On June 5th, we held a multilingual storytime session with children from the Aoba Preschool, a licensed nursery school. Twenty-one children aged 3 to 5 participated and learned about Latvian and Indonesian cultures.
First, we introduced the picture book “This is How We Do It.” Looking at the illustrations depicting the lives of children from nine countries, the children noticed differences, saying things like, “Their hair colors are different!” and “Their skin is dark!” Then, we told them, “We’re going on a world trip now,” and handed out passports. We started with the well-known story “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” which they listened to in Japanese, English, Indonesian, and Latvian. We were worried their attention might wander, but everyone listened quietly until the end. After the story, we played Indonesian rock-paper-scissors. Since I had discussed it with the principal beforehand, the children remembered the rules perfectly. Next, we did a Latvian dance. Everyone formed a big circle and danced together. Finally, it was question time. When I mentioned that Indonesia has “banana fritters (tempura),” some children exclaimed, “Wow! Sweet ones!”
Afterwards, the principal shared that the children found the reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar interesting because of the unfamiliar pronunciation. They also talked about things like, “What do they say for ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’ in Indonesia and Latvia?” and “Do they have daycare centers there?” It was a day that made me feel how experiences from early childhood become the soil that broadens a child’s perspective.
