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| Rolling on the mats (03/04) |
Tommy is about to make an important transition. Beginning April 12, he will have a completely new daily routine: clad in his official Nihongi Yochien suit and hat and carrying his official Nihongi Yochien backpack, Tommy will board an official Nihongi Yochien bus at exactly 8:00am and ride to---you guessed it---Nihongi Yochien, his new preschool. Preschool in Japan is quite an affair. At age three, children begin attending school Monday through Friday, full-time. Although until age five or so they spend most of the day at preschool playing rather than doing serious schoolwork, it is seen as an important step in becoming part of their peer group. We hope preschool will be a good experience for Tommy. He still knows only about one hundred words in Japanese, but we've taught him the most important ones (like "oshikko" (pee-pee)), and we hope that will be enough to give him a good start.
Until the end of March, Tommy attended swimming and exercise classes at Pal Swimming School with Sarah and Edie. Last week he and the other children who are to begin preschool in April said goodbye to their friends and teachers at Pal. These pictures are from Tommy's final taisou (exercise) class.
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