5-Day Kindergarten

Age
3 - 6

Times
Monday – Friday, 9:15-13:30

Regular Fees
¥45,000 per month (12 months, 42 weeks)

Fees + Afterschool Program
One day: ¥57,000, 2 days ¥62,000, 3 days ¥66,000,
4 days ¥69,000
Materials, library and text fees ¥10,000 x 2 (paid May and October)
Separate entrance and uniform fees

Lots of Learning, Lots of Fun!

KOBILS Kindergarten is fun! That’s the most important thing for us. Yet we don’t believe learning and fun are different– they are interlinked. In Kindy we have lots of play fun like craft, hands on and outdoor activities, sports, free play, cooking and trips. And we also have lots of learning fun too with reading, writing, science and even geography as we learn about our world. In English, of course. Children quickly adapt to our English only immersion environment speaking English naturally to each other, not just to the teacher or because the teacher is there!

We love our multi-level, multi-age classroom where children grow up together, and learn to get along and love each other. We are a great team! Boys and girls play together, older children help younger children and we all take responsibility for each other. Caring and sharing and growing up happily together, that’s what we have here at KOBILS.

Academics

Our children love study-time. Absolutely true. Kindergartners are broken into small study groups based on their learning readiness. So whether they are just starting to grip their pencil and show interest in letters and reading, or they are raring to go and ready to read books, they enjoy study time success at their own level whatever their age. That’s our aim: confidence in learning through readiness and following the child; a “can-do, it’s fun” attitude to study for all children, that will carry them through their school careers.

Most of our kids also learn to read and write basic or even fluent English while they are with us in their preschool years. They do this because they want to, because they are ready and because they love to learn. Your child will fulfill their potential and enter full-time schooling feeling confident they are smart, they can do, and learning is fun!

Sports and Whole Body Movement

Outside and inside, bars and beams, soccer, badminton, gymnastics, we do them all. And because there’s so much individual attention, even children who are not naturally confident with sports, challenge themselves and master many.

Craft and Cooking and Gardening and...

We get down and dirty with painting, with cooking, with gardening, with clay, with bubbles, with water, with gluing and sticking and coloring and cutting. With hands, with feet, with paper, with leaves, with fruit and veg. and any thing else we can lay our hands on. We all make our own crafts in our own unique way.

Music and Rythm, Singing and Dancing

Love these too. We sing and dance every day. Traditional kids’s songs and modern and funky sounds too. Just like youchien we hold concerts in the autumn and impromptu pop-concerts throughout the year. In Japanese class, children learn music and pianika too!

Outside School Events

Trips, trips, trips. Swimming in the summer at the pool and the beach. Bird park, zoo, Rokko Mountain, parks, hiking, nature. In the autumn, in the spring, in the winter, in the summer. We also get to visit Tsutusjigaoka shougakko each year, and we share lots of activities with our older friends at Shiawase Kazoku. Once more reminding ourselves that we may be schooling in English but we are part of the Japanese community.

Inside School Events

Parties for Halloween, Christmas and Easter. Annual moon Viewing Picnic and Family Fun Day. Pizza days, Sandwich days, Pot luck too! We have lots of fun at lunchtime with different events each term. Sport’s Day and Music Festival too!

Japanese

Let’s not forget who we are or where we live. Japanese morning is every Monday, when our Japanese teacher visits us for Circle Time, music and stories with all children, pianika and learning music with nen-chu and up, and Hiragana and Katakana study for nen-cho. We’re sure we’ll be ready for Japanese school; however more Japanese classes are also available on request.

Schedule

Our program changes most days. We follow the kids rather than have the kids follow a program so we are constantly shaking things up and surprising the children and keeping things new and fresh both the kids and us. However a sample day might look like this:

Typical Day in Kindergarten
9:15 - 9:30	Arrival, Life Skills, Free Play
9:30-10:00	Music & Rhythm
10:00-10:30	Circle Time*
10:30-10:45	Snack and Story
10:45-11:00	Independent Reading/Phonics
11:00-11:30	Study Time
11:30-12:15	Lunch, Quiet Time
12:15-12:45	Outdoor Play/PE
12:45-1:15	Crafts
1:15-1:30	Clean up, Goodbye

* Circle Time can include free talking, calendar time, numeracy, geography, pronunciation practice, vocabulary... depending on the day of the week and the theme.

Safety, health and Security

We take your child's safety and security very seriously. Of course we are fully registered with Kobe City, and we have enjoyed a perfect inspection record since we opened our Kindy program in 2008. We have a much higher than required staff/student ratio with qualified hoikushi and nursery staff ensuring your child's care needs are well met alongside their English needs.

We have SECOM security installed so we'll always get a rapid response from police, fire station and security officers should any unforeseen issues arise.

Core Principles

Kindy activities are all designed to meet one or more of our 15 core principles:

Creativity
Discover the World
Fine Motor Skills
Hand to Eye
Imagination
Instill Confidence
Language Development
Learning to Write
Learning to Read
Music & Rhythm
Personal Hygiene
Physical Development
Problem Solving
Social Skills
Stimulate Senses
Life Skills

Enrollment for 2012 is open. We have the following places:

Age 3-4
Three spaces remaining

Age 4-5
Two spaces remaining

Age: 5-6
Full*

* Discretionary places may be available based on total enrollment

Drop by any time and see Okusan in the office, and then walk on over together. We’re confident you’ll find our kids engaged in happiness and fun and English! Of course we are biased, but we think our program gives children the best possible start to their schooling and life! They learn English, but more importantly they learn to be happy in who they are and to make the most of that!