Taking My Son to a Japanese Daycare

I was trying so hard not to cry. It's just crazy to me how young they are and they're able to do this for themselves. Hello everyone! We are excited for today's video. Today we'll be taking Elijah to a Japanese daycare for the first time. And really it's the first time he's ever been to a daycare at all. We're really excited for him but also a little nervous because as Elijah's parents we want to be sure that he's happy in daycare and gets along with the other kids. Exactly. We just hope that he has a good time there. We don't really know much about Japanese daycares but we're excited to learn. I think he's going to have a really fun time. So I'm not too worried. But there's always worries. Something about Elijah is he really loves friends. So whenever we're traveling around and there's a family with young kids Elijah is always running up to them and playing with them, saying hello. Yeah, we're hoping that's the case today in daycare. Yeah, hopefully. Hello buddy! You ready for daycare? Konnichiwa! Thank you! He's so excited. Good morning! Ohayo gozaimasu! Let's go, let's go! Yeah! His slippers are always a little small on me. This way! Wee! Oh wow, he's already seeing the toys. Let's go! So we wanted to introduce you to Kazuyo and Yoko. They just told us about the philosophy of their school and showed us their schedules for the day. It's very organized. Are you ready for Elijah to go to class? Yes, he's so excited. He keeps trying to run away. Just meeting with them was really nice because I feel like they truly care about the students. They showed us all the values that they go over in the class and their philosophy. We're really excited for Elijah. Thank you! Oh my gosh, wow! I love it. That is so nice. He just takes the bunny. He'll give it back. Let's go see the kids! Let's go! Good morning! Let's start our morning talk. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. Let's all sing the morning song. We're trying to step out to see how Elijah does when we step out. I think it's amazing how all those kids are just sitting in their chair super quiet. None of them are getting up and Elijah keeps getting up. He's so excited to be there. I'm just so excited. When they were singing just now I wanted to cry so bad. It's just a really beautiful song. There's beautiful kids and they're just so nice. I was definitely tearing up too. I was trying so hard not to cry. I feel really comfortable leaving him in their hands as well. Yeah, me too. We're just standing far back to see how Elijah's doing. Looks like he's almost doing better when we leave. He's sitting down. He's swimming. I'm just trying to understand how at such a young age they're all sitting like that. That's so crazy to me. It's kind of unexpected. Is it something they're taught or is it something they just know when they're born? They believe they can do it and so they do it. Yeah. What do you think of playtime? What are you observing? I like the toys that they have. They're natural and interactive. They need lots of imagination to play with them. They're really good learning toys. It's so cute. They're setting the table. Elijah's cooking for everyone. Thank you. They use the space really well. It looks like they're setting up for something else. The way that they move around things to transform the room is really cool. They have little walls to keep the kids from going into different parts of the room while they're setting it up. Everything is perfect size for these kids. It's so cute. Here you go, buddy. We're going to step out of the play area to see how Elijah does when we step out. You found some toys? I feel like Elijah's in good hands. Yeah, he's having a lot of fun. I really like how they have these bars in here. I've never seen this in a daycare but I really like it. I like it because Elijah is always trying to grab a bar and pull himself up. Yeah, especially on the train. He's so heavy. Ready? He loves these bars. He might let go. You got a friend, Elijah. You used to teach clay to kids. How to mold clay. I did. I taught ceramics. This is really fun to touch clay again. You look so cute in that too. Oh, wow. First time with clay? Yeah. I think he's doing well in daycare. I had to leave the sink because he loves water. He really likes washing his hands after the clay. The sinks are so cute and small. He would get a doll to play with. So every child gets their own doll. That's awesome. I'm sure they do activities with it. Yeah, it's cute. Just from watching the other kids, Elijah has learned how to swing on the bar. Yeah, that's amazing. He can do it now. Wow. That's Elijah's friend. Hi. I'll hug you. Delicious. Thank you. Do you need a book? Thank you. He's got another book. Thank you. He's so cute. Don't step on him. They're going to give you a job here. He's putting him back in the right spot. Really? Thank you. There's a room they're showing us. It's called Light Hour. Let's go check it out. It looks really cool. In this room, it's the light room. It's a lot quieter in here. I feel like it's fun playing with all the kids. But then, it's good for them to take a break and be in a quieter room. I like how they do that here. They'll take just a few kids at a time, so it's not as crazy. That's a lot of fun. He's going to make a painting. In this room, they're supposed to use their imagination more. I like this room. I like painting. He gets to paint. There's a lot of things to do. There's a bunch of different spaces. As an art teacher, what's it like seeing your son do an art like that in another school? It's really fun to see him paint for the first time. We usually just paint with water at home. He just likes the water. This is Elijah's painting. I'm going to keep it forever. I think this is rice paper. He did a great job. This is beautiful. The children are ready for a picture with Elijah. Wow! Hi! Let's go! Next, we're going to check out the baby room. This is Elijah's favorite part. Oh, look! They're in this house. I love these baby seats. They're so cute. Elijah also loves them so much. He can do it all by himself. Now, we're going to go see the buffet-style lunch that they do for the kids. We learned that they put the lunch menu on here every day. Chestnut rice, soybean hamburger, seaweed salad, and the miso soup. Wow! Oh, my gosh! This is so cute! I love all the windows. Oh, my gosh. This is what it looks like. They grab it themselves. This is their sample, so they can copy that. That's so cool. Wow! They prepared their own tables. That's so cute. Something we really like about Japan is how the kids prepare and are taught to do things on their own. They're taught how to serve themselves, which is super cool. We also just learned that they set these tables for themselves, too. That's amazing. So cute. Konnichiwa. Hello. These kids are a little older than Elijah. We're going to have Elijah follow and try to do what they're doing. First, wash hands. Good job, buddy. Wow. This is so much fun to watch. They're so skilled. It's just crazy to me how young they are and they're able to do this for themselves. Look at them pour their own drink. That part's really impressive to me because most kids their age would spill everywhere. Like hold a cup on a tray. This is so cool. That's so cool. I love that. I just love how they let them do that. It's amazing. I feel like it's because they believe in them and they can do it. They can do hard things. This tray is an example so that they can copy exactly what it looks like. They're using chopsticks at this young of age. Like the coordination. That kid over there, he accidentally got a little bit of rice on his shirt. But instead of them cleaning it up for him, they have him go over and show him. This is why Japanese people are so smart. It explains why everything's so clean and the way it is because they start from such a young age. That's amazing. So smart, so clean, so respectful. And then the whole table eats together. That's so cool. So they say itadakimasu. And then they all eat with their table together. So the first table has started, then they start and then they are starting. It's just so heartwarming. I almost cried right there too. But I'm also pregnant. They have this mirror on their table where they can look at themselves and see if they have any food on their face. And then they can clean it off with a little tissue. This is the cutest tissue box I've ever seen. So tiny. That was amazing. Well, I'm just so impressed because everyone's serving themselves, but I didn't see any major spill or anything like that. And they've probably been taught to do that for so long. Busan. Okay. Itadakimasu. Okay. Oishi. We've been trying to get in. Yeah, we've been trying. For Elijah. Oh my goodness. They made him a doll. That is so cute. He's gonna love this so much. And then they said this one is for a baby. Oh my gosh, it's so cute. Wow, that's pretty fabric. Thank you so much. Okay. Can I give you a hug? Thank you so much. So we're leaving the daycare now. We had a really great time. They're just so sweet to the kids and just let them be people. Just little independent people. I love it. They treat them like an adult in the best way. Definitely. I think Elijah had a great time too, but he's asleep now. Thank you. It was so nice to meet you. Arigatou gozaimasu. So we're headed back to our station right now. Everyone was so nice. Elijah was just loving every second. I feel like now I'm gonna parent Elijah a little differently now. I'm gonna trust him to be a little adult. You're gonna let him serve his own food? Let him serve his own food. Just take responsibility over his life, I guess, in a small way. Yeah, more responsibility, give him more trust to do things. I totally agree with that. I'm really excited because I'd love to take him back to a daycare like that so that he can be with all those kids and learn the values that they were learning. And he could learn Japanese there. He could. He already knows one word right now. Wow, he finally learned one word. So cute. Maybe soon he'll know more than we do. Yeah, he's gonna know Japanese. You're an angel boy. One, two, three. Where are you from? America. Thanks so much for watching everyone. Please subscribe. We're trying to reach 500,000 subscribers and we'll see you on the next video. High five. Alright, let's go.