What does the dojo look like at night?
Sleepovers at the dojo are one of the children’s favourite events – this time we combined groups of 8–10 year olds and 10–13 year olds. And according to the kids, it turned into one of the best sleepovers they can remember.
Traditionally, we had pizza for dinner and watched a movie (the kids chose Lemonade Joe). Of course, we also practiced aikido. Some of the training was done by the older ones with the younger ones – it was great to see the older ones taking on their role and trying to help the younger ones. On the other hand, the end of the training sessions were split. The older ones had a chance to practice with assistants in the style that the youngsters practice, and the younger ones practiced with their new friends from the other group. The most successful activity of the whole sleepover, however, was a small game that we played continuously throughout and the reward was sweets from Japan sent to the children by our former teacher, currently living in Japan.
The sleepover was also a great chance for the three teachers and three assistants to chat, share ideas and have fun. We all had a great time and the time passed incredibly quickly.