In this 4 week course that meets once a week, students will be introduced to the Japanese language including hiragana, simple greetings, numbers and colors. Lessons will incorporate songs and Japanese stories. The course is geared towards learners with little to no previous background in Japanese. This unit is part 1 of the 3 part series "Easy Beginner Japanese for Kids: Units 1 Through 3".

This course is designed to be an introduction to the Japanese language for young children, thus, grammar rules will generally not yet be discussed. However, emphasis is placed on learning hiragana, since understanding hiragana is crucial in all aspects of Japanese fluency: pronounciation, understanding word/sentence structure and eventually, grammar.

Week 1:
- Greetings
- Introduction to the Japanese written language system: what is hiragana, katakana and kanji?
- Learn the first "A" column of hiragana: A I U E O

Week 2:
- Review greetings
- Counting to ten
- "I am __ years old".
- The "Ka" column of hiragana: KA KI KU KE KO

Week 3:
- Review numbers
- Colors
- The "SA" column of hiragana: SA SHI SU SE SO

Week 4:
- Review colors
- Shapes
- The "TA" column of hiragana: TA CHI TSU TE TO

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME: Although Sensei is located in Hawaii (which does NOT observe Daylight Savings Time), class times will be adjusted to align with students in US states that do observe Daylight Savings Time (DST). This means if your area does not observe DST, class time would be one hour earlier from March-November Please double check your time zone specific calendar on Outschool. 

LESSON STYLE: Lessons will be interactive, with students expected to participate by repeating after the teacher, answering questions using newly taught phrases, and sharing about themselves. Teaching style is warm and laid-back, with the primary goal being to encourage and foster learners' interest in Japanese language and culture. 

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: No previous knowledge of Japanese required

INSTRUCTIONAL LANGUAGE: Class will be taught primarily in English, with the teacher gradually introducing frequently used phrases/instructions in Japanese. 

NEXT CLASS: This class is part 1 of a 3 part series. As this class is only a brief introduction to Japanese and covers only a portion of the hiragana alphabet, students are encouraged to continue their learning in the next class: Easy Beginner Japanese for Kids: Unit 2