Lovin' School

I must say I was a bit concerned that once we got here that I may feel that
we should have chosen the "American School" - ASIJ.  Some of the contacts
that I had made prior to moving here were associated with that school.
However, so far we are really enjoying Tokyo International School.
Not only have we gotten to experience a bit of the Japanese culture so
far in living here, but we are also getting a taste of some other cultures as well,
through the school. The teachers are from all over the world as well as the children.
I also have gotten a taste of it from some of the Moms I have met.
Some of the countries represented include the UK, Australlia, New Zeeland,
Egypt, The Netherlands, Finland, China, Mexico, Singapore, Korea, Germany, etc.

The kids have all adjusted so far, and are making friends.  They are really excited
to learn Japanese.  Landen came home yesterday writing his name in one of the 3 alphabets.
And Kendall is constantly singing the ABC's.  Right now while the weather is so hot, the kids gym period is spent doing swimming.  It is an outdoor pool on the other side of their courtyard.  This will be during the first 6 weeks of school.

The school wants to encourage the families to all get to know one another, and know how important
it is to establish relationships for the kids.  Without knowing the other parents it makes it difficult to have playdates, etc.  So with that in mind, the school plans coffees to give us the opportunity to mingle with the parents of the other children in your childs grade.  So far this week, I have met the other 1st grade and 3rd grade parents.  Kendall is so excited for me to meet some parents of the girls she has made friends with so she can start having them over... that will be tomorrow.

Another activity we are looking forward to is an all school picinic next Saturday.  This will be great as Jeff can be involved too!

Today, we are currently having a playdate with the kids we were with last week.  Their Mom has been so gracious to me, helping with so many things, and making us feel so welcome.  It is music to my ears to have kids here playing & giggling together after living here for such a short time. 

One other thing that the school has was a Parent Teacher conference already last Friday.... but rather than reviewing the progress of the child, it was the Parent's opportunity to tell the Teacher anything they would like to share about your child.  It was also a chance to get a feel for the teachers personality and see their classroom, and desks, etc.  It was ackward at first, and it was a long time slot of 25 minutes, but looking back I feel grateful for that time together with the teachers.

It has also been great to see the founder and owner of the school be so hands on at the school the last few days when I have been there, very active and involved in what was going on :)

I posted some additional pictures of the school on my Facebook page, and when I can figure it out on the blog I will add them here as well :)