横浜YMCAが運営する全日制英語幼児園

YGK life was filled with various hands-on activities and events such as excursions, concerts, experiments, arts and crafts, etc. Children learn with their five senses and by many heartfelt experiences scattered throughout the day.
My daughter engaged in play and a wide range of learning every day. While spending a lively time at school, speaking in English has become a natural thing for her.
More than that, I felt that the students really enjoyed the content of the activities such as art and science.
Above all, YGK fulfilled our wishes for what we expected from our children, a holistic and healthy growth as a person.
I have been feeling that our family and YGK have quite similar educational goals. Teachers acknowledge, listen, talk to and care for the children just the way we expect them to do.
Teachers always listen to children attentively and try to understand them deeply. Teachers always kneel down to meet a child at eye level when talking. This shows the teachers are trying to understand the children and respect them sincerely. My daughter used to be quite shy when she entered YGK, but now, she has grown up to be a strong-willed and expressive girl with the help from the teachers.
I originally chose YGK for my daughter’s education because I wanted her to be open to different languages, cultures, appearances, etc. However, she has acquired even more important things, such as a feeling of acceptance, a caring mind, strength and kindness, in the 3 years she has spent at YGK.

I really appreciate that YGK has helped develop my daughter’s interest in learning and the global environment and supported her mental, physical and cognitive development.

It was a wonderful 3 years for both me and my child.
As YGK adopts both Japanese and foreign cultures proactively, we can enjoy the year twice as much!
Starting from sticky rice pounding, we have seasonal events such as Setsubun or bean scattering, Easter, Children’s Day, Operetta, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Concert, and more.
As there are various children and teachers from different cultural backgrounds, there are many programs where the children can learn about the world. In the Cub class, K3, they had chances to learn about
environmental issues and to give a presentation on a country they chose in front of their friends and families. They also studied math.
There are a lot of extracurricular activities too, such as taking trips to the Fire station and the Police
Headquarters, going to a library and also having a cooking day, etc. In the Cub class, the children had
an opportunity to grow their own vegetables and do a sleepover at the Fujisan YMCA campsite.
The children grew immensely by taking part in various events, through their every day lessons and
enjoyable field trips. They study set encompassed a variety of elements, such as phonics, reading
comprehension lessons using British storybooks, Show and Tell, and more.
One of the American mothers said that we had the same educational system as in an American
kindergarten.
YGK also has a variety of art programs. In the Cub class, they make their own calendar every month.
They enjoyed various seasonal art and craft programs. Most of the YGK children come to love arts and craft!

We have twice-a-week music lessons and they perform in events such as Operetta, Christmas and
mini concerts which are arranged during the year. We also have once-a-week gymnasium time for their
physical development which lead up to preparations for our annual Sports Day event. The days at YGK
was surely fulfilling as we had “something new everyday”, preparing for something and showing the results of their practices. The send-off service to the P.E. class or swimming class after school was attractive, too.
We also have spring and summer programs, which the children enjoy a lot.
English language, learning about different cultures and making friends from various countries has become second nature for my daughter. I feel my goals for my daughter’s English education has been accomplished.
And, above all, the teachers, staff members and friends whom we met here at YGK will be part of our lives.

Our first son graduated from YGK last year and our second son is currently enrolled at YGK now. We appreciate the teachers for respecting the children’s own will and watching over them warmly without forcing them to do something. Thanks to the teachers, our sons enjoy their school life cheerfully and without any worries.

As for the language acquisition, the teachers teach each child accordingly based on his/her English level and developmental stage. My first son was able to understand and speak in English to some extent before joining YGK. After joining YGK, he was able to communicate with more complex contents. My second son’s main language is Japanese but since enrolling at YGK we now feel that he is more able to adapt his bilingual situation without any stress.

We think it is a precious opportunity for them to experience not only Western cultures such as Halloween or Christmas but also Japanese traditional events such as sticky rice
pounding or Setsubun, or Bean Scattering. We hope they acquire a broader point of view
and way of thinking.

As YGK offers small class sizes and homely atmosphere, the children seem to build a closer and stronger bond together. We expect our son to deepen ties with his friends and have a
memorable school life throughout the 3 years he is there.

My son has been in YGK for almost four years, starting from the Joey class, a preschool class.
One of the reasons that we chose YGK was that the children in YGK spent most of the time immersed in English. I think he couldn’t have gained this much English if it was not enrolled at YGK.
Also, not only the children learn cooperativeness through group activities, but also they are encouraged to make decisions, do research on something, think and give speeches. Those experiences foster their sense
of independence. This approach to education was not very common among other kindergartens we visited,
which was very attractive to us.

The best part was that everyone in YGK, not only the teachers but also the staff members always tried to understand the personalities and the physical conditions of each child. They have been considerate to both the children’s and parents’ feelings.

Almost 6 years have passed since my son first enrolled at YGK. He has never said that he didn’t want to go to school. He still visits the YGK as a special helper and also takes an English course for graduates during
after-school hours. YGK is still a comfortable and one of his favorite places to visit.

Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to everyone in YGK for being affectionate. I appreciate your continued support.