Kspace Kindergarten and Pre-School

The ‘K’ in our name represents kids, kinder and kodomo. It’s amazing how the word for children starts with a ‘K’ in so many languages! We designed a wonderful space for the education and development our children – the one and only, Kspace!

Since 2001 we have achieved great success and enjoyed the happiest of experiences with thousands of children and their families, representing almost 40 countries from around the globe! Parents love our international environment, which provides a ‘home from home’ atmosphere for expatriates, and a truly warm welcome for our Japanese families.

We offer something for every stage of early childhood. We help parent and child strengthen bonds and experience exciting new things together – and we are here to educate and care for the children when they branch out by themselves. We are a ‘one-stop’ facility for families.At Kspace we try to make parenting/schooling easier by keeping things simple.

There is an International School Membership Fee of ¥200,000 (per child). This is a one-time payment. International School Membership entitles the student to attend all programmes offered by Kspace.Our International Preschool & Kindergarten remain open on some national holidays. We close throughout the year for some planning and development days, 3 x one week half-term periods, and on Parent-Teacher Meeting days. Between terms we run Summer School and Winter School.Our Saturday School, Kspace Parent & Child Classes and After School programmes all run at extended periods throughout the year. Each has its own schedule.

As the children grow through our programme we include more emphasis on Phonics, Mathematics, Science and all foundation subjects. Physical development, outdoor play and an appreciation of nature balances the syllabus. We use a theme-based approach that flows beautifully through all lessons, allowing the children to become absorbed in fascinating topics and perfectly prepared for graduation to the best elementary schools.

Everything that we do at Kspace is carried out with a lot of flair and our meal scheme is no exception! We have some fabulous food awaiting your little ones and our menus have been given the Gold Star Award for ‘yummy-ness’ by the fussiest eaters – our children! Our commitment to nurture the ‘whole child’ begins from the inside-out! We believe we offer the best and have received overwhelming feedback that the K-Kitchens scheme works for our community.

It is likely that the world will be a more accessible place for our children than we could ever had imagined! They have any information they require at their fingertips and are unlikely to consider the acquisition of a foreign language a 'challenge'.

Whilst our little learners still have a voracious appetite for their native language they are also open to new ideas and sounds, and can accumulate vocabulary from another language at the same speed. To keep classes fresh, topical and interesting our approach is both bilingual and bicultural, with lots of emphasis placed on festivals, traditions and customs throughout the term.

Our JLIP begins at bilingual age (3 to 4 years) and we continue to support the children with their Japanese studies until they are six years old. There are many reasons to enroll your child, and obviously these differ from family to family. You may be living in Japan for a few years and hope to give your child an enriched cultural experience. Other families are multi-cutural/Japanese and wish their children to maintain a healthy grounding of both Japanese and English, prior to moving on to Elementary School. We also have foreign parents who share a long history with Japan, and are hoping that their children will also wish to further their Japanese studies. The reasons for wanting to join are many.

Children in the JLIP are aged between 3 and 4 years old to be eligible and must join us five times per week. During their JLIP stage they attend classes conducted in Japanese on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These are taught entirely by our native Japanese speaking staff. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday they join our native English speaking, foreign staff. Please note, that on JLIP days the children's school day begins at 8.45am and finishes at 13.45pm – approximately 15 minutes earlier than the regular Butterflies, to keep the programmes segregated. On the JLIP days the children wear little sakura shaped name badges. They are assigned two Key Workers; one in their English Language Programme and one in the Japanese Language Programme. For the purpose of assessment, report writing and Parent-Teacher communication the teachers will liaise and collate observations and feedback. Classes are for fifteen students only and we invite children from all cultural and language backgrounds. Enrolments are accepted on the proviso that parents are committed to providing their child with a strong English language education, which also includes a foundation course in Japanese language and culture. Parents must be happy to use English to liaise with the school. Please note that all written and verbal feedback regarding your child's progress will continue to be in English only.The daily schedule basically mirrors that of the regular Tspace schedule, however lessons are adjusted appropriately. All Butterflies follow monthly themes and continuity/repeat exposure to the lessons is essential. Consequently the children will follow their theme throughout the month, in both English and Japanese.

All children have a different level of English/Japanese proficiency when they enter this programme. Your child's individual level will be assessed and tasks will be set appropriately. Where possible, teachers use the language of delivery to explain new vocabulary and its uses throughout. As with all language acquisition it is often necessary to use native language parallels to establish understanding, and our team is well qualified to judge when this is necessary.

For the Language Arts modules, Jolly Phonics is replaced by the equivalent Japanese Language (Hiragana) reading and writing scheme. To introduce the children to the language through fun we use lots of visual cues, tracing, children's versions of 'KARUTA' (a Japanese hiragana recognition card game) and games. The teachers use the 'big story' card system, and encourage lots of questions and interaction at Circle and Story Times!