Shichida/Henguru in Japan- Locations?

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Hi there-

I am trying to find out if there are any Shichida or Henguru classes located in/near Yokosuka, Japan. The Shichida website states that there are 400 locations throughout Japan, but I can't find any details, perhaps because I don't read Japanese.

This is the general area--
Tokyo Bay in the Kanto Plain region of Japan.
Yokosuka City is located about 30 miles southwest of Japan's capital city, Tokyo, on the east coast of the main island, Honshu.

Thank you!

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Also, if you have enrolled your child in either of these classes, could you please tell me what the tuition costs are. Thank you.

[DannyandAmy]

I don't live in Yokosuka right now, but my husband used to be stationed in the Yokosuka Base. There IS a Shichida Child Academy in Yokosuka. I've never enrolled my child in Shichida there (We're in Sapporo right now.), but have considered doing so when we move back to Yokosuka.

"Yokosuka Kyo-******su" (Yokosuka Classroom)
0468-27-3012
3 min walk from Shioiri Station (Tokyu Line)
http://www.shichida.ne.jp/map/map_img/45014.gif
http://www.shichida.ne.jp/map/school.php?rec_id=045014#

I've observed classes in Sapporo and the tuition is more or less around 150000 yen a month for a one hour class once a week.
The additional entrance fee made my wallet wince.

Best of luck!

[DannyandAmy]

Oh it looks like this program thought I was swearing. I was just sounding out the Japanese.

The name of the place in Japanese is: Yokosuka Kyo shi tsu.

There. I think now it thinks I'm an okay person. LOL!

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Please tell me you meant 15,000 yen ($175 USD) not 150,000 yen! ($1,750) We could consider $175 (times two kids, but only if my husband can get some AIP) but not 2K!~

I thought about applying for a job there because they do hire native english speakers for a portion of the classes at least from what I understand, and I have a degree. However I read from one persons review that they tend to only hire men, did you remember that to be true when you went for a preview?  I might try to contact them and send my resume once orders are cut, I don't know.

Thank you immensely for this information, it is a huge help! I looked ALL OVER online with no luck! You have been most helpful!!

[DannyandAmy]

Oops, yes I meant $150.

And there are plenty of female teachers.

I work as an English Language Teacher at a kindergarten that specializes in early childhood education (Shichida, Doman, etc.) with a first ever Doman-produced P.E. program. There are some good points and bad points of Shichida. Just be careful and know that Shichida isn't everything.

Let me know if you need any help! I speak both English and Japanese.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Do you know if the Shichida classes are taught in both english and japanese or just one or the other?

My plan is to try and get the kids enrolled in a Japanese preschool to try and become bilingual, and then to go to the Shichida classes once a week in the evenings or on the weekend. If there are other options locally (like similar to the kindergarten that you teach at or henguru or little nuero tree or something similar) I would be open to that.

We finally found a class like this in the states by where we live but it will be time to move soon, hopefully May 2011 if we can get the orders, we should know in a month or two. So I want to find something comparable or better in Japan.

Does Shichida have wait lists, should I get on a waitlist before we move? What is the registration fee, I assume it is a one time fee? Does it say anything about discounts for multiple children?

Are you a native Japanese speaker too or did you pick it up while living in Japan, if so, how long did it take you to learn?


Thanks for all your help!

[TeachingMyToddlers]

*Bump*

[DannyandAmy]

I am a Japanese/American mix and was born and raised here. I learned both Japanese and English simultaneously.

I think the Shichida once-a-week classes are taught in Japanese only. But they have Shichida-style "English" classes in well, obviously, English. (Their main target is to teach Japanese kids a foreign and "exotic" language: English.) Over here in Sapporo there is a Shichida kindergarten that Shichida Makoto himself produced, and they have weekly or daily (I forgot how often) English classes there. Went to observe it with my then 4 month old. She is 22months now so.. it's been a long time. As for the normal "non-kindergarten" classes (there is only one such Shichida kindergarten in Japan), I don't think there are any waiting lists. They are treated as your regular piano lesson.

There are two kindergartens in Chiba (same kindergarten, two locations) that I thought might be worth the commute from Yokosuka. They do Doman, Shichida, Montessori, etc. It's called Toushin International Kindergarten and they teach Japanese, English, and Chinese. (You can choose either Japanese or English to be the main language: 70%LanguageA+20%LanguageB+10%Chinese.)  http://www.et-toshin.co.jp/kindergarten.html  is their Japanese website. Maybe you can call their number 047-365-0006, or 047-340-3434, and ask to speak to their English teacher(s) for details?? They seem a bit pricey...

The people at Shichida told me once that there are many kindergartens that incorporate the Shichida style. Like I said above, there is only one "real" Shichida kindergarten. (This is what they told me.) What that means is, the other kindergartens may be 60% Shichida, just not 100%. I almost feel silly saying all this, because this is what I've come to learn about this whole Shichida thing. The theory is great. But their main message now is too much centered on BUSINESS. BUT, they told me once that if I ever have to move to Yokosuka, they would tell me which kindergartens in that Yokosuka-Yokohama-Tokyo area that have incorporated this Shichida style. So that was nice.

How old are your kids? I can look up the prices from the Shichida website and tell you how much they charge.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

You are an absolute gem, I cannot thank you enough! It's like hitting a brick wall sometimes looking for information. By the time we move, my kids will be 2 years 6 months and 1 year 5 months.

If I was able to find a Shichida "style" preschool that would be awesome too, if there is such a thing, they're clearly too young for kindergarten of course.

Seriously, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[DannyandAmy]

For your kids at Shichida, there is a course for 0-1 year-olds and another for 2-3 year-olds.

The registration/enrollment fee is 21,000 yen, monthly fee (tuition) is 14700 yen, and the materials (I think that's what it said) is 2100 yen per month.  There is some sort of discount for siblings. It looks as if it's only 5250 yen extra (added to the first child's tuition and materials), but I can't be 100% sure. The website does not get into too much details.

They are advertising for new September students. They encourage you to call 'your local school' and sign up for their trial lesson. Let me know if you need help.

Sorry I used the word 'kindergarten' without really explaining what it means over here. I should've known you would have misunderstood. Over here, 'kindergarten' is US-style preschool and US-style kindergarten combined. In Japan, 'school' starts in first grade, NOT kindergarten. So anything before 'school' is considered 'kindergarten.' However, the most common program for kindergartens is the three-year program: Nensho (Year One/"Freshmen"/3-, turning 4-year-olds), Nenchu (Year Two/"Juniors"/4-, turning 5-year-olds), and Nencho (Year Three/"Seniors"/5-, turning 6-year-olds). The 'kindergarten' that I work at has this three year program, but it also has a one-year-old class and a two-year old class! Even my 22 month-old daughter Leah, who goes to this one-year-old class, goes to 'kindergarten'. So don't be put off by the word! Literally translated, the word for kindergarten ("Yo-chi-en") simply means "young child," "garden."

The Toshin International Kindergarten I mentioned has a two-year-old class, I believe. So your older one can attend already. But I can imagine it be hard to send your older child to a far-away kindergarten while still taking care of your younger one. To me that just doesn't seem possible. I'm sure there is something of the sort closer to 'downtown Japan'. Especially Yokohama and Tokyo. Let me see if I can ask the Shichida kindy people here about those Shichida-style ones in the area. It might take a while since it's obon season in Japan. (A time everyone takes days off work to go back to their family graves and pay respects to their ancestors.) On top of that, the whole place might be closed due to summer vacation. I'll ask anyway.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Really, thank you so much. We're looking to possibly move in May *if* everything falls into place, so I have quite a bit of time but I'm researching my options now. I was able to check out the website you gave the kindergarten link for with google translate but then I looked on google maps and it says it's 2 hours by train, so unfortunately it';s just too far.

This was posted to me on another forum--

Mikasa is right outside the Womble Gate. Seems to have a large population of base kids. Walk to the school from base. Catholic.

Seika- Not too far from base, and has a cool train bus that picks up kids at each tower/house. Also seems to have a large American student population. Very expensive (more so than Mikasa from what I understand from friends) but has a lot of activities. I know it's religious based, but nut sure if it's Catholic or Christian.

Mikuni- A little further than Seika, also has a bus that goes to base and Ikego. Not very many Americans (2 or 3 that are "white", but a few more 1/2 Japanese kids). My son goes to Mikuni, so I know most about this one. Owners speak fluent English and send home all newsletters, information in English. Costs more than Mikasa, but not as much as Seika I think. Christian curriculum. Website- some basic info in English http://www.mikuni.ed.jp/

Hayama International- I believe English is the main language spoken here. I'm not too familiar with it, it's also the furthest from Base, but they also have a bus. This would be the more American style school, more casual uniforms, etc. Near the beach sot hey take field trips there often.

As I said, I know people who send their kids to all those schools- and even some others near Ikego, and everyone is happy with the one they've chosen. Be prepared to pay though, registration and admission fees can easily come to $1000 just to get started, then there is the monthly tuition- about $200 range. Uniforms are another expense. And Japanese school is so different than US Pre-school, but it's such a great experience. Good luck with your choice!

----------------------------

And then I was able to find this too, but I know at least some of it is outdated because the base no longer has a preschool.

http://benefits.military.com/misc/installations/files/YOKOSUKA__JAPAN/24.html  (I looked at the english websites of the international & American schools and wow, I won't be enrolling my kids anytime soon! $8,000-15,000 a year plus fees is a little steep. ouch. Price wise, we could probably do Yokosuka Kindergarten or Seika based on this list.)

If I could find a preschool like one you say incorporates some montessori, doman, shichida methods that would be perfect. I just don't know what I'm doing really, muddling through any information I can find, using google translate to make heads or tails of things LOL. And if I knew what preschool we wanted to send my daughter to   (or at least narrowed it down) then it would help us determine where we want to live to ease the commute.

[ann lee]

hi mommies,

i would like to get some products from shichida japan. however, their website is all in japanese. i'm not a japanese
anyone knows the store location? i heard there is one at Osaka.
appreciate your help. thk u

ann

[cliffwill88]

Wow, these schools looks fabulous! I really wanted to learn Japanese ever since, and It's funny I imagined myself sitting beside cute little preps along with my little Chloe!    Thanks for the info!

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