Class introduction by instructor: Kids’ Garden Elementary 1 Class

We nurture the ability to understand and think in English!

The main theme activity, “Math Their Way,” is a fun way to learn basic arithmetic – shapes, colors, numbers, pattern recognition, and the four arithmetic rules – in English only, using a variety of materials (blocks, geoboards, etc.) provided by a foreign teacher.　The children listen intently to the instructor’s explanations and try to understand the English instructions by looking at them. For example, the theme for February and March was “Various Shapes and Pattern Recognition. First, children learn how to say various shapes in English, such as triangle, square, star, and diamond, and how many “corners” there are.　Next, when the instructor asks the students to make different shapes by putting together several blocks, and then asks them to make the same shape with the same color, the students first think hard about what the instructor wants from them, what they need to make the same thing, and how they can get it, and then they verbalize their ideas. The Japanese instructor only helps a little to make the words come out. The students then feel a sense of accomplishment by being able to follow the foreign teacher’s instructions, and they are able to communicate in a natural way.

Learn English in daily life

Since this is a two-hour class, we sometimes go out for cooking or to a nearby park to explore. In the cooking class, students learn not only the names of the ingredients, but also the action verbs necessary for cooking, such as wash, cut, and mix vegetables.　In this class, students are expected to clean up after each cooking session, so they will learn many useful everyday English phrases such as “do the dishes” and “clean the table” that they can use to help their family members at home. We also aim to learn many everyday English phrases that will be useful for helping your family members at home.