Kindergarten to elementary school…
School life in Japan
Coming to Japan was very voluntary and we were so excited for this new journey. Over the course of two years, Loren and I planned out what living in Japan might look like for our family. Through prayer and council, we worked out decisions that would embody our purposes for moving to Japan and began to see how living in Japan might press into our lives. One of our big decisions was committing to send our kids to local Japanese school. As we were preparing to leave, we were told that we were the first American Denso expats to make this choice, with the majority of expats sending their kids to international school. We chose to be intentional about diving deep into the culture, knowing we were very blessed to get the opportunity to live in Japan.
Our six-year-old Avalyn attends first grade at the local elementary school near our home, with Sonia and Catalina attending a Yochien (a type of kindergarten for 3-5 year olds) down the road. In general, there are not any “Japanese as a second language” type environments in Japanese school- you either speak Japanese or not. There are few foreigners in Japan and we are not in a major city, which makes us fewer still. We were also told that administration and teachers may see it as extra work to teach a child who does not speak Japanese. Thankfully, we met with the schools on our first visit to Japan and both were very open to having the girls attend and were very friendly. None of girls have teachers who speak English, but there is one American student in Avalyn’s school and a third-grade teacher who speaks some English. Sonia and Kitty are the only Americans at the yochien school, with one staff member speaking some English. Thankfully, I have met a few mothers who speak some English as well. I am not sure what I would have done without all of their help, like when we attended Avalyn’s first grade entrance ceremony that included an hour of instruction afterwards in Japanese or when I had to find a bozi zuki (earthquake hat).
So far, Japanese school has been very different from school in America. There are the obvious differences, like the language. The girls will be learning two phonetic alphabets of 46 characters each (katakana and hiragana) and also some Chinese ideographic symbols (kanji), with their schoolbooks reading back to front and top to bottom. School is essentially year-round, April to March. The average class size for the first-grade classes are 35-37 students. They have all the usual school subjects and also some neat things like sewing and gardening. I have heard that they teach a national curriculum, so no matter which first grade class you are in across Japan they are teaching the same exact material with the same school books, supplies and activities. I can tell that Japan highly values education and that school is very important. The teachers and administration are very organized and are strict with routine, in general it seems every rule is followed. School also seems to be a very serious matter and people take pride in the school and their students. I do not exactly fit into this mold, and I have already received a few phone calls correcting me on this or that matter (like making sure the kids bring a water bottle to school everyday). It also amazes me how they use regular sewing needles and scissors (no plastic kid scissors) and name tags with safety pins, fostering responsibility and trust. All of the school items provided for the girls have also been really nice- math sets, gardening sets, paint sets, school books and musical instruments. The kids (and parents) are expected to take care of everything and some of the items are to be used for multiple years (the backpack will be used through every year of elementary school). They also do not have janitors in the schools here, everyday the kids clean the school themselves inside and out.
Like most children in Japan, Avalyn walks herself to the park by our house to meet her walking group. Together they all travel to the school, which is about five blocks from our house. I walk the younger girls to school and they take a bus home. The girls seem to be doing pretty well. I can tell that Avalyn has a harder time, but she says her favorite part of the day is lunch. Everyday the whole school eats the same hot lunch (whatever is on the menu for the day set by a school nutritionist) in their classroom with their teacher. Avalyn doesn’t wear a uniform, but she has a gym uniform, a specific school backpack, indoor shoes, and multiple hats and other items. Another big difference from America is the number of items they need for school and the amount of prep work Loren and I put into gathering and labeling all the items. At times, it reminds me of the military and entering into junior high and high school I believe all students wear uniforms. I have also learned the schools conduct very thorough health checks for all students including, urine screens, dental exams, vision screening, and even EKGs for the heart. All health care in Japan is free for kids, but most of the preventative checks are done at school.
Kitty and Sonia are at a private Catholic school and wear a uniform. I think it is pretty awesome (and we heard rare) that they get to go to a Christian school and they will even participate in a Christmas play. It is a beautiful mix of Japanese and Christianity, everyone is so kind and polite. Kitty is noticing how the Catholic pray differently and she now knows the Japanese word for God, “Kami Sama”. The younger girls get two days of hot lunch, two days of a home packed bento box, and Fridays are rice ball days to remember the poor. My rice balls are not authentic, but they like them anyway. Greetings are also big here and every morning the girls greet a staff member at the door and also are walked off the bus to bow and say goodbye to the bus staff.
I just now understand the reason for entrance ceremonies in Japan. Often children have to pass an exam to enter into school (kindergarten, then 1st grade, high school entry, etc), so in Japan it is more common to have an entrance ceremony rather then a graduation. Kitty and Sonia had an interview to enter kindergarten and the ceremony was to celebrate their entrance and acceptance into the school. In general, the school days and the school year are longer here in Japan. The children and teachers spend a lot of time before and after school in extracurricular activities and if you are on the sidewalk in the evening you are passed by hoards of students riding their bikes home just in time for dinner.
There are so many cool and interesting things about school life in Japan and the kids are learning so much. Catalina is learning how to perform a Japanese tea ceremony and Avalyn is practicing for sports day (a big event that the whole community attends). It has been hard work for all of us, but we do not regret the decision. Here are some you tube videos to learn more. Thanks for reading! Continued prayers that we stay organized, patient and learn the language quickly.