Kindergarten – The Heartbeat of our Village
Sep 10, 2025 | by Sam Wilder
School has begun again at the New Village School for the 18th year. The sounds of laughter, many world languages, and music once again fill the rooms freshly painted after a summer of preparation.
The Big Room continues to be our gathering place for our all-school Morning Circle, setting the tone for the school day. Recently, I was able to join Chako San, Ms. Beth, and our 23 kindergarteners as they held hands, walking in a line from the warm kindergarten classroom to the Big Room. Some of the children carried a bit of trepidation, but that quickly melted away as the comforting hands of 8th graders joined theirs while we walked through the Blue Carpet room.
Inside the Big Room, Señor Salusso plays the piano as the whole grade school moves slowly in a figure eight before forming a large circle along the edges of the room. The music softens, and Chako San steps forward with a radiant smile and begins to sing in Japanese. The rest of the school joins in, and the kindergarteners form an inner circle, embraced by the larger circle of the school. After a moment of silence, we greet each other, and our oldest students lead our youngest into the greater circle. Many of these 8th graders were once NVS kindergarteners themselves. What a beautiful way to begin the day.
This year, 16 of our kindergarteners are graduates of our Little Village Preschool, now in its fourth year of operation. Their teachers have remarked on how smoothly these students have transitioned into the rhythm of kindergarten after spending their early years with Ms. Robin and the preschool team in Little Village.
Chako San reflected, “What a wonderful kindergarten we have filled with many beautiful faces some we know and some we are getting to know for the first time! The children who have moved up from Preschool have begun their Kindergarten life with sparkling eyes and joyful hearts, feeling safe and happy from the very first day. This smooth transition was supported by the time I spent in Preschool last year, singing songs in Japanese, playing together, and sharing joyful days with the children, as well as through the Preschool Parent Evening, where we had meaningful conversations with families about their children’s growth and built strong relationships of trust. Thanks to these shared experiences, parents have been able to send their children into Kindergarten with confidence, making for such a positive and beautiful start.” She continued by noting that the new kindergartners who just joined the New Village School have quickly picked up on the sense of ease and comfort in the classroom and have transitioned into the group seamlessly.
Today, our kindergarteners joyfully wave to the preschool, Ms. Robin, and all the preschool teachers when they pass. Reflecting on this, Ms. Robin shared, “We created the preschool to bring the New Village School ethos to families with younger children, to offer an environment where parents feel a true sense of community with one another, a modern version of extended family, and where every child is surrounded by loving adults who serve as role models. By surrounding children with love, truth, and beauty, held within clear boundaries and healthy rhythms, we set them up for a strong foundation and a smooth, joyful transition into kindergarten and the grades.”
Having such a robust, joyful, and ready group of kindergarteners breathes life into our morning circle like nothing else. Our older students feel a greater sense of responsibility, while the little ones have so many friendly faces to look up to. To me, kindergarten is the heartbeat of our village - steady, full of energy, and giving life to us all.