The pre-school age is not compulsory and there are many options.
First, parents and families should discuss this with each other.
In this article, we introduce how to choose a facility to help one of the parents.
1. parents’ educational and childcare policy
‘How do I want my child to be brought up’ and ‘How do I want him/her to grow up’?
It would be nice to be able to portray what my child will look like in adulthood.
Many parents who will be joining SOMOS International Preschool in April 2022 said that
‘I want to bring them up in an environment where they can learn English.’
‘I want them to experience many things and become people who can play an active role in society in the future’.
2. operating philosophy and educational philosophy
Choose a facility that fits with your childcare policy.
SOMOS International Preschool’s philosophy is.
‘Developing people who can think and act for themselves and who can play an active role in the world’.
‘Contributing to society by nurturing a generation’.
Parents who joined SOMOS International Preschool in April 2022 told us that
‘I want to raise my child to be a good communicator by acquiring English language skills as English is going to be essential in the future.’
‘SOMOS has a curriculum that teaches the cultures of the world, so I want to bring up a child who can understand cultural differences from an early age.’
3. Distance
Do you have to pick up and drop off every day, so do you walk? Bicycle? Bus? Train? Private car?
Decide on the extent of your mobility.
Most people at SOMOS International Preschool walk or cycle, but Some families commute by bus, train or car.
Due to the lack of parking space, some families use the *’car pick-up service’ to drive to the school.
*This service allows a teacher to pick up the child from the ground floor entrance and the parent in the driver’s seat can drop off and pick up the child without getting out of the car.
4. childcare education hours
Arrival and drop-off times, availability of extended care and long holidays (summer, winter holidays, etc.)
SOMOS International Preschool is,
Childcare hours: 9:00-17:30
Extended hours: 8:00-9:00 17:30-19:00
Annual holidays: Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and 29 Dec – 5 Jan.
There are dates during the year when the children are kept at a special rate for one week at a time, e.g. summer holidays.
5. atmosphere of the school
It is important to go on a tour or to an information session to see the atmosphere of the school, the room environment and the staff.
At SOMOS International Preschool, we offer
Information sessions are held once a month on Saturdays and weekdays, upon request. The staff will give you a detailed explanation of the school’s policies, an overview of the school, the content of the lessons and how the children graduate from the school. This is followed by a tour of the school and a trial lesson, which takes about one and a half hours.
All Japanese staff are qualified nursery and kindergarten teachers.
6. curriculum content
International schools vary in what they do during the day.
At SOMOS International Preschool, swimming, gymnastics and dance lessons are included in the tuition fee, in addition to English.
Many parents were picking up their children early and sending them to other lessons, so we wanted to somehow reduce the burden on the parents as much as possible! This is why we have a full range of lessons.
What do you think?
We recommend that you choose a facility where you can imagine your child when he or she graduates.
