E x p a n ding fut ure pos s ibilit ies

LE
Now on SA

Phonics Character Goods
Character Strap

Length approx. 10cm Width 2cm

7200yen（including tax） 10

Characters

Busy Bee

Cool Caterpillar

Hungry Hippo

Incredible Iguana

Juggling JellyﬁshMighty Moose

Pilot Penguin

Running Rabbit

Singing Snake

Zippy Zebra

Character
Mini Pouch

Length 16cm x Width 10cm

400yen（including tax）

Available on Kinder + !

Published in
January 2020 Vol.7
Next issue isplanned to comeat the end of March

Kinder Kids Inc.
TEL：06-6135-0150
Pulala Tenma 2F, 3-1 Ikeda-cho,
Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka. 530-0033

www.kinderkids.com

Let s think about children's dietary education!
Staﬀ Spotlight

Message from Grad Club：2019→2020

Get to know Eiken! When is the best time to start?
Tips from an Eiken Grade 1 Successful Examinee!
Japanese Spirit with an International Future. Kinder Kids inc.

Feature
Story

Let s talk about dietary education for children!
Are you familiar with the Shokuiku Basics Act ? A law regarding food and nutrition
education.
This law was enacted in 2005. The law was inspired by a variety of food and nutrition
issues such as a lack of proper concern for food health, an increase in irregular andnutritionally unbalanced meals, and over-dependency on food from abroad. Shokuiku is important to all ages as you are what you eat but is especially important to
the development of children s body and mind. The food children eat signiﬁcantly
aﬀects the function of their brain.
Young children cannot choose what they eat so the food we serve at home or
school must be selected carefully.

What can we do at home?
Eat at the same time every day.
Maintain a good ʻearly to bed, early to riseʼ habit and avoid skipping breakfast.
Shop together with your child and choose what to eat together.
Talk about the nutrition in the ingredients used while having a meal.
Eat in groups and enjoy conversation during mealtime.
Cook as a family.
Talk about seasonal foods.
Teach them how to use a spoon, fork and chopsticks.

What do we do at our school?
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW)
stipulates there should be Promotion of Shokuiku in
Schools and Childcare Centers aiming to help children
adopt healthy dietary habits and nurture growth.
At Kinder Kids we encourage children to;

Preparing to use chopsticks

Step1

exercise enough so they develop an appetite which makes meals taste better.
develop curiosity about food through growing vegetables.
become familiar with many diﬀerent kinds of foods through cooking lessons foundin our Theme workbooks which are connected to the seasons and topics of study.
learn speciﬁcally about nutrition as a topic in their Theme workbook andunderstand the importance of food.
be part of an environment where children discover that eating is fun.

Grasping a spoon with your palm

When children become comfortableusing a spoon, try to ﬂip theirhands over so that their ﬁst isfacing the ﬂoor.

Step2
Hold from the bottom

Next try to hold it like using theends of the ﬁngers, like theywould hold a pencil.

Step3
Holding a spoon like a pencil

1

When a child starts using a spoon instead ofusing their hands, they tend to grasp the spoon
handle and bring it to their mouth to eat, with
their ﬁngers facing down.

Chief Nursery Teacher
Hiroko Takase

Many parents introduce chopsticks or practice chopsticks to their child early,
before they know how to use a spoon properly. Without knowing the proper way touse a spoon, it is more diﬃcult to learn how to use chopsticks properly. Let s startwith teaching children how to hold a spoon correctly and then move on to using
training chapsticks.

2

Feature
Story
K2

Shokuiku × Theme Learning

After food is swallowed what will it do for our body?
Students learn that food provides vital nutrients forsurvival, and helps the body function and stayhealthy. Also, they learn foods are classiﬁed
into diﬀerent kinds of food groups, and theimportance of a balanced diet.

Theme workbooks are introduced from K1 and continued
through to K3. The theme contents are designed to gradually build
knowledge and vocabulary about a topic as they progress through theiryears at Kinder Kids. Students enjoy learning new words and actively
engaging in all sorts of fun topics using their 5 senses.
For example, if a theme topic is Food and Nutrition , children ﬁrst
learn the names of food items, then where they are grown, later how
they are produced and ﬁnally the nutritional beneﬁts of diﬀerent
food groups.
We always make our lessons interesting to stimulate curiosity,for example, using tools that children are familiar with andexperimenting with using them in an unconventional way.
Showing how one thing can become something else witha little imagination keeps them engaged and encourages
innovation.

Knowledge of diﬀerent kinds of foods
Meat, ﬁsh, vegetables, fruit all foods we eat
everyday. Where do they come from? Children
learn about the journey food takes before
ending up on their plates, and about the
many people who work hard so that we
can eat every day.

K1

Knowledge of diﬀerent kinds of foods

Let’s talk more
about foodat home withour children!

Theme
Learning

Nutrition

K3

Foodʼs Journey through the body
What kind of journey will the food that you just ate go
on? We teach students step by step through the
body s digestive system using hands on tactile
activities to embed understanding. Children learn
about their body, how it functions, and learn
about the importance of maintaining it for ahealthy life.
The series of learning opportunities helps
foster interest in food and promotes thedevelopment of a healthy body andmind.

Hands on learning
3

4

Interview

Yokohama
SchoolStaff

Interview

Kyoto

Spotlight

SchoolYokohama School Manager
Tomoko Nakai

Kyoto School Manager
Hiromi Yoshinaga

KT

his is the ﬁrst Kinder Kids school establishedin the Kanto area. Yokohama School is located in a shopping complex called Minatomirai
that is easy to access by car or train. There is a
spacious park just across the street from theschool with lots of trees that change color withthe seasons. Children play in the open space asoften as possible. I am very grateful that our
school is in this location. We plant ﬂowers
around the building with people from this area.
We want to make sure our surroundings are clean
and beautiful.
When I asked Yokohama school staﬀ what do
you like about this school? They overwhelmingly
said we love that this school is so homey! Our
staﬀ has built a strong team ethic that helps
them to solve problems eﬀectively.
I would like to continue in providing high quality
English education with our staﬀ who can bringout the best in all of our students.
Japanese education has various issues to deal
with and the quality of English education is oneof them. Japanese English proﬁciency is falling
further behind other Asian countries. If a childstarts learning English before three years oldthey will be able to acquire it more naturally as
their speech and language development builds rapidly
HP

Facebook

2F Filmee, 5-3-1 Minatomirai,
Nishi-ku, Yokohama-shi,
Kanagawa

5

and they will have an excellent foundation tobuild on.
The ability to speak English unlocks so many
opportunities for our children s future! We arehere to help students English improvement
throughout their childhood, even after graduating from Kinder Kids!

A moment to cherish

Please share a special memorythat you have with us.
I heard from some parents who said that
Kinder Kids graduates tend to be successful
students in their elementary schools. They
like to take on leadership and are not afraidof speaking in front of people!
Also, It makes me very happy to see thestudents development. Students once
enrolled as babies are now all grown up, andnot just their bodies but their English abilities
as well!

inder Kids Kyoto has been here for 10 years
now since it s opening in 2010. We are
surrounded by historical landmarks such as Nijo
Castle and Jinsenen. We are happy to have aschool in this ancient city which is rich in culture
and allows us to enjoy the four beautiful seasons.
We have a spacious entrance hall letting in lotsof sunlight through the big windows. It has arelaxing atmosphere but we can always hear the
staﬀ and children s cheerful voices, musicalinstruments or children s singing - that makes
this a lively place.
In the school yard children can enjoy spinning on
the iron bar or climbing on the play equipment.
We also grow seasonal ﬂowers or vegetables
outside which shows us the journey from seed toharvest.
There is also a rooftop area with artiﬁcial grasswhere children can play when it s sunny andenjoy water play in the summer. All these facilities help children to develop their curiosity andtheir creativity.
Like other Kinder Kids schools, we have a structure that allows us to continuously provide a safeand nurturing environment and English education from baby to post-graduation.Now there areabout 100 students here from baby class to K3!
From the evening, our Grad Club students returnto their kindergarten and continue building their
HP

Facebook

102 Nishinokyo,
Kobori-cho, Nakagyo-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto

English skills and catching up with their classmates and teachers.
Observing children at the school every day, I ﬁnd
that the more love children receive from theirfamily or teachers, the more trust they have in
relationships, making them more conﬁdent inbuilding relationships with other people.Throughvarious activities we communicate openly
together, fostering the Japanese Spirit , promoting English skills and growing wiser together.

A moment to cherish

Please share a special memorythat you have with us.
It makes me happy to work in the oﬃce, I get tohear thank you from all the classes a lot!
Our K2 class was playing imaginatively using abakery shop and a little baker was trying to sell
the bread to a teacher. The child handed thebread to the teacher and said please try thisbread! this bread is made with lots of love!
We were delighted by those warm words comingfrom the imaginary play world. The teacher wastouched so gave the child a big hug, saying
6
thank you so much!

Get to know

EIKEN!

Understand whenis the best time tostart!

Eiken Class
Apply Now!

2020

What level doyou aim to be at?
And when?

Eiken Class
Term dates and application period

Each term has 8 to 9 classes

For details go to
Kinder + or Grad +Kinder Kids is currently accepting applications for the2020 Term 1 Eiken course!
You can judge the age-appropriate Eiken grade fromthe chart below.
Find out when your Eiken test is going to be and apply
for the Eiken course to prepare!

I want to aim forpassing Pre 2 by
the 3rd grade inelementary
school!

S TA RT
I want to aim
for passing
Pre 2 by the time
I graduate
Kinder Kids!

Grade 4

Grade 3

Pre 2

Grade 2

Pre 1

K3

K3

G1・2

G3～

G5～

January

June

K3

K3

Fall Session
October

Winter Session Spring Session

Regular Course

If you aim at
Grade 4, you can
prepareIt is veryknow
at home.
important to
ken
Ei
e
th
what
.
test is likeI want to take
Eiken
Grade 4 class.

We recommend that you begin taking Eiken from Grade 4!
By starting from Grade 4, students can become familiar with
the Eiken test. Celebrate when they pass the test! It will
motivate them to go for the next Eiken test in a higher grade!
7

When should my child start taking the Eiken test? isa common question among many parents.
I want to take the Eiken test in the future but I don t know when thebest time is to start …
I don t want to waste time and money on achallenging Eiken test that is too diﬃcult for their age
Here is the solution to these concerns.

Term 1: Apr.to Jun. Apply Now!
Term 2: Aug.to Oct.
Term 3: Nov.to Feb.

K3

Spring Session
June

Fall Session
October

K3

Winter Session
January

K3

Fall Session

Winter Session

DoubleExamination
for
Grade 4&3

DoubleExamination
for
Grade 4&3

OctoberJanuary

Start inStart ineither, fromeither, fromthe Summer,
the Summer,
Fall, orFall, or
Winter Session. Winter Session.

G1～

Start ineither, fromthe Summer,
Fall, or
Winter Session.

Upper Grade Eiken tests require a teenager s level of knowledge about general social situations.
For young children or pre-teen examinees, not having such knowledge will be a handicap.
Knowing how long the test is or the appropriate age to take a certain grade will have a direct
impact on the success of your child. Learn more about the grade you
aim at through the information website called For Kids available
Eiken Kidson the Eiken association website.
8

Interview

Tips from a successful
Eiken Grade 1 Examinee!
Our successful examinee is currently a high school grade 2
student who graduated Kinder Kids Toyonaka School as partof their 8th graduating class.
After graduating Kinder Kids, she went to a public elementary schooland junior high school, then moved up to Senri International
School of Kwansei Gakuin High School. While she fully enjoys her school life,
being busy with studying, overseas study, and volunteer activities, she passed
Eiken Grade 1 in October 2019.

ー Please tell us about Eiken tests you took in the past.

I passed grade 3 when I was in grade 3 at my elementary school, and passed
grade Pre 2 and Grade 2 when I was in grade 4 at my elementary school. When I
was in grade 3 in my junior high school, I passed pre 1. Then, I passed Grade 1
last October when I was a grade 2 high school student.

ー How did you study for Grade Pre 1 or Grade 1?

I studied with workbooks for Grade Pre 1 or Grade 1 and I listened to the Newsin English more than I normally would.

ー What workbooks do you recommend?

I recommend 7 days-complete workbook by Obunsha and Yumetan .
Yumetan has a good balance of content and it was not too easy or diﬃcult.

ー Which form of study did you feel was most worthwhile?

Writing practice by writing a long essay about a certain theme and listening
practice.
My English teacher tells me what theme I should practice writing about.

ー How was the second stage (interview) for the Grade 1 test?

I picked a theme Religion and Media from ﬁve themes that were presented. I
made a statement about the theme and an interviewer asked me some questions
about it. I remembered that I was nervous about making a statement which wasoﬀ topic.

ー What do you want to tell students who are aiming to pass Grade 1?

How much you are exposed to English on a daily basis is important. You can ﬁnd
many rich English study resources on Youtube. Find your favorite English videos
and watch them for fun. Watching English videos without subtitles that you canenjoy can improve your English skills without feeling like you are studying! Good
luck in your test!
It seems like using Youtube to increase exposure to current social problems
in English helped her in the second session of the interview. It made it clearthat being always curious about what is going on in the world and having an
opinion about it is an important factor for passing the Eiken test.
9

Messagefrom Andy

Grad Club
Andy Usher

As Kinder Kids approaches its twentieth anniversary
we would like to take this opportunity to reflect on anotherfun and exciting year for those students who stay as partof the Kinder Kids family through their Grad Club membership.
At the start of this school year, April 2019, we were very
excited to welcome back all of our students and welcome allof our new members who joined after graduating K3.
The summer of 2019 was the tenth anniversary of ourAustralia tour and we decided to try a new location.
With our largest ever group of students from Kansai,
Kanto and Nagoya we headed to the Sunshine coast for atruly fantastic trip. Not only did the students get toexperience living and studying in Australia, they also got
taught how to surf, fed kangaroos and had theopportunity to hold a koala.
Last summer, Grad Club also introduced a newopportunity for some of our older students.
For the first time, students were given the chance
to join our volunteer program and visit our
Kinder Kids charity school in Cambodia.
Another highlight of this past year was
the Grad Club speech contests.
To see students writing, learning and deliveringspeeches in their second language
is always a delight.

2020

2019 was another proud year for all of us
involved and we would like to thank every one ofour members for making every week and every
event a memorable one.

Andy Usher
You can see all of theGrad Clubʼs activity on
our Facebook page!

New program!
Summer Campin Okinawa ★
We will update the details
on the Grad Club
website as soon as it isready! Stay tuned!
Date : July 27th - 31st*schedule may change
participants: G2-3
10