Mia's school---Matsumura Kindergarten

Here is Mia with her teacher Emi. Emi doesn't speak English---but somehow they manage. Emi is in charge of 27 students, luckily she has teacher aides that help. Mia adores her. Each day of school has a different focus. They include singing, painting, sculpting clay, dancing and even cooking. Mia is very proud of her school uniform. As you can see, it includes a hat, jacket and school bag. When she arrives at school she takes off her uniform and dons her smock and red play hat.
Children's Day is a national holiday here, celebrated on May 5th. The school flies these koi flags to recognize the importance of children in Japanese society. It makes the playground a festive place for the kids.
This is Mia's class. Aren't they about the cutest bunch? A few kids are missing due to leaving for the holidays. Luckily for me, there are 4 moms that speak English. They keep me posted about school closures, field trips, etc.

Mia dearly loves her new school and friends. She wants to communicate with everyone. We have set her up with a Japanese tutor to get her up to speed with speaking Japanese as soon as possible. She has already mastered the basic phrases such as hello, goodbye, my name is...etc.