I love children and I enjoy volunteering at kindergartens. Before coming to Japan, I volunteered at American preschools and Hong Kong kindergartens. This CIP at Zenryuji Nursery School certainly widened my horizon.

Routine
I volunteered every Monday from noon till around 1pm. Within this short period of time, children had lunch, brushed their teeth, changed into pajamas, and got ready for naptime; I was amazed by how these events took place smoothly. I was given a free meal and allowed to eat with the children every week. At the beginning, I mostly spent time with the children after lunch and I was treated more as a guest than a volunteer. As I continued taking initiatives in offering help, I was able to get closer to the teachers. After about a month, teachers started assigning me more chores such as distributing the dishes before meals and cleaning the chairs after lunch. I am glad that I took the initiative in starting conversations with the teachers during lunch. Since teachers were very busy at other times, lunch was the perfect time to have short conversations about their teaching experience. I think that getting to know the teachers was one of the learning aspects of this CIP. In addition, it would have been better if I prepared some easy English songs to sing with the children after lunch. As teachers in this nursery school welcomed creative ideas, I could have offered more learning opportunities for the children.

Interacting with children
Since the self-introduction on the first day, children were very accepting of me (perhaps because of my Asian face). Every time I arrived the nursery school, children would start shouting “AH! Angela-san!” and surrounding me. The older children tried “showing off” their English skills by reciting the number sequence or naming all the animals they knew—it was adorable.

While I thought Japanese people tend to maintain personal distance with strangers, I was surprised that some of the children showed their friendliness by holding my hands or attempting to tickle me. These interactions did not happen in my American nor Hong Kong observations. We became friends after my weekly visits. In the first few times, most of them called me “Angela sensei (teacher),” but eventually, everybody called me “Angela-san,” an indication as a friend instead of an authoritative figure.

Combining elective courses with CIP experience
Nursery school was a perfect location to observe and apply what I learned in KCJS elective classes: Families and Work in Post-war Japan (with Professor North) and Exploring Language and Food in Kyoto (with Professor Yotsukura).

Comparing with my experiences in the United States and Hong Kong, I was surprised by how much these Japanese mothers had to prepare for their children. Children in this nursery school had their own labeled handkerchiefs, cups, eating utensils, bed sheets, blankets, etc. Professor North mentioned that, these preparations were viewed as indicators of a mother’s love toward her children and her performance as a “good wife, wise mother.”

Nursery school was also a location to educate children about the Japanese cuisine and dining etiquette. Before and after meals, children had to say thank you (For example, “お父様、お母様、先生いただきます！”); teachers also introduced the dishes served. I learned from Professor Yotsukura that, the “one-soup, three-side dishes, and rice” module was the foundation of Japanese cuisine. Japanese children started learning about this module and the varieties of Japanese food at a young age.