First Day of School

Japanese school starts in April, and finishes in March.  So, we have just completed our three-week 'break.'  Cousin James was here for a week, then William was sick for a week, and then we had a few fun days in the sun before his school started back up.

They also get a summer break at the end of July, and we'll be going home for most of it. We will be coming back early, as Wm has a 3-day, 2-night school summer camp towards the end of August.  

His schedule also went to a later pick-up and drop-off, not a true afternoon kindergarten, but similar.  Instead of being first on, then last off, he saves an hour by being picked up and dropped off in the same order both morning and night.  One less hour for me alone, but 2 1/2 more  hours to sleep in in the morning.  I'll take the trade-off!

The 'Yochien' gets broken into three classes.  He's now in the oldest class.  Last year, he was in the middle class.  Think of it as two years of pre-school, then one year of kindergarten.

For those blog stalkers who know the story, William picked this school mainly for the school bus that looks like a train.  There was a HUGE disappointment when they showed up with a van.  Things were better when it changed to a brand new yellow bus.  Good things happen to those who wait, and when I saw the train-bus in our neighborhood over break, I was hoping they were checking out whether the bus would fit in our small streets.  It does!