It’s the June school holidays and there’s no better time for vacation – but Sheila Sim’s daughters are in Japan for another reason.
In an update shared on June 22, the local actress documented her first day in Japan with her two young daughters. With banker husband Deon Woo, the 42-year-old has Layla, six, and Skyla, three.
“Layla’s starting primary 1 next year. I’ve been sitting with that a lot,” wrote Sheila in an Instagram post. “How quickly a chapter closes, how differently time moves once the school calendar takes over. So before she steps into that rhythm, and before family travel costs what it’s going to cost, I’m taking three months off work to just be with them.”
The girls are currently on a two-week exchange programme in Japan with the school located in a forest right in front of Mt Fuji. With “no classroom”, the curriculum would consist of half-days at farms, fruit-picking, road trips and long days in the outdoors. The school does not have a kitchen, meaning no meals would be provided, so Sheila starts her day early packing lunch for them.
On their first day, the girls went to a fruit farm, followed by a park for water play – which Sheila tagged along for.
On Sheila’s Instagram Stories, she shared snippets of her journey with her daughters, where they encountered picturesque views of flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables.
“The wildflowers in Japan are just stunning. Could it be because I don’t take time to appreciate the ones in Singapore?” she mused.
In a post yesterday (June 23), she shared more about their experience adjusting to school which has been nothing more than pleasant. “‘I can’t wait to go to school tomorrow!’ After day one in Japan school, that’s what my firstborn said,” recounted Sheila about Layla.
She then highlighted that students in Japan do not go through formal academic examinations until age 10, with the first three years of elementary school focusing on soft skills as opposed to book-learning.
“This is exactly why we’re here. Not for the food, language or academic education – but character-building, empathy and manners,” explained Sheila. “We intentionally chose a forest school that spoke only Japanese – a language they don’t understand. Hopefully they build some grit, resilience and get uncomfortable.”
Remarking that she had spent weeks preparing for the occasion, she was “just grateful” Layla and Skyla are loving it.
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kristy.chua@asiaone.com
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