Our Nursery students made beautiful heart shaped butterﬂies.
The children are now getting used to painting, and tried hard todraw the curve for the heart. The spring-colored butterﬂies lookplayful, ﬂuttering from place to place, perhaps chatting with each other.

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

We hope a warm, peaceful spring will come soon.

8Please shareyour 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

Published inMarch 2020 Vol.8
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

www.kinderkids.com

KINDER KIDS 2020 MESSAGE
Kinder Kids Essay Competition 2019
My Stepping Stone

Staﬀ Spotlight

ANOTHER SKY −Kinder Kids−

How to make Decoration Rolled Sushi
Japanese Spirit with an International Future. Kinder Kids inc.

K INDER K IDS 2020
MESSAGE
Message from the President

Moving on from 2019 to 2020
2020 has begun with an unprecedented global event with the emergenceof the new corona virus. Due to the spread of the infection, we have had
to make a very diﬃcult decision to cancel the planned Graduation Ceremony and reduce the size of the ceremony and implement it at eachschool.
I feel extremely disappointed that I will not have an opportunity toexpress my gratitude directly to you, who trusted us to educate your children until graduation. I truly appreciate your support and cooperationfor our school operations during your time with us. I would like to reiterate the message Once a Kinder Kids student, always a Kinder Kids student . Please remember us after you graduate, we can continue to support your children as they progress through elementary school andbeyond.

DojimaIn 2020 Kinder Kids will celebrate its 20 year anniversary.
Since our foundation in Higashi Osaka in 2000, a huge
number of parents have supported us and we ve grown tohave a student base of around 3000. In this milestoneyear a new school brand Kinder Kids International Academy '' will launch this April in the Dojima and Tennoji
areas of Osaka. There are increasing numbers of families
with two working parents so Kinder Kids Academy has
been created to provide a better service for busy family
lives.
The Kinder Kids Academy diﬀers from Kinder Kids in thefollowing ways: 1. parents don t need to bring anything
because everything is prepared by our staﬀ, 2. Long Stayis standard for all students and everything is included. 3.
We provide childcare in English, Japanese & Chinese. Tennoji Yuhigaoka School boasts a large gym and the building includes a ﬂoor that is exclusive to Grad Club. In October, we will hold a 20th anniversary event for the Kinder
Kids family so watch this space!
We will continue to grow in line with our mission: to provide an environment where children can develop conﬁdence and skills to embrace the world in this rapidlychanging era.
President
Kimiko Nakayama

Tennoji Yuhigaoka

Entrance
1

20th anniversary

LibraryGym

Play room

Theater room2

Interview

Ibaraki Saito
SchoolStaffSpotlight

Ibaraki Saito School Manager
Hiromi OshidaIbaraki Saito School is surrounded by greenery,
where you can enjoy seasonal scenery. Whenyou step inside the school, you will feel a senseof openness in the spacious lobby and classrooms. We are proud of the fact that children
grow up with a friendly disposition and that they
proactively talk to visitors or new school staﬀ in arelaxed environment.
Our school staﬀ is also friendly, and works hardto take care of the children with the motto of"One Team".
Knowing a child s home situation and sharing
information openly with parents is what I value. I
believe that by knowing a child better and sharing concerns together brings us closer and builds
a more trusting relationship between us. Childcare requires a trusting relationship between
school staﬀ, children and parents so I want tomake sure everyone feels comfortable to talk here.

HP

3Facebook

3F Garden Mall Saito, 1-2-1
Saito Asagi, Ibaraki-shi, Osaka.

Nara Tomigaoka
SchoolNara Tomigaoka School Manager
Hazuki HiraoN

Last year before the Winter Holiday, a Kinder
Kids graduate and their mother, who had moved
to Australia after graduating, visited us and told
us that because of the high level of English skills
built at Kinder Kids, the child had skipped agrade. The mother explained her appreciation forour education and I felt that what we do is very
worthwhile, and I was reassured about ourstudents' high English level.
Parents have said that they like us not only for
our English education but also the wider curriculum and variety of events so they are very happy
that they chose Kinder Kids for their preschool.
Certainly, those comments motivate me andremind me that I love my job.

Interviewara-Tomigaoka School is located in a great
location close to the station, and there aresupermarkets, clinics and malls nearby, which
are popular among working parents.
Nara is rich in nature. We have a school yard
with playground equipment, but we also lovegoing to parks nearby to see insects and otherliving things throughout the seasons.
There are lots of engaging spots including a parkwith a big slide within walking distance, so it's areally good environment.
With all ﬁve classes lined up facing our wide
corridor, it s easy for diﬀerent grades to interact
and it creates a very homey environment.
The children love to show their craft to otherstaﬀ members from other classrooms and run to
talk to them at the door whenever they see them.
It's great that children make an eﬀort to form
relationships with all the staﬀ in the school.
I want our children to learn how to interact withlots of people, with their friends and teachers,
and have hands-on experiences by actually
touching or feeling diﬀerent kinds of objects orthings and absorbing knowledge from them.

In addition to talking about the growth of thechildren, we also talk about local information,
hobbies and travel which naturally enlivens ourinteractions.
Since we re partners in raising the children, wewant to be a place where parents can casually
talk about anything and feel at home.
Teachers as well as school staﬀ always try to becheerful with a smile and try to create a friendly
atmosphere.

HPFacebook

Recolx Tomigaoka Bldg C,
3021 Shikahata cho, Ikoma-shi, Nara4

FeatureStory

A N OT H E R S K Y

At the Company Meeting

Kinder Kids

2020 Joined Kinder Kids

This spring, one of our ﬁrst Kinder Kids students will takea big step into the working world as she joins Kinder Kids
as a Nursery Teacher!

ー What makes you want to work in Kinder Kids?
When I was a sophomore, I volunteered as an assistant teacher
at an American elementary school. I was impressed by thewonderful environment in which children of diﬀerent races canconnect and make friends using the key tool of English.

New Employee / Bilingual Nursery Teacher
Shino Matsukawa

ー Your Resolution.

ー What was your dream when you were a child?
No matter what job I chose, I wanted to do something thatmade use of my English ability.

since childhood.
When I volunteered at an American elementary school, I
could access a wider range of work compared to other Japanese students because I was able to communicate in English
smoothly.

ー What I worked hardest at whenwith at Kinder Kids?

ー What kind of a teacher do you want to be?
I don t just want to be a teacher but I want to explore anddiscover together with children.

ー As you look back now, what did you likeabout Kinder Kids?

I was a college student.
I worked hard in my part-time position as a cram school
teacher.
I had always tried so hard to teach in a way that my students
could understand by changing how I explained, making newlearning materials like quizzes.
It was a great achievement and introduction to the joy of teaching.

The tradition of going ona snow excursion had
started all that time ago!

ー What do you want to challenge yourself
I want to try to be a Gakushu class teacher drawing on myexperience as a cram school teacher.

ー Advantages of being familiar with English

5I want to become a nursery teacher who can understand children's feelings and broaden their future potential.

Fun Cooking!

Kinder Kids provides an education that enables children to speak
English while nurturing a Japanese spirit. Children can learn anduse English while living in Japan which is a big advantage forchildren and opens up a lot of possibilities for their future.

Her favorite teacher is
now her co-worker!
A picture that was taken backwhen she was a student.
She brought pictures of herself
with current teachers and they
had an emotional reunion!
Teachers who taught her encourage
her a lot as she prepares for her new job.

One of her
teachers was Yumiko,
who has created
all the Kinder Kids
Phonics Gardencharacters!

6



Best Picture Journal/ A .K /Fukuoka School / K2

Kinder Kids has selected the Habataki
Award and Kagayaki Award winners
from entries for SAE Kirara Competition
2019! We would like to introduce the 5
most brilliant Kagayaki Award winning
essays.
Please enjoy these works that have beendrawn and written with newly learned
words and letters.

Competition Standard
The essay shows the child s sincere heart.
The essay expresses what the childhas experienced.
The essay makes you feel like you want tomeet the child.

Best Picture Journal/ K.I / Takarazuka School / K3
Best Picture Journal/ Y.N /Ibaraki Saito School /K3

Introducing the“Habataki Award”(essays that show
potential and makereaders excited)
winning essays on
Kinder Kids' website!

7

We can clearly see children s development
through these works.
Journal, one of our curriculum elements,
develops children s critical thinking skills
and improves self-expression skills.
Enjoy reading and writing journalstogether and expand on yourchildren s capabilities.

Best Essay/ S.N / Nagoya School / K2

Best Picture Journal/ D.A /Kobe Seaside School / K3
8My
Stepping Stone

Fun dish forchildren and adults

How to makeDecoration
Rolled Sushi

He began his education with Kinder Kids. We want tointroduce a graduate student who has made his own path.

Osaka School

Kinder Kids
Graduate
Grade 3 Juniorhigh school
student.

He participated in a race as arepresentative of Osaka in the NationalJunior High School Skiing championship.
ー Why did you start skiing?
When I was 5 years old, my father took me skiing for the ﬁrst time, andI realized how fun it was to ski on snow. I thought, "I want to domore!". Since then, he has taken me skiing every year.

Peach Blossom
It s fun to make and doesn t makea mess when you re eating! It
brightens up your table! Here s
how to make Decoration RolledSushi.

Experiencing
Grad Club sAustralia programgave him conﬁdence.
He was sometimes hesitant totry something new but after
he joined Grad Club's program in Australia, I could seehis words and actions
become more conﬁdent. Ithink his improved conﬁdence led to him qualifying
to participate in the National
Ski Tournament.
9Ingridients
100g of Seasoned white sushi rice (with vinegar)
100g of Seasoned pink sushi rice (80g sushi rice + 20g of pink oboro)
3 sheets of dried seaweed (for hand rolling)

ー How did you feel when you got an invitation
to the national tournament?

Message fromhis mother1

I was very happy when I found out that I was selected for the Osaka
National Team. But at the same time, I was a little nervous because I
heard that the level of the people in the more snowy regions of Japanwas quite high. I was very happy to receive many encouraging messages from friends from various countries that I got to know throughGrad Club's program in Australia.

5 sticks of cucumber (10 cm each)

1

Divide Sushi rice (pink) into 20g each2

Cut one sheet of dried seaweed into threeequal rectangles and spreadthe pink sushi rice, making 5 sushi rolls.

3Add ⅓ of the seaweed to 1 sheet of dried seaweed.

4

Add and spread the sushi rice (white) onto
the dry seaweed. Make sure to leave a space of 5cm.

5Use the pink sushi rolls in Step 2, place the stick of
cucumber between the pink sushi rolls and place
the stick cheese in the center and roll into one
cylinder and make it like a ﬂower.

ー What are your future goals?
As I will be a high school student next year, being selected for
the National Sports Festival and an Inter-high school competition will be a bit more challenging than it used to be, but I will do
my best to be selected for the Osaka National Team again.

1 Stick of cheesePreparation

Carefully place the roll in Step 5, and the rice on
Step 4.

6

ー Do you have any passions other than skiing?
I love listening to western music. My friend and I are competing tosee how much we can sing like native speakers, but I think I canwin, so I am glad that I went to Kinder Kids.

ー What do you want to be in the future?
I want to be a doctor in the future. The very ﬁrst time I thought I
wanted to be a doctor was when I visited my father s work placeand I saw my dad. I thought being a doctor was cool at that time.
Later, I asked one of my older friends who goes to a medical school
what it is like. listening to what he said, I became more interested
in being a doctor and I have decided to pursue that path.

1

Embossed
gloves do not reallystick to the riceso it is good formaking sushi!

3

4

6

5

Receipt by: Ms. Ninomiya who works in Kobe Seaside s kitchen.
She holds a Level 1 instructors certiﬁcation for sushi from JSIA (Japan Sushi Instructors Association).
10