childcare centre
childcare centre :Hello, world,
This is what a Japanese daycare is like.
Nursery School, or hoikuen, care for kids from ages zero to six.
Arrivals
Before you even enter childcare centers, you'll notice a difference right away.
Transportation
The most popular method of transportation is probably the bike. In Tokyo, the land is expensive, and the population is dense, so even if parents wanted to, it'd be a gong show if the majority used vehicles to drop off and pick up their kids. Some schools do provide their own buses though.
Upon entering school, parents sign in.
This facility has an electronic sign-in system, but this is not necessarily the norm for all of them. A must, as in many places in Japan, is to take off your outdoor shoes and then wear indoor ones.
It's such a fact of life that you can see
the speed and ease in which some can make the transition. Every kid comes with a childcare centre diary,
called an ikkuji nikki.
In here messages between teachers
and parents can be sent, as well as daily records for how the child's day went.
For the earlier arrivals, children are all
ushered into the same room, no matter the age. As the morning progresses and more arrive, the kids start separating into their respective classes. The reverse process happens at the end of
the day, as more and more kids go home.
While young kids may have their parents put away their belongings in a cubbyhole, older kids will do this on their own. As the kids get older, they naturally get
more responsibility. Every time kids move from one room to another, they thank the people they were with and in response are told: "You're Welcome."
Ok, attention. Let's do the greeting.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome!
Kids, being kids, jump around quite a bit.
I want to get there fast. Okay, sometimes adults like to jump around
as well. But at certain times of the day, they are taught to prepare for the task at hand.
If the whole group isn't ready, nothing happens.
Once it's been established that everyone is set to go, the kids can once again be free to bounce
around as they go about their day.
At the start of the day, while kids are still arriving, there are free play activities. There are lots of toys and games to play with. There are also books and art supplies that
can be used. This is a time where kids can do whatever
they like.
3, 2, 1, go.
Craft time
It's now craft time. On different days there will be different
crafts,
but today these kids will be working with clay, which in nendo in Japanese. Every kid owns their own set,
complete with tools and moulds. Some of what they produce is quite impressive,
much better than I could do!
Cute. Your cat is cute.
In another class, these children are working with paper and glue to make what I can only assume
are telescopes.
Facilities
This school is a bit unique, with all its colours and design. Most schools will look more like this
on the outside.
However, what is the norm is to have mini-bathroom facilities like this, perfectly sized for the children.
As with entering the school, going into the bathroom also requires different footwear.
This girl was kind enough to show me how it's done. This is what a traditional Japanese wash station
looks like, and if you go to any elementary school in Japan, you'll find less colourful
sinks just like this.
This school also has a rock climbing wall and a big gym area to play in.
I don't think this is standard at all. Most schools have climbing equipment outdoors. And speaking of equipment, students will often visit local parks.
Here's kind of what the parks look like. And here's what a typical group of
students will look like
when traveling outside their school. Coloured hats make it easy to identify the
kids.
Music
Mah, mah, mushrooms. Mah, mah, mushrooms.
They won't, won't, won't, won't, walk like this.
Mah, mah, mushrooms. Mah, mah, mushrooms.
They won't, won't put their arms out.
Music is an important component in child care.
Where's your spot on the pink line?
Where's your spot on the red line?
All teachers in childcare centre know how to play, and songs are used not only for preparing kids for the day and new activities,
but also as a part of dancing, games, and music education.
Good morning teacher, good morning everyone.
Flowers are also smiling at us.
Good morning, good morning.
Morning greetings. Good morning teacher.
Good morning everyone.
Children are also taught to play musical instruments themselves.
The standard equipment that all kids learn is melodic, also know as pianaca. Each kid owns and takes care of their own instrument.
The school also owns a selection of instruments that the kids get a chance to play. The kids will practice and then show off their skills at a pageant to be held for their families.
Kyuushoku, school lunch
Facilities of this size, whether they're private or public, will have a nutritionist design
the meals and prepare the food. All the food is made fresh and in-house. As the kids are busy playing and learning, the cooks prepare the food throughout the morning.
When the food is ready, trolleys are packed and sent off to classrooms.
For the younger children, teachers will act as servers, dishing out the food and carrying it to them.
As the kids get older, they will take on more responsibility for getting their food. And when they get to elementary school, kids will be the ones responsible for dishing out the food as well, but at this age, the teachers will still do that for them.
There's a sort of ritual around eating food. They'll do some singing or have a little speech. Everyone, let's eat together.
Please eat. Helpers, please eat.
School lunch, school lunch, I'm so happy.
My hands are also clean.
Let's greet altogether.
School lunch, school lunch, I'm so happy.
We will eat everything and chew properly.
Let's greet altogether.
Put your hands together. Let's eat together.
Please eat. Helpers, please eat.
The older kids have to wait until everyone has food before they can eat. Everyone in childcare centre eats the same food,
even the teachers.
Kids make a mess
When kids make a mess, they have to clean it up by themselves. Although, they can get a helpful hand from
the teacher.
Today's dessert was an apple slice, and there were a couple left over.
So the kids lined up to play a game of Jan-Ken-Poi, to get the remaining slices.
Wow, this teacher's game is strong! All the apples are gone.
Thank you for the food.
Once the food is finished, the older kids will clear their tables and put away their dishes
in an orderly manner.
Nap time childcare centre
These are what the sleeping in childcare centre cots look like in this school. Kids are responsible for bringing home and cleaning their own sheets at the end of the week.
The same goes for other supplies like their handkerchiefs and shoes.
Going home
While I didn't capture what it's like when the children go back home, it's quite the same as arriving, but in reverse. Sounds quite obvious now that I say it.
The school or childcare centre doesn't have janitors so the teachers will be responsible for cleaning the bathrooms, floors, windows, and well, everything that the kids don't put away or clean themselves. Special thanks from Teach Child Easily to you.
