Expanding future possibilities

P.6

Letʼs make a four-panel comic
Examples of quotes
1. Look, I baked a Christmas cake!
2. Ohhh!

18

3. Youʼre too excited!
4. Uh-oh...

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

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・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

Published inNovember 2021 Vol.18
Next issue isplanned to comeat the end of January

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

www.kinderkids.com

Children x Money Education
Successful Examinees File006

School Renovation
Heart to HeartLetʼs make a four-panel comic
日本の心と、英語の力。Kinder Kids inc.

Children x Money Education

In recent years,"Financial Education"
for children has attracted
more attention around theworld. Shall we try to ﬁgureout how important it isfor children to learn about
ﬁnancial and economicaspects from an early age?

Special allowance money for children to use during our Tanabata event

The importance of ﬁnancial education is beingemphasized more and more to nurture children who
can thrive in the future society. Financial education
is a general term related to "money", "economics",and "investment". Let's take a look at "Financial
Education" in Japan compared to other countries.

Current ﬁnancial
education in JapanThe chart on the right shows the amountof time spent on ﬁnancial and economic
education per year by grade levels basedon the survey of junior and senior highschool teachers in Japan.
The majority of ﬁrst and second year
junior high school students do notreceive ﬁnancial education at all. From
the third year in junior high school to thethird year in senior high school, students
receive 1 to 5 hours of ﬁnancial
education.

1Children＆Financial
Education

There are morecountries that give children
opportunities to learn aboutmoney from an early age.

!
JHS 10h

JHS 20h

United Kingdom

United States

FranceThe UK is said to be
the ﬁrst country tointroduce ﬁnancial
education. It is a partof compulsory educationfrom public elementary school to highschool, which
provides a systemthat allows students
to study aboutmoney and economics over a long periodof time.

Consumer education has
been offered at schools
since around 1960, andeconomic education sincethe 1970s around the country,
providing practical educationthat encourages independence
from an early age.
The curriculum is not predesigned
and its policy is left to eachstate. There are organizations,
including local businesses andNPOs, to support ﬁnancial
education at schools.

Financial education andskills development projects are being implemented mainly by NPOs.
There are systems foryoung people as well as
the elderly to learn anywhere, including schools,workplaces, and homes.
In addition, Bitcoin andother crypto currencies
are being introduced tothe curriculum of seniorhigh school.

Ja p a n
The new Courses of Study to be fully implemented in elementary schools in 2020-2021
and junior high schools in 2021-2022, focus more on the content of shopping
mechanisms, sales contracts, and money management.
According to the new Courses of Study starting in 2022, senior high school students will
be exposed to asset building in home economics classes and learn about basic ﬁnancial
services such as stocks and investment trusts.

Teaching children about the value of money

JHS 3 1〜 5 h
SHS 1 1〜 5 h
SHS 2 1〜 5 h
SHS 3 1〜 5 h

040 50 60 70 80 100％

Source: Study Group for Promoting Financial and Economic Education(secretariat: Japan Securities Dealers Association)¥Feature
Story
Let's see ﬁnancial education around the world

At Kinder Kids, children start learning about
how to use money through their favorite
activities such as playing shopkeepers atstores or fairs, etc.
They are given handmade money in wallets
made of colored paper and enjoy fun money
activities at schools. As they get older, theywill learn about money and relationships in
the way it works by connecting it to thetheme study of "Working People”.
Inﬁnity International Elementary School,
which will open next spring, has incorporated“Financial Education" into its program, creating
its own currency and store, and providing
various hands-on learning activities related
to ﬁnance, such as marketing and managingincome and expenses.
The purpose of ﬁnancial education is forchildren to be able to live an independentand better life when they become adults.
Shall we, as adults, also learn ﬁnancial
literacy, and make opportunities to talkabout money with our children at home?
For example, the New Year's gift is a good
opportunity to hand over cash. Talk withthem about how to spend the money andhow much to save for something else. It is
important for them to understand how
difﬁcult earning money is and learning tobe patient in order to get what they wantwill help develop a responsible sense ofmoney.

2NARA TOMIGAOKA SCHOOLNara Tomigaoka
Schoolnow renovatedbigger and better!

Fi l e0 0 6

SuccessfulExaminee

Entr ant

SchoolTakatsuki

Test date

May 2021

GradePre-2 and Level 3Y.K
Grade at exam

K3

Current theme issues

How I studied（ The first exam in 2021）

How I studied
I tried to read English and memorize
frequently used words.
I also played games that my mother madefor me to prepare for the Eiken.

Dos in SizubleeKinder Kids is in Nara!
Prior to the 15th anniversary, the school hasundergone a period of unprecedented change. The newschool building has twice the capacity of the previousbuilding.
The walls of the adjoining building were all removed toexpand the space. We created a spacious multipurpose
area that can ﬂexibly accommodate group work,cross-grade exchange, and events. We also increased thenumber of classrooms to accommodate up to two classes
for each of the ﬁve grades, depending on demand. As aresult, the number of bathrooms and the movement lanes
were designed to make more space and we no longer feel
crowded.
Previously, the only places for children to play, run, andjump around were in the school playground or nearbyparks. Now they have an indoor gym where they can work
off their overwhelming energy every day regardless of theweather. I'm sure that the teachers will come up withideas and create more challenging and fun activities. I canimagine future livelier and spontaneous activities making
children smile and gasping for breath.
After the renovation, lunches will be pre pared at school.
dietary needs. In addition to the above, we are also
3 considering various other initiatives to meet the needs

Writing
勉強法!

of the children, such as creating an environment
where they can enjoy many picture books,and incorporating our own creative ideasthat take advantage of the characteristics ofthe local area.
As the number of new preschools continues
to increase, Kinder Kids is able to build on
what we have already accomplished toimprove the quality of our services. With ournew building, we will continue to develop arich educational environment and aim toimprove our services withall of the members ofFollow yourour Kinder Kids family.

HPFacebookchildʼs school,
watch theirlessons,and share withyour friends!

Ricolas Tomigaoka Building C
3021 Shikabata-cho, Ikoma-shi, Nara

How I studied

Even if I don't understand the question whenI first read it, I thought about it by myself andwrote my answer. Then, I asked my mother toexplain the question and I rewrote my answer.
Finally, I asked my father to look at my answer
and I explained the reason for what I wrote,then I wrote it again for practice.

Through my everyday life, when I go out
and shop I could gain an understanding ofcurrent issues. In the case of IT, I was
exposed to smartphones and computersat home. Also, attending Kinder Kids made iteasier for me to think about global themes.

Family support
Because my son loves games, I used an application called Scratch and made an original
smartphone game for study. I chose questions based on his incorrect answers.
I gave my support by giving him advice and hints to help him with thethings that he was not good at in an enjoyable way.

Next goal
My goal was to pass both Level 3 and Pre-2
by the time I graduated.
I took a short online course to prepare
for the Eiken test for Pre-2.
I hope that I can continue to improve myEnglish skills and to aim for the next level!

Message for peers who are studying
Kinder Kids friends passed the exam so I can
do it, too! Their success always encouraged me.
I encountered the words that I heard andspoke in Kinder Kids, and learned in thePhonics lessons. Please believe in your English
skills and do your best!

Points will be added whentapping on the charactersaying the correct answer
Questionnaire conducted by: General Research Ltd.
Survey period: February 22-25, 2019 Survey method: Internet
Survey summary: Comparison of services offered by 10
English focused pre-schools
Survey participants:1048 Japanese adults M/F aged 20-50

4Letʼs make a four-panel comic

How much can we do about the problems that keep coming upー.
Heartful communication always leads to solutions.
Kinder Kids Episode abouttrue feelings between parents and staff.

By PHONICS GARDEN

episodeInterviewee
Sara Koizumi, who was introduced in theprevious issue and is currently based at theYokohama School, shared her thoughts fromher position as an Area Manager at the Kanto
Head Ofﬁce.
Many of the Area Managers at Kinder Kids,
including me, were not hired for this position
from the beginning. We started working in aposition that suited our experiences. I ﬁrst
joined a class as a cover teacher in the Kantoarea, and later became a class teacher and aChild Development Manager, expanding mywork experiences while learning on the job.
Each day was on-the-job training. Whatworked yesterday did not work today, and I
was exposed to an environment where unexpectedthings happened every day and my personal
textbook gets thicker and thicker. After I
took on the position of Area Manager, I spent
many challenging days and started wondering
if I would be able to handle the various
responsibilities. I still remember a time assoon as I was promoted. A parent said “Iwant to talk to the person in charge” after
consulting with me about the relationships
among the children in their class. As I wasreceiving comments from parents of schools
502

other than where I was not usually present, itwas a comment that made me aware of thechallenges I would face as an Area Manager.
We need to keep our antennas open to ﬁnd out
what's happening at each school so that we canidentify problems and make improvements. Iwas very happy when I realized that therelationship with the parent got closer as wewere able to talk about all kinds of things
related to child-rearing.
In this way, I often receive insights whentalking to parents that lead to my growth asan Area Manager.
Looking back, I feel that I have been trying tocreate an open environment where everyone
can express what they want and I can build
positive relationships rather than trying to bejust a leader.
No matter what the situation is, seeing it withyour own eyes and responding to it carefullybuilds trust. I ﬁnd this job very rewarding
because I can create an environment where I
can learn together with staff, parents, andchildren without feeling pressured.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that caused
disruption in daily school life and the school
ceremonies. In this kind of situation, wewonder how we can stay close to the children
and their parents. I have been studying
psychology for the past few years in order toimprove the quality of childcare. I feel that I
would like to apply this knowledge not only tochildcare, but also to my work as an AreaManager.

Exited Fox

1

This is a story about Exited Fox, who is always high spirited and full ofenergy, and Dancing Dinosaur, who is a hard worker and good at doing
things until the end. Whenever something wonderful happens to them,
they tend to.... Put the four sentences below in the correct box and thentitle to complete the four-panel cartoon!

Title

Dancing Dinosaur

1

2

3

3

4

2

“Look, I baked a Christmas cake!”“Youʼre too excited!”“Uh-oh...”“Ohhh!”

4

Reference the back cover for dialogue examples

6