Ikebata’s Summer Sleepover is an extremely popular program available to students aged 4 and up, as well as to former students who are attending the Summer Camp.
They will stay at the Nursery from Friday night to Saturday morning and enjoy the end of August with their friends.
The Summer Sleepover program starts immediately after the end of the Nursery program on Friday – the children will prepare their own dinner, rolling their own hand-rolled sushi and cooking miso soup.
After dinner, when it gets slightly dark, the children will be divided into groups and participate in the Camp Fire and the Treasure Hunt.
They will “explore” the Nursery building, walking in the dark to the furthest classroom where the hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered.
They get to take the treasures home as souvenirs commemorating their bravery.
The children also get to eat roasted marshmallows, sing songs and play games around the Camp Fire.
At the end of the long day, they brush their teeth, change into their pyjamas, and will gather for the photo shoot in pyjamas.
The teachers will tell them a story and go to bed… of course, some of the older children are often too excited to go to sleep, and continue to whisper to each other under the blankets.
It is actually remarkable that the children still manage to rise very early the next morning!
They change, tidy up their blankets and sleeping bags, and get ready for the pancakes & sausage breakfast.
The final event of the Sleepover is Suika-Wari (watermelon crushing game) where the children try to smash a watermelon with a bamboo stick while being blindfolded.
Successful or not, each child will get a slice of the watermelon to wrap up the Sleepover program.
Ikebata Nursery issues a certificate with the group photo at the end of the program to show that the child managed to spend the night without their Mom and Dad.
Ikebata’s graduates often talk about the Summer Sleepover as one of the most memorable time at our Nursery, which makes us smile.