Theo's First Day in School

April 9, 2008 (Wednesday) was Theo's first day in school. It was when the Nyuen Shiki (Entrance Ceremony) was held at the Taito Municipal Kindergarten, which is just a few minutes walk from our place. In the photo above, Theo is seen at the school's gate in front of a sign written in kanji characters, which can be roughly translated to "entrance ceremony", and also states the fiscal year (heisei 20) and the name of the school.

After the ceremony, which began at 10:30 a.m. and ended an hour later, a group photo was taken, and the preparation for that is shown in the photo below. Theo is at the leftmost, lying on the other chair while his other classmates are sitting upright or standing.



There are approximately 16 students in his class and only two are foreigners, but only Theo cannot speak straight Japanese. That's because we talk to him in English and sometimes Hiligaynon (our dialect) at home, and he picks up his Japanese only from the TV and, occasionally, when his mom talks on the phone or to other Japanese in public places.

Because Theo cannot understand Japanese fully, it has become quite a problem during his first few days. The teachers said that he is disinterested in class, probably for the simple reason that he doesn't know what's being talked about. And he also isn't able to follow his teacher's instructions. Thus, the teachers advised Mommy D to talk to him in Japanese at home, which she has started to do since Thursday. I'll continue to talk to him in English to make sure that he understands the language in preparation for our return home next year, but at this time, Japanese seems to be more important. Understanding the local language is necessary for him to enjoy school and to make new friends.

In the first few weeks, they will stay in school for only 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but as the days move on, this will gradually lengthen. By June, he'll be staying there for at least 5 hours and he'll also have lunch with his classmates. We surely hope that he would have fully adjusted to the routine and environment by then.

We want him to enjoy school because that's where he'll be in the first 2 decades of his life, maybe even more if pursues graduate studies. But that will not be in Japan, which is a different situation altogether.