What does a child need for preschool in Japan

If you are planning to send your child to a Japanese daycare (hoikuen) or kindergarten (yochien), you may be interested in what an average child may need. Wonder no more, I have put a nice resource for you.

Our kid attended two Japanese preschools and loved them (we did too). Everyday we would carry a special bag to preschool filled with very important things. Of course each preschool will have slightly different requirements. However, you have to be prepared that at least some of the things I listed here will be required.

Things we carry in a bag every day

1. Teacher-parent communication notebook (renrakuchou / れんらくちょう). Teachers write down the most important things that happened on that day.  Parents note the child’s temperature every morning, time of the pick up and who will pick the child up. There is a space to note some other things you want the teachers to know such as an unusual mood of your child that morning or a family event that took place and child may want to talk about.

2. Change of clothes (kigae / 着替え) consisting of:

• a pair of long pants – interestingly these are always long pants, even in summer, as they keep children covered from sun, insects, and grazes,
• a pair of socks,
• t-shirt,
• undershirt,
• long-sleeve shirt (apart from summer).

3. Two small hand towels with hangers (ruuputaoru / ループタオル). One of them comes back wet.

4. Face cloth or small towel, for summer only.

5. Two long-sleeve aprons (epuron / エプロン) / craft smocks  (スモック).

6. Cup for gargling (koppu / コップ) with a pouch to keep the cup and toothbrush in (koppu bukuro / コップ袋).

7. Two diapers (omutsu / オムツ) or training pants (toreeningu pantsu / トレーニング パンツ ). At most daycares, parents are being asked to take their children’s dirty diapers home. Mostly due to daycares’ limited funds, not allowing for daily garbage collection.

8. Towel cover for a sitting box/stool. Not sure if all daycares use them. In our kid’s one, children sit on a box covered with this towel when undressed. This way they can comfortably dress themselves always on their own spot. They do not share the surface they sit on when undressed.

All the things in the bag are neatly packed into separate plastic pouches and labelled. That way the towels do not get carried in a diaper pouch and vice versa.

Things which stay in preschool most of the time

Please note that some of these things stay in the preschool for the whole season or even the whole stay in the preschool. However, most things come back home once a week for washing and cleaning. We take it to preschool on Monday, and get it back for washing on Friday. This makes Mondays and Fridays our favourite “carrying two big bags days”.

1. Toothbrush (haburashi / 歯ブラシ).

2. Sleeping set consisting of:

• 2 big towels,
• a futon (布団) cover,
• a sheet,
• warm blanket in winter (or two),
• pajama (パジャマ).

3. One more change of clothes for emergencies.

4. Set of 3 diapers or training pants (underwear).

5. Kids cutlery: a spoon and a fork.

6. Sun hat for summer and warm jacket for winter.

Pool season – from the beginning of July to the end of August

Even if the daycare facility doesn’t have a purposely built kids pool, they often set up an inflatable pool (or two) for kids to splash in. Tokyo gets really hot in the summer. A pool gear we’re asked to prepare consists of:

1. Swimsuit (kodomo mizugi / 子供水着).

2. Bath towel.

3. Swimming diapers (suimingu pantsu / スイミングパンツ).

4. Plastic bag for wet gear. This is a robust bag with handles and a clip to keep the contents from falling.

Each of the things I have listed have to clearly labeled with your child’s name. This goes down to each sock and dipper level. I usually write the name with a permanent marker or iron it on using a colourful label with the name on it. Some parents use a label printing machine or sawing. I have sawed a name on two towels and decided to just write the rest.

In some preschools parents might be asked to prepare the lunchbox everyday or only on some days. This is especially the case in the kindergartens (yochien), which generally expect greater parental involvement. If you are required  to prepare lunch everyday, the daycare might still provide snacks, which are usually rice crackers (osenbe) and fruits. That was the case in the first preschool our kid was attending.

Also, some stationery articles may be required by preschool such as scissors or crayons, not our experience though.

I hope this post helps you to get an idea of what you can be expected to provide for your child in Japanese preschool. If you have any questions or would like to add something to the list, please comment below.