An expatriate Chinese mother in Kyoto, Japan, expressed her shock over the pre-school education system as well as the schooling habits of young children there. She shared her experience and observations on the Internet.

She wrote: "Before coming to Japan, Tiantian (her daughter) had already gone through a year of kindergarten in Beijing, so you could say that we are no strangers to kindergarten. But there are some things in Japanese kindergartens that have stunned me."

The following are 12 of her observations:

Photo: Internet

1. The ridiculous number of bags.

"On the first day, they explained to us that we needed to prepare a certain number of bags of various sizes:

"A schoolbag, a blanket bag, a bag for eating utensils, a box for eating utensils, a bag for clothes, a bag for for changing clothes, a bag for clothes after they have been changed out of, and a bag for shoes. Then that bag A had to be of such-and-such a length, bag B had to be of such-and-such a width, bag C had to fit in bag D, and E in bag F. I just couldn't believe it.

Some kindergartens even ask mothers to make their own bags!

After two years, we're used to it, and the kids have become very good at putting things in their right place. I often think that the reason that the people of Kyoto don't mind sorting their rubbish might be because they've been taught this kind of thing from a young age."

Next: All These Bags Carried by Children, While Adults Carry Nothing. >>