Drawing Animals.

Today, all the 8th graders went to the Oji Zoo to draw and paint pictures. It was a beautiful day, and a relaxing end to an otherwise busy week (it was also the first time I found myself stopping class because of excessive talking. I crossed my arms dramatically, said, "I'll wait until it's quiet," and then looked at my watch disapprovingly a couple minutes later announcing, "That took entirely too long. Now we only have 3 more minutes for the game. I'm sorry." How did I become all of the junior high teachers I ever had?).

While some of the students are really excellent painters...

...I spent my time with a handful of boys who showed little to no artistic promise. Basically I spent the entire morning and afternoon sitting in front of some cranes. White-naped cranes, to be exact.

And here is what I have to show for it (actual size is like a postcard).

There were also tons of nursery and elementary schoolers there, which made the day totally worth it. So many cute little Japanese kids running around, wearing adorable colored hats, and shouting "Pan-da! Pan-da! Pan-da!"