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

P.10

Letʼ s make a 4-panel cartoon
Examples of quotes
1. Oh, Look! Acorns!
2. Letʼ s collect them all!

12

3. Huh?
4. Haha! See you!

We have sent out presents
to the winners!

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…
From the participantsin our Hiraku survey,
we have chosen 50 winners
and sent out presents to them!
Congratulations toyou all!

Published inNovember 2020 Vol.12
Next issue isplanned to comeat the end of January

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

www.kinderkids.com

Results from the Kinder Kids & Grad Club surveys
Staﬀ Spotlight

My Stepping Stone

English Speech Contest 2020

Let s make a 4-panel cartoon
Japanese Spirit with an International Future. Kinder Kids inc.

＊ Disregard everything after the decimal pointQ.

Kinder Kids

Results from our survey asking
how we, Kinder Kids, can improve
our school management

Slightly
DisagreeCompletely
Disagree7％

Reading
Abilit y
Writing
Abilit y
Speaking
Abilit y

39 ％

52 ％

Roughly

Roughly

Strongly
Agree

Roughly

80 % of respondent s were

10 ％

1％

Satisﬁed

45 ％

47％

Roughly

90 % agree that their child islearning how to be a good member of societ y

Many of our families who are preparing for elementary school entrance exams have asked us toincrease our focus on character development.
We are putting together new initiatives, not just for the students, but also for parents and guardians.

The Top 4 Subjects you want us to focus on#Unsatisﬁed

44 ％80 % agree that theirchild has picked up good lifest yle habit s.

FeatureStory

17％

Unsatisﬁed

Largely
Satisﬁed

90 % of children happily

12％

7％

17％

look for ward to going to school

Largely Unsatisﬁed

My child is learning how to bea good member of society
through their daily routine and play.

Largely
Unsatisﬁed

Agree５～12##2％
3％2％

satisﬁed with their childʼs English acquisition

1Q.

64％

50 ％

4 4％

1％

40 ％

Agree

47％

30 ％

Completely
DisagreeSlightly
Disagree18 ％Satisfaction with English Education

Largely Satisﬁed

1％

My child has acquired
basic lifestyle habits,
such as greetings.

Strongly
Agree

We sent out a survey in September 2020 tothe parents and guardians at Kinder Kids.
We received 1,353 responses, whichamounts to 46% of our entire student
enrollment of 2,945 students. We strive tocontinue improving the quality of childcare and education so we can help createa brighter future for all of our children. We
really appreciate the feedback, opinions,and words of encouragement that wereceived from everyone and would like to
use it to keep improving.

SatisﬁedQ.

My child looks forward togoing to school

Education

4

1

11 ％

#4 4％

3

#14 ％

2

#19 ％

1

English Speaking Skills
Many families answered thatthey want more focus on output
by the students in English.

We will provide various
opportunities during Circle Time,Show and Tell, and theme-basedlearning so the children are givenmany opportunities to talk totheir friends and teachers in
English and express theirfeelings and thoughts.

2 Gymnastics and Exercise# 3 Programming and Digital Education# 4 English Reading and Writing Ability#The Top 11 New Subjects
you want introduced
Swimming
ProgrammingSportsDance
ArtJapaneseCalligraphy
Outdoor Learning
Piano
BalletFarming
Experiences
Abacus10203040
espondents2

Q.

ServiceQ.

I believe the school
cooperates well with me
and my family as apartnership to raise my child.
Completely
DisagreeSlightly
Disagree

14 ％With notices sent home
the information iscommunicated in a waythat is easy to understand.

Completely
Disagree3％

Strongly
Agree

Strongly
Agree

5％

31％

11 ％

Q.

Agree

Agree

53 ％

58 ％

RoughlyThank you to all our parents and guardians for ﬁllingout the survey and sharing your valuable requests and opinions.
We aim to provide the best possible English education, anddevelop fun programs that Grad Club members want top a r t i c i p a t e i n . All of your comments and thoughts are
imp o r tant to us , an d we will use th em to continue th edevelopment of the curriculum and future events.

Slightly
Disagree

25 ％80 % said they considered their

Roughly

relationship with the school as a par tner ship.

Slightly
Disagree16 ％CompletelyDisagree

40 % feel that it isdiﬃcult to under st andStrongly
Agree

45 ％

16 ％

2Wants better lunches
Unsatisﬁed
Largely Unsatisﬁed

55
24
15

We are working to increase the content
and frequency of updates on theSchool Life and Movies pages on
Kinder+ so you can be informed about
your child s daily developments.

Largely Satisﬁed
Satisﬁed
100
3200

300

400

ReadAct

SpeakPlays
Etc

500
respondents

What are your goals for English learning?

Have an academic goal and11％％ enjoy being a part of Grad ClubDon t like studying butenjoys being able to see％ friends and teachers
％

22％

22％

16 ％

Top 3 motivations
for English learning

29 ％ListenWatch

18 ％Since we had to close our schools due
to COVID-19, we created a Feedback
page on Kinder+. There we showcase what
was going on at school during that day.

!

Wants better snacks

17％

Other

I want to know more about
how my child spends time at school

Satisfaction with Lunch and Snacks

Videos/TVMovies
Etc

CurriculumContent

Topics focused on for
better English language
acquisition

10 ％MusicStories
Etc

21％

Convenient to advancefrom Kinder Kids

We will be changing from displaying
information for all grades, to only
displaying information for the grade
your child is enrolled in.
We are continuing to improve Kinder+ .

36 ％AgreeQ.

Reason for choosing
Grad Club

Able to see friends
from Kinder Kids

The information on Kinder+ is
hard to understand3％

Grad Club General Manager, Andy Usher

The level of English

1
Environmental Hygiene Satisfaction

FeatureStory

G ra d C l u b

Don t study independently ortake initiative so parents help out

148％
Hobbies

To live inan English％ speaking
countryFortrips
For future
opportunities

39 ％To study abroador to apply tohigh level schools

28 ％

4

as of 2020

StaffSpotlight

Interview

Tokyo

Tokyo school 10 th anniversary

SchoolSchool garden renewal

Manager at Tokyo school
Eiko IwasawaW

henever a ﬁrst-time visitor walks into Tokyo
school, they are often very surprised at how
spacious the school actually is. We want toprovide a school environment where all the children
are able to freely move around and focus on all of
their possibilities and potential.
We believe that providing a learning environment
where students can learn and grow surrounded bynature has a strong impact. Here at Tokyo school,
we truly value the beauty of mother nature and allof the seasonal activities especially because weare located in the city where that is not always
available. We also include outdoor activities inour curriculum because we want them to enjoy
playing outside and expressing themselves.
This summer, we renovated the school garden andnow our school playground has a new look! Weare now able to provide even more fun outdoor
activities that are appropriate to each grade level.
Being involved in water play, mud-play,neReanimal and plant observations, and athletics with
their friends and teachers allows them to learn
both English and liberal arts from personal
experience.
Regardless of daycare or class time, we want theentire time at school to be spent productively.
Each staﬀ member is aware of their strengths andweaknesses and we all work together as a teamand bring ideas to the table to manage school
operations. Our goal is not to repeat exactly what
we did yesterday. Our goal is to do the best we
can today to deliver the best education andchildcare for our students.
Our team is always supervising the children andon the lookout for any subtle changes. We want
the parents to be able to consult us and dependon us about anything. The children s honest andpure feelings always give us energy and theparents and guardians support and encourage us
during these unprecedented times.
It s been 11 years since the establishment ofTokyo school and its success wouldn t have beenpossible if it wasn t for the trust we have and thesupport we give one another.
Our goal is to help guide each and every
child to a bright future andappreciate the relationships
we have built.

HP5Facebook

41-20 Higashiminemachi,
Ota-ku, Tokyo#Classroom#Pond#Waterfall#GardenWeʼve renewed theschool garden to celebrate
our 10 th anniversary
We are always considering ourprogram from the child s perspective,
making eﬀorts to provide the facilities
and environment they need while
making long term plans for themaintenance of every Kinder Kids
school around the world.

wa l！
#Playground

These school buildings have been ﬁlled with so many memories,
and in order to continue to use it with care, we have made majorrenovations to create a better environment.
The ﬂooring has been replaced and the classrooms are now colorful.
Parents said "the rooms are brighter than before" and "it feels great
because it's new!
We have received amazing feedback regarding the lush greenerybeyond the large windows. A waterfall has been created at the edge ofthe garden where we have some trees. The waterfall ﬂows through awide, bright channel and merges with a large pond. We hope that ourchildren will continue to grow and develop surrounded by nature.

62My
SteppingStoneGrad Club
Summer Camp

The starting point was Kinder Kids. Let us introduce a graduate
who is taking on new challenges in the ﬁeld he is passionate about.

Passed the EIKEN (Level 1).
After enrolling in one of the nation s
leading private junior high schools
he joined the scientiﬁc research club!
There was a message posted on the Kinder
Kids Media page one day and it was from themother of one of our graduates.
Her heartfelt message told the story of how her
child passed EIKEN (level 1), and to this day,the learning experience he had at Kinder Kids
contributes to his growth and development.
One of the most gratifying moments for us iswhen we hear about how our graduates aredoing.
As we exchanged emails with his mother, wewere able to feel her appreciation, thinking
I m glad I let my son go to Kinder Kids.
Because of this, we decided to interview them!
According to her, a school festival was justunderway at the private junior high school thather son, T-kun, attends. T-kun, is a representative
and ambassador of the school s organization,
also made an appearance on the online school
festival YouTube Channel! His school is said tobe one of the most diﬃcult schools to get into
within the Kansai Region. He held his headhigh while he urged 4th and 5th gradestudents who were hoping to enter the school
to ﬁnd their own studying habits early on.
Unsurprisingly, his honest responses and word
choices made a lasting impression and showcased
his bilingual skills. He has a realistic view ofthe world and has a strong desire to contributeto society to make it a better place for everyone.
7Yao School

Graduates T.FNara prefecture
Private junior high school
Sophomore

My strengths

I am easily able to talk to, listen to, andconnect with people I just met.

My Future DreamI ve recently been interested in jobs inthe automotive industry. However, I m
still keeping in mind other jobs that will
be in high demand in the future and its
future prospects. I love science and I
respect Albert Einstein for his scientiﬁcpursuits and accomplishments.

In the Kinder ClassThe educationthat Kinder Kids
provided continues tosupport my son sdevelopment to this day.

From T-kun s mother

Regarding my own English skills

I can easily understand informationfrom scientiﬁc journals and dramas fromabroad, as I can in Japanese. My scoresin English are always one of the best inclass and my English skill is an advantage
whether it s studying a subject or doing
my favorite research.

Junior high school
science club

What I m Passionate About

I am the leader of one of thegroups in my science club. Inaddition to research and studying,I also organized a science experimentclass at school festivals and ﬁeld
trips to show how fun and surprisingscience is.
I want to keep learning more
about science. I hope that someday
I can contribute with solutions toenergy problems, especially powergeneration.
The progress of my research andclub activities excites me and I am
grateful to have been accepted
into this school.
My Grad Club Years

After Class (G1-3)
Saturday Class (G1-4)
Summer Camp, Christmas Party
MC at Kinder Kids Events

I often ﬁnd that the lessons and experiences my son
had at Kinder Kids and Grad Club has helped him now
that he is in junior high school.
For example, it has allowed him to expand his horizons
at an early age, not only in English, but also in geography,
the ecosystem, the arts, and science.
The countless Show & Tell lessons taught him how tobuild relationships, as he is now able to listen to andcommunicate his own thoughts and opinions to others.
He went to public elementary school and until he had
to focus on junior high school entrance exams, hestudied at Grad Club to continue his English studies.
The classes were also designed not only to strengthen his
English skills, but also his cognitive and comprehension
skills, which I believe helped him mature.
I wanted him to be in an educational environment that
does not allow adults to dictate all the values but
instead allows for him to make choices and believe in
his possibilities. I believe in the inﬁnite potential of mychild and I enjoy raising him by respecting his opinions
and seeing him grow every day.
8b y G ra d

The English Speech Contest held at the endof October, sponsored by the Grad Club,
took place in Tokyo and Osaka, where 50
children took the stage and gave passionate
speeches.
Thanks to the understanding and cooperation of everyone, we were able to successfulC lu b
ly host the contest despite the restrictions
and social distancing rules we had to follow.
Students chose sentences from pre-selected
topics or from their favorite stories for theirspeeches.
Remembering long sentences already is a
5th time
diﬃcult task but the students went beyond
for the Kanto
and also added their own style of expression
Region!
when delivering their speeches.
9th time for
It is a rare and wonderful opportunity,
the Kansai Region!
where they can learn from one another s
It went offspeech and inspire each other.
without a hitch!
We look forward to seeing many more
Grad Members on this stage next year!

Letʼ s make a four-panel comic

By PHONICS GARDEN

Welcome to the world of four-panel comics where we introduce everyone's
favorite Phonics characters! Have fun with your family! Today, a kindhearted Vulture Boy, Vacuuming Vulture, makes his ﬁrst appearance.
When Vacuuming Vulture and Singing Snake are playing together they
notice some sneaky squirrels, secretly working on something…

1Acorns︓どんぐり

Vacuuming Vulture

2

1Singing Snake

2

3

ue
Kanto Ven

3

“Haha! See you!”Kansai Venue“Huh?”“Letʼ s collect them all!”“Oh, Look! Acorns!”

9

Reference the back cover for dialogue examples

4410