Yochien

Yesterday we decided to check out the Elementary school next to the apartment we like.  The school is literally a block from the apartment!  Logan will easily be able to walk by himself once he figures out which classroom he is supposed to be in.  Anyways, when we arrived at the school one of the custodians grabbed one of the administrators for us to talk to.  She was super nice, but knew VERY LITTLE English.  Kurt spoke to her in Japanese, but she still had a little trouble so she went to find a teacher who spoke some English.  We visited for a while and figured out that Logan wouldn't be attending school there until a year from this April (April 2013).  I knew that you couldn't start 1st grade until you were 6, but I didn't realize that the Kindergarten was on a totally different campus.  So they directed us to the closest Yochien (Kindergarten).

The Yochien is a little farther walk than the grade school, but not bad at all.  We do have to cross a main street, so the kids won't be walking themselves, but that's ok.  The Yochien we visited is a Christian-based school which we liked.  Kurt mentioned he had been a missionary in Nagoya and she said maybe he could come speak at one of their religious assemblies that have once a month.  School starts at 9am and ends at 2pm.  They also accept 3, 4, and 5 year olds.  Logan can start in January after we move and Kelsie can start attending in April at the start of the new school year.  I've been going back and forth whether to start Kelsie this year or next year, but since we're only going to be here for 3 years we're leaning towards starting her.  Plus I think it would be fun for the kids to go to school together, even if just for one year.  Yochiens do cost money, just like our preschools in the US.  The one we attended seems to not be too pricey, actually pretty close to a lot of preschools I've seen in the US.  Kurt's company has offered an educational allowance, but I'm not sure if it counts towards preschool or not.  (Something we need to look into.)  


Overall, we were really impressed by the teachers and administrators we met.  They were very excited to have our kids in their schools.  Apparently it adds some prestige to have Americans in their elementary schools.  I'm sure it will be rough (especially for Logan) at first, but I know they'll end up loving it.  They can be my little translators. :)