A savior for families in need of daycare and kindergarten closures? Online Kindergarten"

Key Points of this Service

Using online delivery, you can recreate the rhythm of a "kindergarten" like lifestyle from the comfort of your own home.
A well-balanced program of singing, dancing, and gymnastics to eliminate children's lack of physical activity.
More new contents are being added, including "Shimajiro's Animations and Movies" and "Prints for Work."

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, nursery schools and kindergartens across Japan have been closed or have refrained from enrolling children in school one after another. As a result, children have to spend the day at home, and many parents may be having a hard time. A service that may be of help in these days is the "online kindergarten" we introduce here. This is a real-time program broadcast from 10:00 to 14:00 on weekdays via an Internet homepage (also available on YouTube). Its content is structured like a real kindergarten, following a daily curriculum supervised by experts. This article is based on a news release from Benesse Holdings Corporation, the provider of the "online kindergarten," and on responses from its Brand and Public Relations Department to questions from the BabyTech.jp editorial staff.

Aiming to recreate "kindergarten" like life through the internet.

Online Kindergarten" started its distribution on March 18, 2020 with the aim of providing "a service that allows children to spend their days at home as if they were in kindergarten" using the Internet. The goal is to enrich the daily lives of children who may lack exercise or lose their daily rhythm as they spend their days at home due to the spread of the new coronavirus. To this end, various contents are provided free of charge according to a "daily flow (time schedule)" supervised by experts.

Online Kindergarten Screen

A day in the life of an online kindergarten (timetable)

One of the features of "Online Kindergarten" is that the "lady talks to the children watching the videos" repeatedly, so that the children can actively interact with the videos and experience simulated human interaction. In addition, to nurture children's "ability to see, hear, and think," the program includes a well-balanced combination of "picture book reading" and "videos on a wide range of themes.

A lady talking to children watching from a screen.

The actual content is outlined below.

MorningAfter the "Morning Greeting," there will be a "Song, Dance and Exercise Corner" to stimulate children's senses and relieve lack of exercise.

Lunch.Before "Ohiru no Jikan," the children are introduced to "how to wash hands properly" to prevent infection. Children are encouraged to wash their hands in time with the song. In addition, to avoid encouraging "eating while eating," "Ohiru no Jikan" plays only still images and music so that children can concentrate on eating.

AfternoonAfter "Ohiru no Jikan," a "Hamaigaki (tooth brushing)" corner is set up, in which a song that tells the points of tooth brushing is played repeatedly so that children can actually brush their teeth in time to the song.

The "toothpaste" section is designed so that children can brush their teeth together.

We want to provide an environment where children can thrive even under the circumstances of the "new Corona."

Benesse Holdings Corporation, in response to the situation where children spend more time at home due to measures against new coronavirus infection, first launched on March 6, 2020 a special website "Shimajiro is with You! webCyarenji En" was newly launched. Subsequently, the company launched "Online Kindergarten" on March 18, in response to many concerns received from parents at the company's customer service center, such as "I am having trouble with having nothing to do in my spare time" and "I don't know how to get involved as a parent just by looking at the textbooks.

In fact, according to a Benesse Institute of Education survey of children from 3 years old to elementary school age, it is clear that when parents respect their children's motivation and create a learning environment, the "ability to do their best" in early childhood is nurtured. In other words, the "Online Kindergarten" was opened based on the idea that it is important to create an environment where children can learn at home and respect their motivation, especially now that they are spending more time at home.

Online kindergartens" also offer storytelling.

Appreciation for "online kindergartens" coming from all over the world.

The number of users of the "Online Kindergarten" has exceeded 200,000 (as of April 14) in about one month since its launch, and its reach has expanded to more than 90 countries and regions in Japan and around the world. The following are some of the comments received from parents.

The delivery comes at a fixed time each day, so I can create a rhythm in my life."

It gives children a chance to think and act on their own, rather than just watching images. I like that there is an element of learning."

There are corners where children can move their hands and feet, such as dances and crafts, and have fun right here at home."

We live on the west coast of the United States and are under curfew due to the coronavirus. The children were overjoyed and their parents were very grateful."

"When a couple starts working together, they say, 'Well, I'm off to school,' and they take their crayons and notebooks and draw or paste something while they watch online kindergarten."

'My three-year-old daughter is hooked, and I'll be able to work from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. when I have online kindergarten.'

Children enjoying "online kindergarten

Online kindergartens" with new content being introduced more and more.

In response to the national and international response and the extended stay of children at home, "Online Kindergarten" has added the following services and features since its release.

... "Missed delivery":
The previous day's broadcast content can be viewed outside of the 10:00 to 14:00 broadcast time slot until the day after the broadcast.

The "home theater":
Normally, you can enjoy "Shimajiro's cartoons (about 50 cartoons)" which are available only for "Kodomo Challenge" members.

... "Refill Work":
Downloadable work to work on hiragana, numbers, maze, mistake finding, etc.

At present, the "Online Kindergarten" is scheduled to be offered until May 1, 2020, but an extension may be considered depending on the situation. In addition to the "Online Kindergarten," the company is planning to implement a variety of other initiatives.

New content may be added in the future?

＜Summary of this issue>

In preparing this article, I tried watching "Online Kindergarten" on TV with my soon-to-be 2-year-old daughter using an AmazonTV stick to connect to the Internet. My first impression was that there were fewer appearances of "ladies" talking to the children than I had expected, and that there were many repetitions of the same dances, songs, and nature observation videos. ...... Unfortunately, my daughter seemed to get bored halfway through (by the way, there were many insect-related videos, so be careful if you are not a fan of insects!) ). As expected, it is difficult at this point to reproduce the same level of interaction and interactivity with the teachers as a real kindergarten, but I felt that this is a very much needed initiative, and I am sure that the content will be further improved in the future. Why not check it out with your child who spends more time at home?

Online Kindergarten" Official Website
https://www2.shimajiro.co.jp/kodomo/online/