Let's Exterminate the Oni in Our Hearts!!

February 3rd, Setsubun Day.

Do you all do anything special at school?

I remembered a cute activity I was taught by a veteran teacher when I was in charge of lower-grade students, so I would like to share it with you today😊

On Setsubun, I talk to the children like this.

"Today is Setsubun. I'm sure you all know it's an event where we throw beans to drive away oni. Today, we are going to write down the oni in our hearts that we want to get rid of and defeat them!!"

I say this and hand out drawing paper.

This is an image of what the paper looked like.

How to proceed

1. Write the name of the oni you want to defeat. You might write things like Crybaby Oni, Forgetful Oni, or Grumpy Oni. It was truly adorable to see them each writing what they thought of♡

2. Color the oni. In this example, it is already colored, but since the original oni had no color, they each colored it as they liked😊

3. Write in detail about the thing you want to defeat that you wrote in step 1. Example: Crybaby Oni. I want to defeat the crybaby oni because I cry immediately when something unpleasant happens!

And the star of the show is the individually wrapped beans served with school lunch.

4. Stick these oni papers on the blackboard one by one. Then, throw the individually wrapped beans at the oni about three times!

5. When a child is finished, they pass the baton to the next child, who then sticks their own drawing paper with the oni they want to defeat onto the blackboard and does the same as in step 4.

It might seem like a very simple thing, but the children really enjoy doing it✨

At the time, when I switched from teaching upper grades to lower grades and tried this activity, the children were so excited and having so much fun that it was just too cute, and it warmed my heart so much, haha.

In conclusion

What is it about the cuteness of lower-grade children... haha. When they were thinking about the oni they wanted to defeat, when they were coloring the oni, and when they were tapping the oni's face with the beans, I feel like every single moment was adorable♡ Please make sure to have them say "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (Oni out! Luck in!) while they do it😊 My own father used to play the role of the oni on the day of bean throwing, but perhaps in today's busy world, there are some children who have never done bean throwing at home.

I have included the oni worksheet below, so teachers who need it, please download and use it! Try to provide as many experiences as possible during events... Please spend a heartwarming time with your children✨