早く動き過ぎたり、とにかくおてんば。ナツミの家族は毎年町で行われる日本の伝統芸能を披露するお祭りの準備で大忙し。お父さんは茶道、お母さんは日本舞踊を練習している中、ナツミも仲間に入りたいと思いますが何をしても裏目に出てしまい怒られてしまいます。落ち込んでいる中、おじいちゃんにあるところに連れられたナツミ。そこは和太鼓の音が鳴り響く素敵な場所。ナツミはおじいちゃんに「きっと自分らしくいられる場所を見つけられるよ」と慰さめられ、家族に内緒で和太鼓の練習を始めます。そして迎えたお祭りの日、ナツミはステージに立ち家族をびっくりさせます。今まで有り余っていたナツミのエネルギーが和太鼓へ注がれ、音楽となるのです。そして音楽を通じて、ナツミは元気いっぱいの自分でいられる場所を見つけます。
前回紹介した本 ”Ojiichan’s Gift” に続き、今回もおじいちゃんが活躍するお話です。祖父母というのはどの文化でも自分の子供には厳しくとも、孫には優しいというイメージではないでしょうか。優しくて、甘えに弱いけれど、誰よりも孫を理解していていると思います。”Natsumi!” は子供には叱ってくれる大人も必要だけれど、静かに見守っていてくれる大人も両方大事だと思わせてくれるお話です。よき理解者がいるからこそ、自分自身を理解するきっかけが出来たり、自分らしさを誇りに思うことができるのでしょう。
私は最近全米ヨガアライアンス認定のヨガインストラクターになりました。そして今同アライアンス認定のチルドレンズ・ヨガインストラクター（キッズヨガ）になるためのクラスを受講しています。キッズヨガではテーマやコンセプトをたくさんに使い、頭と体でヨガをするので、絵本はこれからもっと大事な存在になっていくと思います。例えばこの本だと、幼稚園児から小学校低学年の生徒にこのような質問を問いかけることが出来ます：
- 「自分らしさ」ってなに？
- ２、３分間の間、自分の好きなもの、嫌いなものを考えましょう。どうしてそれがあなたにとって大事なのですか？
- ２、３分間の間、今度は自分を応援したり支えてくれたりする人や物のことを考えましょう。どのようにあなたを支えてくれていますか？
これからは絵本だけでなく、キッズヨガのことや育児につながるヨガの教えなどを少しずつ取り入れて紹介していきたいと思います。
yomimas 