Pysanky Workshop at Seikei Elementary School

The children learned basic facts about Ukraine—its location on the map, capital, regions, and the meaning of the Ukrainian flag—while comparing these national symbols with those of Japan.

Due to classroom capacity and the nature of the activity, participation was limited to 16 students. However, 70 children applied, and the participants were selected by lottery. This remarkable interest, together with the children’s enthusiasm and excitement during the class, made the workshop especially meaningful.

We created pysanky together using electric kistky purchased from The Ukrainian Gift Shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shop was founded in 1947 by Marie Procai, who had immigrated from Ukraine to the United States as a teenager around 1912, and her daughter, Luba Perchyshyn, who was born in Minneapolis on October 10, 1923. Today, it remains a historic family-run business specializing in pysanky and traditional pysanky-making supplies.

The children enthusiastically created beautiful and individual pysanky.

Ukraine House Japan is sincerely grateful to McKenzie-sensei and David-sensei for their kind invitation and for giving us this wonderful opportunity to share Ukrainian culture with the children. Their warm support and fruitful collaboration helped make the workshop a joyful and memorable experience.

See photos from the workshop on Seikei Elementary School’s Instagram