Kakinomi Kindergarten is a very large scale kindergarten with about 1,400 children. Within its broad premises that stretch in the mountain (almost the whole mountain), there are children’s workshop “Atelier Kaki-no-mi (persimmon),” play-area with underfloor maze and a large slide next to the slope which they can go all the way down the hill. A new kindergarten called “Yumenomori” Kindergarten, which is run by the same organization, will be open 5 minutes away from Kakinomi Kindergarten. Mr. Shinichi Yano, the representative of the “Atelier Kaki-no-mi”, applied for the project and two seedlings from the bombed tree were going to be planted in the premises of the new kindergarten.
About 25 newly enrolled children who were looking forward to the new kindergarten, their parents and staff members attended the tree planting ceremony held in the woods. After speeches given by the director of the kindergarten, Mr. Ebinuma and Tatsuo Miyajima, the picture-card show “Persimmon parent and child” was performed. It was performed outside without any proper platform stage by a teacher who was once a director of a kindergarten and the kids were all absorbed by it. Being watched over by a lot of participants, 6 boys on behalf of the children cover the seedling with soil. The planting site was on the steep slope and those boys did a very good job though at times almost slide down the slope.
After the tree planting, the workshop “Let’s draw a line in the air. Let’s play with wind” for 25 kindergarten children was conducted by “Atelier Kaki-no-mi.” Children tied on end of (suzuran?) tapes in various colors round the trees and held the other end and walked around the woods. Children who went far or went up the mountain slope tied their tapes around the trees they found on the way. As time went by, there were a number of colorful lines of tapes running in the woods and they made an interesting sound as they flapped in the wind. It was a very nice installation. It was a bit pity that the work did not remain there, however, it was a memorable workshop as children seemed to be enjoying very much.
