Category Archives: day care

Ten Years of Taking Leave

Posted on December 6, 2019 by

Looking back, it’s amazing to me now that I dared to even apply for a year of paternity leave while living in a foreign country. But I’ve never regretted the decision. As I told an audience of university students and … Continue reading →

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End of an Era: Goodbye, Nursery School

Posted on April 17, 2018 by

And so it begins. The end of the start of the rest of my children’s childhood. By which I mean our youngest daughter graduated from nursery school / kindergarten. Thinking back, we’ve been coming to our local nursery school every … Continue reading →

Posted in coming of age, day care, education, festivals, Japan, Japanese, Japanese society, nursery school, parenting, school, separation anxiety | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Farewell, Nursery. Hello, Kindergarten

Posted on April 5, 2017 by

After turning five in January, our youngest daughter finally made to the end of nursery school (“nen-cho,” 年長). Or so we thought. We had heard rumors in previous years that the system might change. It turns out that in this … Continue reading →

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Nursery Schools: Part II (Finally)

Posted on March 15, 2014 by

As I posted some time ago, we were fortunate that my oldest daughter was able to enter a city-approved nursery school. We were even more fortunate to have first choice on a new housing plot that wasn’t even technically on … Continue reading →

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Year Two: Nursery School

Posted on September 24, 2011 by

Starting April 1st this year (the beginning of the school year in Japan), I went back to work and my daughter started her first year at a nearby private nursery school. Even prior to the official first day, we attended … Continue reading →

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Endings and beginnings

Posted on March 31, 2011 by

I go back to work tomorrow on April 1st. My year-long paternity leave is over. No April Fools.

Posted in day care, gender roles, Japan, Paternity leave | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hitting the Day Care Lottery Jackpot

Posted on January 25, 2011 by

My wife and I found out, by regular postal mail on January 17th, that our daughter was accepted into a local city-approved nursery school. She’ll start attending with a group of other 2-year-olds in April (the school year always begins … Continue reading →

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