Cover Picture: Craft "A Tree Where Bugs Gather"

Expanding future possibilities

Amidst the scorching heat, many bugs have gathered on a tree in the mountain.
Cicadas, ladybugs, dragonﬂies, and even caterpillars have arrived.
All of them seem to be having a lot of fun together!

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Summer is hot, but let's have fun!

We look forward toyour ideas!
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TEL：06-6135-0150
Mail： hiraku@kinderkids.ed.jp★Inﬁnity Global Elementary Schoolʼs Inaugural Classʼs Trip to Hokuriku

Published inJuly 2023 Vol.28
Next issue isplanned to comeat the end of September

Kinder Kids Inc.
TEL：06-6135-0150
Pulala Tenma 2F, 3-1 Ikeda-cho,Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka. 530-0033★A Tokyo School Graduate Reunited With Her Former Teacher
at Oakville School in Canada!
★Three Graduates of Takarazuka School Did Their Work Experienceat Their Former School.

www.kinderkids.com日本の心と、英語の力。Kinder Kids inc.

We started our trip by taking the Thunderbird Express Train to Fukui. InFukui, the students increased their appreciation for rice producers by
actually experiencing how to plant rice. That night we stayed at aLearning About History, Geography,and Our Society Through TravelInﬁnity Global Elementary
School s Inaugural Class

beautiful seaside hotel. The next day we traveled to a place in Ishikawa

Trip toHokuriku

called “Yunokuni no Mori”. There we had the opportunity to makeEchizen-yaki pottery and learn about the purpose of Omiyage. That
evening we arrived at a traditional Gassho-style house in Gokayama
Village where we stayed and sang songs by the campﬁre. On the ﬁnal day,we got on the Kurobe Gorge Train in Toyama Prefecture and saw thebreathtaking Kurobe Gorge.
The trip was a fantastic way for the children to grow as a class. Being away
together on the trip helped create a strong bond between the students basedon building mutual respect and understanding. Doing the hands-on
activities of things they had previously studied really solidiﬁed theirstudies, especially the experience of rice planting and making Echizen-yaki
pottery. Staying in the Gassho-style house was also eye-opening for theMay 16-18
Fukui, Ishikawa,Toyama

The Hokuriku region which consists of Fukui, Ishikawa, and Toyama
Prefectures was the ﬁrst destination we chose towards our goal of visiting all
47 prefectures in Japan during the 6 years of elementary school.

Before going to Hokuriku, we talked about what we wanted to learn about Hokuriku, utilizing astudents, as they were not used to having bugs entering their homes! Inaddition to those experiences, the self-conﬁdence that the children gainedfrom being able to stay away from home and take care of their own
belongings, hygiene, and other various aspects of life, is irreplaceable.

method called the KWL chart. This asks the children to consider “What I Know”, “What I Want toUpon returning, the children reﬂected on their ownKnow”, and after the travel “What I Learned”. This learning unit on the Hokuriku area had been

experiences through video diaries. The focus of the reﬂection

specially devised based on the questions the students had.

was on the appreciation for the culture and beauty of theregion. As we continue our journey throughout Japan we will

What is the KWL Chart?

K

What I know

W

What I wantto know

L

What I havelearnedKWL Chart Example

utilize other methods for reﬂection as well.

The KWL Chart is a teaching technique devised to eﬀectively make students
read the materials. It consists of a table with three columns: the K column(What I Know), the W column (What I Want to Know), and the L column (WhatI Learned). Students are encouraged to ﬁll in each column, [K] and [W] as apreliminary study to stimulate their purpose and interest, and [L] as a review
and to clarify the accomplished items. The KWL Chart can also be applied toresearch planning, information organization, and test preparation.

Reﬂecting On This Trip
This was a fantastic start on our journey around Japan.
Most of the children only know city life, and being able to

The students learned about each prefecture, such as where it is located in Japan, and practiced

go out to Hokuriku and experience the natural beauty ofwriting each prefectureʼs name in kanji. We ﬁnished the learning unit by having the children work inJapan was so valuable for them. Before learning about

small groups and give presentations about their areas of interest in Hokuriku (Rice, Gasho-style

rice planting on this trip, most students did not know how

houses, Echizen Yaki, etc.). This was a great way for the children to learn about the area before theyrice is planted, so this was a very valuable experience.

visited to get the most from the experiences they had on the trip.

As we continue to build this course, I am really excited forInﬁnity Global
Elementary School
Lead English Teacher
Mark Palcsak

experiences they have in each of the prefectures. For theﬁrst few trips, we were mainly using the plans created bythem to have more say in what kind of experiences they are interested in. Ultimately I
hope that the children can gain an appreciation for their home country and its place
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Facebookthe children to begin to take more ownership of theprofessionals, but as the childrenʼs knowledge and curiosity grow we would love forPresentation slides created by the studentsHP

1-2-22 Karasugatsuji,
Tennoji-ku, Osaka-shi,Osaka

within the world, as they grow into Global Citizens.
2Meeting After 11 Years Was A Happy Time For BothThe Inaugural Year Studentof the Tokyo School
Studying Abroad in Canada

Her Reunion withHer Former Teacher
K.T. was an inaugural-year student who graduated from Kinder
Kids Tokyo School in 2013. She visited Oakville School in

After the Sports Festival, Stephanie brought K to the brand new Kinder Kids
school in Oakville for a tour. K enjoyed seeing the same workbooks and readersthat she had used as a student and the familiar phonics characters on the wall.
Then they went down to see Lake Ontario and then to Stephanieʼs house tohang out with Stephanieʼs family. Both of Stephanieʼs children attend Kinder
Kids in Oakville, so K had a chance to meet them. The children are the sameage as K was when Stephanie taught her in Japan. While at Stephanieʼs house,
they were able to reminisce while looking at some old photo albums of herclass that Stephanie found. At the end, K said that she had so much fun anddidn't want to leave Toronto, and they promised to see each other again.

Canada in March of this year during her study abroad program

Kinder Kids and Stephanie Greatly
Inﬂuenced My Life

to meet her former teacher, Stephanie.

They First Met at Tokyo School as a Student
and a Teacher.

Whenever I think back to my days at Kinder Kids, I always think of Stephanie's bigMs. Stephanie Good helped to open Kinder Kids Tokyo School in 2010. K.T.

truly a wonderful memory. That stage experience is the reason I continue to dance

smile and the hugs every morning. All the other teachers were cheerful and kind
as well, and I loved them all. The Christmas concert with my classmates is still

was the ﬁrst student at the school, and in the beginning, it was just two ofto this day. I could pass the Eiken Test and was able to take the junior high school

Stephanie taught that class in K1, K2, and part of K3 before she moved backInaugural year student
at Tokyo SchoolK.T.

to Canada to prepare for the opening of Clarkson School in Canada, where

as ﬂuently as before, so I decided to study abroad to regain the feeling of being able to respond quickly likeshe became the principal. Just before Stephanieʼs moving day, K's motherwhen I was at Kinder Kids. I had been surrounded by English-speaking teachers since I was little, so the idea

presented her with a beautiful photo album, which she still keeps.

of studying abroad came naturally to me.I chose Canada because I wanted to see the country where mythem in the class.

entrance exam with fewer subjects than other students, and I had no difﬁculty instudying English at school. However, I started feeling like I couldn't speak English

favorite teacher Stephanie was born, and I really wanted to thank her

After Several Years, K Went to Canada
Where Her Former Teacher Livesin person. That became my greatest motivation for studying abroad.

One day, K sent Stephanie an e-mail informing her that K was coming tome become good at English and was a huge inﬂuence on my life.

Vancouver, Canada go to high school and do a homestay. Stephanie was very
ﬂattered and honored to hear that K chose to study in Canada because it

When I met her, I was so overjoyed and couldn't stop crying. I felt It
was like a miracle that I could actually meet with her again. She helped
Expressing my deepest gratitude in person was the greatest reward of
my study abroad experience. Inspired by Stephanie and CEO

was Stephanieʼs hometown. They then kept in touch to arrange to meet up

Nakayama, I aspire to become a strong-willed woman, in the future,and Stephanie invited K to Oakville School, which opened in 2022, where sheand create an international school that is ﬁlled with love.

"Someday I would like to becomea teacher like you", the message card
written by K when she was in K3.

is currently the principal.

Reﬂecting on Our Heartwarming Reunion

Tearful Reunion at the Sports Festival

It was such an emotional time and was so neat to see life come full circle. ItKʼs visit happened to coincide with the schoolʼs Sports Festival.

seems that I made a big impact and possibly even changed the course of K's

When K arrived at the venue and ﬁnally met with Stephanie, theylife by being her teacher in Japan.

cried tears of joy and Stephanie tried hard to keep it together

I was also very friendly with her mom when K was a child so I hope that they

because she was the MC for the event.

come back again together and visit me.

It was like a dream for Stephanie to meet one of her former
students in her home country. For K, the sports day was very
nostalgic because many of the events and dances were the same as
the ones that K did with Stephanie when she was a student at
Kinder Kids in Japan.
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Stephanie Good,
Director, Oakville School

The maximum period for transferring to our schools
in Canada has been extended to 2 months.
For those interested in long-term transfers,
please consider studying in Canada!
4

I Want to Use English to Help People
in the Future!
I chose to do my work experience at Kinder Kids because I wanted to reunitewith the teachers who took care of me when I was a student, and also to convey

Three Graduates of Takarazuka School Did
Their Work Experience at Their Former School!
Three Kinder Kids Takarazuka School graduates, who are currently second-year students at Takarazuka City
Yamatedai Junior High School, had their work experience at Takarazuka School from May 29 to June 1 (thelast day, June 2, was canceled due to a heavy rain warning). Under the guidance of the teachers, they tookcare of the children of their former school! After the work experience, we asked them about theirimpressions of working at Kinder Kids and to give messages to current Kinder Kids students

Meeting with their K2 homeroom teacher at that time (on the right)

the importance of learning English to the children. I went into the classes withthe children and assisted the teachers. It was so cute that the children came tome and called me by my name!
Kinder Kids
Takarazuka School
Graduated in 2016
M.O.

Through this work experience, I realized once again how much I like English.
Seeing the students smiling and trying various things in English made me thinkthat it is cool to work with such children, and it has motivated me to improve myEnglish skills even more. I now aspire to work in a multinational company where I can use English to helpand connect with people.

Message to Current
Kinder Kids Students
As you continue learning English, remember that it
won't always be just fun and games. There will bechallenges and difﬁcult times ahead. But I want toencourage all of you to never give up. By
overcoming those hardships, you will discover moreamazing and enjoyable experiences that await you.

I Realized Once Again How Wonderful
Kinder Kids Teachers Are!

I wanted to help the teachers who took care of me when I was little, so I

I chose Kinder Kids for my work experience program because I wanted to see

participated in the work experience program at Kinder Kids. During theI Hope to Work With Children!
experience, I helped with tasks like reﬁlling the children's tea, sanitizing theiragain what the teachers used to do for us when I was a student. I had thehands and desks, and making the children line up, and I realized that theopportunity to experience various tasks such as reﬁlling children's tea, putting

teachers' job was quite busy.

them to sleep, sanitizing desks, and playing with the children. But what I realized

I was impressed by how well the Kinder Kids children speak English. I was also

again was how wonderful the teachers are. During the nap time, I tried to put theKinder Kids
Takarazuka School
Graduated in 2016
K.M.

children to sleep, but they wouldn't fall asleep. However, when a teacher took
over, the children fell asleep surprisingly fast, and that deeply impressed me.
I have fond memories of the fun times I had at Kinder Kids, like going on camping

trips and the Christmas concert. Since I started learning English at an early age, I always scored high on
English tests at school. I would like to major in English in the future and be able to communicate withpeople from all over the world. During my work experience atKiner Kids, I truly felt the joy of using English at work, which
made me want to work overseas someday.

Message to Current Kinder Kids Students
I believe that more Kinder Kids graduates will have one
week of work experience at their former schools in thefuture, and I hope everyone who chooses Kinder Kids
enjoys working there. Keep up the good work!
3
5Kinder Kids
Takarazuka School
Graduated in 2016
Y.I.

impressed that when the teachers started to speak, all the children became
quiet and listened attentively. Through this work experience, I was able tounderstand a little better about treating children and how to interact with them.

When I was a Kinder Kids student, I have fond memories of ﬁeld trips and Halloween parties where we allwore costumes. However, I realized that even during such enjoyable events, the teachers must have had avery busy time. I would like to work with children in thefuture, but I realized that I need to study more to make thisdream come true.

Message to Current
Kinder Kids Students
Learning English will lead to many opportunities in thefuture, so I hope everyone at Kinder Kids continues tostudy hard.
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