Arno on stage

Arno's school, Willowbrook, held its "spring show" yesterday at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, and our 4-yr-old son was very proud of his performance.

His class did a short theatrical rendition of the "Little Red Hen." Arno (in the light gray shirt) was one of three narrators and he memorized his lines and grabbed the microphone like a pro. Then he skipped and leaped around the stage to celebrate, well, himself!

It's a dual-language class and they sing two songs in Japanese. The third (and last) song, with hand movements, is one of Arno's favorites. The English lyrics are:

"Love is something that you give away, give away, give away.
Love is something that you give away - and it comes right back to you.
Just like the magic penny, hold on tight and you won't get any!
Lend it, spend it, give it away, and it comes right back to you."

New songs

We have some new songs to show:

First, Lucinda sings a song for Hina Matsuri, Japan's Doll Festival or Girls Festival. She learned it in her Japanese class at Nishimachi.



About.com tells me that the song is "Ureshii Hinamatsuri (Happy Hinamatsuri)," and that the lyrics are:

Akari o tsukemashou bonbori ni
明かりをつけましょう　ぼんぼりに
Ohana o agemashou momo no hana
お花をあげましょう　桃の花
Go-nin bayashi no fue taiko
五人ばやしの　笛太鼓
Kyo wa tanoshii Hinamatsuri
今日は楽しいひな祭り

Let's light the lanterns
Let's set peach flowers
Five court musicians are playing flutes and drums
Today is a joyful Dolls' Festivalｌ

And here's Arno with a very brief rendition of "Zousan", or Little Elephant. He pronounces it "Do-o-san" and refused to sing the rest on camera.