Category Archives: school

First Year Wall (Part 2) – The (not-so voluntary) parent-teacher conference

Posted on May 24, 2018 by

In mid-April, I went to a parent-teacher conference. Actually, it was more like an enforced PTA committee, which one parent per kid had to attend. As a group. We sat at our kids’ desks (tiny!) and introduced ourselves. This was … Continue reading →

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The First Year Wall (Part 1) – Gakudo and the Kid

Posted on April 26, 2018 by

Three weeks ago, our youngest daughter went to nursery school for the last time. The following Monday, she started gakudo (学童, short for 学童教育 gakudokyouiku, which is usually translated as “after school program”). Since both my wife and I work … 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 →

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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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Who was that Masked Flu Avenger?

Posted on March 16, 2017 by

Looking back now, I can laugh. The first week of February was rough. My wife had to work both weekend days, at the end of an already exhausting end-of-semester work week. I had also had little sleep. The previous month, my … Continue reading →

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Self-reliance starts young

Posted on April 12, 2016 by

Two weeks ago, my daughter graduated nursery school. Last week, my grandmother passed away (my daughter’s great-grandmother). Today, my daughter walked to elementary school for the first time. And the cycle continues… This is cherry blossom (sakura) season in Japan, … Continue reading →

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The end is the beginning

Posted on March 31, 2016 by

Our daughter is now leaving nursery school. From her birth to my wife’s maternity leave to my paternity leave, from building a new house to finishing a doctorate to switching jobs, from one daughter to another (who’s a completely different … Continue reading →

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