Usually I have a big stigma about going to schools when it’s so cold, and I’ve think I’ve figured out why. Today was actually really nice, waking up in a warm hotel with breakfast, but I guess my mind keeps thinking back to the days of the GenkiMobile ( the 1975 VW Campervan used in the year 2000 Genki Tour) when it was a case of wake up cold, get dressed cold then go to a very cold school! So I was in a very good mood this morning, even though I got up really early to send off this month’s English newsletter ( very nice game, can’t wait to try it out!).

Today’s three schools were also very, very good. Eventhough the first graders weren’t allowed to join the second school’s show ( because not all the teachers believe in having their students exposed to foreign languages!), all the other kids were really, really good. And I really felt sorry for the kids who couldn’t join. The new CD1 software ( we’re looking at a Dec 1st release date) also worked really well, but the kids were laughing to much at the Left & Right song they nearly forgot to sing! But a quick “ah, the kids in Kyushu were much better” and they were all shouting out “try again!”. We even did encores after all the shows and in the last school they were shouting for an encore of the encore! The press were also in attendance so it will be cool to she what they write tomorrow.

Afterwards we were chatting about the shows and saying it would be cool if the kids had something to take home so they could check out the website and practise at home. At the same time we also had to stop the kids asking for autographs as the time between each school was really short. So we hit on the idea of giving the kids signed cards with the URL on! Which is a brilliant idea, and I wished I’d have thought about it earlier. So what I’ll do is I’ll put the Rock, Paper, Scissors and What’s your name? animations on the kids page for a few days after each show so the kids can practise at home.

Then in the evening it was out with a very interesting bunch of people who are doing financial awareness projects for schools. Very interesting!