Last year, in reference to preschools, I kept hearing the words yochien and hoikuen thrown around amongst mothers. I had no idea what they were talking about and I wasn’t really looking forward to the whole application process, figuring it’d just be a headache with all the Japanese paperwork involved. Yochien is private nursery school (there used to be public ones, but not anymore) . Hoikuen is government supported nursery school, exclusively for children between the ages 3 months – 5 years whose parents are both working, or for some reason are unable to take care of them. So in order for children to be admitted you have to show some need for them to enter – a single mother or father, both parents need to work, a parent is unable to take care of the child because of a disability. We thought there’d be no way our kids would get in. There are long waiting lists and they usually look for people who need it most. We hardly seemed on the urgent list, but through some miracle the kids got in and now both are attending the same hoikuen.
Preparing for hoikuen is quite a task. Every hoikuen is slightly different in their rules but generally, here are some of the things needed:
For the 3-4 year olds you need: a futon cover and a winter and summer duvet cover (these you are expected to make, but you can buy it from the school for around 1000 yen), a specific style of sun hat to which you attach an elastic strap, room shoes called uwabaki (shoes you wear inside since of course you don’t wear outside shoes indoors), a padded protective head guard (called bosaizukin) and sweat suit labeled with the child’s name to be worn in case of emergencies, a backpack, and during summer: swimming pants (a specific navy blue swim pants worn by both the boys and girls, also labeled) and a sports towel (those long skinny towels which is a common size in Japan, but not really in the US). Every hoikuen has a cute little swimming pool for the kids.
Everyday they must have these: 3 pairs of pants, 3 t-shirts , 3 undershirts in cool weather days, 2 underpants, 1 set pajamas (they change for nap time), 2 hand towels with a little loop to hang it (one for the classroom and one for the bathroom), 2 plastic bags (to keep the dirty clothes in). Everything must be labeled with the child’s name.
For the 1 – 2 year olds similar things are needed but slightly more: a futon cover and a winter and summer duvet cover (these you can make or buy from the school), a specific style of sun hat to which you attach an elastic strap, a padded protective head guard (bosaizukin) and sweat suit labeled with the child’s name to be worn in case of emergencies, and for the summer: swimming pants (the same specific navy blue swim pants worn by both the boys and girls, labeled) and a sports towel. You also need to make a fabric book cover for a diary that accounts your child’s daily activities (both you and the hoikuen teachers write each day). Everyday you have to write down what your child did from the time you left the hoikuen to the next morning before dropping them off. Specifically: what your child ate for dinner and the time, any snacks they ate between meals, whether they took a bath (or only a shower) or not, if they pooped and the condition of the poo (if it was normal, hard, soft, or watery), what time the slept at night and woke up the next morning, what they ate for breakfast and the time they ate, and then a short description of the child’s activities and any information you want to provide.
Everyday you need to bring: 6-8 diapers (each one must have your child’s name on it) and a plastic bag to keep the soiled ones (you have to bring home all the used diapers and dispose of them there), 3 bibs (which must be a certain apron kind) and a plastic bag for them, 4 pairs of pants, 4 t-shirts , 4 undershirts in cool weather days, 1 set pajamas, 1 plastic bags (to keep the dirty clothes in), the diary. Of course, everything must be labeled with the child’s name.
Other little rules: Girls are not allowed to wear dresses or skirts. The only kinds of pants allowed are the elastic-waist pull-up kind (no pants with buttons or zippers). No button down shirts (but polo-type are ok). No hair accessories with little beads or trinkets on them and no clips. Earrings are not allowed, even tiny little studs. Futons are placed out to hang on sunny days – each class has a specific day of the week to hang them. Every end of the week you must take home the futon and duvet covers and wash it, then bring it back the following week and put it back on.
So there you go – the things to be ready for if you plan to have your kids attend hoikuen. And of course, all this is in Japanese language! Probably not a problem for most moms living here, but it was (and still is) quite a learning experience for me. It sounds like a lot of work, but once you get into a rhythm, it can go quite smoothly.