Flags and Preschoolers

In anticipation of the Sports Festival, flags of different countries are hanged on walls of the preschool. (This flagging is customary in Japan.) When I asked a 3-year-old boy, "What is this?" by pointing at the Japanese national flag, he said, "Hmm... it's a circle." It's only 5- and 6-year-olds who can identify the Japanese flag. But even they are unable to identify flags of other countries. In short, preschoolers are not very interested in the foreign.