年少 (nenshō), the first kindergarten year
年少 (the first kindergarten year) is when kindergarten starts for most children, and when the 無償化 (national free-preschool rule) starts paying the basic fee, up to a cap at some kindergartens. For the child it is learning to be one of a group: their own shoes and bag, waiting a turn, and playing beside other children until they start playing with them.
Age 3–4
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）
Kindergarten and daycare both work toward one national picture, 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), from health and independence to words, numbers and expression, and in 年少 it is reached almost entirely through play.
Ask the teacher: What does my child choose to play in free time, and who with?
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）
Lessons outside kindergarten, 習い事 (lessons such as swimming or music), often start around now; the ministry's survey shows what families actually spent, and that few pay for juku at this age.
Body and mind this year
Development support around age 3: the certificate, the free period, and the ward desk
児童発達支援と就学前の利用者負担の無償化
If a concern about development comes up this year, 児童発達支援 (developmental support) needs a certificate from the ward and charges no user fee from now until school starts.
At home: Your child's teacher mentions speech or play, or you notice your child rarely joins other children's games even when invited.
Ask the teacher: Is there anything in how my child talks or plays that you think we should ask the ward about?
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 the work of these years on daily habits, dressing, the toilet, eating, and on learning to get along with other children through play.
At home: Your child melts down every time they have to wait or share, or says most days that nobody plays with them.
Ask the teacher: How does my child cope with waiting and sharing in class?
Sleep and the daily rhythm by age: the national sleep guide and the 早寝早起き朝ごはん campaign
こどもの睡眠時間の目安と「早寝早起き朝ごはん」
Kindergarten keeps an early start, and the national campaign 早寝早起き朝ごはん (early to bed, early to rise, breakfast) is the routine it will ask you to keep at home.
At home: Your child is hard to wake and cranky every morning, or will not eat breakfast before leaving.
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
For a child new to Japanese, a プレスクール (preschool Japanese class for children from abroad), run by some cities and groups, can make kindergarten and school easier to join.
Ask the teacher: Does my child follow what you say to the whole group, or only when you say it to them alone?
Keeping your home language (including English) while your child is in a Japanese school
母語・継承語を保つ（英語を含めて）
Once kindergarten is all in Japanese, the home language can start to slip, and the ministry's handbook asks families to keep talking with the child in it.
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）
Private and national elementary entrance rounds, お受験 (primary school entrance exams), are sat in the autumn of 年長 (the last preschool year), so families who want that option look now at what they ask of child and parents.
How the system works this year
Kindergarten fees and the free-fee cap: what ¥25,700 covers, and what you still pay
幼児教育・保育の無償化の上限と、私立幼稚園の納付金
The 無償化 pays a kindergarten's basic fee up to a monthly cap, and extended care, lunch, the bus and other charges can still come on top.