English pronunciation of Shichi-go-san::
"Shi" as in "she"
"chi" as in the first part of "chicken" or "cheese" (vowel pronounced slightly shorter than "cheese," but longer than chicken)
"go" as in "Go ahead!"
"san" as in "sun"
Altogether, "She-chee-go-son"

"Shichi" means seven, "go" means five and "san" is three in Japanese.  In November, we celebrate the growth of our children by dressing up 3 and 7 year-old girls and 5-year-old boys in fine clothes (usually traditional Japanese costumes), and take them to shrines.  Afterwards, people usually go to restaurants or serve festive meals at home, but the kind of food will vary by each family.  Some might eat sushi, another might go to an ethnic restaurant (French, etc).  But it's an occasion for families to get together, including grandmas and grandpas.

When my son, Hibiki, turned 5, we took commemorating pictures and went to a shrine.  If you introduce his picture (below), you should also inform the children that Japanese people nowadays wear western style clothing daily, and Kimonos and special dress (like my son is wearing) are for special occasions:

Hibiki

Activities:
From Stormie:
Creative Drama: After introducing this special event to the children in your class, provide special dress-up clothes for them to wear during Free Choice Play so they can pretend to have their own Shichi-go-san Festival.
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