JOEE

JOEE Keeps Hopping and Hoping — Sept. 2023 — JOEE Expands to Odawara!

JOEEの希望あふれる活動展開 – 2023年9月 – JOEEが小田原に進出！

The JOEE project launched in April of 2019 in Japan. Our JOEE Corporate Number is 4011205002314. We have been hopping along and providing fun and lively, puppet-enhanced English lessons to children in orphanages in Japan ever since! Your continuing support makes those lessons possible.

JOEEプロジェクトは2019年4月に日本でスタートしました。JOEE法人番号は4011205002314です。それ以来、私たちは日本の児童養護施設の子どもたちに、楽しく生き生きとした、人形を使った英語のレッスンを提供して各地を飛び回って来ました！このようなレッスンを可能にしているのは、皆様の継続的なご支援です。

Our volunteer teachers reach children in six facilities across Japan. Now, in Odawara, JOEE teaches at Yurikagoen where master art teacher, Ula, has been creating memorable lessons for the children. All children deserve a hopeful and bright future. JOEE works to bring education and joy to children in Japan. 

私たちのボランティア教師は、日本全国にある6つの施設で子どもたちに英語を教えています。この度、小田原のゆりかご園にも、JOEEが講師を派遣することになりました。ゆりかご園では、経験豊富な美術の先生であるウラ先生が子どもたちの心に残るレッスンを行っています。すべての子どもたちには、希望に満ちた明るい未来を手に入れる権利があります。JOEEは日本の子どもたちに教育と喜びを届けるために活動しています。

We keep hopping and hoping to do more. As we grow and expand into new orphanages, our organization grows as well. We have welcomed another part-time administrator into JOEE and we are continuing to train new teachers and reach out to more orphanages. After a brief summer break, JOEE lessons are starting up once more and we hope to soon fill in some needed volunteer teacher spots at a couple of care facilities in Tokyo — Chofu Gakuen and St. Francisco Children’s Home.

私たちは、もっと多くのことを成し遂げたいと願って飛び回っています。新しい児童養護施設に活動が拡大するにつれて、私たちの組織も成長しています。JOEEにもう一人パートタイムの管理者を迎え、新しい先生を育て、より多くの児童養護施設に働きかけ続けています。短い夏休みの後、JOEEの授業は再開しています。調布学園と聖フランシスコ子供寮という東京都内の児童養護施設で何コマか教えてくださるボランティアの先生を募集しています。

Here is what caregivers observing JOEE lessons have to say:

JOEEのレッスンを見学している保育士の声を紹介します：

“The English class is well-organized to have both quiet and active learning.”

「英語のクラスは、静かな学習と活発な学習の両方ができるようによく構成されています。」

“Even after returning to their rooms, there were children who wanted to use the words they learned.”

「部屋に戻ってからも習った単語を使いたがる子どもたちがいました。」

“The personality of Ruth, the theatrical expression, and the ability to observe, receive and return children’s reactions are very professional.”

「ルース先生の人柄、芝居の表現、子どもたちの反応を観察し、受け止め、反応する能力はとてもプロフェッショナルです。」

“I noticed the children’s expressions. There was a desire to learn, and a desire to connect with people.”

「子どもたちの表情に気づきました。学びたい気持ちと、人とつながりたい気持ちが感じられました。」

JOEE’s administrators have worked hard to establish a new internationally-recognized bank account where larger donations can be accepted. For corporations who would like to donate directly, they can do so through our MUFG bank account. So far, we have two regular donors who contribute monthly through this website. We are very grateful to these generous souls. Hopefully, we will soon have some government and corporate sponsors to give us a boost! The new JOEE bank account information is listed below:

JOEEの管理者たちは、より多額の寄付を受け付けることができる国際的に認知された新しい銀行口座を開設するために尽力しました。直接の寄付を希望される企業は、MUFGの銀行口座に直接送金することができます。今のところ、当ウェブサイトを通じて毎月ご寄付をくださる定期寄付者が2名いらっしゃいます。私たちはこの寛大な方々にとても感謝しています。願わくは、近いうちに政府や企業のスポンサーが私たちを後押しして下さることを願っています！新しいJOEEの銀行口座情報は以下の通りです：

Bank: MUFG BANK, LTD
Swift Code: BOTKJPJT or BOTKJPJTXXX — From outside Japan

Swift Code: BOTKJPJT153 — From inside Japan

Branch: NOGATA BRANCH

Account #: 153-0405809

JOEE Address: JOEE GIA, 1-11-13 Wakamiya Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan 165-0033

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The tax deductible contribution upper limit here in Japan is: ¥100,000

You can also donate directly to the JOEE Japan Postal Account if you live in Japan:

Name: ジョーイー　(JOEE)

JP Branch Kanji: 〇一八
JP Branch: #018
JP Account: #10100-89960791
Account Type: Ordinary (Fustuu)

寄付を希望される場合は、以下の情報をご覧ください。
寄附金の振込口座
ゆうちょ銀行からの場合
［店名］〇一八(読みゼロイチハチ)
［口座番号］10100-89960791
他金融機関からの場合
［店名］〇一八（読み ゼロイチハチ］
［店番］018
［預金項目］普通預金
［口座番号］8996079

Here is what we hope for the future: To connect with more chiildren’s homes — To train new volunteer teachers from around the world — To find government and corporate funding and sponsorship — To be able to reimburse the travel expenses of our volunteer teachers and buy more teaching supplies.

私たちが将来に望むことは以下の通りである： より多くの児童養護施設とつながること — 世界中から新しいボランティア教師を養成すること — 政府や企業からの資金援助やスポンサーを見つけること — ボランティア教師の旅費を払い戻し、より多くの教材を購入できるようにすること。

Thank you very much for being a JOEE sponsor and helping to spread some joy in this world!

JOEEのスポンサーになり、この世界に喜びを広げる手助けをしてくださって、本当にありがとうございます！

ChofuGakuen volunteer teacher, Sheila W., who has children enrolled in an international school in Tokyo and has worked as a teacher for many years, kindly donated many hours planning and teaching JOEE lessons to children ages two to six. She had some creative and captivating ideas for making English language classes engaging and fun. Take a look at some of her wonderful lesson plans:

東京のインターナショナルスクールに通うお子さんを持ちで、長年教師として働いてきた調布学園のボランティア教師、シーラ・Wさんは、長時間かけてJOEEのレッスンを企画し、2歳から6歳までの子どもたちを指導してきました。彼女は、英語の授業を魅力的で楽しいものにするためのクリエイティブで魅力的なアイデアを持っていました。彼女の素晴らしいレッスン・プランのいくつかをご紹介します：

“I was given a bee puppet to use for my first class at ChofuGakuen so I decided to go all in with a bee theme in my first week. I dressed in black and yellow and wore an antennae headband. I crafted a beehive out of a cardboard box, bubblewrap and pipecleaners. Then, I made bee squishies out of small yellow balloons filled with flour. They felt like stress balls and were easy to throw and catch. I read The Honeybee by Kristen Hall and then we paired up and made our squishy bees fly and dance. We were busy, buzzing bees!”

“調布学園での最初の授業で使うために蜂の人形をもらったので、最初の週は蜂をテーマにした授業にしました。黒と黄色の服を着て、触角のカチューシャをつけました。ダンボール箱とプチプチとパイプクリーナーで蜂の巣を作りました。そして、小麦粉を入れた小さな黄色い風船で、ハチのスクイーズを作りました。ストレスボールのような感触で、投げたり捕ったりするのが簡単でした。そして、Kristen Hallの「The Honeybee」を読んでから、2人1組になって、ふにゃふにゃの蜂を飛ばしたり踊らせたりしました。私たちは忙しくブンブン飛び回るミツバチになりました！”

“The following week, we read the book A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes. This book just begs for the students to become elephants and parade around the room to practice the prepositions of up, down, in, out, over, under.  To get into character, each child decorated a cardstock finger puppet to wear as we marched through obstacles we placed around the room. When the elephants in the book trumpet at the stars, we placed a small star sticker on the trunks (finger) of our little elephants and we made a chorus of our own trumpeting sounds.”

“翌週は、ケビン・ヘンクスの「A Parade of Elephants」という本を読みました。この本は、生徒たちが象になって部屋の中を練り歩き、前置詞のup, down, in, out, over, underを練習するのにぴったりな本なのです。象に成りすますために、生徒たちは一人一人、カード用紙で指人形を作り、それを着けて、部屋中に置かれた障害物をくぐり抜けました。本の中のゾウが星に向かって鼻をトランペットのように鳴らすとき、小さな星のシールを小さなゾウの体幹（指）に貼り、自分たちのトランペットの音で合唱しました。”

“The third week, we started off with a rubber duck scavenger hunt where students had to seek out an assigned number that was found on the bottom of each duck. Then, we read One Leaf Rides the Wind by Celeste Davidson Mannis. In this book, the character counts different objects in her Japanese garden. With each page, each child was tasked with ‘drawing’ the number using a piece of ribbon. It was a fun and rewarding challenge!” — Sheila W.

“3週目は、まずゴム製のアヒルの借り物競争で、それぞれのアヒルの底にある番号を探し出すことから始めました。そして、Celeste Davidson Mannisの「One Leaf Rides the Wind」を読みました。この絵本では、主人公が日本庭園にあるさまざまなものを数えるのですが、子どもたちは各ページにリボンを使って数字を「描く」ことに挑戦しました。楽しくて、やりがいのあるチャレンジでした！」。” シーラ・W 

Our volunteer JOEE teachers follow the basic structure of a pre-made curriculum that begins by teaching the first 100 words that an English-language-learner (ELL) might acquire within the first year of verbal fluency. The teachers can then change and enhance the lessons with their own resources. We are blessed with very creative teachers and are so thankful to have them on our team!

JOEEのボランティア講師は、あらかじめ用意されたカリキュラムの基本構成に沿って、英語学習者（ELL）が言葉を話せるようになってから1年以内に習得すると思われる最初の100単語を教えることから始めます。その後、教師は独自のリソースでレッスンを変更したり、強化したりすることができます。私たちは非常にクリエイティブな教師に恵まれており、彼らをチームに迎えることができたことをとても感謝しています！

Our volunteer teachers at JOEE come from many different countries – Australia, USA, India, Latvia, Jamaica, Norway, along with bi-lingual volunteers from Japan. They serve little kids that have been abused by their parents and are sheltering in care homes.

JOEEのボランティア教師は、オーストラリア、アメリカ、インド、ラトビア、ジャマイカ, ノルウェーなど、さまざまな国から集まっています。日本のバイリンガルボランティアと一緒に活動しています。親から虐待を受け、養護施設に保護されている小さな子どもたちを支援対象にしています。

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We go to the homes with lively, music and puppet-enhanced English lessons that bring these children Joy, along with an educational boost in a world that is already stacked against them. Statistically, children who have grown up in care homes have higher rates of joblessness and suicide that youth with the advantage of supportive homes. JOEE is working to change that by giving these very important children a brighter future.

私たちは、音楽と人形を使った生き生きとした英語の授業で、子どもたちに喜びを与え、不利な状況に置かれている子どもたちの教育を後押ししています。統計的に、養護施設で育った子どもたちは、家庭的な環境の中で育った子どもたちよりも、失業や自殺の割合が高いと言われています。JOEEは、このような大切な子どもたちにより明るい未来を与えることで、この状況を変えようと努力しています。

One of the most important lessons that these kids learn during JOEE lessons is that kind, trusted adults can come from a wide variety of nationalities and ethnic groups. Learning to embrace folks from other countries is a lesson best learned when young and then your world view is being formed. This world-embracing mindset can be a big advantage for them when they launch out into our multi-cultural world in search of jobs and healthy connections.

JOEEのレッスンで子どもたちが学ぶ最も重要なことのひとつは、親切で信頼できる大人には、さまざまな国籍や民族の人がいるということです。他の国の人たちを受け入れることは、世界観が形成される若いうちに学ぶべきことです。このような大らかな世界観を持つことは、仕事や人とのつながりを求めて多文化社会に飛び出したときに、大きなアドバンテージとなるはずです。

JOEE is always looking for generous donors — those who can contribute financially to support our programs and those who can give of their time and teaching skills. Our volunteers are vetted and must agree to a thorough background check in order to enter the care homes as a JOEE teacher. If you are interested in helping out, please contact the Founding Director at the following email address: ruth(at)joee.jp

JOEEでは、プログラムを支援するために資金を提供してくださる方、時間や指導スキルを提供してくださる方など、寛大な寄付者を常に募集しています。JOEEのボランティアは、JOEEの教師として養護施設に出向く前に審査を受け、徹底的な身元調査を受けることに同意しなければなりません。ご興味のある方は、以下のメールアドレスまでご連絡ください： ruth(at)joee.jp

Many of you have heard about my unfortunate accident towards the end of the second day of the 500 km KIWL fundraising ride across Japan. Up until the accident, I was having a grand time, getting lots of exercise and taking in amazing sights.

After the hardest bit of climbing, we rolled into a small town and I stopped at a light, unclipped my right foot, put it down on the ground… then inexplicably fell towards the left where my other foot was still clipped in. Apparently, President Joe Biden had a similar tumble recently but was able to roll with it and brush it off. I was not as fortunate or as graceful. I broke the radius and ulna in my left arm.

My Apple Watch detected a fall and promptly called emergency services in Japan.

“Daijoubu desu ka?” said my wrist with concern. “Nope; not okay. Please send an ambulance!” was the reply from my cycling buddies. My wrist was sporting a new and strange looking angle. Breakage was obvious. Off to the hospital we went in my third ambulance ride ever. (Ambulance rides are free in Japan… in the States they cost about a thousand dollars — talk about adding insult to injury!)

I was in too much pain to cry so I yelled instead. I used my outdoor voice. No one told me to settle down and be quiet. They knew there was more pain to come. Bone-setting is no walk the park. The nurse had to pull on my arm in one direction while the doctor pulled in the other direction. They wore lead aprons and viewed the bone through an x-ray machine while they set it. My job was to yell and hang onto the nurse’s arm. I think I might have bruised her. “You’re a strong woman,” she said afterwards.

Apologies to the nurse. I did entertain her afterwards with a short puppet show featuring a concerned Mehhhgumi. She recorded the skit with her phone. Maybe it will show up on the internet later. Here’s a recording from today, getting ready for surgery:

Sunday, June 19th: Now I’m in the hospital awaiting surgery. A hand specialist will put in a couple of titanium plates to stabilize the bones and speed the healing process. In the meantime, I have continued to work thanks to effective pain pills. Here’s a CT scan of the bone – they’re very thorough here:

After the Break, Work Continued: On Sunday, June 12, I joined the KIWL cycling team for the final ceremony where we met some of the children for whom we were cycling and raising money. They were happy to meet a friendly pig and a sweet sheep. The children and their care home received a pile of new outdoor sports equipment. Then they cycled away on their own bikes as we waved goodbye.

On Thursday, June 16, I was able to teach three classes at Green Hills School with the help of my son, Alec, who is visiting us from the States. He held each grade level in rapt attention as he described the different kinds of “bugs,” a generalized term for insects, spiders, arthropods and even gastropods.

Friday night, we collaborated during the 7pm online class for the children at Harukaen in Chiba. Alec was my “left-hand-man.” By using a wide variety of puppets, we had the kids identify which ones had bones and which ones did not. (They learned that sharks do not have bones, but instead have cartilage.) My most recent classes have incorporated information about bones helped by photos of my ride and my x-rays. Misfortune had might as well be instructive!

On Saturday, I met with the three students that I tutor and we had more lessons about biking and bones. This coming week, I may have to take a few days off to heal.

Thank you, everyone for your prayers and good wishes for a successful surgery and fast healing. If you still want to donate to a good cause, scroll down, use the link below and mention JOEE in the memo. Detailed instructions can be found in the previous JOEE post.

What are some ways to “Get Fit and Give Back?” The upcoming KIWL Palace Walk is one way that you and a group of your friends or colleagues can get some fresh air and exercise while raising money for a worthy cause. Sign up for the Imperial Palace Walk/Jog that takes place on April 22nd and 23rd near the Sakuradamon Station exit. More details provided when you complete the registration. ¥5,000 (or $50 donation for adults) gets you an exclusive T-shirt. The minimum for students is less.

KIWL Palace Walk Sign-Up Process:

1. Go to the KIWL page on the website relating to the Walk. https://www.kiwl.net/events/imperial-palace-walk–jog 

2. Click on “register here.” (Note: Begin at the link above in order to get your t-shirt.)

3. At the bottom of the registration page, there is a link to make the donation. https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/kiwl-2022-events/

4. When that page opens up, click on “DONATE NOW” button.

5. After entering “full name” and “email,” there is a button underneath and to the right — ‘Donate in honor’ which should be clicked on.

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The following screen will appear:

6. Click on ‘no card’ and there you can add “JOEE” under the words, “In Honor Of” when donating. (See example below.)

That’s it! You’re done. Have a lovely walk or run around the palace grounds on a beautiful day in late April. May your steps lead you to many more paths of caring and compassion as you “Get Fit & Give Back.” Blessings on your journey.

Note: If you would like to make a direct donation to JOEE with no running around involved, you can click on the DONATE button to the left on this JOEE webpage.

Ever wonder what goes on inside a JOEE online lesson? Here’s one sample of a lesson that landed on the Japanese festival of Setsubun which is celebrated before the start of spring. This year, Setsubun landed on Feb. 3, the same day as the weekly online Thursday lesson at St. Francisco Children’s Home. “The children want to chase away an oni” said the JOEE helper at the orphanage. “But we don’t have any soybeans.”

JOEEのオンラインレッスンの中身が気になったことはありませんか？今回は、日本の節分にちなんだレッスンの一例をご紹介します。今年の節分は2月3日で、毎週木曜日に開催している聖フランシスコ子供寮のオンラインレッスンと同じ日でした。「子どもたちは鬼払いがしたいんです。でも、こちらには豆がありません。」と、児童養護施設のJOEEのヘルパーさんは言いました。

The JOEE lesson was set to begin in a few minutes, so it was time to brainstorm. First of all, I had to locate a monster…. an “oni.” I found an old costume headband from Halloween that had horns on it. Most “oni” have horns. But what about the face or the head? In homes with a mom and a dad, usually the dad will put on a mask and play the part of the “oni.” The children shriek with delight as the monster enters the house and then “drive out the evil” by throwing dried soybeans at the “oni.”

JOEEのレッスンは数分後に始まろうとしていたので、どうするかすぐに決めなければなりませんでした。まず、モンスター…… “オニ “を探さなければなりません。ハロウィンで使っていた、角のついた古いカチューシャを見つけました。鬼は角があるのが普通です。でも、顔や頭はどうなんでしょう？お父さんとお母さんのいる家庭では、お父さんがお面をかぶって鬼の役をすることが多いですね。子供たちは、鬼が家に入ってくると歓声を上げ、鬼に豆を投げつけて「鬼退治」をします。

“Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” they yell, which roughly translates as: “Evil spirits get out! Good fortune stay in!” The pretend monster goes running away much to the delight of the children, who are feeling quite powerful at being able to drive off a monster with a handful of magic beans.

子どもたちは「鬼は外! 福は内！」と叫び、鬼がそそくさと逃げていきます。一握りの魔法の豆で鬼を追い払うことができたことに、子どもたちは強くなったような感覚を覚え、大喜びします。

So, I had to find a monster mask. Then I remembered the dinosaur head, sitting off to one side of my cluttered teaching studio. Yes, I have a tyrannosaurus head — a gift from an excellent teacher, Mr. Richards, with whom I had previously taught a summer school class… all about dinosaurs. My “oni” would have to be a T-rex with bright red horns.

そこで、鬼のお面を探すことになりました。思い出したのが、雑然としたスタジオの片隅に置かれていたティラノサウルスの頭でした。以前、サマースクールで恐竜の授業を一緒に担当したリチャーズ先生からもらったものです。私の「鬼」は、真っ赤な角の生えたティラノサウルスにするしかありませんでした。

I grabbed a pair of red gloves and a green jacket for the finishing touches to my costume. Now we needed something for the children to throw at the monster. Instead of soybeans, the children would throw tiny rubber ducks… but not at the screen (where the horned dino would soon appear). Instead, we would direct the children to throw the yellow ducks into the air! Yes, we just happened to have lots of little squeaky yellow ducks at the children’s home. We have used them for counting games and for teaching other vocabulary words.

赤い手袋と緑のジャケットで衣装を仕上げました。さて、次は子どもたちがモンスターに投げつけるものが必要です。大豆の代わりに小さなゴム製のアヒルを投げてもらいましたが、（このあと角のある恐竜が姿を現す）スクリーンには投げつけず、空中に投げてもらうよう指示しました。そう、たまたま子供寮には、キュッキュと音の出る小さな黄色いアヒルのおもちゃがたくさんあったのです。このアヒルは、数を数えるゲームをしたり、単語を教えたりするのに使っています。

Why would a dinosaur-oni be afraid of yellow ducks? Well, you’ll just have to watch the video and find out. And while you are at the YouTube channel that posts JOEE videos, why not subscribe and get notified when new videos are posted there? Click here to view part of the Setsubun JOEE Lesson:

なぜ恐竜オニは黄色いアヒルを恐れるのでしょうか？それは、ビデオを見てのお楽しみです。JOEEの動画を投稿しているYouTubeのチャンネルを登録すると、新しい動画が投稿されたときにお知らせが届きますので、登録してみてはいかがでしょうか？節分JOEEレッスンの一部を見るには、こちらをクリックしてください。

Another way to help the JOEE foundation, which brings free, lively English lessons to kids growing up in institutionalized care in Japan, is to send a donation in through the Global Giving link added below. Thank you for caring and sharing!

また、施設に入所している子どもたちに、無料で生き生きとした英語のレッスンをお届けしているJOEEの活動を支援するために、以下のGlobal Givingのリンクから寄付をすることもできます。ご協力ありがとうございます。

JOEE Global Giving Link