年中 (nenchū), the middle kindergarten year
年中 (the middle kindergarten year) is the middle year of kindergarten or daycare, and for families weighing a private or national elementary school it is the year to decide, because those exams are sat in the autumn of 年長 (the last preschool year). For the child it is the year of friends and group play: rules for games, first quarrels and making up, and a new interest in letters and numbers.
Age 4–5
What school expects this year
The ten things Japanese kindergartens and daycares aim for by age six
幼児期の終わりまでに育ってほしい姿（10の姿）
In 年中 the national picture of 幼児期の終わりまでに育ってほしい姿 (what a child should be growing into by school age) shows up as group play, agreeing the rules of a game, and noticing letters, numbers and signs, never as lessons or a test.
Ask the teacher: What does my child do well in a group, and where do they still need help?
Lessons (習い事) at kindergarten age: what families actually spent
幼稚園児の学校外活動費（令和5年度子供の学習費調査）
If you are weighing another lesson or a first study class in 年中, the ministry's survey shows what a kindergarten-age year outside school actually cost.
Body and mind this year
What each age is working on: the ministry's stages from infancy to high school
子どもの発達段階ごとの特徴と重視すべき課題（文部科学省）
The ministry's paper puts this age at playing as a group: making rules, quarrelling and making up, and beginning to see a friend's side.
At home: Your child hits or grabs whenever a game goes against them, or always plays alone at the park.
Eyes, teeth and weight by age: what the national school health statistics show
学校保健統計調査（令和7年度）：裸眼視力・むし歯・肥満傾向の年齢別の割合
Kindergarten checks eyes and teeth each year, and the national school health statistics start at kindergarten age, so the article shows what is common now and what a check notice asks you to do.
At home: Your child holds books very close, squints at the TV, or avoids chewing on one side.
Ask the teacher: Did the kindergarten's eye or dental check find anything we should follow up with a doctor?
Special-needs routes in Tokyo: the support room, the class, and who decides
東京都の特別支援教室と就学相談
If you or the kindergarten have a concern about development, learn the routes now: the 就学相談 (school-entry consultation) with the board of education comes in 年長, and Tokyo schools offer a support room as well as special classes.
At home: Your child finds things the class manages hard, such as following a group instruction or sitting through a story, and you or the teacher have noticed.
Ask the teacher: How does my child manage group activities compared with the rest of the class?
If your child came from abroad
Japanese classes outside the school day: preschools for new arrivals, and where a Tokyo family looks
学校外の日本語教室と、就学前のプレスクール・プレクラス
If your child is still new to Japanese, a year of a プレスクール (preschool Japanese class) before 年長 gives time to settle before school entry; the article explains where Tokyo families find one.
Ask the teacher: Can my child follow the instructions you give to the whole class?
This year's decisions
What a private elementary entrance round asks of a five-year-old and the parents: two Tokyo schools' April 2027 guides
私立小学校の入学試験で何を見るか（2027年度 新渡戸文化小学校・立教小学校の募集要項から）
This is the year to decide on お受験 (private and national elementary entrance), because preparation, school visits and applications all come before the exams in the autumn of 年長.
National elementary schools in Tokyo: one school's lottery round, and what the next school publishes itself
国立小学校の入学（東京学芸大学附属世田谷小学校の令和9年度募集）
Elementary schools attached to national universities set their own catchment areas, places and selection, often including a lottery, and each school's own notice is the only rule.