未 来 を ひらく 思 い を つ た える

Cover picture： Craft "Spring in full bloom!”
Everyone was waiting for spring to come, and the cherry trees are in full bloom at Kinder Kids!
There are countless ﬂowers blooming on the big and strong trees.
Tulips are also blooming under the trees, and the butterﬂies seem to be happy with the arrival of spring.

26

We can't wait to play outside!

We look forward to
your ideas!
“Hiraku” provides useful informationand the latest news related toEnglish and childhood education.

・Your recent interests
・Topics you want us to cover
・New content etc etc…
If you have ideas to contribute,please share these with us!
“Hiraku” Editorial Department
TEL：06-6135-0150
Mail： hiraku@kinderkids.ed.jp★Kinder Kids Adventure School opens!
★Interview with Parents of Kinder Kids Graduates

Published in
March 2023 Vol.26
Next issue isplanned to comeat the end of May

Kinder Kids Inc.
TEL：06-6135-0150
Pulala Tenma 2F, 3-1 Ikeda-cho,
Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka. 530-0033★Global Transfer Experience ★Successful Examinee File 009★KINDER KIDS Composition Contest ★Renewal of Kinder+

www.kinderkids.com

日本の心と、英語の力。Kinder Kids inc.

Kinder Kids'
New School Opens!

Effects of the Study of Nature on Child Development
While it is important to be good at using digital devices, spending too
much time looking at the screens of smartphones and tablets has been
pointed out to be detrimental to the healthy development of the body andmind. It is necessary to limit the time spent using these devices, and spend
more time talking with friends and playing outside. By spending more timein contact with nature, children will encounter new sights, sounds, and smells,
and their curiosity will be stimulated. Research has shown that daily contact withnature improves self-awareness and the ability to perceive the feelings of others, and it also develops
childrenʼs observation and imagination skills. It is said that the brain is more active and absorbs more
information when the same activity is done outdoors rather than indoors.

キンダーキッズインターナショナル
アドベンチャースクール

K1 students entering in April 2023 will start in"Kinder Kids International Adventure School"
K2/K3 students will remain in Kinder Kids International School Tokyo.
The Adventure School is designed to stimulate children's curiosity.
The spacious grounds are lush with trees, waterfalls, and ponds where children can play to theirheart's content. In April 2023, Tokyo School will launch a new program that will add outdoor

Outdoor Activities at Kinder Kids Adventure School
In the Adventure School, students exercise, interact with plants and animals, make crafts usingstones, branches, leaves, and other items found in nature, and learn science through nature, such ascompost making and building small dams. By developing an interest in the nature around them andthrough teamwork and imaginative play during the outdoor activities with friends, they will be
encouraged to try new things as well as gain self-conﬁdence.

Collaboration with outdoor brand “CHUMS””CHUMS" is an outdoor brand founded in 1983 by a river guide in Utah, USA. It offers a wide
variety of products, from colorful and eye-catching camping goods to practical outerwear andactivities to the existing curriculum, making the most of this natural environment. The philoso-

fashionable kids' wear, and is loved by many fans around the world.

phy of the program consists of three basic concepts.

The Adventure School, based on the concept of learning in nature, andthe popular outdoor brand CHUMS have collaborated to create an

Three ConceptsofAdventure School

HealthWealthGrowthNurture a healthy
body and mind,
which are themost important
things in life

Build a wonderfullife throughfriendshipand love.

Always work hard to
the best of your abilities
and pass on what you havelearned to friends andthose younger
than you.

original backpack.
Designed to be fun to wear while also being highly functional for outdoor
activities.

Message from the Curriculum Director
We are embarking on a "new adventure" to achieve an

Kinder Kids has always provided an education with the hope that children will

education that deepens relationships among friends,

be exposed to nature on a daily basis and develop a sensitivity to the

supports children's healthy lifestyles, and raises childrenʼsseasons.The Adventure School will increase the number of outdoor

learning proﬁciency. Children nowadays are accustomed

activities by about three times, and through the study of

to a life without any inconveniences where they can easily

nature, we aim to develop the following skills.

get whatever they want. We believe that by experiencing(3) Deepen the relationship with nature(4) Experience a sense of accomplishment
through experiences with nature
1

Instagramthe always-changing conditions of nature, children can(1) Ability to overcome adversity(2) Foster independence and social skillsHPovercome mental and physical challenges, overcome fears
Adventure School
Curriculum Director
Ryan Lopes

and stress, and gain the ability to produce better results intheir academics and future careers.
Come on! Join us, and get muddy!

41-20
Higashiminemachi,
Ota-ku, Tokyo2

▶About keeping English skills after graduation

InterviewBecause of the inﬂuence of her older brother, she was considering taking the junior high school entrance examand had been attending cram school and taking other lessons since the ﬁrst grade of elementary school. She
chose to focus on other subjects, believing that the English language skills she had gained in Kinder Kids would
not be lost. As a result, the school that my daughter entered emphasized English and she was able to make themost of her English skills.

with the Parents

How you spend your time is more important than getting into a goodschool. I want my child to become strong, and learn from mistakes
rather than avoid making mistakes.
We interviewed the mother of N.M., a graduate of Kinder Kids Takatsuki
Schoolʼs ﬁrst graduating class who is currently in the ﬁrst year of junior highschool. This interview resulted from a discussion meeting we held with four
mothers of Takatsuki School graduates, and received a lot of feedback from theparents of current Takatsuki School students.
This time, Ms. M spoke on behalf of the discussion meeting members about her
thoughts on Kinder Kids and her daughter's experience with the junior highschool entrance exam.

▶I understand she took the Eiken test at a late age.

R.M.
Mother of N.M.,
a graduate of
Takatsuki School▶Why did you decide to let your tstart learning English when she was a baby?
I wanted to expose her to English from an early age so she would not have trouble in the future with listening andspeaking, which Japanese people are not good at.
I was also inﬂuenced by the information, "The ability to distinguish between L and R pronunciation is determinedby the age of ﬁve”
I thought when she was older she could study abroad, but when I was pregnant with my daughter and saw thesocial turmoil caused by SARS and a new strain of inﬂuenza, I felt that even if she wanted to study abroad in the
future, she might not be able to do so. Actually, that thought became a reality with the COVID-19 pandemic.
I thought that by going to an international school in Japan, she could study in an environment similar to that offoreign schools and also she could learn English with peace of mind, without beingcaught up in the confusion of the world.

▶She transferred from another preschool to the newly opened Takatsuki
School. What attracted you to Takatsuki school and how did you like it?
There are three main reasons why we decided to enroll her in Kinder Kids.

１．The system is designed for Japanese children
In the school she attended before Kinder Kids, she had to follow the foreign classsystem. It was divided into classes based on age in months, and my daughter, who
was born between January 1st and April 1st, sometimes did not have the same
opportunities as other preschoolers in her grade, I was fascinated by the fact that Kinder Kids had theadvantages of both a Japanese preschool and an international school.

２．Adaptability to Japanese elementary schools
Kinder Kids taught her how to behave properly, so I didn't have to worry about it when she went to elementary
school. In fact, when I asked her elementary school teachers about my daughter's behavior and Japanese
language skills, they assured us that there were no problems at all.

３．Children ﬁrst and open to opinions
At her previous school, when I made some requests, they were immediately turned down and not evenconsidered. I thought Kinder Kids' system was almost perfect, I could feel the staffʼs ambition to make theschool even better by putting the child ﬁrst and listening to parents' opinions.Kinder Kids was really just as I
thought it would be and I thought “I wish she had enrolled sooner! I envy parents whose children have taken
lessons starting from Baby Class!"
I heard that Kinder Kids recently established a new elementary school, if it had been opened in my daughter'stime, I might have had a hard time deciding which elementary school to attend. I envy the current Kinder Kids
students because they have more options.

I was certainly anxious because some children in K3 were already taking the Eiken Grade Pre-2 test.
I thought it would be better for her to take the test later, and she decided to take the test in her ﬁrst year of juniorhigh school and could pass the exam just by solving past questions about 3 days before the exam.
Unless your child is planning to take exams that require Eiken qualiﬁcations, it is hard for parents to support theirchildren in taking exams at an early age. If your child is not enjoying preparing for taking the Eiken test, I think it
would be better to delay the test to avoid putting pressure on your child.

▶How did you overcome your daughter's rebellious stage before the entrance exam?
Parents want their children to have a happy future, so they tend to put too much emphasis on their childrenʼsentrance exams.
I researched various study methods, adopted whatever I thought was good, tried the then-popular ”Sato-mama”
method, and enrolled my daughter in an intensive study course for a hard-to-get-into junior high school. She
followed my methods and learned more and more, but she began to rebel because I kept making demands. She
was having a hard time and began to think, "It's hard to do what mom says" and stopped listening to me. I thoughtthat if she continued to rebel, it would be difﬁcult for her to take the entrance exam, so I changed the way I
treated her.
Gradually, she started studying again, passed the entrance exam, and is now enjoying a fulﬁlling student life at
her current school.

《Don't make taking the entrance exam your goal.》
Passing the entrance exam of the target school tends to be the goal, because after
passing the exam, children often lose their motivation for studying, so I think it isnecessary to support them so that they can have goals beyond the exam.

▶How exactly did you treat her?

I tried to raise her self-esteem by praising her. I praised her when she voluntarily
went to her desk to study, when she found her weak points and worked hard tostrengthen them, and so on, I praised her for her efforts and what she was able to
do on her own, even if it was a small thing.

母と娘の心を繋いだホメカ（褒めカード）《I tried to make her think that taking the entrance exam was hard but also fun.》I gave my daughter decorated cards praising her for her hard work, imitating the decorated cards that mydaughter was so happy to receive praising her efforts from her cram school▶Lastly
I do not think there is only one correct educational method, but I often communicate with my children to make anatmosphere where they can easily express their feelings, and I try not to miss any signs from them.
Rather than trying to prevent children from making mistakes, help them to have the conﬁdence to overcome thenegative feelings of frustration, pain, and sadness!
The children will feel safer with their mother and father by their side, so please keep supporting them.

【From Editorial Department】
Since she was a Kinder Kids student, she has been studying hard to
pursue her dreams of becoming a doctor.
She also likes to draw pictures, so she joined the art club and is working
on a perfect copy of an anime character, which she hopes will be useful incommunicating with people from overseas in the future.

Thank you for sharing your valuable story with us.
3

Future dreams written
in the graduation album

4

tudy at a Kinder Kids
Scho
ent to S
W
e
ol A
W
bro
ad!

〜Global Transfer Experience〜
R.Y.（Ibaraki Saito K1）
schoolTransferred to Clarkson

my shyworried about whether
On her first day, I was
ol,
scho
ign
fore
a
to adjust to
daughter would be able
, and I was
hers
teac
the
by
omed
but she was warmly welc
at her new
she immediately fit inrelieved to see that
she continues
if
l
erfu
wond
be
d
class. I think it woul
she metwith her new friends
to exchange lettersenjoy the warm
to
ed
seem
also
She
through Kinder Kids.
she was eating a lot.
school lunch because

Y.A. （Yok oha ma K2）
Transferred to Hawaii school

We tried Global Transfer because
I couldn’t give my son achance to travel abroad during thecoronavirus pandemic.
The school environment was simila
r to Kinder Kids schools
in Japan, so I think that made iteasier for him to getused to the Hawaii school. The
Kinder kids staff were
helpful and supported us startingfrom our preparation
stage. I thought it was quite reason
able to pay only thehandling and transfer overseas fees.

H.A .（T ak at su ki K1）
Transferred to OakvilleschoolOakville was rich innatu re and we had awon der ful
time walking aro und
Lake Ontario and expl
oring inthe bush! The mag nifi
cent natu ral landsca
pe musthave been mind-blo wingfor her.
Oakville see ms tohave strict laws
regardingchildcare, which wasinteresting to me bec
ause itwas quite different
fro m Japa n.

M.K. （Fuk uok a K1）
Transferred to Hawaii school

Hawaii school sent us an email
Before the transfer, a teacher at thens beforehand, which wasquestioin Japanese and I could ask somecry and refuse to go to
mightr
daughtemythatworriedwasgreat. I
trouble going to schoolnohad
school, but from the first day, she
she was reluctant to leave
because
time
great
a
have
to
and seemed
rred school was one of theschool. Probably because the transfe
teacher and became more
the
liked
also
She
.
schools
Kinder Kids
this experience abroad.
after
enthusiastic to speak and write English

For more information about Global
Transfer System, please visit Kinder+.

H.S .（N ag oy a K1）
ool
Transferred to Hawaii sch ure,l cultrelated to the loca
There were events
us.
for
e
yabl
enjo
and
which were interesting
she was taken to see
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sch
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afte
and
On weeken ds
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and
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Please login to Kinder+ and check "Global Transfer"on the contents page. We are also planning to post
Global Transfer journals.

Successful
Examinee

英検合格者 Fi l e0 0 9
E xamine e

SchoolNagoyaTest date(The Third exam in 2021)

Grade

Level 2

Grade at exam

G2

H.H.

Februar y 2 022

My Study Methods

Asked her parents How did you support her?

I’m taking lessons at Grad Club’s After (school)
Class and Saturday Class, and before the Eiken, I
took "Eiken Study for Grade 2 Preparation
Video Lesson". I was busy with other studies
too, so the video lessons were very helpful so I
could study at my own pace and convenience at
home. I also used the oﬃcial Eiken app "StudyGear" to learn vocabulary, because many of thewords in Grade 2 were diﬃcult.I was focusing on
studying English before, but now I started
studying Japanese and math in the evening
group classes. I would like to keep studying
English by using many diﬀerent kinds of methods.

My daughter had other lessons and classes as
well, so we decided not to concentrate on Eiken
too much but to keep studying at her own pace.
My husband and I are both working, so ｗe didn’t
have much time to support her studies. She loves
English, and Grad Club's After (School) Class andSaturday Class helped her to study for the Eiken
and I am very grateful for those Grad Club’s
programs. The writing test and the interview testfor Grade 2 are diﬃcult for children because theyneed to express their opinions and thoughts onsocial issues and current aﬀairs. We didn’t takeany special preparations but talked about current
events in the news while watching the morningand evening news once or twice a week.
I thought it would be better to gradually get used
to talking about social topics and not to be in too
much of a hurry.

What I like about Kinder Kids!
From an early age, I started practicing writing
English at Kinder Kids, and I think that
helped me when I studied for the Eiken test.
I also liked the fact that all the lessons in
Eiken Study were spoken in English. I
often have a hard time understanding theJapanese explanations, but the explanations
in English were easy to understand.

About Grad Club's Eiken Study
You can take online video Eiken
lessons that proceed at the samepace as the ordinary in-person
Eiken group lessons. You canwatch the video lessons as manytimes as you like for 12 days after the posting of the video,
and you can take the lessons whenever you like. You cantake the same lessons as the school lessons from your home.

Asked her parents My advice to friends
We were also reading the past issues of "Hiraku"
and knew that some children were studying hardfor the Eiken. A teacher at Kinder Kids told me,"Even if the parents are not good at English, theirchildren will learn a lot if they like English", which
has always supported me and encouraged mydaughter to do her best. I now realize that wascorrect. I believe that if you keep studying the
integrated programs from Kinder Kids throughGrad Club, you will be able to pass the exam.
6 ［入賞者一覧］

Thank you very much for your entries to the Kinder Kids
Japanese Essay Contest for the year 2022. The total numberof students taking Kinder Kids classes exceeded 1,200. We
have received many positive comments from parents such as,"Since joining the Japanese study class, my child has learned
and memorized a lot of proverbs", "My child can now write
hiragana and she writes Japanese letters to me" and "It is a
Kumiko Shinoda,
Senior Manager, Examinationand Learning Division

The award-winning works
are also posted
on our Instagram.
Please scan the QR code
to visit the posted page.

great opportunity to learn Japanese while having fun in an【Picture Diary Section - Grand Prize】
S . K（. Y o k o h a m a S c h o o l・K 1 ）【Composition Section - Grand Prize】
M . T .（ Y a o S c h o o l・K 3 ）【Picture Diary Section - First Place】【Habataki Prize】

R . I .（ T o k y o S c h o o l・K 2 ）S.O.（Nishinomiya School・K2）

Y . K（. Y o k o h a m a S c h o o l・K 2 ）I.T.（Ibaraki Saito School・K1）【Kagayaki Prize】

R . K .（ K y o t o S c h o o l・K 1 ）the vocabulary of the native language in early childhood isY.N.（Kobe Seaside School・K3）

J . F .（ A s h i y a S c h o o l・K 2 ）useful for learning foreign languages. Keep writing about

K . U .（ S a k a i S c h o o l・K 3 ）Y . S（. T o y o n a k a S c h o o l・K 2 ）what you think and share your experiences and impressions.

S . T .（ O s a k a

B a y・K 3 ）I . W（. T o y o n a k a S c h o o l・K 2 ）T . F（ T a k a r a z u k a S c h o o l・K 3 ）R . A .（ S a k a i S c h o o l・K 2 ）K . F（. Y o k o h a m a S c h o o l・K 3 ）R . M .（ K y o t o S c h o o l・K 2 ）English speaking environment.
In Japanese language classes, children learn a variety of words
through exciting conversations with other children. Increasing【Tweet Prize】
M.Kʼs Dad(Tama Plaza School・K1)

H . H（. F u k u o k a S c h o o l・K 2 ）※”Tweet Prize” is given to a Tweet by a parent/guardian.

”Kinder Kids Japanese Essay Contest" is looking forward to your entries.
Not only children but also their parents are welcome to apply for the "Tweet Prize".

7【Picture Diary Section - Grand Prize】【Composition Section - Grand Prize】

S.K.（Yokohama School・K1）

M.T.（Yao School・K3)【Picture Diary Section - First Place】【Picture Diary Section - First Place】

R.I.（Tokyo School・K2）

Y.K.（Yokohama School・K2）

8

Contents page is also available

from April 2023

New features
will be added to
You can contact and share
more information on

The contents page on Kinder+ provides a lot of useful information,such as learning support videos, recommended picture books, andinterviews with Kinder Kids graduates.

Daily Report① In addition to the temperature report, the "bowel movement"and "breakfast" reports will also be posted.
② The new system makes your submission easier by not only
inputting the message but also allowing you to choose
the answer for the reason for being late.
③ A "Comments" section will be added. Instead of using thepaper communication book, you can send your messages here.

Free magazine forconnecting parents and
KINDER KIDS.

※The information on thecontents page varies
depending on the schoolor the grade level.
＊ If your family has enrolled only one child,the “言語／ Preferred Language” instead of
the “設定／ Setting” appears.

Starting

April

HirakuInterviews with graduates
about their post-graduation
experiences

Interview with Graduates

Online LIVE communication service
that expands children's interests tothe world and stimulates their curiosity.

Mimmy Adventure(external website)

New content will be uploaded.
Please visit and take a look!

School s Email Delivery Tool will change

2023

・・・

From April, the schools will stop sending
emails through “clf” and start sending
messages through “グルプメgroup mail”, aschool-speciﬁc e-mail service that allows you
to receive messages not only by e-mail but
also through an easy-to-use application.
For more information on how
to install the application and※The images shown are theweb pages under development.

Previous Webpage
9

Actual web pages may diﬀer.

※The images shown are
the web pages underdevelopment.
Actual web pages may diﬀer.

sign up to create an account,please visit Kinder+ after April.

Kinder+10