Yochien Home Visit

During a class meeting at the kids' school last week they announced that the teachers would be making home visits and there was a schedule in the packet full of papers we were handed telling us when they would be stopping by.

As you might imagine, we were a little worried at first.  We had NO idea what to expect.  I asked a few friends at church, some thought it was crazy while others thought it was normal.  I just wondered were they going to inspect my entire house?  Was I supposed to make them tea?

Then I thought, well at least I'll have Kurt with me....a bonus of him working from home....WRONG!  He has a crazy work week this week with client visits and the CEO of his company in town from the US.  By Saturday I was in panic mode.  On Sunday, I asked my visiting teacher if she might be able to come over and help translate, but she works during the day and it was pretty late notice for her to ask for the time off.  Then Kurt asked our friend Saori and she was available!!!  She's a Japanese stay-at-home mom with a 2 year old.  Her husband is American so they come to the English speaking branch.  She went to BYU-Hawaii, so her English is pretty dang good too.

So, I spend most of Monday morning cleaning my house...dusting, doing dishes, laundry, cleaning the bathroom, and shutting off my bedroom and bathroom so no one could see it. :)

Logan's teacher came by first.  Logan and Kelsie's teachers couldn't be more different.  I think Kurt nailed it on the head when he said Logan's teacher is more like my sister Becky.  She likes things more orderly and pays a lot of attention to detail.  Kelsie's teacher is more like my sister-in-law Anissa.  A little more fun-loving, makes sure the kids are happy and having fun (which is perfect for the 3 year old class).  Logan's teacher brought up Kelsie needing a name badge sewn on her PE clothes (like all of the other kids had).  She assumed Kelsie's teacher would let us know too, however Kelsie's teacher never even brought it up. lol  Overall, she shared a lot of the same concerns with us about Logan that we had been having.  She can tell when Logan gets bored because he usually comes and starts talking to her.  She said that a lot of the kids want to play with Logan but they are too shy or don't know how to ask them.  His class is particularly NOT outgoing this year. We told her that Logan was working on his Japanese at home, but it didn't seem to be transferring to yochien.  Then just like a good boy he counted to 10 in Japanese right on queue. :)  She was so surprised and happy.  She told him he should do it again at school today (but he told me he forgot).

On a funny note, Kelsie changed her pants in front of Logan's teacher I think a total of 3 times. She just kept laughing.  All I could say was, she likes playing dress-up. :)

She stayed for about 30 minutes, which was longer than the scheduled 15 minutes, but we had a good visit.  Logan and Kelsie made sure to show her their bedroom so I'm glad I took the time to pick it up and at least make Kelsie's bed!!!  The kids are still excited about their bunk beds, so they like to show them off.

Kelsie's two teachers came by next.  They are just two of the cutest little Japanese girls/ladies ever.  Like I said, perfect for the 3 year old class.  They were so happy that Kelsie is enjoying yochien.  Their concern was that Kelsie apparently NEVER goes to the bathroom while at school.  They were worried about her holding it in. Well, she's just 3 and doesn't like to stop playing.  :)  I just told them to watch for when she starts dancing around and then try to take her.  They also commented on how much she likes the swings and how she really enjoyed gymnastics during exercise time.  They stayed their allotted 15 minutes and were on their way.

I'm SO GLAD that Saori was able to come over.  I think the teachers were relieved too.  They called Kurt right before they came over to confirm and were a little worried when he said he wouldn't be there. :)

So, in the end the home visit wasn't a big deal at all (at least thanks to Saori).  Pretty much it was a parent-teacher conference but they come to your home instead of you coming to the school.  I think it is also helpful for them to see where the kids come from and know where they live in case of an emergency.