Early Childhood Education Handbook

Early Childhood Education Handbook
Research Center for Child and Adolescent Development and Education

Ochanomizu University
1 Framework and mechanisms of early

childhood education in Japan
First, we will introduce several models that illustrate diverse Japanese early childhood
education, followed by a discussion on the philosophies and regulatory systems that sustain
and make the diverse early childhood education work.
1 The characteristics of early childhood education in Japan

Four characteristics can be identified in Japanese early childhood education:
① Classroom teachers of early childhood education collaborate with researchers at
universities and similar institutions to review the practice and strive toward its improvement.
Many classroom teachers go on to become researchers or vocational instructors at
universities, junior colleges, or vocational institutes, either through acquiring new or
additional education or because of recognition for their practical achievements.
② There are several philosophical streams in early childhood education, with distinct
methodologies for each. However, in actual practice, these streams are not applied
mechanically but with flexibility, based upon a finely tuned approach to the life and actions
of each individual child.
③ Early childhood education comes in a diverse array of forms. Each kindergarten works to
establish its own methods for early childhood education, through the productive interaction of
the specific content and methodology of multiple forms, or through the adoption of better
features of other forms. However, some kindergartens are closed into their own ways of doing
things, adhering rigidly to one form and making no attempt to try anything new.
④ The relationship between the classroom and the teacher training school is very close in
early childhood education. Schools that engage in teacher training and development, such as
universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools, not only train teachers, but also
simultaneously work to support the classroom through the development of methodology that
has practical utility.
2 Forms of early childhood education in Japan

In Japan, care and education for infants and little children is divided into kindergartens
and daycare centers. Kindergartens provide three years of care and education for children
three years of age or older, who go on to enter elementary school after finishing
kindergartens. Daycare centers accept infants and children under elementary school age.
Nearly one hundred percent of children at the pre-elementary school stage attend either a
kindergarten or a daycare center. While the general directional framework for early
childhood education is indicated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the details of early childhood
education are left up to each kindergarten or daycare center, with a resulting diversity of
forms.
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(1) A form of early childhood care and education that is based on nurturing the human
relationships within the group: The main objective is for children to learn the basic routines
of daily life and study habits. Activity times consist of slots that are put together by the
teacher, and slots that the child can use with relative freedom, without instructions from the
teacher. During free play times, children are encouraged to play with other children or turn
their attention to, and relate with, one another, rather than spending time on their own.
Materials for plastic arts activities are provided by the teacher as needed. Teachers are
affectionate toward the children, avoid becoming authoritarian, behave calmly, and build a
warm relationship with the children.
(2) A form of early childhood care and education that extends the child’s ability to
perform functions: The basic curriculum focuses on having the child learn study skills in a
group setting. Children learn such skills as reading Chinese characters, writing Hiragana
characters, recognizing concepts of number, volume, and geometry, training their memory,
playing musical instruments, and drawing pictures. The child’s activities are predetermined
by a time schedule, with almost no room for individual choice. Children are strictly
disciplined to observe kindergarten rules.
(3) A form of early childhood care and education that is child-centered: The majority of
the time is used by the child for free play. While there are group activities as well, there is
minimal direct instruction from the teacher. Materials and equipment for play, as well as such
articles as blocks and plastic arts supplies are provided for the children to use freely
whenever they wish, with the environment also arranged to accommodate the activities. The
teacher is warm and cheerful, and adapts his or her approach to each individual child.
Some positive features that are shared by all these diverse forms of early childhood education
include “saying ‘Good Morning,’” “closeness,” “unhurried time,” “responsibility of
children,” and “physical activity.” The children are respected for their very existence, and
are nurtured through a variety of experiences within a time and space that is separate from
their home life while learning the rules for living in society.
These forms of early childhood education have traced their own paths of evolution in
Japan. However, from Montessori method to Reggio Emilia approach to the more recent
American method of DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice), where the development
of all American is the objective in utilizing academic knowledge in the curriculum, there
has been selective adoption of new educational methodologies and knowledge from
overseas sources, and daily efforts toward improvement in Japan, which continues today.
3 Philosophy of care and education supporting early

childhood education
What serves as the foundation for the diverse forms of education as described above is the
philosophy of early childhood care and education called the “guiding child care theory” or
the “free child care and education” approach. With the 1989 amendment of the Course of
Study for Kindergarten, the philosophy was set forth as the nation’s policy as well. Its
characteristics are presently understood to be as follows:
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・Children make the most of their abilities and grow when they have a feeling of freedom.
・Children grow through interaction with the things and people within the kindergarten
environment. The free interaction with these things and people is important. This shall
be called “education through environment.”
・The teacher devotes him/herself to supporting the child. Indirect support includes “setting
up the environment around the child,” while direct support includes “helping out the
child.”
・The sympathetic relationship between the teacher and the child is the foundation of early
childhood education.
・ Relationships among children start with close twosomes or threesomes, to gradually
expand to the group.
・Roles and relationships are learned in the order of necessity in the context of play and
daily life.
The teacher, in full consideration of the significance the main subject of the child’s activity
has in early childhood education, supports the child’s acquisition of the values included in the
main subject during the process of its pursuit and manifestation.
The “theory of three activities in preschool” is also in use as something that continues the
legacy of group-based early childhood education while taking a broad range of matters into
consideration. In this theory, the content of early childhood education is divided into three
layers for teaching purposes. The first layer is the “life that serves as the base,” and indicates
the child’s ordinary day to day life, which is comprised of such elements as free-flow play
and educational guidance and serves as the foundation for daily life in general. The second
layer is the “central activity,” in which a game or play that is central to the child’s life at
every period in preschool and early childhood is extracted and re-constructed. Group play,
activities centering on a seasonal or celebratory event and “work” are included in this layer.
The third layer is comprised of “systematized learning activities” that include content such as
nature, concepts of numbers, volume, and geometry, language, letters, plastic arts, and music.
Through these activities, play and daily life are enhanced, and the child’s development is
promoted. While the three layers are considerably different in terms of how the teaching
should be or how the child’s activities are organized, they are not deployed as completely
separate things. They are extracted from play in the child’s daily life, with a certain portion
of the play being pursued as a learning activity, or there may be connections with different
pathways. Although the activities are categorized into “play,” “assignments,” and “work,”
and are conducted during separated time slots, they are tied together in complex ways.
In present-day Japan, endeavors and developments are underway between those forms of
early childhood care and education that are based on the development of human relationships
in the group and those forms that are child-centered, in which various forms are eclectically
blended or used in combination.
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4 Institutional framework of early childhood education

The content of early childhood care and education in kindergartens is regulated by the
Course of Study for Kindergarten stipulated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology, while daycare centers are regulated by Guidelines for Nursery Care
at Day Nursery proscribed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. These two
Guidelines have certain commonalties for the contents of early childhood care and education.
There are also specific standards for buildings and facilities, which are strictly observed.
However, it is possible to set up unlicensed daycare centers under less stringent criteria than
those applied to licensed daycare centers.
There are public and private establishments for both kindergartens and daycare centers.
Public kindergartens and daycare centers are financed through taxpayer’s money, while
private facilities are funded by the fees for daycare from the children’s guardians as well as
subsidies from the national and municipal governments.
Public kindergartens are supervised by the municipal government’s educational committee,
with the Supervisor providing guidance on how early childhood care and education is carried
out. Private kindergartens are supervised by the municipal government’s private schools
division, with independent groups of private schools doing most of the training to improve
the methods for early childhood care and education. However, private schools are under less
of an obligation for teacher training, making for varying degrees of training among
kindergartens. It is noteworthy that the majority of such supervisors and persons in charge of
teacher training used to be kindergarten teachers themselves, and in many cases they return to
teaching in the classroom of kindergarten.
5 Framework of teacher development and training in early

childhood education
(1) Framework of teacher development in early childhood education
Kindergarten teachers must be licensed according to one of three standards approved by the
national government. Teachers who, upon graduation from high school, complete two years of
training in a vocational school or junior college, are given Class II Certificates. Teachers who
complete four years of training at a university obtain Class I Certificates. Teachers who go to
graduate school can obtain a “Specialized Certificate” during their master’s programs.
Teachers with different classes of certificates are usually treated more or less the same in
terms of pay and other matters. While most teachers had Class II Certificates in the past, the
number of Class I Certificate holders has been gradually increasing, and approaching half of
the total. There are still very few people with “Specialized Certificates.” Thus, teachers
have a relatively high level of career education, ranging from those with two years of training
after high school to those with master’s degrees.
Courses and subjects for teacher development are governed by laws relating to
teacher-training course stipulated by the national government. Instructors of these programs
are also required to pass national examinations. The framework and number of courses are
largely similar to those for elementary school teachers.
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(2) Method of teacher training for early childhood education

In both public and private kindergartens, beginning teachers undergo one year of in-service
training under an experienced mentor. At public kindergartens, teachers with ten years of
experience are provided with special training programs. Other training sessions are held by
both public and private kindergartens, during normal workdays or vacation times. Almost all
teachers take part in these sessions, alternating with their colleagues while they are on duty.
Thus, there is generous administrative support for the practice of early childhood care and
education, not only on the financial side but also in terms of teacher training. Some teachers,
who are particularly passionate about their work, serve further their training by giving up
their weekends or nights to take graduate school courses or participate in study groups.
(3) Mechanism of designated research and presentation

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, municipal
governments, and independent groups of private school commission hands-on research
projects on a variety of themes to their kindergarten of choice as “designated research.” In
any public kindergarten, this kind of research project comes around every few years. Working
with some grant provided by national government, each kindergarten conducts a series of
study sessions, either by themselves or with the help of outside lecturers such as university
professors, ultimately to give a presentation of their research results and exhibit the resulting
improvement of their early childhood care and education. Research designated by municipal
governments is valuable training opportunities for the neighboring kindergartens, while
research projects commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand
Technology are sometimes attended by teachers not only from neighboring facilities but from
all over Japan, who wish to learn about the research results.
Some teachers who are even more passionate about their work become members of the
Japan Society of Research on Early Childhood Care and Education, a society with a
membership of over 4,000. Over half the members are classroom teachers at kindergartens
and daycare centers. Joining among their colleagues who teach at vocational schools and
universities, these teachers strive to pursue their studies through presentations of their
hands-on research. Thus, mechanisms exist for classroom teachers themselves to carry out
research relating to the practice.
(4) In-House mechanisms in kindergartens for improving early childhood education

Many kindergartens review and improve their early childhood care and education.
Homeroom teachers review their own early childhood care and education, make a record of
the day, and lay out plans and preparations for early childhood care and education for the
next day or later.
Through meetings and briefings on how to conduct early childhood care and education, the
principal of kindergarten or chief nursery teacher provide guidance to their staff. An
increasing number of kindergartens now have such sessions as the entire kindergarten staff
observing and discussing the early childhood care and education of one teacher, or taking a
videotape recording of actual early childhood care and education and having everyone discuss
what they see.
Bulletins issued by kindergarten groups and journals for teachers published by general
publishers contribute to the improvement of early childhood care and education through the
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provision of information regarding various teaching methods that relate to early childhood
care and education, new creative ideas about toys and play equipment, and the publication of
new picture books and the like. There are also many publishers that specialize in early
childhood education, which provide books and journals for teachers as well as for children.
(5) Expert support from outside the kindergarten for early childhood
education
There are also many opportunities for the teaching staff of teacher training schools and
universities to take the initiative in conducting training sessions aimed at improving the early
childhood care and education in kindergartens, or to visit kindergartens, observe early
childhood care and education, and offer advice to the teachers as they dialogue about what
they see. Such advisory and consultative functions are increasingly being positioned among
the roles of university researchers. For example, to address the issue of developmental
disabilities, some municipal governments have adopted a system of having an expert make
the rounds of the kindergartens, offering advice to teachers on relating to these children and
on providing them with early childhood care and education.
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2 Promoting the children’s development in

early childhood care and education
1 The childre n’s devel opme nt: what does it mean i n early
childhood care and education?
Children stacking blocks, or setting about pretend play. Digging in the sandbox, or taking
care of rabbits. All of these situations are often encountered in kindergarten [1] . And in each
and every scene, there is a budding of intellectual development. The point is whether the
children are using their heads to be creative and innovative at each opportunity; it is whether
they are thinking.
Is the child who is stacking blocks merely doing so in a mechanical manner and by brute
force? Or is there a process of thought after each block is stacked, to reflect on how things
are going? Once the child becomes accustomed to stacking the blocks, is he or she then taking
in the whole, thinking about whether the creation looks like a house, for example, or a living
room or kitchen, and making modifications accordingly?
When approached by a child complaining about being unable to build a car, does the
teacher respond, “Think for yourself?” Or does the teacher build the car for the child right
away? If the teacher judges the child to be more or less capable of building the object, and
decides that just a little more creativity will do the job, the child will probably be encouraged
to think about it. If not, as in the case of a three-year-old with no concept yet of how to go
about the building process, the teacher might take over the task. The teacher might do so
slowly, showing the child each step, so that the child may understand how the object is made.
Perhaps for the child who shows some capability, the teacher will do a certain amount of the
job, and leave the final steps to be completed by the child.
The way in which the teacher elicits the child’s ability to think is linked to the respect for
the child’s sense of competence. In order to let the child think “I did it by myself,” the
teacher provides assistance in small doses, while ensuring that the object can be completed
and the child’s image realized. The teacher identifies what the child seems capable of doing
right now, and lets the child proceed up to that point, while in situations where the child
seems to be unable to resolve by himself or herself, or that are beyond the ability of the
children to resolve by themselves, the teacher may make suggestions or offer help.
At kindergarten, there are many different kinds of things and people. Through encounters
with these objects and individuals, children develop a sense of curiosity about many different
things and engage themselves. The child may desire to do this or that, or want to have the
finished object look a certain way, or wish to attain a certain level of prowess. Such
aspirations drive the child to try to make those ideas come true.
In trying to do so, the point is not only to push forward with all one’s might, but to pause a
[1]
As mentioned in the previous section, there are two main types of pre-school education
center in Japan, kindergarten and daycare center. However, in this handbook, the term
'kindergarten(s)' refers to all types of care and education center for young children.
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little and think about how one can do things better. Such pauses not only raise the level of
perfection but also promote the development of the child’s ability to think. Perhaps there is a
classmate who is good at doing whatever it is. The child may wonder how the classmate does
it. The child may observe closely, and try to imitate that classmate. The child may then
realize that it is not all that easy to imitate. There is no choice but to use creativity, however
humble it may be.
During the process of engrossed engagement, and trial and error, the child may happen
upon a good way to do it, or complete the project without realizing he or she has done so.
Here too, an intellectual awareness is born when the child begins to looks back on the
creative moves that led to success, and any discoveries in the process. This awareness lives
on in subsequent innovations.
That said, no play starts from thinking about it. This is particularly true with small children.
The important thing is, first and foremost, for the child to become engrossed in play. With
constant repetition, the child gradually becomes more skillful with blocks, or with taking care
of rabbits. Only then is there any room in the child’s mind to be innovative, or to ponder, or
become aware of something. While the child is small, one is well advised to allow plenty of
experience in getting used to things and in process of trial and error.
2 Nurturing the spirit of inquiry

When children go to kindergarten, they encounter many kinds of new things. When they are
at home, the children of today usually live with their families and engage in indoor play, such
as watching television or playing video games. For children up to three years of age, it is
undoubtedly a narrow range of experiences; and in addition, with our society having fewer
children than in the past, it is taken for granted that children spend time enjoying themselves
in front of machines. The role of the kindergarten is to greatly expand that range, that
lifestyle of spending time in cramped quarters and that passive mode of interaction of
expecting to be entertained.
Perhaps it is an exaggeration to say it is to “encounter the world,” but let us think for a
moment of the child’s environment before coming to kindergarten: what a wealth of things
the child encounters at kindergarten. There are large building blocks in the room. Perhaps this
is the first time the child has ever used scissors. Some children have never played in a
sandbox before. They have probably never played with such copious amounts of water, either.
They spot their first bug in the grass; they raise vegetables in the garden.
Perhaps the children have never experienced playing with others the same age. They may
have had one or two playmates, but not this many. By the likes of it, they have never hung out
with any adults besides their parents, either.
The child discovers for the first time that the world holds so many things and so many
different kinds of people. Not only does each one of these things and people exist, but also
each has their own characteristics and personality, and must be dealt with appropriately. The
child gradually finds out: this happens when I do this. I look under a rock, and I find a pill
bug. Touch it, and it curls up into a ball: what fun! But leave it on the floor, and it dies.
When the child comes to kindergarten, it’s as if there’s something new to discover every
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day. A large group of children stacks up blocks and connects a piece of play gym equipment:
voila, a big house. Ideas are formed and shared: now they have a living room, or a bathtub, or
the house becomes a beautiful, two-story mansion with a penthouse. The structure may
become a space station, with a rocket blasting off. Lots of strange and wonderful things
happen. Children pick flowers, put the petals into water, and crush them: the water turns a
lovely color. Like fruit juice!
In developing an interest in many different things, and displaying curiosity, the foundation
of the child’s development is formed. Building on that, in wanting to make things more
interesting, the child begins to discover the nature of the object. Some child wants to find a
pill bug. He or she goes looking all over the kindergarten. Gradually, it dawns on him or her
that pill bugs seem to like damp places. Now he or she wants to collect and raise these bugs.
How does he or she keep them alive? The child may ask the teacher, or consult a illustrated
book on bugs. And then he or she understand and learnthat these bugs need food and water.
The child’s curiosity expands, and develops into the spirit of inquiry. What does he or she
need to do to make things happen the way he or she wants them to? What happens next?
Where can he or she find someone or something that can tell him or her how this works?
The child’s interest gradually develops into something that is intellectual.
To nurture the spirit of inquiry, there is a need to further deepen the curiosity that has
expanded. As the child’s inquiry advances to the second step, then to the third, the spirit of
inquiry gushes forth. It is based in the experience of wanting to know more, pursuing it
further, and being rewarded with more fun. It is not enough to have a dazzling spectacle
unfold with the push of a button. The child must make the most of his or her own capabilities,
be creative about how to deepen the experience, and take possession of the expanse beyond.
The wish to know the deeper reaches is developed not through satisfaction with what is on the
surface, but by actually seeking what lies beyond.
3 Nurturing an interest in matters

(1) Nurturing an interest in letters
Perhaps because it is the most basic academic skill at the elementary school level, the
ability to read and write letters is also emphasized for small children. It appears many of us
associate the ability to read and write letters with intellectual development. But in fact,
reading and writing letters in the period of preschool child, early childhood is not something
that has a strong effect on the intellect. Intellectual development is far, far broader, and crops
up at every opportunity in the child’s activities. In language development, notwithstanding
the importance of being able to read what is written, the point is to grasp the meaning of the
words.
Take the word “ice,” for example. It is not enough to be able to read it out. It is not even
nearly enough to know that ice is frozen water. Without understanding that ice is cold when
touched; that it melts and turns into water when warmed up; that the ice in a glass of juice,
and the ice that forms on a winter puddle, and the ice in a skating rink, are all the same ice;
that ice when the weather is hot to have you feel good, but when it’s freezing cold in winter,
it can stick to your hand when you touch it unguarded: without having understood these kinds
of things, one cannot be said to have acquired the use of the word, “ice.” What is more, it is
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not enough to understand these things through looking at scenes in picture books. The facts
are remembered and take on meaning in conjunction with memories, such as that winter
morning when your breath came out all white, when you stepped on the ice around the
washing area and it cracked; or that when you picked it up, your fingers got numb, but it was
so transparent and pretty; or that it shattered like glass when you dropped it.
In modern society, letters are no longer something special to be memorized. Long ago,
children may have come into contact with letters for the first time in the schoolroom. But
today, letters are everywhere around the small child. Children experience picture books from
a considerably young age. Although small children do not read newspapers and magazines
for grown-up, they do see adults reading them, and are familiar with the act of reading letters.
Perhaps there is a Hiragana (Japanese alphabet) chart on the wall. The jars and packages of
food, and bottles of beverages, in the kitchen and on the dinner table all have labels bearing
trademarks and description. Outside the home, there are advertisements and traffic signs
everywhere. The “stop” sign, with its distinctive shape and color, as well as its location at
every corner, is immediately remembered.
The fact that activities dealing with letters are a normal part of life also supports the
learning of letters. This is because the child perceives that using letters is a normal everyday
routine, and understands the purposes for their use. Letters are used as a means of
communication, and also for enjoyment.
Thus, modern-day children, for the most part, are able to read simple letters like Hiragana
and Katakana, one letter at a time, by around the end of kindergarten, without being
intentionally taught. In pretend play in kindergarten, one often encounters situations where
children playing restaurant are writing out menus, or asking the teacher to write it for them
when they can’t do it themselves. Whether the child can read smoothly and easily is a
separate issue. For that to happen, children must be in contact with books, become personally
interested, and begin to read on their own. It is important to raise children so that they grow
to love books.
It should be noted that writing letters is a considerably different kind of activity from
reading them. The process of learning is also quite different. While there are children who
fall in love with writing their letters, and keep up writing, most children do not acquire the
capability to write their letters properly without being intentionally taught. This is because
writing letters involves many complicated rules, such as the order of the strokes, or where to
slant a little bit, and so on. Therefore, it is probably wise to leave the child’s full mastery of
letter writing in the hands of the elementary school teachers.
(2) Nurturing the child’s relationship with books

There are read-aloud sessions in every kindergarten. There also are picture book areas, with
books available at all times. What could be the purpose behind this?
Of course, first and foremost it is because we want the children to develop a love for
picture books. As has been proven through a variety of studies, acquiring a love for picture
books helps to develop reading habits for the future, and it goes without saying that reading is
the foundation of Japanese language ability. Loving picture books is far more useful in
improving one’s Japanese language ability than learning to memorize a few letters. A child
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who loves books does not only enjoy being read to, but will access picture books voluntarily
during spare moments. In the future, this develops into reading books voluntarily. It is
unreasonable to try to improve one’s Japanese language skills solely through Japanese classes
at school, without reading books during one’s spare time. This is because language is made up
of such an abundance of expressions that there is a need to spend a long time on them, and
also because books are the very places where one can encounter advanced phrases.
The importance of acquiring a love for books is not just because it makes you read a lot of
them, illustrated and otherwise. Reading with interest prompts us to use our imagination
when we read, while associating what we are reading with what we know may astonish us, or
make us think. It is precisely because sensitivity and thought are both utilized in this way,
that reading plays a useful role in the growth of the child.
The quality of the books is also important. But the quality is based on reading lots of
picture books in any event. It is good to read many different kinds of books, instead of having
a bias for a single kind. If the child develops a favorite book, he or she might read it over and
over again, and end up memorizing it. The phrases encountered in the book become the
child’s own.
Of course, picture books are not only for memorizing words. They are also for expanding
the child’s world through imagination. Many different kinds of situations appear in picture
books: they convey to the child, look at what can happen, look at what you can do in the
world. In a book, a child traveling all alone (or with a stuffed companion) may go on a train
journey. Not only is something impossible in real life made possible, but the book also
illustrates the concept of travel. It opens the young reader’s eyes to the many amazing things
in the world, such as the sights of the city or the country, or the life of an insect in a corner of
the garden.
Stories teach children about courage. The smallest errand, the shortest wait at home while
Mommy is at the market – these are big adventures for the child. Going to an island inhabited
by monsters is a true adventure indeed. The main character overcomes dangers, at times
appearing to have fun, at other times feeling anxious. Such stories teach children that they are
the main characters in terms of what happens to them, and impart the wisdom to muster up
courage or to deal with matters patiently.
Picture books also create a secret, intimate space in the kindergarten (even more so at
home). The child, in reading alone, leaves behind the surrounding clamor and becomes
absorbed in the world described in the book. When the teacher reads books out loud, the child
can gaze intently at the pictures, and become immersed in the intimate relationship with the
teacher. Granted, for that to happen, read-aloud times must not be used as mere tools for
keeping order, or be limited to simple, mechanical explanations; attention needs to be paid to
ensure that children can feel a one-on-one relationship with the teacher.
Picture books are created with painstaking, creative detail on every page. The appreciation
of such creations comes with investigating, and thoroughly enjoying, every nook and cranny.
Merely following the story line is not the point. Having an intimate space is a must not only
in terms of human relationships but also from the standpoint of appreciating the book. One
hopes that more efforts will be made to be creative when reading aloud to groups of children.
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(3) Nurturing an interest in numbers

Small children, when they are about four or five years old, reach a stage where they will
start counting whenever they see more than one of the same kind of thing. Or, the child may
tell a parent to start counting, go around the park once, and upon returning, ask the parent
what number they got to. It appears that children are interested in counting for its own sake.
Perhaps children feel as though they have grown when the number they are counting gets
bigger.
Why, one wonders, are children so interested in numbers? No doubt it is something like
instinct. There is nothing so fundamental in human cognition as the understanding objects in
terms of numbers. Recognizing that there is one of something, and grouping like objects
together Both form the basis for human thought. Numbers start from grouping like objects
together, and then repeating, “one, one, one…”
But there are so many of us who hate doing sums, or who are hopeless at math. What
makes us so different from small children? When paper and written sums become involved:
that is when things suddenly get hard. You write, “12,” which must be read, “twelve.” “One
two” is a mistake. Then you have to start adding, and subtracting, and digits have to be
moved up and down. Such methods for doing written sums are extremely specialized, and are
not usually mastered immediately upon being taught. That is the very reason why there are
math classes in elementary school, with long hours spent practicing sums. This is as true as
ever when it comes to fractions and equations and the like: they are highly advanced
techniques.
This is different from case with small children counting happily. The fact that anything can
be counted is what delights them. Apples, people, cars, whatever: you can count them, “one,
two, three.” In a sense, counting is an all-around power of abstraction in the small
children’s hands.
Small children also start to add and subtract naturally. If the child is shown two marbles in
the right hand, and three in the left, and is asked, “how many in all?” the child will come to
recognize “five!” without having to count them over. But this is not about doing calculations
on the basis of a written equation. The child holds a mental image of the marbles, and
changes that into an image of numbers during counting.
As the child continues to count, add, and subtract various things in various ways, the
numerical system takes on solidity. The child moves beyond simply being able to count to ten
or twenty, and comes to grasp the relationship between numbers, such as that two and eight
make ten.
Opportunities for counting numbers are everywhere. That is because the special
characteristic of numbers is that they can be used to count anything. However, for counting to
take place, there must be more than one of the same kind of object, which moreover must be
arranged neatly so that they are easy to count. Otherwise children are not motivated to count,
and make mistakes even if they do count. It becomes important to have an environment in
which things are kept organized and arranged neatly.
Are the shovels for the sandbox all hung up neatly? Does the shelf hold a number of cups
for playing house? When children collect nuts or berries, can they line them up and see how
many there are? Children need not be able to count everything. Sunflower seeds, for
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instance: that is asking too much. The point is that there are lots of something, and that
children sense they can be counted.
Arranging things in order from short to long, or from small to large, also invites children to
count. Of course, things can also be weighed. Who dug up the largest sweet potato? Weigh
the vegetables, and you have the answer. A scale can be made available, or a length of
measuring tape, or notches carved into a pillar. Having children use measuring tape to
measure everything they can think of makes for a fun activity. The important thing is not
about learning the correct answer, or memorizing the correct way to measure or count. The
basic idea is for children to perceive they can count and measure just about anything.
(4) Nurturing the child’s relationship with nature

It goes without saying that children are excited with nature. A walk in the grass yields an
encounter with an insect, or a berry, or an unusually shaped leaf. Children love to play with
wild flowers and plants, look for insects, and so on.
What kinds of intellectual significance could there be in such interactions with nature?
Yes, it is the beginning of scientific interest. This develops into science at school.
But nature has an important significance where it intertwines with the small child’s growth.
More than anything, the child’s interest is aroused because the animals and plants are alive,
and are full of variety. Yes, it’s fun because it moves, but more than that, such living motion
must be intimately related to our lives as living creatures. Perhaps small child feels the
stirrings of sympathy on encountering a fellow living thing.
Not only does nature come with its own unique motions, it also boasts infinite diversity.
Ants, pill bugs, butterflies, and helmet beetles move differently, and look different too. When
one takes a more detailed look at each species, one discovers more differences. While all
butterflies share certain characteristics, each kind has its own unique traits. Infinitely diverse,
yet possessing living motion: such are the things called animals.
Plants do not move around as much, but they are alive just the same, as is evidenced by
their rich diversity and how they change with time. The branches put out shoots, the leaves
grow and turn deep green, the flowers blossom, the leaves turn red and gold, and they fall.
They have a delicate exquisiteness that is not possible with artificial objects, while
simultaneously having a certain pace that follows the flow of time.
Opening the child’s eyes to these things greatly expands the child’s intellectual interest.
Natural things are not shaped the way they are to make our lives more convenient. They are
their own unique selves. And, each one is a different entity. And yet, there is an infinity of the
same thing. How many leaves on a tree? It is all but impossible to tell.
In order to discover these wonders of nature, children need to go beyond looking, and
relate with their entire bodies and their fingertips, by touching, by smelling, by playing with
grass and wild flowers. Just looking only gives one a vague idea that there are many different
colors and shapes. By using the five senses, relating with the whole body, and using the
fingertips delicately, one begins to appreciate the fine details of nature. What is more, the
impressions of nature are deeply imbedded into the heart through bodily contact, for example
by wading into a pile of leaves.
Granted, children are not always enthralled with nature. Bugs may be disgusting to a child
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whose knowledge of insects is limited to cockroaches. Nature is baffling to children who have
never played in it, as it lacks the formulaic functionality of artificial objects. Nature moves in
unpredictable ways; even when there are instructions, things don’t always go by the book.
Putting children into contact with nature may be a time-consuming and labor-intensive task.
Since it does not always entail playing nicely in hygienic locations, there may be resistance
from the parents at times. But when that is overcome, and the children are led into a
relationship with nature, then gradually, the fun begins. That is because when one discovers
one of nature’s secrets, it leads to other, totally unexpected discoveries.
As children engage in play with insects, grass, and flowers, they begin to notice natural
objects that do not move. There is water; there is soil; the wind blows, and clouds float in the
sky. Such natural phenomena are the grand stage on which living things are sustained.
Children discover that crayfish live in the water, hiding in the mud in the water. In time they
will uncover the mysteries of water and mud as well.
(5) Nurturing an interest in life outside the kindergarten

There is deepening concern about the shrinking of children’s living environment. The child
goes to kindergarten and back, and then spends the rest of the day playing in the house. The
child may even be shuttled to and from kindergarten by school bus or in the family car. What
is more, even a trip to buy groceries may consist of nothing but a car ride and a stroll down
the aisles of the supermarket.
Perhaps children need to be taken out more to explore the neighborhood. Together with the
importance of encountering the natural environment, Children seem to need the experience of
encountering and mingling with the lives of people. Of course, in kindergarten, the teachers
share their lives with the children, and there is a life within the kindergarten as well. Not only
do children engage in play, but they may also participate in tidying up, cleaning up, preparing
meals, and caring for animals. But while it is obvious to adults that life within the
kindergarten is a part of the greater whole of life outside it, one suspects that the same is not
true for children. It seems that only by being rooted in life outside the kindergarten can there
be meaning to early childhood care and education provided through life in the kindergarten.
It seems that the home exists and the home is the very place of living. However, unless the
parent is extremely vigilant, it may be the case in many households that, aside from being fed,
there is not much more for the child to do at home besides watch television or play video
games, and perhaps study a bit and get praised, without much opportunity for doing chores or
for watching housework being done. And when it comes to watching people work – in many
households, it just doesn’t happen any more.
Out in the neighborhood, there are shops and houses; there are companies, post offices,
banks, fire stations, and train stations. There are art galleries, museums, and libraries. There
are trees lining the streets, flower gardens along the lane, yellow dandelions or pink cosmos
blooming in the tiniest patches, and cats prowling around. There are old shrines and temples.
The stone-carved dogs guarding the shrine, and the statue of Buddha in the temple, look
pretty scary.
There are many different people doing things: walking down the street, tending their
garden, or shopping in stores. Some people are young; others are old. Perhaps there is a blind
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person walking with the help of a white cane. There may be someone using a wheelchair to
get around. People from other countries may be speaking in their native language, or they
may be one of the growing numbers of foreign speakers who speak Japanese with great
fluency. The girls at the fast food counter may be greeting customers in a bright, cheerful
voice. Senior person may be sweeping up the leaves in front of the school gate.
To what extent should the kindergarten consider part of its early childhood care and
education? Or should the kindergarten ask the families to broaden the scope of the child’s
experience? Such matters will vary with the circumstances of each kindergarten and local
area. While children are indeed playful beings, their play can only take on the potential to be
the children’s own creation, and not some arbitrary dispensation, if the inspiration for that
play comes from the real lives of the household or the neighborhood. What is more, play lives
on as learning only when, as a part of the greater whole of life, it takes on a back-and-forth
relationship with real life.
Obviously, the point is not in just taking children around to see this and that. The
experience needs to be given meaning in the intellectual and social context. The children
must be approached directly, and supported, so that they can make sense of what they see.
Pretend play, building blocks, drawing pictures, or making illustrated storybooks can be used
to re-create what the children have seen with their own eyes. When children are taken on a
visit to see something, they should be encouraged not just to look, but to try some activity
there, or make full use of their five senses.
The intellect is enhanced when one acquires the habit of using it everywhere. One does not
engage in thinking only when one is sitting at a desk, or when the teacher is teaching
something, or when one looks in a book. At the same time, there has to be an array of
materials in order to enrich one’s thinking. By becoming connected with every place in life,
intellectual functioning takes on broader horizons, and begins to put down roots in the child’s
very act of living.
4 Nurturing the child’s relationships with peers

Making hills and mud pies in the sandbox. Stacking blocks to create a house or something
to ride. Playing with equipment such as the swings, the slide, and the jungle gym. In the
classroom, children can draw pictures, play with clay, and make things with materials… In
the kindergarten, there is a wealth of different kinds of play for the children to engage in,
more than can be written down here. While they can play alone at times, children often do
things with their peers. That tendency becomes more pronounced, particularly with the sense
of companionship that starts to emerge at about four years of age. The children start arranging
to play together more often, or tell family members all about what they were up to when they
come home.
Out of many different kinds of play, one of the most popular with children, particularly in
the period of preschool child, early childhood, is “pretend play.” They may re-create the
lives of their family in the play house corner, or use dirt and grass and flowers to make cakes
to play store with, or go on expeditions from their building-block base camp. As one might
expect, such play is far more fun with friends than alone. And through this kind of pretend
play with peers, the child is experiencing many different things.
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Pretend play proceeds along some kind of theme, with each child playing a role. Therefore,
the children must decide who is going to be what, and what the pretend is going to be about.
For example, if they are going to play store, they must decide who is going to be the
storekeeper, who are going to be the customers, and what the store is going to sell.
In addition, even if the children decide to do things a certain way when they start out,
things change impromptu in pretend play according to what is happening. One of the
“customers” may now feel like being the “storekeeper.” The store may start selling more
merchandise, or change the product lineup. While the children may have started out by simply
pretending to hand money over to the storekeeper when they “buy” something, they may
eventually hit upon the idea of using leaves for money. In such a process, it becomes
necessary to communicate clearly to your friends about how you think things should unfold.
At the same time, it is important to listen closely to what your friend is saying.
One does not always get one’s way. A difference in opinion may develop into a fight. These
kinds of experiences are also important for a child’s development. The children must put on
their thinking caps and talk things out to resolve problems. In the process, if a child pays no
attention to what his or friends are saying, and insists on having his or her own way, then that
child is just being selfish. Children learn that at times they need to suppress their own wishes
and yield to the other party. They realize that without sharing their ideas and working
together, they cannot move ahead with the play.
Of course, such matters are not limited to trying pretend play. As children interact with
many different friends, they gradually acquire the skills to communicate with others. Also,
when they give a helping hand to someone in trouble, or when they ask a crying friend,
“What’s the matter?” and offer consolation, they nurture their capacity for empathy. The
children can be said to be learning how to build the human relationships that are essential for
people to live their lives.
That said, sometimes children are not able to interact effectively by themselves, or are
unable to solve the problem at hand. That is when the teacher’s appropriate direct action
exerts its effect. Depending on the children’s age, and the situation at hand, the teacher may
spend a considerable amount of time sharing the children’s activity, or may simply say a few
words that enable the children to continue interacting successfully on their own resources. By
flexibly adapting his or her approach to the situation at hand, the teacher can skillfully
nurture the children’s ability to relate to their peers.
It has been pointed out that children who, in the the period of preschool child, early
childhood, could not relate to their peers successfully, or were rejected by their peers, can
sometimes have problems in later years adjusting to school and society. Therefore, it is highly
important for children in the period of preschool child, early childhood to be given plenty of
opportunities to interact with their peers. At the same time, any interpersonal problems need
to be identified at an early stage and, when necessary, appropriate assistance given by parents,
teachers, or other familiar adults, to correct the situation.
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5 Experiences that prom ote the c hil dren’s development

(1) Nurturing the capacity to innovate
Within the child’s play, there is learning. Children learn in every conceivable area of their
lives. Whatever the child may do, there is an intellectual function there, and from that
function, the intellect grows. That said, however, the way the intellect is used may come in
different levels of intensity. When the child thinks deeply, and the child’s world is expanded
through that thinking, the child’s intellect is enriched.
In what areas of the play, then, is the child’s intellect exerted with particular strength and
delicacy? In a nutshell, children use their heads when they stumble over block during play,
and try to make some further innovation. Children do not sit in silent meditation. They think
while doing some type of activity. Children cannot come up with the energy to think when
they feel no interest. Furthermore, when there is an image that the child wants to achieve
something, it opens the floodgates for ideas, plans, and the motivation to make it a reality.
That scene is what innovation is all about. There is something the child wants to do,
something the child wants to give shape to. But then there is a stumbling block, such as a
difference in opinion with one’s peers, or the thing doesn’t move like the child wants it to, or
the concept is too nebulous and the child has no idea how to go about the specifics. The child
overcomes that obstacle, trying hard to give shape to what it is that he or she wants to do. But
things don’t come that easily right away. The child tries again. The child tries to remember if
there was a different way to do this, or a way that works. The child looks around to see
whether there is anyone who can be imitated. The child is tempted to give a tantrum, but
doing so won’t make the image a reality. During the process of randomly trying this and that,
it dawns on the child: hey, that’s right, maybe this is the way to make it work. The child tries
it out. Yes, I see, it looks like it’s working; let’s try it a little more. The process suddenly
speeds ahead.
These are children; they are probably trying whatever occurs to them, in a process of trial
and error. They are not scientists; they do not conduct methodical experiments. It is a case of
the hands going ahead and doing their own thing, rather than about deep thought. But the
child’s intellect takes shape through letting one’s hands get ahead, through trying things out.
As the child moves his or her hands, handles and manipulates objects, and moves around with
friends, the child continues to think.
However, just running around or thrashing about at random does not lead to innovation.
Neither does daydreaming in front of the object move one toward forming constructive
thoughts. Innovation is born when, upon encountering a stumbling block, takes an unhurried
look around, and thinks – well, what can I do about this, I want it to be this way, but it’s like
this right now... A calm emotional state is needed. And at the same time, expanding on the
image in various ways, one thinks: what happens when I do this, what happens when I do that.
When an idea occurs to one, one tries it out; and while trying it out, one looks closely at the
result, and if it is not working, makes some changes.
Times for vigorous motion, and times for unhurried tranquility; times for gazing at the
results so far and the process to come, and for imagination – one would like to try to make it
so and a rhythm is born as these alternate. The teacher’s giving of advice, showing of how
something is done, and supporting the child’s efforts at innovating, must be additional to this
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condition. When there is no outlook, or when the child has absolutely no idea what to do, the
child becomes discouraged. When the child glimpses what lies ahead, either through his or
her experience so far or because of a tip from the teacher, the child feels like trying. If the
problem is a technical one, the teacher may provide instructions. Perhaps it is best if the
teacher takes over certain portions of the task. On the other hand, if the scene has fallen into
one of listless repetition, or there is a loss of focus, it may be necessary to try some dialogue
and stimulate a new direction. The important thing is for there to be some place for the child
to exert innovation.
(2) Nurturing the sensitivity for surprise

Perhaps children nowadays are not that often surprised. Elaborately detailed
computer-generated images pour forth from the movie or TV screen. A trip to Disneyland
guarantees amazement and delight with every contrivance imaginable. After all, children
watch television and video games every day; they think pretty much anything is possible with
machines and computers. Perhaps it is more accurate to say, these children can be surprised,
but it takes a pretty significant setup to do so. Or even if something surprises them initially,
it’s old hat the second time around. If that is the case, there is nothing much that’s interesting
at kindergarten. Everything is dismissed with an “Oh, I know that.” The child may examine
something briefly, and if no change happens, it is tossed aside: “This is boring.”
The act of being surprised is originally a function of the intellect. That is because it is
about something being different from what one thought it would be. The surprise comes from
it being outside expectation. Of course if something suddenly pops out in front of one, one is
surprised. Whether or not that transient surprise can be transformed into sustained interest –
that may be what determines whether surprise takes on meaning in the child’s growth and
development.
The state of becoming bored without a constant stream of surprises, thrills, and excitement
like the latest movies offer, is not exactly conducive to bringing the child’s intellectual
function into play. These surprises come from the shock given by stimulating material. Rather,
the surprise that lies within a process – anticipating that something will turn out a certain way,
finding out that it doesn’t, and wondering why – that is what forms the core of intellectual
development.
For that to happen, surprise must be changed from something that is given to the passive
recipient, to something that is discovered and created on one’s own. The point is to seek
surprise for oneself, instead of waiting for someone to bring it. It is to recognize that surprise
is not found only in movie theaters or on TV or in amusement parks, but something that can
happen right in front of you right now, if you are willing to look for it.
In that sense, it may be more appropriate to describe that type of surprise as “wonder.”
This is the function of the heart and mind that thinks, “Wow, that’s awesome” and “How
wonderfully strange.” A simple flower excites wonder in its intricate workings. Observe an
ant very closely: what an oddly shaped body it has. When one thinks about it, nature is full of
that kind of wonder. Perhaps that is why the natural environment has an important
significance in the small child’s development.
That being the case, would throwing a child out into Mother Nature’s bosom prompt that
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child to feel wonderment and go about happily exploring? Not necessarily, one suspects.
“Ugh, gross,” “Ow, this hurts,” and “That’s dirty” are some possible reactions that come to
mind. “Isn’t there anything to play with?” the child may say, and start to look for a slide, or
even more likely, a game machine. It is difficult for children to understand the fun of nature
without some degree of guidance from the teacher. How to convey a sense of wonder to the
child? Just offering the leading, “isn’t this amazing?” and showing the child the amazing
sight is nothing more than a magic trick. Can the reaction, “Well, TV is more amazing,” be
overcome?
There is a need to guide the child to discover wonderment on his or her own. To invite that
discovery, the teacher shows just a bit of the amazing sight, and leaves the rest up to the child.
Or the teacher might join the child in the search. The idea that the child found it on his or her
own transforms the surprise from something that is transient to something that continues, and
guides the child to the next discovery and exploration. To move from passive surprise to
wonder that one finds on one’s own – making that possible is what early childhood care and
education in the kindergarten is all about.
(3) Nurturing the capacity for calm engagement

When we talk about enhancing intellectual talent, many people appear to think the
important factors are inborn capability and special educational training by parents or early
childhood education experts. While there is no doubt that these are indeed important, there
are some things that tend to be overlooked. One is to respond to the child’s interest that
comes forth on occasions in the child’s day to day life. The other is to keep that interest from
being a fleeting, temporary thing; to nurture it into something to engage in patiently and
without haste. In particular, the ability to engage in something calmly plays an important role
in the evolution of the curiosity that is shown by every child into the spirit of inquiry.
What is important in the capacity for calm engagement is, notwithstanding intellectual
interest, the capacity for calming one’s emotions and taking one’s time. Hurrying and being
impatient do not speed up the matters of the intellect. There are many things that simply
require time. What is more, without the luxury of time, one cannot try out different
innovations to solve a problem, or conceive of different measures, or try out time-consuming,
but interesting, ways of doing the same thing. It is like going full speed ahead to one’s
destination, only to run up against a wall. Or one ends up using the same old method, with no
potential for development.
Of course there are times when pushing hard and going forward will yield success. But at
times, it is necessary to change one’s approach. If that doesn’t work either, one can take a
look around and muse whether there really isn’t another way. That is what innovating is
about.
When we talk about taking one’s time, it is meaningless to simply sit there daydreaming.
On the other hand, becoming all flustered and upset is not conducive to hitting on good,
innovative ideas. One necessary condition is to have an image of what lies ahead of the
time-consuming matter. In any kind of play or task, one sometimes needs to simply persevere.
That would be boring, but if one has an image of what will happen ahead, one can persevere
with happy anticipation. As in knitting, it is good to know what each individual stitch is going
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to look like as a whole.

The other is to be able to think of other methods when one hits a wall. For that, experience
is important, as are tips from the teacher. But at the same time, what is important is simple
trial and error, and careful observation of the results. Randomly trying this and that without
looking at the results of those actions is of no use – it feeds the frustration. Trying something
out, and getting an idea of what isn’t working, or what seems to work a little bit, or what the
overall mechanics seem to be – the gradual process of moving ahead, that is what is important.
It is not so much getting closer to one’s goal but understanding what seems to be happening,
and why. As in untangling a puzzle ring, the point is not to go about blindly but to try
something, observe the mechanism, and gradually work toward understanding.
To that end, the teacher provides support in various ways, but most of it is considerably
subtle. It will not do to give instructions every step of the way, because it is important to
innovate on one’s own. Simply leaving the child alone may not necessarily result in calm,
autonomous thinking. How to provide support for the task the child has begun with interest,
and how to help its evolution – this is where the teacher’s support can shine. The teacher may
observe the child’s demeanor and step in to give a hint. At times the teacher may join the
child in pondering what to do, while calming the child down and implicitly conveying to the
child that he or she can do it with a little thought. To what degree the teacher steps in will
vary with the child’s ability, experience, and personality. The desirable goal would be to
sustain that engagement for as long as possible, and to encourage innovation. Together with
hints on how to do the task, what takes on importance is to steady the child’s emotions and to
create a class atmosphere that is encourages and excites children’s interest.
(4) Nurturing the ability to investigate

In the first place, is there any room for the act of investigating in early childhood care and
education, which centers on the play of children in the period of preschool child, early
childhood? When one observes early childhood care and education actually taking place, it
is not unusual to find a child who catches a bug in the yard and, wondering how to take care
of it, looks at books about insects or keeping pets. There are a wide variety of illustrated
reference books for child that are available, from simple ones to those that are quite detailed.
Let us consider whether anything is possible above and beyond that.
Given the nature of the period of preschool child, early childhood, it is absurd to expect a
situation where the child investigates a matter by sitting on a classroom chair and reading a
book for long periods of time. That is not to say small children cannot read books. One often
encounters kindergarten children reading picture books by themselves. Often the book is not a
storybook but a illustrated book, or a picture book with information of some sort. Children
may not understand the difficult bits, but they do like to collect information.
However, by itself, that knowledge is fragmentary, and has not yet been acquired. “Needle
ice (frost that forms into slender, needle-like bristles in the ground) is when water freezes.
It’s called capillarity” – without having felt the coldness of needle ice, without a feeling of
reality, such as gained through actually seeing water being sucked up into thin tubes,
knowledge does not prompt further learning activity in the child. It does not become useful.
When the act of investigating is integrated into activities that the child can feel as being
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real, the act of investigating expands. Investigating isn’t just about reading books. Asking
friends or teachers is good. The child may also ask a parent. Maybe the child will go a field
trip. On a visit to the fire station, the child may enjoy the experience and also ask questions
of the person giving the orientation. There are more occasions to go to museums and art
galleries. Observing carefully, and looking back on the experience, all contribute to
investigating. It is because it is about learning more detail about the object of interest.
What has been investigated is then acquired through expression. Children express in words
and pictures. They talk with friends, and confirm what they saw as they relate what happened.
When, at a later date, they go to see the same thing again, they can narrow the focus of what
they are looking at, and come closer to the act of observation.
Dialogue between children and teachers also becomes important. A child is seldom, if ever,
capable of investigating properly on his or her own. By the teacher prompting the child,
“Remember what it looked like?” and “How about here?” the child can focus renewed energy
into investigating and remembering.
The point is not in making a presentation of the completed investigation. Of course there is
no harm in making presentations, but what is more important is that the child’s act of learning
develops and evolves. It does not end with one visit or one read through a book. It is more
repetitive. The child continues to act in an effort to find answers to the question, “Why?
What happens when I dig for more detail?” Bugs, fire stations, whatever; when the child
takes a more detailed look, the next question, the next activity, gushes forth. That in turn
prompts the child to investigate again. The activity is transformed from being satisfied with a
one-time, fragmentary piece of knowledge to one that is more dynamic and time-consuming.
By proposing a stronger emphasis on investigating, We are not suggesting that more time
should be spent sitting and taking notes, or reading for long stretches of time. It is about
acquiring knowledge for the purpose of knowing more, relating more to the object of one’s
interest, and using that knowledge to know even more about the object, and enrich one’s
relationship with it. Linking the act of experiencing more with reading books or listening to
other people – that is what we are suggesting.
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3 Teaching in early childhood education as

seen in several real-life examples
Here we will present some examples of real-life early childhood care and education
situations to provide a concrete illustration of the “children’s development in early childhood
care and education” described in Chapter 2. Through the examples and a commentary, we will
discuss the activities the children are actually doing in the kindergarten, what they are feeling,
and what they are learning, and how the teachers support and assist those processes.
Paper Airplanes
Ever since this morning, Masato has been hard at making paper airplanes. I wonder what
he’s up to, and decide to wait and see… Taku happens along and shows an interest, and the
two of them now are having a contest who can fly his the farthest. I weigh the idea of waiting
a little longer, but – paper airplanes in the classroom… I blurt out, “Show me how to build
those airplanes too!” and, having built one à la Masato, take the activity outside.
I start out flying mine from any old place, when Masato draws a line in the sand and says,
“You have to start here!” Although my paper airplane is made exactly like Masato’s, mine
doesn’t land at the same distance as his.
“Why doesn’t it?” he wonders, “I showed you how to build it…” and he tries giving mine a
running start, or fiddles with the wings… Just then Yoichi and Kanae join in. Now then,
things are getting interesting. But Yoichi’s paper airplane alone flies really well, far better
than expected. So then we all decide to make our paper airplanes over again.
Now, with newly folded paper airplanes in hand, we take up the contest where we left off.
Yoichi, who is very competitive (one of his strengths!), makes a big fuss when the paper
airplanes land at about the same distance.
“Mine flew the farthest!” he says.
“No, no, mine did,” says the teacher (me).
“Okay, let’s do it again.”
“Okay!”
And the paper airplanes land at about the same place yet again…
“This time I really won!”
“Really? I’m not so sure…”
“Yes, really! See?”
And he moves the paper airplanes sideways, lining them up to compare. Everyone else nods
in agreement, “Yoichi wins.”
On the next try, three paper airplanes land where it’s hard to compare. This is my chance.
“Yay! I win! I come out TOP!” I cry, intentionally moving mine diagonally forward as I line
the paper airplanes up to compare.
“No fair, you moved it up!”
“Okay, one more time.” I move it back to where it was, line the paper airplanes up again,
and this time, the three of them are about the same. I hear someone saying, “Oh, good, all of
them win.” Oh, no, I think (especially because we had just discussed in last week’s study
group on practicum of early childhood care and education that the children seem to lack
competitiveness in the positive sense), it’s not good for everyone’s to be the same here. So I
remark, “I have a surprise for the winner, so there’s a problem if everybody’s the same.”
22
“What? A surprise?” All the faces light up, then turn dark and serious. Now what,
somehow children have to decide accurately who won. “Hmmm… Now what do we do…”
the children rack their brains.
“Hey, I have an idea! Let’s draw lines all the way across, like at 100, and 200, and…”
And drawing the lines, the child starts writing: 1, 2, 3, 4… Beating myself up for not
having thought of this activity before the summer, I butt in again. Because the child is
drawing the lines freehand, the scores(?) are all at random intervals.
“Oops, the spaces look different. Look, between 8 and 9 here, and between 9 and 10 here…”
“What? Oh yeah…”
“Okay, so now what do we do?”
Just then Masato says, “I know! Remember when Yuri and Wataru were drawing up that
chart? What they were using? How about using that?”
“No, that’s for indoors only,” pipes up Kanae.
“Hey, I know!” exclaims Yoichi. “You know, at athletic festival. Remember with the color
cards? How we drew the lines? Let’s use that!”
“You mean the measuring tape?” I offer.
“Yeah! Yeah! That’s it!”
We quickly borrow one from the teacher’s room, and immediately set about marking off the
intervals.
“Let me do it!” says Yuri, and she starts out enthusiastically, measuring 10 centimeters, 20,
30… 90 centimeters…
“Yoo hoo!” Masato and some others are waving from the other end of the playground. “You
measure up to here!”
Yuri is aghast. “All the way there? No way!” The honest sentiment of someone marking
off the playground ten centimeters at a time. The marking comes to an abrupt stop. Now
what? Everyone tries to think of something, when Wataru comes up with, “How about just
marking the red parts (the tape is marked with red at every meter)?” Yuri also agrees that
this is a great idea! Now the two of them mark off every meter, up to 18 meters. The lines
are now complete!
We decide the tallest goes first, and our paper airplane contest is off and running. This time
around, the children mean business. Each time one person flies a paper airplane, the others all
run to where it lands.
“Twelve meters. Okay, twelve points.”
“Four meters. That’s four points.” We have a scoring system now too.
“Okay, so that’s three meters on the first try, and five meters on the second… that makes…
eight points.” The children start writing this down in the sand. But when there are more
numbers, things get complicated. It’s not that easy to tally the points…
“Teacher, let me use your hands,” says one child, using my fingers to count one by one.
“Twenty-five. No, twenty six? Um, twenty-seven,” says another, making rough guesses
while glancing at my face for hints. Still another says the answer instantly. Each child is
different, but they are all dead serious. At any other time, they would have given up such a
difficult activity a long time ago, and yet, here they were, so engrossed in their play they
were concentrating fiercely. Even lunch time had come and gone… I now have a renewed
appreciation for what it means to be truly absorbed in play.
We continued the contest after lunch. On this day, we spent the entire day with our eyes
glued to the paper airplanes and the ground.
23
C o m m e n ta r y ( P a p e r A i r p l a n e s )
Concentrating on an activity, and thinking. Are such feats possible for small children?
They can be – they become possible through skillful guidance when the child’s activity
begins to expand.
The children fly paper airplanes and start a contest to see whose goes the farthest. At first
the paper airplanes are flown randomly, to see which goes the farthest, so one child decides
where to fly them from. We make the paper airplanes over, and fly them again. When it is a
close call whose flew the farthest, there is a dispute. After all, this is a game the children
started themselves. Some feel they are good at it, while still others have competitive
personalities, and insist on finding out who won.
Three of the paper airplanes landed where it was hard to judge whose went farthest. The
teacher, sensing a golden opportunity, proposes that a decision be made as to who is the
winner, because there is a prize. From there, an innovation: drawing horizontal lines, and
counting points. But the widths are haphazard: someone remembers the use of the measuring
tape, and they go to fetch it. Meters and centimeters are marked onto the ground to measure
the distance. A scoring system is devised, with points awarded depending on how many
meters the flight was. The points are tallied, and the one with the greatest total wins. This
again is a tricky task. Some children count on their fingers, some do sums in their heads,
while still others try to decide by the expression on the grown-up’s face.
Did these children become engrossed because they would get a prize if they won? Or is it
because they love to count? While both are probably correct to a certain degree, I don’t
think that is the main point. I believe it is because both of these factors helped to focus the
children’s activity, and gave them a detailed look at what they needed to work on and try for.
The wish to be No. 1 is a wonderful goal, and elicits the strong will to work toward it. Of
course, flying paper airplanes for long distances is not the only thing children enjoy. In this
case, it was only because the children began the activity themselves, and felt they were good
at it, that the teacher decided to provide some stimulation.
Next is to formulate the idea of measuring a subtle difference in a proper manner. The
children must have recalled the track and field races or some similar situation they saw on
television. They hit upon drawing a number of lines to determine the distance. If the lines
cannot be drawn accurately, all that needs to be done is to use a length of measuring tape to
measure the distance from the starting line. Furthermore, they mark off the ground in units of
measure. Through that action, an image is created: the paper airplane flies above those
calibrated marks, and lands on one of the notches at a certain distance. The children then try
to identify accurately, the notch the paper airplane landed on. The paper airplanes are lined
up and compared because they are set against those notches. The smallest difference is made
distinguishable on a single line.
What are numbers for, anyway? One major advantage is that they allow us to capture
reality in a meticulous manner, and
conduct comparisons on the basis of
numbers, which are simple and
crystal-clear. Here, that advantage is
exactly what the small children
tested and appreciated.
24
Paper Poppers
Shuta, who joined us this year for junior kindergarten, was full of apprehension about his
first experience with kindergarten life.
“What are we going to do now?”
“Why are we going to the play room?”
Every single thing had to be confirmed. His interaction with friends during play was limited,
and had to be mediated by the teacher.
Then one day Shuta approached me with a newspaper flyer in his hand.
“Teacher, Teacher, make me one of those things that goes ‘Bang!’”
Apparently he had asked his grandfather to make one for him, but his grandpa hadn’t known
how.
So the two of us, Shuta and I, immediately got down to making a “paper popper.” Shuta
watched like a hawk while I made the popper, and once the object was complete, I went first
with a trial run.
“BAAANG!!!”
“Whoa!! Awesome!” Reeling a little from the spectacular noise, Shuta nevertheless grins
with satisfaction: “Let me try!”
But he doesn’t know where to apply force, and the paper popper doesn’t even open, let alone
give a bang.
“Hold on to it here, and go like this…” but even with instructions, and my doing it with him,
he is unable to produce that excellent noise, and he seems rather downcast at the anemic
effect. Just then Kengo, who has been standing nearby observing us carefully, offers, “How
about jumping up a little, and swinging it down really hard?”
Worth a try. The center of attention, Shuta gives it all he’s got.
“YAAAHH!”
“Bang!” goes the popper, and “Yay! That was awesome!” the three of us are beside
ourselves with triumph. Shuta is beaming, and Kengo is rejoicing as if the accomplishment
were his own.
Meanwhile, the “Bang!” has attracted a throng of children around Shuta, who are all
milling around saying, “Make one for me too!” “I want one, too!” The children have formed
a long line, each with a flyer clutched in the hand…
“Mind if I make one for everyone else too?” I ask Shuta, and he replies cheerfully,
“Sure! No problem!” Before I start making poppers for the others, I make “popper #2” for
Shuta. And one for Kengo. Kengo is a quiet, somewhat shy child, who tends to be
overshadowed by his more boisterous classmates, but he has the capacity for coolheaded
observation and thought.
Afterward, Shuta learned how to re-fold an opened-up popper, and enthusiastically taught
the skill to the children who hadn’t yet mastered it. Meanwhile Kengo became absorbed in
making paper poppers using all sorts of flyers.
Paper popper play continued for days, with children coming up with all sorts of ideas about
how to produce an excellent sound.
“When you lift one leg up in the air, it makes a really cool ‘Bang!’” and they are all lifting
their leg as high as it will go: “Bang!” And again, and again.
Then Takahiro approaches me with a large flyer. “This should make an awesome noise!”
I fold it up into a big paper popper, and he tries it out: “YAH!” But the popper rips apart at
25
the first try. Takahiro and the other children, who had been anticipating a great big noise, are
surprised and disappointed: “No way! Why’d that happen?”
“I wonder why?” I ask the children, and Katsuji suggests, “Takahiro was too strong.”
Hiroshi agrees, “Yeah, you had your leg up THIS high.”
But then Kengo, who has been observing carefully nearby, comments, “Takahiro’s paper,
it’s thin.”
Bingo. While Takahiro’s flyer was certainly large and impressive, it was made of thin, flimsy
paper. At Kengo’s words, everyone immediately zeroes in on Takahiro’s torn popper, feeling
the paper between their thumb and forefinger, checking its thickness.
“Wow, Kengo’s right. Your paper is thin, Takahiro.”
“Hey, it’s thinner than mine.” The children start to understand.
“Kengo,” I say, “I’m amazed you were able to figure that out.” Kengo looks very bashful,
but somehow the air around Kengo seems to turn warm and fuzzy.
The children, armed with the knowledge that thin flyers make lousy poppers, now come to
me with small, thick sheets of paper.
“Teacher, make me one that won’t rip this time. See how small and thick this paper is,”
Takahiro says proudly. While I suspect that this time, his paper is much too thick for the
popper to open up, I nevertheless oblige, and we try it out. My suspicion proves correct and
the popper stays folded, much to Takahiro’s chagrin. A little ways away, Shuta and Kengo are
producing wonderful, reverberating noises.
“I wonder why mine didn’t work… I know, I’ll ask Kengo!” and Takahiro runs off to the
play room to join the twosome.
Playing with paper poppers allowed Shuta to discover the joy of playing with compatible
friends, and he has stopped clinging to the teacher all the time. Of course he is great friends
with Kengo. And Kengo, through winning the recognition of his classmates, has begun to
express himself more, at times surprising me with how big a voice he is actually capable of
producing.
We will continue to cherish the realizations and discoveries that are born from children’s
play, and will try to provide the kind of assistance that enables children to deepen their
relationship with their friends through play.
26
C o m m e n ta r y ( P a p e r P o p p e r s )
Paper poppers are easy to make, and when moved with force, produce a loud, satisfying
bang. With instructions from the teacher, the child attempts the activity, but success eludes
him. A different child, who has been observing nearby, gives a tip. The first child takes the
advice and tries again, and this time, succeeds in producing the right sound. The teacher and
the two children are delighted. This play then begins to spread amongst the children.
One child brings a large piece of paper, and a large paper popper is made from it. However,
without making much of a noise, it rips apart at the very first try. The child is disappointed,
but also mystified as to why that happened. Was it because he applied too much force? One
of the children who started the paper popper play points out that it was because the paper was
too thin. Everyone feels the paper, and finds that indeed the paper is flimsy.
The children now bring the teacher thick, small pieces of paper. One child brings one that
is too thick, and the popper refuses to open. Perplexed, the children go to seek an explanation
from the child who is the paper popper expert.
Paper poppers are great fun. But playing with them can be a short affair, lasting only for
one round of noise. That is because the grown-up folds it, the child swings, it, a sound is
produced, and that is that. It is actually quite difficult to introduce elements of innovation and
challenge for the children.
In this example, the children stumbled upon an important discovery when the popper failed
to produce the desired noise. When the paper is too thin, it rips apart, and no noise is made.
On the other hand, when the paper is too thick, the popper does not open properly, and again,
no noise is made.
In this way, discoveries in play can take the form of thinking about why when something
does not go as desired. An attitude of observing closely, and thinking, becomes necessary. It
appears that there was significance in the fact that several children were making their own
poppers, and that the child who encountered the stumbling block was not alone, but was
accompanied by the presence of another child, who was watching and thinking. Perhaps it
was because the thinking child was able to do so relatively cool-headedly. Another factor may
have been that the child who made the discovery was one of the children who first started the
game, and so may have felt himself to be savvy about paper poppers.
The teacher also plays a part. When the children are faced with failure, the teacher refrains
from telling them to try again, or making a new popper, or otherwise telling them the answer.
Instead throwing the question back to the child, asking them why they think what happened.
By taking the stance that asking why and understanding are valuable, the teacher supports the
children’s exploration.
It also cannot be overlooked how a child’s confidence can be built through identifying how
to play a game, becoming good at it, teaching it to other children, and being able to figure out
why things happen. The point is not just dishing out praise, but letting the child acquire the
actual capability, and experience the understanding process, with the teacher providing the
function of pointing it out. The broadening of that play, and the connections made through
that joy, then help to enrich the child’s friendships.
27
Rolling Marbles
From dirt balls to the dirt maze
The children love to make dirt balls. They are diligently trying to make one that doesn’t
break open. They mix water into dirt, a little bit at a time, and knead their creations with care.
Dirt comes in all varieties (the black earth in the grassy fields or the fine, pretty dirt made by
rubbing with a ceramic bowl…), and the children are devising all kinds of ways to make
strong dirt balls, such as by using very wet, muddy soil at first, then working up to the earth
from the fields, and applying the finishing touches with smooth, dry sand. It is interesting to
watch them, as each child has their own way of making their creations, and are using different
kinds of soil. When, after it is complete, the dirt ball develops a crack, the children gently
smooth the surface with water.
Five-year-old Isamu is on the dirt hill in the playground.
“Come on, let’s see whose ball is the strongest!”
The children respond to his challenge, urging “Oh, please don’t break,” as the balls roll down
the hill under their earnest gaze. Once some of the balls survive intact, “Great! Now let’s
try it from here!” – the balls are rolled from an even higher position.
“This time let’s see how far they can go! Ready – GO!” When the balls withstand the
rolling without breaking open, the children’s interest shifts to the distance the balls can be
rolled. The children then began to search for places on the dirt hill that were relatively free of
bumps and allowed the balls to roll for longer distances, and for a while the game continued.
“I know! I’m gonna make a road!” says a child, and starts to create a road to make the
balls roll more easily. The child digs with a shovel for a bit, then pours water from higher up
on the hill, then digs again. The road is straight and monotonous.
“Hmm, could be more interesting,” I murmur, and five-year-old Atsushi says, “Okay, how
about a curvy road, like this?”
“Yeah, a curvy road might be fun,” I say. But when we try it, we find it is very difficult to
make curves on a dirt hill. Atsushi continues to pour and dig. Every time a bit of road is
completed, he checks to see whether the balls will roll along it.
“Oh, Atsushi, the ball stops here,” I murmur disappointedly, and Atsushi comes with the
shovel and fills the bit in with some dirt. We try again, and this time the ball rolls. The
children seem to be discerning through their play that the amount of dirt on the road can be
neither too much nor too little for the balls to roll properly. And while the children seem to
have wanted to make a really zig-zagging road, they find that the dirt balls won’t roll down
properly, and the road changes into one that curves smoothly along the side of the hill.
Eventually the children seem to understand that a zig-zagging configuration is too hard, and
begin to dig so that the road is a smoothly curving one.
Finally we experiment to see whether the balls will roll from start to finish. But there’s one
place partway through where the ball comes to a stop. The dirt has formed a little mound
there. The children remove the dirt, and this time the experiment is a big success.
“Teacher, we did it! We made a dirt ball maze!” exclaims Atsushi in delight.
From that day forward, the dirt ball maze game continued for days on end. Eventually, the
children started to do things like creating a couple of pit traps partway through the maze, or
turning a small shovel upside down to use as a tunnel, or connecting several bobbins for the
balls to roll through – the maze evolved into a very interesting dirt ball maze.
28
From dirt ball maze to marbles

Apparently having developed a taste for rolling things, more children began to bring
marbles from home, and the children started rolling marbles down the dirt ball maze they had
made. They also began to make more narrow mazes to suit the smaller size of the marbles.
“You can’t crack these!” the children boasted of their marbles, and at this juncture, the dirt
ball maze, which was an exclusively outdoor activity, underwent a change into an indoor
activity through the use of marbles. Perhaps because they had experienced rolling the dirt
balls down a hill, the children initially used large blocks to create a slope for their marbles.
They created an incline with a triangular block, and continued the course with square blocks
– not a smooth course for the marbles, which tended to bounce when they got to the large
square blocks.
In time the children started to change their approach, using the large blocks only for a
small portion of the maze (the starting platform) and using small blocks (five-centimeter
cubes) for the rest. That made the slope stable and rattle-free, allowing the marbles to roll
down smartly.
“Let’s build a tunnel here. Let’s make this the goal line!” their creation knew no bounds. As
the marbles would roll down very briskly, the children decided, “Let’s put blocks up over
there too!” and placed blocks on both sides of the marble’s path to prevent their escaping.
“Look at what I’ve made!” the children would say, assembling all sorts of marble mazes.
Some noteworthy variations included the use of doll-shaped plastic erasers as targets for the
marbles to bump into, or the arrangement of thin blocks like dominos for the marbles to
knock over. The children spent days playing together with the mazes each of them made. To
compensate for the monotonous movement of the rolling marbles, they began to devise ways
to make the course more difficult: mountains or slopes made of blocks, for example.
Realizing that the marbles now needed more momentum to reach the goal line, the children
started rolling their marbles with more oomph.
Transformation of the marble maze

In an effort to make mazes that were even more fun, the children started thinking again.
Their creations took on a great deal of variety, including mazes that took advantage of the
hole in the handle of the box the blocks were kept in, mazes that were made up of collections
of slopes and bridges built of blocks, and ones that were constructed so that you could not see
how far along the marble was. One that particularly astounded me was the maze Yosuke
dreamed up. His was created using cube-shaped blocks, and constructed so that when a
marble was dropped in, it would travel down the zig-zag formation inside making a pleasant,
clattering sound. From the outside, it was absolutely impossible to see how far down the
course the marble was, as the maze was completely enclosed with blocks to obstruct the view.
The completed marble maze tower was about one and a half meters in height: Yosuke had
stood on a chair to build the uppermost parts of it. And inside this creation, the marble
clattered down an astonishing 14 flights of zig-zag stairs!
When the marble emerged at the goal line, “Awesome!” We all burst out in admiring
applause.
“Yosuke,” I told him, “This is just amazing. It’s so exciting, waiting for the marble to come
out. I’m so impressed you thought of something so complicated all by yourself. This is truly
one of a kind.” Peering inside to see how the tower was configured, I found that he had used
triangular blocks so that they alternated from left to right, arranged so that the marble would
29
roll down the block on the right, hit the block on the left, drop down, then start rolling down
the block on the left. It was a truly remarkable marble maze, a masterpiece beyond the
imagination of any grown-up.
30
C o m m e n ta r y ( R o l l i n g M a r b l e s )
This is an example in which the making of dirt balls developed into a game of rolling them,
which then evolved into rolling marbles as the children devised ways of rolling their balls
more creatively. Making dirt balls involves quite a bit of creativity, with the accompanying
satisfaction of creating a finished object. The children decide to roll the balls from the top of
a hill to test how strong their balls are. When the balls roll to the finish line without breaking
apart, the children gain confidence, and focus their attention on distance, that is, how far they
can be rolled. Further, they hit upon making a road for their balls to roll down. The road,
which starts out as a straight one, begins to curve and wind, as the children realize that a
smooth, gently curving road seems to work the best. They find that the balls come to stop
when there is too much dirt piled up, or when there is a dip in the path; the road must be
made level. Eventually, the game of rolling dirt balls develops into a game of maze-building,
as the children start building obstacles along the route, such as pit traps and tunnels.
Then the children start bringing in marbles instead of dirt balls, and the game goes through
a major shift. With marbles, the game can be brought indoors; and indoors, the children can
use blocks. The game evolves in a myriad of forms, including the use of small blocks, and
dolls for targets. Unsatisfied with merely rolling now, the children begin to make the course
more challenging, by placing slopes and hills along the way to make it difficult to reach the
finish line. One child in particular devised a highly complex course, in which the progress of
the marble was completely obscured from view by an enclosure of building blocks, and
constructed so that the marble would emerge from an unexpected location.
What is extraordinary about this example is that the children’s play developed naturally to
reach an extremely advanced stage. It was absolutely not the case that the end was in view
from the beginning. This is true for both the teacher and the children. The game developed
through a process of searching for something new that can be devised, some new twist that
can be added to make the game more interesting. No doubt the children wanted more
difficulty, more challenge, to savor the joy of achievement. And there is no doubt that the
teacher also stayed by the children’s side, at times with heart a-flutter, at times offering
encouragement and advice.
In that process, the children engage in the tasks related to the game at hand, and search for
places and things around them that would make the game more interesting: interacting with
dirt, searching for a place to roll them, creating a road to roll them better, and so on. They
make clever use of the characteristics of the places and things, and when that is not enough,
they apply new adjustments to those places and things. The children are in an environment
that enables them to interact with things and make adjustments and additions on their own.
Such is the kind of place these children play in on a daily basis.
Through repeated experience of such play, the children gradually refine and compile their
innovations, which grow more advanced. The children also begin to search for materials that
are easier to innovate with. By using marbles instead of dirt balls, the children broadened the
scope of their creativity. But it was probably significant that they had had plenty of
experience with dirt balls before the transition.
31
Jumping Rope
Several girls in the five-year-old class are jumping rope and bouncing on the trampoline.
The boys scuffle by in a nondescript jumble, sometimes happening to join the jump rope
game. But none of them can jump – after one or two tries, they’ve slipped away from the
scene.
In such cases, it is unacceptable for the teacher to leave things as they are. But a forced
invitation would not do much for children’s motivation. Some kids just seem to grudge the
effort to make something bear fruit, and simply avoid doing things they don’t feel like doing
– they only engage in simple activities that they prefer, whenever and for however long they
feel like it. These children are found around us. Tsubasa appears to be such a child. But he
also appears to have a rich sensitivity. His physique is clean and compact. How to motivate
such a child?
After about 20 minutes of turning the long jumping rope for the girls, I spot Tsubasa
hanging by both hands from a two-meter-high, indoor-use horizontal bar – for a pretty long
time. This is my chance. Although he had already dropped to the floor by then, I say to him,
“Tsubasa, that was pretty good. That’s such a high bar, and you were hanging for a REALLY
long time. Even first graders can only go for 30 seconds maybe, and here you were, going on
and on like it was nothing. I would fall off by the time I got to twenty. Could you show me
again?”
Hearing this conversation, the other children gather round. The jump rope and trampoline
experts all try their hand at dangling from the high bar, but for the most part, they fall off
after ten or twenty seconds.
Finally, it’s Tsubasa’s turn. I tell the children, “I’m going to count exactly as fast as the
second hand on my watch, so everybody listen, okay?”
Tsubasa grips the bar.
“One, two, three, four… sixty, sixty-one… seventy, seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three.
Wow, that’s one minute, thirteen seconds. Amazing! You’re the champion! This is just
awesome. Tsubasa, now come on, let’s jump rope!”
Tsubasa can’t jump rope, and is probably not too keen on trying. But without giving him a
chance to refuse, I grab him by the hand and bring him to where the jump rope is. I ask the
other teacher to hold the other end, and start to turn the rope.
Taro, another one of the boys who can’t jump well despite some effort at practicing, and
Tetsuo, who was late this morning, had been sporadically joining in and wandering away, but
they now joined in for real.
Tsubasa can’t jump. We turn the rope, calling out, “here we go!” and timing the turn to his
rhythm, but he still can’t jump. “Okay, again!”
“Again!”
“Here we go!” Flop. That’s one jump!
“Okay, jump when the rope comes in front of you. Here we go!” Flop. Flop.
“That’s right! Again!”
The other two are also silent, with clenched teeth. I like the expressions on their faces.
Children don’t smile when they are serious.
“Again!”
“Again!” Flop. Flop. Flop. Flop. flop.
“Wow, Tsubasa, that was three times in a row!”
“You’re doing great, Taro!”
32
“You too, Tetsuo, here we go!”

One hour, an hour and a half… I urge the other teacher,
“Please, keep your turns solid. Make it easy for the kids to jump. Look closely at each child’s
timing. Turn the rope with everything you’ve got.” It would not be too much to say your life
is on the line. At times such as these, the teacher abandons everything else and faces the
children, concentrating on turning the rope so that it is easier for these children to jump.
Eventually, Tsubasa starts to jump. He successfully enters the rope, and one, two, three, four,
five, six… Taro and Tetsuo, too.
“Great, guys! Tsubasa, Taro, Tetsuo, you guys are all doing great! You’re jumping!
You’re jumping!”
“Here we go, again!” All three of them enter the moving rope, smoothly, and start to jump
with good rhythm: hop, hop, hop, hop.
It’s already past noon.
“We’re running out of time, guys. Just one more time, and we’ll wrap this up,” No sooner
have I said this than Tsubasa gives a shout.
“Hey, guys, let’s all three of us jump!”
With Tsubasa in the middle, Tetsuo and Taro grasp each other’s shoulders and begin to
jump, hop, hop, hop, hop… in the long rope. Afterward, the three of them roll around on the
floor, hugging their shoulders and squeezing themselves together in a roly-poly bundle.
The other teacher’s indifference about turning the rope notwithstanding, I am also
surprised that there are teachers who have never spend two or three hours turning the rope. I
would suggest that it is part of the teacher’s job to continue playing until the children say
they want to stop.
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C o m m e n ta r y ( J u m p i n g R o p e )
Feeling unskilled at something, the child avoids doing it. Because the child doesn’t get any
better, there is no motivation. If it’s something they like, they never tire of it, but come, come,
we think, these are small children we’re talking about here, isn’t that only natural? Indeed,
there are those difficult matters that are not accomplished easily, or things that are far beyond
the child’s present capacity. But there are actually quite a few things that are a breeze for
most of the other children, and the child in question wants to do it too, and gives it a try, but
since it takes a while to get the hang of it, the child promptly gives up. Perhaps it is within
the teacher’s ability to guide the child to acquire the ability.
Nothing starts without motivation. But perhaps that motivation can also be elicited
boundlessly, depending on the situation. At times, a forcible pull might make things
interesting. Or a small success can suddenly fill a child with motivation.
Here, the teacher first notices that the child is able to keep hanging from the high bar for a
long time. The teacher elicits this action, in a highly concrete manner, counting the seconds to
enhance the feeling of anticipation.
The important point may be the way the teacher got the child to jump rope after that. The
teacher asks the other teacher to pay attention, to focus on turning the rope in a way that is
best for each child. The teachers turn the rope, adjusting their timing to the child. First, the
child succeeds in jumping once. They repeat the process. Next, the child jumps three times in
a row. More than two hours of the same activity is a long time, both for the teachers and the
children. Both teacher and child focus all their energy onto the rope, and the jumping starts. A
rhythm is born. All three children enter the rope, and start jumping. Finally, the three newly
successful children grab each other by the shoulders and jump together. Afterward, according
to this report, the same three squeezed themselves into a ball and rolled around on the floor.
It is remarkable that everyone became successful jumpers. However, there is no point in
focusing only on the successful outcome. What is important is how hard the teacher
concentrated and turned the rope for each child during the process leading to that success.
That is not something that can be described by a pat phrase like “valuing each and every
child.” It is concrete; it is observing the state of the child as the rope is turned, and timing
the turn to suit the child. In all likelihood, the child’s rhythm shifts subtly at every jump –
that is why the child is unable to jump. The child may hesitate and partially stop, or move
suddenly, or show total un-coordination between the upper body and legs, or move in a way
that is difficult to adjust to. The teacher who adjusts the movement of the rope to such a child
is probably using his or her whole body in a desperate effort to catch the child’s movement
and turn the rope accordingly.
The child and the teacher share their movements, through means of a rope. Through that
action, the movement of the teacher is conveyed to the child, and furthermore, other children
are drawn in. Such a process can be seen here.
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4 Overview of the development of the

infants and young children
Early infancy and early childhood are periods of remarkable mental and physical growth
and development, and the formation of the child’s fundamentals. However, since individual
children differ considerably, there is a need to maintain a grasp of the child’s overall
development, including each child’s developmental stage and living environment.
1 The relationship between children and adults

Children are born immature, both physically and mentally. They are protected and nurtured
by the adults around them. During that process, ample interaction between adult and child
allow the child to continue growing and developing optimally into the future, as well as to
acquire what is necessary to live as a human being. Of particularly critical importance is the
formation of trust in others and empowerment of the self. Through having their lives
protected by adults, and through being loved and trusted by them, children in turn grow to
love and trust adults. Through the interaction with adults, children gain emotional stability,
grow to want to respond to adults’ expectations voluntarily, and gradually begin to act with
empowerment. Children begin to express spontaneous interest in familiar objects, events, and
people, and engage themselves with them. Within that process, children begin to express their
feelings clearly and do things on their own will: the budding of selfhood. Children then gain
confidence in their own activeness as empowered individuals to make choices, decisions, and
actions, and go on to develop language skills, thinking ability, and self-control.
2 The development of children themselves

Children’s development progresses through the interaction between children and the people,
natural objects, events, and occurrences in their environment.
In particular, interaction with people plays a central role. Throughout their early infancy
and early childhood, children seek to interact with, and to be responded to and understood by,
the adults around them. In turn, they try to understand adults as they themselves were
understood by adults. This relationship with adults becomes the foundation for the children to
gradually develop interactions with other children, and in social settings.
Through interacting with their peers, children convey their own thoughts to their friends as
well as listening to, and understanding, what their friends are saying. At the same time,
children come to realize that they do not always get their own way. They gradually learn the
necessity and means for assertiveness and self-restraint. When there is a difference of opinion,
or when difficulties arise, it is sometimes important to reach a compromise or yield to the
other party through controlling one’s feelings or, at times, foregoing one’s own wishes. Going
through a variety of experiences with their peers is essential for children’s social, emotional,
moral, and intellectual development.
It is also important to recognize that there are individual differences in children’s
development; that the progress and manifestation of each child’s development will differ
according to the child’s physiological or physical qualities as well as the environment they
are brought up in.
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3 Supporting children’s life and development

To promote a child’s development, there is a need for more than direct approaches by
adults. There must also be spontaneous and active approaches from the part of the child. A
child’s activities can be broadly categorized into those relating to “living,” such as eating,
excretion, rest, and adjusting of clothing, and those relating to “play.” The latter are what
are central to the child’s empowered activities.
Children’s play manifests in close relation with their development, while their development
is also stimulated and enhanced by their play. Therefore, it is critically important to provide
early childhood care and education through play, and there is a need for the teacher to
maintain a grasp of each child’s physical and mental state to support children’s development
while living and playing with them.
In addition, even in situations where certain children are behind in their development, or
are having difficulty adjusting to kindergarten life, one needs to realize that those children are
making efforts in their own way. It is therefore important to appreciate that effort and refrain
from imposing a general set of characteristics for each age group or developmental stage,
instead providing the kind of early childhood care and education that is fully attentive to the
developmental features and challenges of each individual child.
4 Main characteristics of development

(1) Infants under six months
The newborn adapts to the dramatic change from within the mother’s body to the outside
environment, and subsequently goes through remarkable growth and development. The
younger the infant, the greater the gain in weight and height. Infants gradually put on body
fat, and their bodies take on a rounded shape. Vision, hearing, and other senses develop
dramatically, and infants begin to gain an awareness of the world around them.
While infants at this stage are full of the potential for development, they are incapable of
meeting their needs without help from adults. However, infants do have the ability to express
their needs through facial expressions, such as smiling or crying, and through moving their
body. When certain familiar adults respond to these expressed needs, and make direct
approaches that are appropriate and affirming, an emotional bond is formed between the child
and the adult. This is the first step for interpersonal relationships, and expands into the ability
to accept oneself, love others, and trust people.
Infants around three months of age will, when in a good mood, gaze at things intently, or
look around at their surroundings. When there is a noise or
a voice nearby, infants will look in that direction. They
begin to kick vigorously, and when lying down, can move
their head at will. Lying down on their stomach, infants
can raise their head, and follow moving objects with their
eyes. When a small rattle is brought against their hand,
three-month-olds can grasp it for a
short time, or wave it around. Smiling goes from merely
being a physiological reflex to take on social significance,
such as smiling when entertained. Emotions begin to
differentiate into pleasure and displeasure, in response to
how their demands are met and how the adults approach
them.
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Infants can make sounds, such as “ah,” “ee,” “ooh,” “boo-boo,” and “coo-coo.” While
nursing, infants may touch or caress the bottle. Satiated, infants may drift off to sleep looking
totally at peace, nipple still in the mouth.
By about four months of age, infants are able to hold their head up. From about the fifth
month onward, they start moving their hands and feet more vigorously, such as in attempting
to grab things in front of their eyes, or bringing their hands to their mouth.
Expressions of physiological pleasure and displeasure gradually take on social and
psychological qualities, such as crying as if with feeling, or gazing at an adult’s face, smiling,
and making “ah” or “ooh” sounds. Furthermore, infants begin to recognize the voices of
familiar people, turn their heads toward sounds, look at approaching objects, and follow
slowly moving objects with their eyes. Once past four months, infants can move their arms,
wrists, and legs at will, and begin to enjoy activities that involve their whole body, such as
rolling over or wiggling around on their stomach.
Sleep and wakefulness become clearly defined. Infants are active when awake, looking
toward sounds, staring at things, following things with their eyes, and making babbling
sounds.
(2) Infants from six to fifteen months
Once past six months, infants begin to recognize the faces of familiar people, and respond
enthusiastically to being played with. From about the sixth month, infants become more
susceptible to infections, as they begin to lose the immunity they were given by their mother
at birth. The development of physical-motor skills and posture during this period, such as
sitting, crawling, and standing, transforms the way infants play and live; in toddler-hood,
these skills develop into the ability to walk upright. Their hands also develop in dexterity and
strength, and these small children begin to use their hands more and more. Furthermore,
children begin to understand language, and as their diet changes from baby foods to toddler
foods, children undergo the transition from early infancy to early childhood. From about the
seventh month, infants are able to sit on their own, and gain the use of both hands while
seated.
Stranger anxiety becomes pronounced in this stage. At the same time, infants actively try to
engage the attention of familiar people, such as by imitating gestures like squeezing or
waving the hands. Being tenderly accepting of, and responsive to, these feelings is critical for
children’s emotional stability. Within this kind of relationship with adults, infants’ babbling
becomes even more varied and vigorous.
By about the ninth month, infants can do things like crawl and hold things in both hands,
knocking them together or banging them on the floor. With a foundation of emotional stability
built on a strong trust relationship with familiar adults, infants begin to engage vigorously in
explorative behavior. Expressions of emotions, particularly facial expressions, take on even more
clarity, and infants show an interest in familiar people or desired objects, trying to get close to
them. Furthermore, infants begin to understand simple
words, and try to communicate their wishes and needs
through gestures and the like.
By around one year of age, children start to pull
themselves up to a standing position and begin walking
with support. They become even more interested in
what lies outside of them, and enjoy activities such as
pushing carts. Their babbling also takes on
conversational inflections, and children gradually begin
to speak a few familiar words.
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(3) Fifteen to twenty-four months
Children begin to walk, use their hands, and use language. During this period, their
physical-motor development is remarkable, and their bodies seem to slim down gradually.
Children catch many infections diseases during this period. Infections disease make up the
majority of their illnesses at this stage.
Children can now walk without holding on to anything, and have increased physical-motor
function, such as pushing and throwing. Their living space has expanded and, building on the
secure relationships that have been nurtured, children begin to make spontaneous approaches
to familiar people and the things around them. During that process, they acquire the many
behaviors that are necessary to live their lives. For example, children imitate the actions they
find interesting in familiar people, and incorporate them into their behavior. Children steadily
expand their repertoire of actions: picking things up with their fingers, turning pages,
buttoning, unfastening, scribbling, rolling things, using a spoon, and holding a cup. Through
the mastery of these new behaviors, children acquire the feeling that they are able to do
things, and gain confidence and enhanced spontaneity. They also begin to understand what
adults are saying, and call out to people, or vigorously use baby talk indicating refusal, or
attempt to communicate through pointing or gestures what they cannot say in words. In this
way, the wish to communicate their thoughts to familiar adults gradually builds. At about
eighteen months, children start formulating two-word sentences, such as, “din-din, pease
(dinner, please).”
Children also engage more vigorously in interacting with people through things, such as
rolling a ball back and forth, as well as in struggling for possession of things. Children can
also use objects to represent other things. Thus children deepen their interpersonal skills, as
well as their capacity for symbolization, which are essential for their subsequent social and
linguistic development. This kind of direct approach to their environment expands from
familiar people to include objects, and the adults are often made to feel as if the child is
always into mischief.
Children also develop emotionally, and their feelings begin to differentiate: for example,
there is a difference between the love they have for other children and their love toward
adults, and they begin to indicate envy. During this period, children’s spontaneity and wish to
explore are heightened. But children are still very much in need of adult care, and are in a
transitional phase toward independence.
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(4) Two-year-olds
The ability to walk progresses even more, with more enhanced basic physical- motor skills
such as running and jumping. Children are able to move their bodies at will, and gain better
control of their physical movements. Children at this age love to move their bodies in
rhythmic movement or in time to music. At the same time, their manual dexterity improves
rapidly as well.
Their vocalization becomes clearer, with a
marked increase in vocabulary. They can
understand the words necessary for day to day
life, and are able to use words to express what
they want to do and have done for them.
In the context of these advances in their
development, children gain more freedom of
movement, their range of movement expands,
and they gradually begin to seek relationships
with other children.
While children gradually build up resistance to
infections disease, infections disease make up the greatest proportion of illnesses at this stage.
The new experiences in their day to day lives heighten children’s interest and desire to
explore. Children earnestly try to convey the joy, excitement, or discoveries they gained to
sympathetic adults or friends, and wish to share these experiences. By having these needs met,
children’s various abilities are enhanced, and they are able to gain confidence.
Children are therefore full of enthusiasm to do things without an adult’s help. However, in
reality, not everything goes their own way, nor can they do everything themselves. Children
therefore often have their wishes hampered by adults or friends.
However, children at this stage are not yet capable of dealing with such situations well, and
sometimes assert themselves through tantrums or defiant behavior. This is proof of a normally
developing self. During this period, children not only express interest in familiar people and
events, and imitate with enthusiasm, but also acquire the ability to find common factors
between objects and events, and to conceptualize. Their capability for symbolization and the
ability for observation grow, and they are able to engage in simple pretend play with their
teachers.
(5) Three-year-olds
By this stage, children’s basic physical-motor functions have developed fairly well, and
they have achieved a certain degree of independence in such activities as eating and excretion.
The children, who until this stage had been quick to rely on adults, and whose activities had
centered around their relationship with adults, begin to try to act as independent beings, and
their sense of self also becomes more distinct.
Relationships with other children become important for the children’s lives, particularly for
play. Children gain the ability to share and take turns through their contact with other
children. At this stage, although the children themselves may think they “played” with their
friends, the reality is often still one of parallel play. However, being allowed to savor the
joy of being with their peers, observing their behavior, and imitating them during this period
promotes the development of social skills, and leads to a richer understanding of human
nature.
Children’s powers of attention and observation grow even more advanced, and since they
incorporate the behaviors of familiar adults or their own day to day experiences into their
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pretend play, the pretend play becomes more organized. The content of the play also begins to
take on expansiveness with the application of symbolization and creativity, and their play can
now continue for a fairly long time.
During this stage, children also start questioning vigorously: “Why?” and “How come?”
Their thirst for knowledge, to understand the names and functions of things, is intensified,
and their language skills are enriched even further. In addition, within the real and concrete
range of their own actions and experiences, they can now make predictions on the
consequences of certain behaviors: “When I do this, this happens.” Thus they are able to act
with intent and expectation. They can
also understand simple story lines, and
are able to predict what may happen,
and assimilate the story into their own
thoughts.
Furthermore, during this period,
children develop the desire to act on
their own volition in observance of
rules, and begin to volunteer their help
to adults. They begin to feel pride and
joy in being useful for others.
(6) Four-year-olds
Children gain better balance with their whole bodies, and can move their bodies with skill.
They can also do two different activities at once, such as carrying on a conversation while
eating. A solid sense of self is established, and a clear distinction is made between the self
and others.
When children begin to observe people and things outside themselves in detail, they also
become conscious of themselves as being observed, and a feeling of self-consciousness
emerges. Therefore, at times they are not as able to remain totally un-self-conscious as they
were before. Also, because they are now able to have a goal in mind when they create, draw,
or act, they also experience emotional conflict, such as anxiety or sadness, about things not
going the way they want them to. When the teacher fully perceives these psychological
workings and provides empathy, or encouragement at times, the children develop the
sensitivity to be thoughtful to the feelings and situations of others, just as the teacher was for
them. In these ways, children realize that others also have hearts and minds that are invisible
to the eye, develop the capacity to understand the feelings of familiar people, and further
enrich their emotions.
Children in this stage think that hearts and minds are not limited to people, but that they
exist in other living beings and even in lifeless objects. This leads to a childlike imagination
and an expanding creativity. They also begin
to fear more things that are
rooted in the imagination, such as monsters,
dreams, and being left alone, in addition to
physical phenomena such as loud sounds
and darkness.
Through exploring their environment,
observing other children at play, and
experiencing things for themselves,
children gain knowledge on the
characteristics of the various things around
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them: natural objects, including dirt and water, and play tool, for example. In these rich
interactions, children acquire the ability to relate to them and play with them. In that process,
children begin to feel the joy and fun of being with peers, and develop a stronger relationship
with other children. At the same time, children feel all the more competitive, and fights can
develop more frequently. On the other hand, at this stage, children are increasingly able to
gradually control their own feelings by themselves, or forego their own wishes, when they
encounter unpleasant situations with their peers.
(7) Five-year-olds
Children have pretty much become independent in the basic habits of day to day life. They
seem sure-footed, and even convey a sense of trustworthiness. Their physical-motor skills
have developed even further, and they love to engage in physical activity. They can now do
things like jump rope.
Their inner world also undergoes further growth, and children form the basics of making
judgments on the basis of reasons they arrived at on their own and that they feel are fair,
instead of something being “bad” just because an adult said so. Children also begin to be able
to think before they act, and begin to acquire the capacity to be critical of self and others, as
well as the ability to express in words what they feel is unjust: “No fair,” or “That’s wrong.”
Helping out, at home and otherwise, also increasingly involves a purpose, and furthermore,
they can think about what might happen as a result. Children can now put up to some degree
with things they don’t like, and they feel happy and proud about being useful to others.
At this stage, the presence of peers takes on even more importance. Several children may
work as a cohesive group toward the same goal, with each of them understanding what they
have to do and the need to observe rules. For the first time, they begin to exert the function of
a group. In the group, interaction by way of verbal expression is very important. This
provides a place for hands-on learning of the verbal skills to express well what they feel and
think, and the ability to listen to what others are saying.
Children also acquire the capacity for word play and playing with a shared image in mind. In
addition, even when they conflict over what they want to do, or a fight erupts, they are not as
quick to rely on an adult, instead trying more to resolve the issue on their own. In short, the
children acquire the skills that are fundamental to social life, such as forgiveness and respect,
and gain the self-awareness and confidence of being part of the group of friends.
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(8) Six-year-olds
Manual dexterity takes on even more finesse, and children are better able to coordinate
their fingertips with the rest of their body. Whole-body movements also become more fluid,
and children frisk about with lively cheer. They are full of energy, both mentally and
physically, and their wish to try everything knows no bounds. This is because, through past
experience, they have acquired the confidence that they can do certain things, and the ability
to make predictions and look ahead, so that they can think of how much more fun it would be
if they were to do things in this new way.
When they reach this stage, children begin to value their own will, and the will of their
peers, more than obeying what adults say, and begin to try to stick to their position. They
revel in secret games like playing exploration with their peers. Often, in these activities, the
members in the group do not all do the same thing. Instead, roles are generated, and each of
the children acts in a way that accommodates their preferences and personalities. In this way,
groups of children increasingly engage in organized, cooperative play, which goes on for
longer periods of time. Pretend play in particular takes on an intricate flow, and children
prefer play with a variety of differentiated roles, and try to pursue the play to their
satisfaction even when they encounter some degree of difficulty. Therefore, as a consequence
of the children maximizing on their knowledge and sharing ideas from different angles, and
exercising creativity, their play may expand and develop.
Through these experiences, the children realize for themselves that they have become more
grown up, and begin to try to act like big kids themselves. As a result, they express a keen
interest in writing their letters or reading books, and as they strive to learn everything, their
thirst for knowledge grows even more. Their verbal facility also increases, and they are more
likely to argue. At times, their critical thinking can be aimed at adults as well. They are also
likely to be embarrassed about doing childish things like crying in public, and may restrain
themselves from doing so. But at times, they may seek affection from adults to calm
themselves, or to fuel up on energy for subsequent activities.
＜Reference＞
Children and Families Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare （1999） Guidelines for
Nursery Care at Day Nursery
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Ochanomizu U niversity
1 Principles into practice:

early childhood education
Children can fully demonstrate their abilities, and their possibilities for development become the
biggest, when they do something voluntarily. And good educational aims will be achieved more
easily if they are based on clear principles and are linked to children’s daily activities.
In this chapter, the principles of ‘Child-Centered Education’, which attaches crucial importance to
the voluntariness of children's actvities to promote their development, will be discussed. In addition,
how the theories can be put into practice will be suggested.
1 Principles of ‘Child-Centered Education’

(1)Principles of ‘Child-Centered Education’ that develops independence and
self-reliance
One of the educational aims during early childhood is to develop independence and self-reliance.
In this context, ‘independence’ refers to the ability to think without needing to follow instructions.
Therefore, independent children can make their own judgments and achieve tasks after a
continuous process of trial and error. However this does not mean that they simply behave selfishly
without considering others in any way. Independent children are able to make their own decisions
after considering many relevant factors, such as other people or the surrounding situation, but they
are not controlled by any ‘authority’. So, how should early childhood educators behave towards
children in order to develop independence? Firstly, they have to attach importance to the
voluntariness of children (e.g. their own ideas, will and plans). However, if teachers leave children
to do as they like, they will not develop. The task of teachers is to see whether children can achieve
self-realization. Teachers have to discuss and drop hints to help children when they are stuck or
lose interest in their play. In other words, well-thought-out educational interventions are necessary.
(2) Respect the pace of development of each child

It seems that the crucial point in early childhood education is that it is rooted in, and also fulfills
the life of, the children. It is fundamental that teachers to prepare for a variety of possible activities
so that children can get started on what they are most interested in doing, and can develop that
activity. In other words, children themselves decide what they do - teachers do not just introduce
“activities of the day” based on detailed plans. Therefore, there will be as many curricula and
timetables of activities as there are children. Teachers should keep a close watch on each child, join
in their play, and assist or make an educational intervention when necessary. They should assess
the development stage of each child and give assistance so that s/he can take a new step forward.
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(3) ‘Zone of Proximal Development’
Vygotsky’s concept, ‘Zone of Proximal Development’(ZPD) can assist the teacher to recognize
individual differences in development and identify the development level of a particular child. The
zone of proximal development refers to the ‘possible level’ that children can achieve under adult
guidance. This shows the distance between the actual developmental level that children have
already achieved, and the level of potential development. The teacher should act as a ‘scaffold’,
providing the minimum support necessary for a child to succeed and take a step up to the next level.
So, how can teachers identify the zone of proximal development of each child?
Three points are important: teachers' previous experiences, the child's ability to imitate, and
his/her life history.
1. Teachers' previous experiences help teachers them to assess how they should speak to, and to
what extent they should help, a child. For instance, they may think, ”This boy is just like the one
I took care of before. It takes some time for him to get started, but once he starts, I’m sure he can
accomplish this task by himself because he has ability to concentrate, like a boy I helped last
year”. Teachers can assume the zone of proximal development of the child based on such
previous experience. It is better to avoid giving too many hints or instructions to a child. Drop a
small hint at the beginning of a task, and change the way you speak to the child until s/he can go
to the next step.
2. Imitation is another aspect of the zone of proximal development. If children are able to
imitate how teachers and/or peers achieve a task, they will nearly be able to complete the same
task on their own. Taken together, a teacher's previous experience and a child's ability to imitate
provide a stronger indication of the zone of proximal development.
3. Life History helps a teacher to assess developmental potential and think about how to behave
towards particular children. But do not compare one child's life history directly with that of
another child. Compare a child's present situation with similar situations in their own past
experience. All children can take a step forward if the teacher knows their life histories and
strong/weak points, and then acts as a scaffold.
(4) Develop child independence
Early childhood educators have the following roles.

Firstly, to evaluate the development level of each child, and decide how to aid and understand
what he/she desires or thinks immediately. Secondly, to provide a physical and psychological
environment appropriate for child development. Thirdly, to help children widen their activities and
develop their ideas and the ability to think. In order to fulfill those roles, teachers should consider
carefully: (1) how they provide a good environment (i.e. prepare appropriate materials so that
children can develop through daily activities), (2) how they establish human relationships in the
class (i.e. develop a reciprocal and cooperative relationship), (3) how they speak to children (i.e.
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use words and expressions appropriate for their development level and give small hints rather than
give instructions).
2 H o w to p u t t he pri n cip les i nt o pra ctice

As mentioned above, one of the most important aims of early childhood education is to develop
independence and self-reliance. We have also explained the importance of working on the ‘zone of
proximal development’ in order to achieve this aim. Then how should teachers behave toward
children in a practical context?
【Important points】
◆1: Make children think
Teachers should leave space for children to think. Adults should avoid giving all the answers and
imposing them on children.
Example
In the second term, a 4-year-old boy cannot understand the meaning of the Hiragana [Japanese
script] letters written on the blackboard because he reads them from the right (he should read from
the left). He asks a question to his teacher.
Child: What is ‘KU CHI KA’?

Teacher: This is ‘KA CHI KU’. Read from the left. (Shows the direction to read).
Child: What is ‘KA CHI KU’?
Teacher: That's, domestic animals, which live in people's homes.
Child: (After thinking a little, he looked satisfied with the teacher's explanation and nodded.)
Point: Answer just what children ask. If they are not satisfied with the answer, they can ask
questions one after another. It is better not to give extra explanations or give answers
immediately without waiting for them to think.
◆2：Make them think from various viewpoints

It is desirable to suggest, rather than order or prohibit. For example, it is better to say ‘How about
doing ***?’ ’Why don't you do this in this way?’ or ‘I think this is ***. What do you think?’ rather
than saying ‘Do ***!’ ‘Don't do ***’. Offering suggestions makes children think by themselves,
which stimulates the cerebrum. In addition, teachers should put other children's thoughts into words
for a particular child, which will help that child to understand that there are various views and that
other children might have different ideas.
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◆ 3: Do not stick to your ideas or suggestions

Children sometimes cannot make a decision, in spite of teachers' suggestions. In that case,
teachers should not stick to their suggestion. They should not give too many hints, instruct too
much, or impose their opinions upon a child. In other words, they have to restrain themselves - but
this is difficult.
Example:
(In November, the second semester, in the class of 4-year-old children)
The following is a good example of a teacher who did not stick to her idea. She was making a
unicorn, an imaginary animal with a horn, which has two wings.
Child: ‘Make a horse, please’.

Teacher: (Begins to draw a horse)
Child: ‘Draw a horse with a horn’.
Teacher: ‘Eh? (Silence for a while) Not this? A horse with a horn?
Child: ‘A unicorn. It’s like a normal horse, but it has a horn and it doesn't have a mane. And it has a
mysterious power.’
Teacher: ‘I don’t know about it. Tell me more.’ (After helping other child in need of urgent help.)
Teacher: ‘I don't know how to draw the horse you have explained. Draw the picture of it on this paper.’
(Passing her the paper that a normal horse was half drawn.)
Teacher: I wish I could find a unicorn in a book. (As if she talks to herself)
Child: ‘No, you cannot find it in any book. It’s an imaginary animal.’
Teacher: Then draw a horn on the head of this horse, and I can see what it’s like.’
Child: ‘It doesn't have ears, like a bald head.’ (Just continuing to explain without drawing)
Teacher: ‘Oh that's interesting. Like this? What about this?’ (As the child cannot draw, the teacher tries to
draw for her, following the child’s explanation.)
Child: (Just watching what the teacher is drawing without a word.)
Teacher: ‘Like this, horns?’ (Drawing two horns)
Child: ‘It doesn't have two horns.’
Teacher: ‘Only one horn?’
Child: ‘Yes’ (Nodding)
Teacher: ‘One horn. Is this O.K.?’ (Drawing another horse with a horn whose legs are open.)
Child: ‘It isn't running. I said that it just stands, didn't I?’
Teacher: ‘This isn't O.K.?’ (Adding a horn to the first horse whose legs are closed.)
Child: ‘It has wings’
Teacher: ‘Oh, I see. Is that the Pegasus?’
Child: (Silence. It seems that she does not to know about Pegasus. After considering for a while.) ‘It has a
furrow when it closes his eyes,’
Teacher: ‘You have observed very carefully.’ (Drawing another horse whose legs are closed, leaving a
space for wings)
Child: (Goes to her toolbox to pick up crayons and disposable chopsticks, comes back to the teacher and
tries to hurry her up a little) ‘How about the unicorn?’
Teacher: ‘I have drawn it. How is it?’
(It’s a newly drawn horse but it does not have wings yet).
Child: ‘Hum?’ (Look hard at it) ‘Then wings.’
[Should this part be bold?]
Teacher: ‘Will you attach the wings later on?’ ←She thinks that it might be a good idea to make
two wings using, separate paper, and attach
them to the trunk of the unicorn.
Child: (After thinking for a while, she refuses flatly) ‘No,’
Teacher: (Draws two wings quickly) ←She did not stick to her own idea.
Child: (She looked satisfied to see what the teacher has drawn. She gets the paper from the teacher, cuts
it with scissors and attaches the disposable chopsticks to the trunk using adhesive tape.
46
Point: The teacher suggested that the child could make a three-dimensional horse whose
wings flatter if she attaches wings later on. However, the child did not have the same
image in her mind, as the teacher. So the teacher did not stick to her idea and responded
to the child's request immediately.
Three months later: This is an episode in November. Later in February, the hint given by the
teacher (‘Would you like to attach wings later on?’) expands her image of the horse and she
can produce three-dimensional objects.
As the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ is not visible, first give a small hint to children to change
the nature or extent of their imagination, and then check their reactions. When they cannot
understand or accept your hint, you have to realize that their development level is not high as you
thought. It is essential not to stick to your own idea/hint. In short, you should ‘wait & see’, ‘be
patient and not hurry up’, and ‘not rush children’.
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2 Guides to formulation of curriculum
What is curriculum?
We often see children play freely at kindergarten. However, it should be remembered that early
childhood education is not the same as leaving children to play as they like in the field or in the
park. There are clear frameworks when early childhood education is provided at a public
educational facility, like a kindergarten. Among those frameworks, we call the total experience that
children gain throughout a kindergarten life and its route ‘Curriculum’. The curriculum is a holistic
educational framework at kindergarten.
The word ‘curriculum’ is derived from a Latin word ‘currere’, which refers to an ancient horse
race or a track for horse racing. Therefore, the curriculum is a route that should be followed from
the start to the goal, in early childhood education.
1 Curriculum in practice
(1) Law: The National Curriculum Standards for Kindergartens
In Japan, the curriculum is based on the law on education at kindergarten, ‘the National
Curriculum Standards for Kindergartens’. It provides the following guidance on the formulation of
curriculum.
・Kindergartens should develop specific aims and curriculum content taking into consideration to the
period of education, the experiences of children and the process of child development, in order for
the aims to be comprehensively achieved throughout a child's time at kindergarten.
・Kindergartens should take measures based on long-term perspectives, taking into consideration the
special characteristics of early childhood development, so that children can experience a fruitful
life.
The curriculum shows the educational aims and activities that a kindergarten sets, so that teachers
will prepare for children with the intention of achieving particular aims. It covers time and space,
starting from the time of entry to completion of kindergarten, and the space both inside and outside
of kindergarten.
The curriculum is formulated by looking at three components: educational aims, guidelines for the
formulation of the curriculum, and yearly instruction plans. The following is a curriculum of ‘one
Japanese kindergarten’ in the Tohoku (northeast) region of Japan.
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(2) Educational aims

Educational aims reflect how teachers hope children will develop at kindergarten. Aims vary from
one kindergarten to another. For instance, ‘one Japanese kindergarten' aims for:
Children who broaden their minds, have dreams, and are lively
○ Children who think and act (Develop sociability)
○ Children who are healthy and active (Develop motor function)
○ Children who have sensibility (Cultivate feelings)
Although there are some differences among kindergartens, many of them set educational aims
focusing on distinct aspects of child development, such as health, sociability, feelings, cognition,
and expression etc., as this kindergarten does. But although there are distinct aspects, early
childhood education is comprehensive and should be promoted as a whole.
As shown below, ‘this kindergarten’makes its educational aims more specific, depending on the
age of children, and calls them ‘developmental goals’.
○Developmental goals
Children who broaden their minds, have dreams, and are lively
・Three-Year-Old
Know the enjoyment of playing with children who get along well
Children who think and act

・Four-Year-Old
(Develop sociability)
Express and share their feelings and play with other children
・Five-Year-Old
Share a goal among friends in the same group/class, and play actively
・Three-Year-Old
Feel comfortable at kindergarten and play cheerfully
Children who are healthy and ・Four-Year-Old

active Behave cheerfully and freely and play enthusiastically
(Develop motor function)
・Five-Year-Old
Take plenty of exercise, play enthusiastically and feel a sense of
fulfillment
・Three-Year-Old
Takes an interest in a variety of things in life and enjoys them
・Four-Year-Old
Children who have sensibility Enjoy expressing how they have felt or what they have thought in
(Cultivate feelings) everyday life in their own way
・Five-Year-Old
Enjoy communication with friends by expressing how they have felt or
what they have thought in the various experiences
By making the aims more specific as shown above, the aims become clearer and teachers
can recognize that those aims can be achieved gradually as a child gets older.
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(3) Guidelines for the formulation of the curriculum
This kindergarten uses the following guidelines for the formulation of the curriculum.
Aim to
○Provide an appropriate environment and support for the children, centered on play, to develop
their ability to live flexibly.
○Improve the instruction system so that it makes the best of teachers' skills and creates a
cooperative atmosphere
○Promote cooperation with parents and the community, through educational counseling and help
with child care.
Guidelines should be flexible. Kindergartens should develop them continuously through

evaluation by all staff, and in the light of the conditions and needs of children, parents and the
community. Guidelines for ‘Educational counseling’ or ‘Promotion of Support of Child Rearing’,
for example, should meet the needs of the community. Therefore, they will vary depending on the
circumstances surrounding each kindergarten. Put simply, it is important to understand and address
the needs of the children who come to kindergarten, and the needs of their families and community.
(4) Yearly instruction plan
The curriculum covers the whole time that children attend a kindergarten, from entry to completion.
Therefore, teachers formulate the curriculum depending on the period of education, which is usually 2
or 3 years in Japan. ’The National Curriculum Standards for Kindergartens' states that the minimum
number of weeks per year of kindergarten education should be 39, and attendance is four hours each
day.
Teachers divide the period of education into several and think about specific objectives and activities,
to achieve the educational aims explained above. For instance, this kindergarten formulates a yearly
instruction plan for each grade (3, 4 and 5 years old). Teachers make more specific plans: daily,
weekly, monthly and periodical plans based on the yearly instruction plan.
Usually, a year is divided into 4-5 terms based on the consideration of children’s life and
development throughout a year depending on their age. Each term has its specific objectives and
activities. For instance, the objectives during the first term of the first year of kindergarten (when a
child is 3 years old in Japan) are ‘feel comfortable with teachers and life at kindergarten and come to
kindergarten cheerfully’, and ‘find favorite play and play tools and enjoy playing at kindergarten’. The
content of early childhood education during this period is, ‘find favorite play and play tools and play
cheerfully’, ’come to kindergarten joyfully and play in various ways’, ‘know how a day is organized at
kindergarten and understand simple rules’, and ‘feel attached to teachers’. Teachers set those objectives
because it is quite natural for three-year-old children who have just entered kindergarten to feel uneasy
about spending a day at kindergarten without parents. If children can get acclimatized to the new life
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and spend their day comfortably at kindergarten, they can take a step forward to new objectives and
activities in the next stage. Furthermore, as they get older, objectives and activities are in accordance
with several aspects of development - such as establishment of relationships with friends and teachers, a
relationship with the environment, and self-expression - become higher and richer.
At this kindergarten, the activities in the yearly plan during winter, from December to March, are ‘be
interested in snow, ice and frost and enjoy play peculiar to winter’ (four-years –old) and ‘learn to put
and take off jacket and gloves’ (four-years-old). This reflects the fact that this kindergarten is located in
the northeast region of Japan, where it is cold and it snows a lot. As can be seen in the case of this
kindergarten, it is important to make the most of the natural environment and climate in the region
where the kindergarten is located, when deciding the activities.
(5)Annual events
Annual events are also included in the curriculum. The following table shows events generally
conducted at Japanese kindergartens. Basically, the activities that children experience through
various events are based on, and extended from, daily life at kindergarten. Events are valuable as
they provide opportunities for children to have experiences that they do not usually have in
everyday life at kindergarten. For instance, Japan has events that mark the stages of life at
kindergarten or of a child's development, such as an entrance/leaving ceremony and birthday
parties. We also hold events to learn and appreciate the Japanese seasons and traditional culture,
such as Tanabata (Star Festival), Jyugoya (the night with a full moon), Setsubun (Bean Throwing
Ceremony) and Hina-Matsuri (Doll Festival). In addition, we try to enrich the experiences of
children by going on school trips or holding a sport festival. In addition, we plan events taking into
consideration the regional and educational characteristics where the kindergarten is located.
In the formulation of the curriculum, it is important to consider when and how we conduct these
events. It is important to make a plan taking into consideration the seasons or the level of child
development so that children can feel the enjoyment of participation and a sense of fulfillment. In
addition, events provide good opportunities to show how children have developed, and can
encourage cooperation with parents or people in the community.
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＜Annual plan of events＞

April May June
・Opening Ceremony ・Children’s Day Party ・Planting vegetables (sweet
・Entrance Ceremony ・School Trip with Parents potatoes and soybeans in the
・Parents’ Day ・Parents’ Open Day pod)
・Annual Health Examination ・School Trip
・Opening of Swimming Pool
July August September
・Star Festival ・ Early Childhood Care During ・Opening Ceremony
・Day to enjoy the cool of evening Summer Vacation ・Emergency Drill
・Parents’ Day ・Harvest (soybeans in the pod)
・Closing Ceremony ・Closing of Swimming Pool
October November December
・ Sports Festival ・Parents’ Open Day ・Children’s show
・ Digging Sweet Potatoes ・School Trip ・Rice-cake Making Party
・ Parents’ Day ・Closing Ceremony
January February March
・Opening Ceremony ・Bean Throwing Ceremony ・Doll Festival
・Kite-flying ・School Trip ・Farewell Party
・Visiting Elementary School ・Leaving Ceremony

・Parents’ Day ・Closing Ceremony
(6)Improvement of the curriculum
The curriculum should be flexible. Kindergartens should improve the curriculum after
conducting appropriate reviews and evaluations of the educational processes, so that the curriculum
reflects the children's conditions, encourages their development and contributes to the fulfillment of
their life.
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3 Formulation of an instruction plan

(Daily/ Weekly/Monthly /Yearly)
What is the Instruction Plan?

The basics of early childhood education are to respect the life of a child and to promote
his/her voluntary activities. However, respecting children’s voluntariness does not mean to
leave them to play as they like. Teachers should care for children within the objectives and
perspectives of early childhood education.
As explained in the previous section, the curriculum is a holistic educational plan which is
formulated with the intention of achieving specific aims throughout a child’s life at
kindergarten.
On the other hand, as is stated below, instruction plans are formulated more concretely in
order to achieve the aims stipulated in the curriculum. They show ‘when’ and ‘what kind of
activities’ children do with the aim of promoting their development and active life. Try hard to
understand about children, and especially recognize their interests, attitudes toward their life
or play, and relationships with teachers and other children. And so instruction plans should be
formulated so that children can have experiences appropriate for their age or development
stage.
Teachers formulate instruction plans by setting objectives and curriculum content so that the
curriculum is put into practice, creating an environment that enables children to achieve the
objectives and curriculum content and making sure that teachers’ support leads the activities
in a favorable direction.
１ I n s tr uctio n Pl a ns : L o ng- Te rm P la ns & S h o r t- Ter m Pla n s

There are two types of instruction plans - long-term instruction plans: yearly and monthly
plans and short-term instruction plans: weekly and daily plans.
Teachers think about and write down the following three aspects, in the form appropriate for
the characteristics of each plan:
1. Contents of activities: what you hope children will experience.

2. Objectives of curriculum content: aspects expected to be developed through the
activities.
3. Creation of the environment: how to provide an appropriate environment to achieve the
objectives of curriculum content.
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○Yearly Plan: Instruction plan that covers a school year (from

April to March in Japan)
Long-Term
Instruction Plans ○Monthly Plan: Instruction plan that covers a month in order to
put the yearly plan into practice
※ See Reference 1
○Weekly Plan: Instruction plan that covers a week and is

formulated concretely in order to put the monthly
plan into practice, paying attention to the
continuity of life
Short-Term ※ See Reference 2
Instruction Plans
○ Daily Plan: Instruction plan that covers a day and shows the life
of children at kindergarten in detail
※ See Reference 3
It should be remembered that instruction plans are merely ‘plans’. If teachers stick to those
plans but the education has little to do with the realities of the children’s lives, they cannot
promote proper development. It is important for teachers to be sensitive to - the changes in
children’s interests, attitudes towards their life or play, relationships with teachers or other
children, or changes of weather/temperature - and then flexibly modify or change plans.
2 Points for Consideration:

Form ula tio n o f Lo ng- Term/Short- Ter m Ins tr uctio n Pl ans
(1) Understanding of the Child and Child Development
It is firstly crucial to understand the child – who must be the focus of early childhood
education.
Try to understand each child by knowing about such aspects as family background, the
present development level, his/her interests, the attitude towards life or play and relationship
with teachers or other children and so on. One way to achieve this understanding is to learn
about the ‘average child’ during early childhood, from the perspective of
developmental/children’s psychology. In other words, you understand the nature of the ‘future
child’, based on the academic knowledge.
The other aspect is more practical - to recognize child development by closely looking at the
state of each child. Even in the same class with children at the same age, each has his/her own
pace of development, which should be fully respected. In short, try to see and understand the
real state of each child.
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(2) Aims and Curriculum content
The ‘aims’ of kindergarten education are to nurture the emotions, will and attitudes that are
expected to be developed by the time children leave kindergarten.
The ‘curriculum content’ is developed with the intention of achieving the aims. It should be
remembered that not only activities themselves but also psychological aspects such as a sense
of achievement, satisfaction or fulfillment that children can feel through the activities are
included in the ‘curriculum content’.
(3) Creation of an Appropriate Environment
After making ‘aims’ and ‘curriculum content’ clear, think about how to create an
appropriate environment to achieve those aims. Children live and develop through their
interaction with the surrounding environment. Key factors of an appropriate environment for
early childhood education are ‘free from danger’, ‘appropriate for their development level’,
‘meeting the interests and curiosity of children’ and ‘stimulating children to try tasks that
teachers want them achieve’. Teachers try to create an environment that encourages children
to voluntarily get involved in their surroundings by combining the factors mentioned above.

Formulation of Long-Term Instruction Plans
(1) Yearly Plan
The yearly plan is formulated thinking about a year of a child’s life in relation to the
curriculum of a kindergarten. When formulating the plan, you firstly have to know about the
children. Thinking about the number of children, the ratio of boys and girls, and age
difference in your class helps you grasp their interests and curiosity.
Secondly, you have to think deeply how to place annual events that mark the stages of their
lives at kindergarten. It is important to formulate a yearly plan which ensures that the children
do not to feel overwhelmed. In addition, the changes of the seasons should be taken into
consideration. A plan should encourage children to notice the changes of the seasons, and to
develop their emotions through close contact with nature and the seasons.
(2) Monthly Plan ※See Reference 1
The school year starts in April and ends in March in Japan. We make a detailed monthly plan
based on the yearly instruction plan. The monthly plan is formulated giving consideration to
the season, events in the month, children’s developmental stage and so on.
55

Formulation of Short-Term Instruction Plans
(1) Weekly Plan ※See Reference 2
The weekly instruction plan is formulated in order to put the monthly plan into practice. In
formulating it, consideration should be given to the continuity of life of the children, because
we generally spend our daily life on a weekly basis. And so the weekly plan is very concrete
and practical.
(2) Daily Plan ※See reference 3
The basic unit of a child’s life is a day. Teachers formulate a daily plan thinking about
children’s activities, the creation of a good environment and how to support them, hoping that
they can spend a full and enjoyable life at kindergarten. This is the most practical and concrete
instruction plan, which shows a day of children at kindergarten in detail.
There is no standardized format for the instruction plan. Although some kindergartens use a
standardized format among teachers, it is basically a teacher who is responsible for working
out and formulating it. Some experienced teachers who can easily think about various
important aspects formulate a ‘weekly and daily plan’ that literally combines a ‘weekly plan’
with a ‘daily plan’.
5 Tips and Suggestions

・ There is no formula for the creation of an environment or the preparation of
materials/activities in order to achieve objectives. Think from various viewpoints and
formulate a fully worked-out plan making full use of the available environment and materials.
・ Children’s activities do not always turn out as you have planned. As time goes by and as
children experience various things, they develop and change progressively. It is important to
observe the children carefully and improve the plan according to their development.
・ Activities that are familiar to children encourage their voluntary and active involvement.
Think about the activities that are closely linked to their daily life, and the best way to support
them.
・ Respect the culture, nature and tradition in your country or in the region where you live, and
try to integrate these into the instruction plan, which will then be very attractive to children.
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Reference 1
〔Monthly Plan〕
Class: Month: Teacher:
Long-term objective(s): Objective(s) in this month:
※Write down long-term objective(s) for this ※Write down the objective(s) for this month
term
Children last month Children’s experiences and Consideration

activities (Environment & Instruction)
※Describe the state of children ※Write down what you hope the ※Write down what you have to
last month from various children will experience, or consider in creating an
perspectives (e.g. behaviour, activities that the children can appropriate environment for
interests, what they say they do children to gain experience
want to do next) and to do the activities
Reference 2
〔Weekly Plan〕
Class: Mon/Date – Fri/Date/Week/Month Teacher:
Children last week Objective(s) in this week:

※Describe the state of children last ※Describe the aspects (e.g. children's emotion, will, and
week attitude) that you hope to develop through activities of this
week, with reference to their state last week
Outcomes ※Write down what you hope children experience (concrete activities) in
order to achieve the objective(s)
Environment ※Write down how to create an appropriate environment for children to

enjoy the activities
Activities of ※Write down the detailed activities that you have planned with reference
children to children’s state last week
Points ※Write down the following points

・ Concrete instruction plans in carrying out activities
・ How to behave toward each child
・ Consideration that should be given when taking care of children
57
〔Daily Plan〕 Reference 3
Class: Tulip, Four-year-old children /23 (12 boys/11 girls ) Teacher：Aiko SATO
Wed/15/May Weather：Fine
Objectives：・Touch various musical instruments and feel the difference in tone and rhythm
・Enjoy self-expression and playing musical instruments with other children
※Write down the objective(s) of the day
Contents：Touch various musical instruments, make a sound and feel the difference in sound
Activity ： Experience many kinds of musical instruments and enjoy an easy musical
performance together
※Describe the planned activities in detail from the point of view of what and how children do
Time Children & Environment Instruction & Aid Tips & Suggestions
9:00 ◇Come to kindergarten ◇Say ‘Good morning’ to children ◇Pay attention to the mental,
・Exchange greetings with and parents cheerfully and emotional and physical condition
teachers and friends encourage children to exchange of each child when greeting
greetings as well
◇Daily routine ◇See how each child has put ◇Let the children know who forget
・Put away their towel and cup away their towel, cup, bag and to put away their belongings and
・Affix an attendance seal to their outdoor clothes etc. encourage them to do it by
notebook ・Help children who have a difficulty themselves
・ Leave their bag and outdoor in affixing an attendance seal ・Show the date of the day clearly
clothes in the locker on the wall or desk
◇Free Play ◇See how each child is playing ◇Make sure that children are out
・In the classroom(Enjoy artwork, and pay attention to their of danger by watching and
pretended play, and building ・Give
security
assistance by providing an thinking about how each child is
blocks etc.) appropriate environment so that playing and moving around
・In the playground (Play soccer, they can develop their play ・Pay enough attention to those
tag, swing, slide, jungle gym, who have difficulties in playing
sandbox, and horizontal bar etc.) with other children or who are a
bit confused
10:00 ◇ Tidy up the room ◇Tell them that tidying up is a part ◇Make sure to have children
・Put toys back of their duty in life understand that they have to tidy
Wash hands, gargle, and go to ・Show how to put back play tools up after activities
the lavatory by doing it together ・Let them feel that it is comfortable
to tidy up before next activity
10:20 ◇Get together ◇Tell them to get together with ◇Encourage them to answer
・Exchange greetings again their chair and sit drawing a clearly when called
・Answer when called by his/her semicircle ・Choose a song of which children
teacher ・Call the roll can easily get into the rhythm in
・Sing songs ・ Sing a song together with a advance
cassette tape accompaniment
10:40 ◇Touch musical instruments (bell, ◇Show boxes that various ◇Sort out and put the same
castanets, and tambourine etc.) musical instruments are in so musical instrument into the
・Listen to the story about musical that children can easily pick up same box beforehand
instruments ・Show each musical instrument ・ Prepare enough number of
・ Make a sound freely with a and tell the name and how to musical instruments for children
musical instrument a child wants play it ・Let them realize that if everyone
to try ・Tell them to pick up the one they goes his/her own way and make
・Sing songs and make a sound to want to try and make a sound a sound, it’s just noisy
the tune of them freely ・Let them realize the difference
・Children with the same musical ・Suggest making a sound with between ‘just making a sound as
instruments get together and singing a song one likes’ and ‘playing to the
form a group ・Tell them to get together forming tune of a song’
・ Each group with the same a group of the same musical ・Make sure that they can have
musical instrument plays with instruments enough space to sit down
pauses between bars ・Suggest that each group with the ・Tell each group to play by turns
・ Enjoy an easy musical same musical instrument play and let them realize the
performance together with pauses between bars difference in sound
・Try another musical instrument ・Tell each group to play a bar so ・Make a gesture and tell each
and enjoy a musical that they can enjoy a musical group when they play
performance once again performance ・ Let them try many kinds of
・Suggest trying a different musical musical instruments and feel the
instrument and enjoy a musical pleasure of musical performance
58
performance once again
◇Put the same musical ◇Tell them to put the same ◇Put the boxes in the center so
instruments into the same box musical instruments into the that children can easily put these
same box carefully instruments back
11:10 ◇Line up tables and chairs ◇Tell them to line up tables and ◇See the number of children who
chairs together carry a table and how they do it
11:20 ◇Prepare for lunch ◇Tell them to go to the lavatory, ◇See how each child washes
・Go to the lavatory wash hands and gargle his/her hands and gargles
・Wash hands and gargle ・Prepare for something to drink ・Tell them not to drop their lunch
・Go and get their bag ・Pour tea into their cup when they box when putting it on the table
・Set the table (lunch box and cup) are ready ・Pour tea carefully
11:40 ◇Say ‘Itadakimasu’ and have ◇Have the children in charge say ◇Make sure children do not play
lunch ‘Itadakimasu’ in the front of the while waiting until everyone is
・Children who have finished lunch class ready
put back their lunch box, cup ・Visit each group and speak to ・Make sure that they can have
and bag and play in the them so that they can enjoy the plenty of time and enjoy the
classroom calmly lunch time meal
・Tell them to play in the classroom ・Make sure that children who are
calmly after having lunch still having lunch can take their
time
12:40 ◇Clear the table and put away ◇Each group carries tables and ◇See that children carry tables
chairs put away chairs together without getting hurt
◇Free play ◇Tell them to go wherever they ◇Pay attention to time allocation
・In the classroom (Enjoy picture want to and play there so that they can have plenty of
books, drawing, artwork, ・Join and play with them or watch time to play with other children
pretended play, and building them play and assist when ・ Tell them to stop when they
blocks etc.) necessary expose themselves to danger
・In the playground (Play soccer, ・Give play tools when necessary
tag, swings, slide, jungle gym,
sandbox and horizontal bar etc.)
13:30 ◇Tidy up ◇Tell everyone to tidy up ◇Take enough time to tidy up
◇Prepare to go home ◇Tell them to make preparations ◇Place chairs in the form of
・Go to the lavatory, wash hands to go home semicircle in advance
and gargle ・Encourage them to go to the ・Say a word to the children who
・Put the towel and attendance lavatory and wash hands forget to pack something and try
book into their bag ・Tell them to put the towel and to let them realize by themselves
・Put on a hat and sit down attendance book into the bag,
and sit down after putting on hat
and the bag
◇A teacher reads a picture book ◇Reads a picture book that can ◇Choose a book that can be
on a concert be associated with music or associated with musical
musical instruments instruments in advance
◇Listen to a song that a teacher ◇A teacher sings a song for ◇Sing clearly
songs children ・Encourage them to sing the song
・Try to sing the song together ・Encourage them to sing the song with the teacher and tell them
following the teacher’s example together not to worry about making
13:50 ◇Exchange greetings ◇ Confirm the children who are in mistakes
◇Talk in a positive way so that
・Say ‘Good-bye’ cheerfully charge tomorrow children can look forward to
◇ Call the children in charge today coming to kindergarten
and have them say ‘Good-bye’ tomorrow
in the front of the room
14:00 ◇Leave kindergarten ◇Call the each group one by one ◇Make sure to see parents and let
・Go home in order of the group so as not to get confused children go with them and to give
that is called by teachers a message to parents when
necessary
*This Daily Plan is only an example of one particular day. The timing and content of activities every day can
be flexible depending on the duration of the children’s play or various other circumstances.
59
〔Weekly and Daily Plan〕 Reference 4
Class: Weekly & Daily Plan: Mon/Date/Month - Fri/Date/Month Teacher：
Objective(s) for this week：

Children last Week： ※Describe the aspects (e.g. children's emotion, will, and attitude) that you
※Describe the state of children last week hope to develop through the activities of this week, with reference to their
state last week
Date （Mon）（Tue）（Wed）（Thu）（Fri）
Outcomes ※ Write down what you hope children experience (concrete activities) in order to achieve the objective(s)
Environment ※ Write down how to create an appropriate environment for children to enjoy the activities
Activities of
children ※ Write down the detailed activities that you have planned with reference to children’s state last week
※ Write down the following points

Points ・Concrete instruction plans in carrying out activities
・How to behave toward each child
・Consideration that should be given when taking care of children
Review &
Evaluation ※ Write down the review and evaluation everyday
4 A day at kindergarten
How do children spend their day at kindergarten? For them, life at kindergarten
How do children spend their day at kindergarten? For them, life at kindergarten varies
day by day. Today is different from yesterday because of such factors as their mood, the
weather, the introduction of new materials or activities, or a change of surroundings.
Also, they experience a variety of events according to the changes of the seasons.
So, no two days are the same at kindergarten. In this chapter, however, we would like to
briefly introduce common daily activities at Japanese kindergartens.
■Preparation: before children come

Before children come with their parents, teachers prepare for welcoming them by
opening the gate, cleaning up the playground, ventilating the classroom and checking
play tools and so on. They make these preparations so that children who have been
looking forward to coming to kindergarten can make a good start to the day.
61
After that, teachers have a quick

meeting in which they discuss the
activities of the day, weather, and
what should be considered about
their classes and security, with the
aim of sharing all views among all
the staff.
62
■9:00 Children come to kindergarten

When children come to
kindergarten with their parents,
teachers stand in front of their
classrooms to meet and exchange
greetings, ‘Good morning.’
They communicate with children
and their parents, paying attention
to their mental and physical
condition.
Children take off their shoes, put
them in the shoe cupboard and
enter the classroom.
After that, they first leave their
bag and outdoor clothes in their
locker, put away their towel and
cup, and affix an attendance seal
to their notebook.
Attendance book
Each child has his/her own notebook, and s/he

affixes an ‘attendance seal’ on it every
morning. This notebook is used to keep a
record of attendance and to communicate with
parents.
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■Activities at kindergarten
＜Free play: children play as they want＞
After finishing the daily routine, children play and develop their play according to
their interests.
There are various play tools in the classroom. Some go outside and play with
fixed playground equipment, for example in a sandbox. Or they might observe
and/or take care of animals and plants in the playground.
Teachers expand children’s activities by introducing new materials or creating a
new environment for them. While they play voluntarily, teachers sometimes join
the play or give assistance when necessary.
Here are some examples of children’s play.
Example 1:
Pretend play
Example 2:
Blocks
Example 3:
Picture
books
64
Example4:
Artwork
Example 5:
Sandbox
Example 6:
Play tools
65
Example 7:
Animals
Example 8:
Plants
66
＜Supervised activities: all the children in a class do the same thing＞

In some cases, all the children in a class come together and do the same
activities.
In addition to the greetings when they come to kindergarten in the morning, they
get together and exchange greetings again or take charge of certain activities.
Also, children draw pictures or produce something according to a theme given
by a teacher, or do activities to music together.
A class teacher stands

in front with children
in charge and is
starting to exchange
greetings. Children
check each other
whether everyone sits
on a chair.
Sometimes, they dance with teachers, Everyone is drawing. Each child tries to
discovering the rhythm of music. find his/her own way of expression.
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■11:30 Clean up & Lunch
Around 11:30, we stop our activities

for a while and put away toys and
clean up the room.
All the children wash their hands,

gargle, set the table, sit down to lunch,
and then say ‘Itadaki-masu’ before
having lunch. Teachers also sit down
together with the children, for lunch,
and talk with them.
After lunch, children brush their

teeth using their own toothbrush.
Teachers try to help children learn
to maintain daily personal hygiene
such as washing their hands and
gargling before supper and
brushing their teeth after eating.
After eating, children say

‘Gochisou-sama’, meaning ‘I
enjoyed my meal. Thank you.’ It is
a Japanese custom to say
‘Itadaki-masu’ before eating and
‘Goshisou-sama’ after eating to
express our gratitude for the food.
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■Activities in the afternoon

After lunch, we start activities again. Children spend a full afternoon
finding/developing a new play.
They usually spend a rather relaxed time, reading picture books or seeing
picture-story shows, because teachers tell them not exercise hard just after
having lunch.
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■Preparation for going home

Children put things away before leaving kindergarten. Then they change their
clothes and pack a bag.
Some children make preparations so that they can bring back what they have
found, made or drawn during the activities at kindergarten. We sometimes
distribute a newsletter to the parents.
We often see children saying ‘Let’s play together later on!’ or ‘Shall we do ***
tomorrow? Teachers look back on the day with children, have a small chat about
the next day, or read a picture-story so that children can have a relaxed time
before going home.
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■14:00 When kindergarten is over
Parents come to pick up their child

around 14:00.
They wait in front of the classroom.
Teachers talk about what children
have done or how they spent their
time at kindergarten to their parents.
This is a good opportunity for parents
to know how their child spends
his/her day at kindergarten.
Then, children exchange greetings with their teachers saying ‘Good-bye’ and go
back to their parents.
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■After children go home

Teachers clean up after children go home.
Then, they make a record of the day, talk with other staff about the children, and
get everything ready for the next day by preparing teaching materials, checking
play tools, and setting the environment.
In addition, they have a staff meeting once a week to discuss various matters
such as their instruction plans, activities of the school year, and children and
their family, with the aim of trying to improve care and education.
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Guides to child education program

This chapter introduces specific child education materials and explains the purposes they are
designed for. It then discusses how to use these materials within teaching programs at
kindergarten.
● Using as examples
The teaching materials introduced in each section should be used as examples. You do not have
to do exactly the same thing or use the same materials as described in this book. Although these
activities have been proven to be highly educational, and have been developed through many
years of practice at Japanese kindergartens, they are only just a few of the numerous teaching
materials and activities offered to Japanese children. What is important is to try to understand the
reasons for using these materials. We hope you can understand how significant each material is
to both children and child education programs, as well as applying them within your own situation.
● Applying them to your own cultural and social contexts.

All of the teaching materials and activities in this book have been developed within Japanese
cultural and social contexts. It is unlikely that they can be applied to other cultures and societies
without any modification. A certain material may not be found in other countries, or due to a
different climate, children in other countries may be seeing different plants from those in Japan.
Also, because of a large disparity in cultural customs, a common custom in Japan may be
unfamiliar in other countries. We hope that you utilize the information in this book as suggestions
that help you discover useful materials from your own surroundings, create new activities, and
modify some of your daily programs in order to offer better education to children around you.
● Creating your own materials through testing in real situations.

The materials in this book may not work immediately because you are teaching different children
in a different situation in a different culture. On the other hand, children's curiosity about the
unknown and their willingness to learn something interesting are common across all cultures.
Keep in mind, though, that the mere presentation of a material does not guarantee that you
successfully attract and keep children's attention. In order to maintain and expand children’s
activities, a teacher needs to respond properly to children’s needs and talk with them. By testing
our suggested materials in the light of your situation, we hope that you can improve your materials
and activities and further andcreate something new. Discussing with teachers in your kindergarten
and other kindergartens will bring about an ideal education program.
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5-1 Physical education: building healthy bodies
The important issues in early childhood include whether a child can practice particular daily
habits and participate in physical activities, both of which contribute to building a healthy and
safe lifestyle. Mastering daily habits and hygiene precautions will strengthen the child’s
health, while acquired physical and sensory skills will allow a quick response and action to an
unexpected event, helping the child to avoid any possible danger.
Practicing daily habits
Practicing daily habits means learning particular behaviors necessary for building a foundation for
rich social interaction, and for a healthy, safe lifestyle. By fully engaging in mental and physical
activities and actively practicing daily habits required in early childhood at kindergarten, children can
develop their sense of self-competency and learn the essential rules in school environment, further
forming a basis for social life.
Educational goals
・ Understanding the meaning of greetings that underpin harmonious human relations,
those in the morning, afternoon and evening, those in the scenes of first
acquaintance and farewell, and those expressing apology and gratitude.
・ Developing physical and mental health in early childhood through practicing daily
habits.
・ Mastering daily habits through frequent practices at both kindergarten and home.
・ Fostering self-competency.
・ Understanding that acquired daily habits leads to clean and safe life.
・ Realizing that happy school life requires observation of daily habits.
・ Developing self-reliance and self-competency through the behaviors based on daily
habits.
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Activities to practice basic daily habits
〈Greetings〉
Communication usually starts with greetings.
The way people greet differs across countries,
but sincere words and a smile are universal and

always connect people.
While exchanging morning greetings, the
teacher checks how the children look (e.g., cold
or tired), and how they feel (e.g., excited or
upset), by looking at the face and body of each
child.
〈Hand-washing〉
Hand-washing is a key practice to maintain
healthy life.
Daily hygiene precautions are essential
measures to keep infectious diseases away.
Hand-washing can protect children from
harmful germs.
Thorough hand-washing involves soaping
one’s palm, between fingers, and tips of
nails.
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〈Gargling〉
Children need to gargle well especially
upon coming back from the outside or
dusty places.
Children should be aware that gargling
can prevent them from catching a cold.
Use of slogans can be a good idea:
‘`Rinse` for your teeth; `Gargle` for
your throat.’
〈Bathroom〉
The bathroom is for everybody.
Children should be instructed to consider
others who use the bathroom later and

to use the bathroom neatly.
Bright drawings and tiny little flowers
can brighten up a dim, boring bathroom.
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〈Putting personal belongings away〉

Putting one’s belongings and shoes away
at designated places is a first step
toward self-reliance.
Children learn that in the shared

environment of kindergarten they can
have their own places and that organizing
things is one of the important rules for a
member of the group.
Identify the places by name labels or
stamps and let children respect their
own places as well as those of other
children.
〈Tidying up〉
The way that things are set up creates
expectations about forthcoming activities.
As a result, doing any activity can be a fun,
exciting, and engrossing experience. Yet
tidying up cannot be fun, can it?
A teacher needs to teach children that the
activity will not be over without tidying-up,
which sets up things for others or for the
next occasion.
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〈Trash〉
Children should experience how
comfortable it is to stay in a
clean, well-organized room
after the trash is thrown away
and the floor is swept.
〈Rest time〉
Rest time is a crucial moment for
active young children.

Each activity needs to be accompanied
by rest time.
Also, by guiding children to wipe sweat
if they are hot, to take off or put on
layers of clothes of they are hot or
cold, and drink water in the midst of
activities, a teacher can encourage
children to adjust their physical
condition to the environment.
78
Keep in mind
・ The goal of teaching daily habits is to develop a healthy and safe lifestyle. However, it is
important to remind children that custom may vary across and within countries and regions due to
differences in culture, tradition, values, and social environment.
・ Guide children to practice appropriate and necessary habits in various situations.
・ Each child has different experiences and level of maturity. Do not hurry. A gradual approach is
sometimes very important.
・ Greet children cheerfully and show them how effectively words and behaviors can convey
sincerity.
・ Adjust the height of a basin and arrange soap in such a way that children can use them with ease.
・ For children who hesitate to use a toilet or feel anxious about going to the bathroom alone, teach
them with patience and discuss the matter with parents.
・ Teach children that every activity requires ‘setting-up’ beforehand and ‘tidying-up’ afterward.
Tips and suggestions
・ Toilet facilities differ in type and usage across societies and cultures. You need to devise
instructions suitable for the custom in your country.
・ Provide easy guidance to use bathroom cleanly, especially for small children, such as painting
footprints on the floor near the toilet to indicate the position to sit or stand.
・ After a length of play, children feel satisfied and fulfilled, thereby willing to tidy up. Check if a
play time is sufficiently allocated in the daily curriculum.
・ Remind children of the importance of preserving the environment by separating trash into the
different ‘Recycling’ and ‘Non Recycling’ bins.
・ Shelves and drawers can be marked, with colors or shapes, to show children where and how to
return them, for example the items in particular cupboards can be marked with different colors.
・ Identify a child’s storage place with a name-label or marking, not only to show which place
belongs to whom, but also to make tidying-up easier.
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Developing sensory skills through physical activities
Young children achieve dramatic physical development. While playing, they actively interact with a
changing environment and use all their physical skills at this stage. In addition, through playing with
enthusiasm and curiosity and exercising the whole body, in relation to their muscle strength, children
learn to enjoy exercising their bodies, and so further develop pliant mental functions and motor skills.
But at this stage, the coordination of muscle movement is still being developed. Therefore,
kindergarten play needs to provide children with opportunities to exercise their whole body through
various activities such as running, climbing, jumping, stretching arms and grabbing. When organizing
kindergarten curriculum, a teacher should, while considering children's biological rhythm, emphasize
activities and lifestyles that help children develop a healthy body with well-balanced combinations of
quiet and active play, tension and ease, and play and rest times, by coupling indoor play with outdoor
activities.
Educational goals
・ Sliding down a slope : Experiencing pleasant, fulfilling feelings when climbing the
slope using the whole muscle strength, and when sliding down
by balancing the body.
・ Jumping rope : Practicing with enthusiasm and achieving goals – 'I want to
try' or 'I will jump ten times next time.' While acquiring hands
and feet coordination, children can feel great satisfaction and
achievement through jumping over and over again.
・ Ba mboo stilts : Through attention to and concentration on bodily equilibrium,
feeling satisfaction at coordinated movement and developing a
balancing skill.
・ Swing : Enjoying the rhythmic movement, speed, and fun in the air
while stretching and balancing the whole body on the swing.
・ Monkey bar : Developing motor muscles and quick movement through
hanging with both hands, swinging the body, and getting used
to the height. Fostering motivation to get to the other end, and
feeling self-confidence and satisfaction through repeated
successful trials.
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〈Sliding down the slope〉

Even though anxious at first, after a child
sees her friends having fun and learning
the technique, she is motivated to try it.
Even though anxious at first, after a child

sees her friends having fun and learning
the technique, she is motivated to try it.
〈Jumping rope〉
Children make their own ropes after
learning how to braid strings.
The rope should reach from a child's
toe to the shoulder.
The ropes are hung by children at a name-labeled or

marked hook so that they can get them by themselves
whenever they feel like using them.
Children are handling their hand-made ropes with
great care.
With goals in mind, they invent new

techniques and become absorbed in many
trials.
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〈Bamboo stilts〉
To play with bamboo stilts needs a safe place.
Inexperienced children should choose the stilts with
lower ledges and step on them with a stool for easier
balancing.
A teacher’s support can give a child a sense of security
which motivates the child to practice balancing and
walking with the stilts.
More advanced children can feel confidence

and fulfillment by keeping their balance on
the higher ledges.
〈Swing〉
A child is having a good time on a used-tire
swing pushed by her friend.
Children should be kept away from swings in use,
by fences or hedges.
〈Monkey bar〉
By swinging his body and feet, a boy is moving from bar
to bar, and sometimes skips a bar.
Some children can climb up, hang from, and spin around
the bar.
When there are many children at the bar, a teacher
should instruct them to go in one direction to avoid
collision.
〈Disinfecting〉
When a child gets hurt, the wound
needs an antiseptic.
A teacher, while sympathizing with the
child during treatment, supports him to
get back to play.
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Keep in mind
・ In order that children can play actively and safely, a teacher should provide them with chances to
learn how to move with agility and, depending on the situation, to avoid danger. Play areas and
toys need to be arranged in accordance with children's activity patterns.
・ A teacher should check play equipment every day for any sign of danger, by touching and
mounting the equipment, and fixing any broken parts as soon as they are discovered.
・ Guide children to become aware of how they look (e.g., cold or tired) and how they feel (e.g.,
excited or upset), by giving them proper rest time and prompting them to change clothes when
they perspire a lot.
・ Once children master a certain activity, encourage them to try a slightly harder task.
・ To encourage active participation in kindergarten activities, a teacher may sometimes need to
show children how to play or help them to feel confident, to facilitate their physical development.
・ In addition to the activities listed above, other physical activities that help to build a healthy body
include running, relay races, tag, ball games, and moving to music.
・ New activities should be introduced to the kindergarten program in relation to the children's ages
and abilities. Create activities that best suit regional settings, which will gain children's attention
and make them curious.
・ When a fixed play structure is unavailable, children can play with a big tree in various ways. For
example:
Using a tree as a jungle gym, by climbing, hanging, and hiding behind it.
Making a swing by tying ropes to the branches.
Tying two, upper and lower, tightropes to the trees to play ropewalking. (The distance between the
two ropes is about 1.5 m (5 feet) long. Lower rope is for walking, while upper rope is for holding
with hands. Rocking the ropes makes the walking more exciting and challenging.)
・ A more skilled child can encourage other children and teach them the skill, which leads to inviting
more children to do the activity.
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5-2 Cultural activities: cherishing traditions
Every country has its own customs which have been passed down for generations in the form
of traditional cultures and festivals. Japanese kindergartens have incorporated some of these
cultural heritages into their programs. In the process of engaging in their own traditional
activities, children learn the meanings of these activities and so become more involved in
their own culture. Cultural activities can also provide children with a wonderful opportunity
to facilitate social interaction and direct their interest towards the around them, further
stimulating their language skills and creativity in arts and crafts work.
Origami
Origami, or the Japanese art of folding paper, has been an integral part of Japanese culture for more
than 1,000 years. It is the art of folding, inserting, and unfolding a sheet of paper, usually 12cm by
15cm (5” by 6”), into three-dimensional figures such as animals, flowers, vehicles, and boxes.
Similarly, cutting paper that is folded in several layers, and then unfolding it, can create an
unexpected geometric pattern, which stimulates children’s imagination and leads to new art play
such as displaying the art on the window or hanging it like a mobile structure. Today, with the
extensive kinds of Origami paper - including various colors and patterns, paper colored on both
sides, round paper, and rectangular paper - Origami art has evolved into a more extensive fun
activity as new creations and applications have been introduced.
Educational goals
・ Building bonds between the older and younger generations through Origami play that
can entertain people regardless of age.
・ Developing manual dexterity and concentration through Origami play that demands
hand and eye coordination.
・ Learning the names of colors and enjoying beautiful color combinations by using
various color papers and creating decorations with them.
・ Becoming familiar with geometric shapes such as a triangle, square, and rectangle
through the process of folding paper, and, by appreciating a finished work, experiencing
the wonder of making a sheet of paper into a three-dimensional figure.
・ Feeling accomplishment and satisfaction, and learning practically that following the
steps of instructions will finally result in rewarding work.
・ By teaching and helping how to fold with each other, cherishing sympathy and
compassion with others.
・ Stimulating imagination and creativity through experimenting with new ways to cut and
fold.
84
Playing with Origami
By showing how to put two corners

together and firmly press the folded edge,
a teacher should start with easier figures
―― a dog, a cat, a bird, and a flower.
Children learn the steps by imitating the
teacher.
Once children have learned how to fold,

they pick up their favorite colored paper
and start doing origami on their own.
A finished fold became a dog with added
eyes and a nose. Instead of following a
teacher’s instructions, children can make
their own favorite animals.
A slight change in folding angles can

stimulate children’s imagination.
The finished fold, seen as a tulip flower, can
be glued onto the construction paper with
additional drawings or skewered with a stick
and put in a flower vase.
Many trials at folding created something

that cracks open when squeezed from
both sides.
Then, imagining ‘an eating face,’ a child
added eyes to the object and started
feeding it with paper and her finger.
It marks the creation of a new play with
Origami.
85
A child, who was inspired to make something

big, asked for a big piece of Origami paper.
A teacher cut newspaper into a square and
gave it to her instead.
Folding newspaper is hard work for small

hands and thus a teacher was on call.
When the teacher was gone, her friend
joined in to fold the paper
After talking with her friend, she finished
her work by adding eyes and a nose.
A child is folding newspaper to make

Kabuto, a feudal Japanese soldier’s helmet,
which he once made with his teacher.
Other friends were also prompted to copy.
Newspaper Kabuto is big enough to put on

the head.
With their hand-made Kabutos on, children
has started a fun play.
86
Keep in mind
・ When teaching Origami, a teacher should deal with a small number of children, instead of
instructing a whole class at once. Make a circle of children, small enough for the teacher to reach
children in need of help quickly.
・ Start with simpler animals and figures that are familiar to children – a dog, a cat, a bird, a flower, a
boat, and a house.
・ Although it is important to teach children exact steps by showing how to fold and neatly put corners
together, never expect perfection from the beginning. The first step to draw children’s interest in
Origami is to make them feel excited about turning a sheet of paper into something else.
・ For children who are struggling with Origami, help them by guiding their hands. Even though
unsatisfied with their work, the children will be encouraged to do it again by the teacher’s warm
assistance.
・ A child’s work that intended to make ‘a dog’ can sometimes end up with ‘a flower’ in the
upside-down position. Value a child’s opinion about his or her finished work.
・ Once accustomed to folding, children sometimes display a behavior that only aims at ‘folding’ for its
own sake, in order to make as many pieces of work as possible. A teacher may need to teach them
the versatility of Origami art by showing them various possible creations and applications.
・ Any paper, including newspaper, flyers, brochures, magazines, and wrapping paper, can become
Origami paper by cutting it into squares. Even square piece of cloth can do.
・ A piece of folded work can be used in many ways: posting it on the wall, making it into a necklace,
or a bow or a hair accessory with a pin, building it into a larger art piece by gluing it on construction
paper with additional drawings, creating a greeting card, and combining several pieces to build a
mobile structure.
・ With square and rectangular paper, Origami can make great play toys such as Kabuto (a helmet),
airplanes, paper guns, and cups and boxes.
・ Similarly with ‘Sasabune’ (a bamboo boat), play in which a boat made by folding a bamboo leaf is
put on the running water, the act of folding can be adopted in other fun and creative activities such as
folding any available leaves into something and further creating something new by adding branches
or wooden pieces.
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Tanabata (star festival)
One of the Japanese annual festivals, Tanabata, or Star Festival, literally means the night of July 7. Its
origin goes back to the old Chinese legend involving two stars, the Weaver Star and the Cowherd star,
and later the story merged with Japanese traditional beliefs. Being separated by the Milky Way, the two
stars were only able to see each other once a year, on the night of July 7. By the Star Festival night,
bamboo branches are decorated with ‘Tanzaku,’ or strips of paper, on which people write their wishes.
Origami works and other colorful decorations are also tied to the bamboo. In kindergarten, a ‘Star
Festival party’ is organized in which a teacher reads a picture book or uses a picture-story show to talk
about the Star Festival legend, and children participate in a drama or dance based on the legend and sing
and play musical instruments along with the festival song.
Educational Goals
・ Learning and appreciating Japanese traditional culture.
・ Becoming interested in stars in the sky by learning about the Milky Way in the
legend.
・ Feeling pleasure and accomplishment derived from cooperating with others in
making Tanabata decorations, tying them to the bamboo branches, and
participating in drama and dance performances.
・ Through writing one’s own wishes on a Tanzaku paper strip, thinking about one’s
goals and future.
・ By showing one’s wishes to teachers and parents, sharing with friends, and
explaining in front of the class, children can learn to understand each other better.
・ Learning the way to express personal thoughts by means of language through
writing their wishes by themselves or, for smaller children who cannot write well,
by having a teacher write them.
・ Strengthening the bond among children, teachers and parents by organizing the
Star Festival party where parents participate in kindergarten activities such as
decorating bamboo branches and watching children’s various performances.
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Enjoying star festival
On the parents viewing day,

parents and children worked
together to make decorations with
Origami paper.
Even smaller children worked hard
by watching what their mothers do.
In an older class, a thin paper strip

is rolled in a ring and connected with
another ring to make a long paper
chain.
Also, colorful triangles are glued in
line to make a nice garland.
Parents carried the finished

decorations to the hall and hung them
on the bamboo branches.
With smiles, parents are reading
children’s wishes: ‘I want to be a
soccer player’ and ‘I wish I had a doll.’
89
The Tanzaku strips, on which

children wrote their wishes, are
tied to the bamboo branches with
strings.
The bamboo is now decorated with
many colorful Tanzaku strips.
Parents who arrive to pick-up

their children brought in
decorations and Tanzaku strips
prepared at home and hung them
on the bamboo branches.
A beautifully decorated bamboo

tree is posted at the school
porch.
With the bamboo overlooking
the yard, children are playing
happily.
90
Keep in mind
・ Children’s wishes vary from wanting a certain thing -for example ‘I want a toy’ and ‘I wish I had a
doll’ - to those stating their future dreams, such as ‘I want to become a pianist’ and ‘ I want to be a
soccer player.’ A teacher needs to value and accept each child’s unique thoughts and feelings
expressed in the wish.
・ When children write their wishes, they need to feel that their wishes are heard and shared with the
class. For this end, a teacher should speak to each child by walking around the classroom and call
each of them to tell his or her wishes in front of the class. Children, in turn, will feel more secure and
confident by knowing that their wishes are accepted by others, and furthermore, not only the teacher
but also the children will be able to understand everyone in the class better.
・ For activities involving writing letters, children who cannot write can draw a picture or have a
teacher write their wishes.
・ A picture-story show or a picture-book reading will serve as a handy tool to teach the Star Festival
legend easily to children. A drama performance can also be a great way in which children
themselves can present the legend story. After having great fun, children are ready to listen with
interest to the festival’s cultural background and origin.

・ Making the Star Festival party into an activity involving mixed age groups can be a valuable idea;
older children help younger ones decorate the bamboo, show them the drama and concert, and sing
songs together.
・ The traditional festivals need not be practiced in the way that they used to be. What is important is to
provide children with as many hands-on experiences about the festivals as you can. For example, if
a bamboo tree is unavailable in your country, any trees in the school yard can be substituted. One of
the essential goals in kindergarten education lies in developing a mind that cherishes old traditions,
even though they may change the formalities.
・ Remind children that behind the traditional festivals and events lies much wisdom and practices
derived from people’s everyday lives and passed down for generations. Not only enjoying a festival
itself but also knowing the meaning will contribute to understanding and appreciating the children’s
own culture.
・ For a festival influenced by several cultures, the understanding of the origin can lead to appreciating
both children’s own and another country’s cultures. As in the Star Festival, where the Japanese and
Chinese cultures meet, children, upon hearing the Chinese legend, can imagine the neighboring
country across the ocean and further expand their imagination to other places in the world.
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Setsubun and Hina-Matsuri

The Japanese traditional activities, ‘Setsubun’ and ‘Hina-Matsuri,’ are still practiced nationwide today as
the festivals to welcome the forthcoming spring. And many educational goals can be achieved through
using these festivals.
‘Setsubun,’ or Bean Throwing Ceremony, is carried out on the night before the first day of spring
(usually around February 4) to ward off bad luck. Among the customary practices is Bean Throwing.
The method may vary across regions, but in general, people throw roasted soybeans inside their houses
with a cry of ‘Out with demons! In with good luck!’ Also in kindergarten, children make demon masks
and paper bean boxes and do Bean Throwing both at the school yard and inside the school.
‘Hina-Matsuri,’ or Doll Festival, is scheduled on March 3 to pray for girls’ health. Also known as ‘Momo
no Sekku (Peach Festival),’ it comprises ‘Go Sekku (Five Major Festivals)’together with ‘Tango no
Sekku (initially the boy version of Hina-Matsuri, then renamed ‘Children’s Day’). And its origin goes
back to over a thousand years ago. Families with daughters celebrate the festival with Hina dolls, peach
blossoms, a diamond-shaped rice cake, and Shirozake (sweet sake with rice malt). Many kindergartens
adopt Hina-Matsuri in their program. Children enjoy the festival through arranging Hina dolls, making
their own Hina dolls, singing and playing musical instruments along Hina-Matsuri songs.
Educational goals
・ Understanding the children’s own traditional cultures, by listening to a teacher’s
explanations, picture-book reading and picture-story shows based on Hina-Marsuri
and Setsubun.
・ Feeling the change of season and happiness to welcome spring, through participating
in the Hina-Marsuri and Setsubun festivals that are both closely related to the
Japanese four seasons.
・ Realizing that children are raised with love by lots of people around them, including
parents and teachers who always watch their healthy growth and celebrate the festival
for them, through the Hina-Matsuri festival.
・ Becoming interested in Japanese traditional costumes such as ‘Juni Hitoe (ancient
court costumes literally meaning twelve kimonos)’ and the ancient lifestyle, by using
books with Hina dolls and other decorations close-by,
・ Experiencing the pleasure in sharing the festival with others ,which cannot be felt at
home, through interacting with friends and teachers in the preparation of a festival,
for example, in craft activities.
・ Enjoying various special activities such as craft work, playing the musical
instruments, performing drama, and paper puppet theater.
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Children around Setsubun and Hina-Matsuri time
In the schoolyard, spirited by smelling

the early spring air, children do Bean
Throwing using their hand-made demon
masks and bean boxes.
The toys such as demon masks that

have been made for the bean throwing
can be used in other plays as well.
A child is holding the demon club that
was made together with friends.
Children’s demon masks are uniquely

made with different materials and
designs. Some of them look somewhat
funny and therefore appealing to small
children who otherwise might be
scared of serious masks.
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As Hina-Matsuri draws near, Hina dolls are

arranged on the staircase-like shelves.
Depending on the kindergarten, hand-sewn
kimonos are offered to children who get
dressed in them for fun.
Sitting with good manners on the tatami

mat, children are doing the Japanese
picture card game.
Hand-made crowns and kimonos

are children’s favorite toys.
Even after the Hina-Matsuri
festival is over, some children are
still wearing them.
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Keep in Mind
・ Since modern Japanese society has seen a significant increase in nuclear families, which are not so
actively involved with the community, often now only the brief formalities of annual festivals are
practiced at home. A kindergarten, therefore, should provide children with a full knowledge about
the festivals’ origins and their traditional values.
・ If they are told through fun and interesting kindergarten activities, even seemingly difficult concepts
about traditional cultures can reach children’s flexible minds.
・ Setsubun and Hina-Matsuri festivals should be fun experiences which children can remember
through shared activities such as singing and playing musical instruments.
・ In making demon masks and Hina dolls as well as decorating them, value children’s unlimited ideas
and free imagination, rather than evaluating their work.
・ A country’s and region’s unique traditional festivals can be incorporated into the school calendar by
adopting them in accordance with the kindergarten’s particular situations and conditions.
・ By communicating people’s wishes and prayers that have been passed down through the festival,
rather than just focusing on the formal practices, a teacher can provide children with the ideal
opportunity to consider their own cultures and to cherish them with pride.
・ A teacher, parents, and children can work together with fun to make decorations and toys for the
festival.
・ Do not be limited by store-bought construction paper and Origami paper, craft materials can be
found everywhere: scraps of cloth, woolen yarn, empty boxes and old buttons, fallen leaves and
twigs, and pebbles will do. Even not elegantly made, the hand-made craft piece that reminds a child
of fun activities with friends will stay in children’s mind for a long time.
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5-3 Language: using letters and words

Recognising letters and learning to read leads children to the world of knowledge. However, a
reading skill does not simply lead to acquisition of knowledge if it is not accompanied with
understanding what is written, while a writing skill cannot guarantee communication if syntax is
incorrect. Adults usually want children to read and write as early as possible. Before that, however,
children need to listen to a wide range of stories, so that they can expand vocabulary, understand
meanings, and learn to communicate in words that are understandable by others.
Picture-Book Reading and Picture-Story Shows

Children can start enjoying picture-book reading from about 10 months of age. They explore the world
of a picture book by becoming interested in finding something familiar in the book. While enjoying
the asking or calling words and rhythmical repetitions of word rhythms, children learn to connect the
meaning of words with illustrations. They are ready to develop imaginative skills with which they can
portray a fantastic world of the story from what they hear. Children enter into the imaginary world by
linking parents' or teachers' reading voices with illustrations. Eventually children will learn letters and
become independent readers. Therefore, in line with their language acquisition, development of
children's imagination through reading picture books and picture-story shows (a story that consists of
over ten sheets of cardboard, with each page showing a sheet-wide drawing) builds a basis for
subsequent successful reading experiences and a rich language environment that is full of intellectual
stimulation.
Educational goals
・ Enjoying word rhythms and sounds and sharpening sensitivity to words through
picture-book reading and picture-story shows, further developing reading skills.
・ With exposure to words in picture books and picture-story shows, practicing expressing
things and one's thoughts and increasing vocabulary to facilitate communication.
・ In the process of understanding the story with pictures as clues, developing an
imagination of the world of stories and fantasies that are depicted in words.
・ Through exposure to a wide range of picture books and picture-story shows, capturing
the world around oneself afresh as well as stimulating awareness and interest into the
world beyond.
・ Realizing how people and things affect one's life by having picture books or
picture-story shows read by others or reading them by oneself.
・ Finding ideas for new play in picture books and incorporating it into one's activity.
・ Familiarizing with words and letters through picture books and picture-story shows
and developing motivation to read alone, which is conducive to a smooth transition to
elementary school curriculums.
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Familiarizing with picture-books and picture-story shows
This is, ‘Picture Book Corner’.

Except on the bottom shelf, books are
lined up with only their spines visible.
Books on upper shelves are arranged
side by side, displaying their front
covers.
Books with their front covers shown
attract children.
Children are listening to picture-book

reading.
The reader is holding the book by her
side, showing its pages to the children.
Two girls are looking at a picture book

together.
Though unable to read yet, they imagine
the story as they look at the illustrations.
Children can memorize the story of a
familiar book after listening several
times, and sometimes they can turn the
page while telling the story as if they
were actually reading it.
Two boys are sharing a picture book.

Being curious, another boy came and
opened a book.
The circle of friends expanded around
the picture book.
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A student teacher is doing

a picture-story show.
Children become glued

to the story which
develops at every sliding
of a sheet.
Sometimes a teacher’s
hand-made show is read to
children.
A child is trying to create her own story

by showing a friend her drawing as if it
came out of a picture-story show.
The experience to see picture books and
picture-story shows stimulated her
imagination and creativity which are
crystallized in her reading play.
Like a teacher, a girl is reading a

picture book to her friend.
The show is dramatically
presented with a blue cloth on
the desk.
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Keep in mind
・ When reading to smaller children, try to present picture-book reading as a fun activity. Share and
appreciate the illustrations and words in a book with children.
・ Try to read slowly while you are showing the illustrations to children. Sometimes, it may be a
good idea to let a child sit on your lap or gather children close around you.
・ Try to face children and read as if talking to them, rather than looking at a book all the time.
Instead of reading a book as it is written, you may make things exciting by drawing children's
attention by asking questions: ‘It’s beautiful, isn't it?’ and ‘Do you know why?’ Depending on
children's maturity, the words and phrases in a book can be rephrased in a different way.
・ Read children's favorite books over and over again. By doing so, children can memorize the
sentences and recognize a sequence of letters as something meaningful, eventually starting to read
while understanding the meaning of what is being read.
・ Good picture books are often elaborately illustrated. The illustrations are full of wonders and have
clues guiding children to imagine what is being told. A teacher therefore needs to practice reading
a book while paying attention to illustrations and can also try to turn the page at the right timing
for each picture.
・ When you want to let children imagine what happens next, turn the page slowly while watching
their faces. On the other hand, a quick turn of the page can increase the excitement.
・ Even if picture books are hard to find in your situation, you can create your own picture-story
show by dividing a story into separate scenes and then drawing only a sheet-wide picture on a
page per scene. Tell the story according to each drawing.
・ In a picture-story show there are instructions in the back of the sheets as to how to make dramatic
ups and downs, and some pages even instruct a reader to stop sliding the sheet along the way and
hide the part of the picture in order to create excitement. Therefore, a teacher, as a reader, needs to
thoroughly understand the picture and words on every page and try to be an exciting and effective
reader to attract children.
・ Special books describing the seasons and traditional events can be displayed on the bookshelf to
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raise children’s awareness.
Familiarizing with letters
Children are surrounded by many letters and symbols. Younger children's encounters with letters are
triggered by their developing intellectual maturity to have interest in letters and symbols presented in
their everyday life. Therefore, what matters is how adults organize an environment that stimulates
children's curiosity in letters and symbols.
Upon entering kindergarten, children are welcomed with language environment that directly affects
their lives at school. A child’s name is displayed in many places, for example on a shoe box, a towel
hook, a locker, a shelf, and a drawer. Then the child will recognize a sequence of letters as a particular
symbol that represents his or her name. However, language acquisition is one of the significant
developmental tasks greatly affected by individual difference. Therefore, since there are children who
are not ready for learning letters, a teacher may need to present letters accompanied by figurative
marks of familiar animals and flowers.
Educational goals
・ Through exposure to various letters in one’s surroundings, developing interest and
curiosity in letters and symbols.
・ Developing word recognition skills in language through an environment full of letters,
marks and pictures.
・ Triggered by the sequence of letters that represents one’s own name, becoming
interested in letters in general.
・ A teacher can enhance children’s linguistic interest by giving them a hand-made
birthday card and writing a message to them.
・ By watching a teacher write a child’s name or comments on his/her art work, feeling
motivated to learn language.
・ Through traditional games such as Japanese picture card game, cultivating interest
and curiosity in letters.
・ With the lists of Japanese and English phonetic alphabets posted close enough to look
at and touch, becoming aware of the world of letters.
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Language environment at kindergarten
How to organize one’s shelf with a

play-dough board, sketchbook, play
dough, glue, and crayons is illustrated
on a signboard.
To help children sort out sandbox toys

into designated baskets, a card shows
both the name and the picture of a toy.
A child’s name is displayed on a shoe box.

A familiar picture such as an animal or a
fruit is attached beside the child’s name.
Each child is given a unique mark, which is
used elsewhere in kindergarten.
The boxes to stack either newspaper or

fliers are clearly indicated in large
letters.
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A classroom and washroom are

indicated with both the letters and
drawings.
A teacher writes a message on

the paper and lets the class
know by posting it on the board
decorated by children.
The recipe for dumplings is

presented in words and drawings.
A teacher is neatly writing children’s

names on their art work.
A child is carefully watching the
teacher writing their own names.
By observing adults write letters,
children are motivated to write on
their own.
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Keep in mind
・ It is important to encourage children to learn letters voluntarily from their surrounding

environment through play, rather than forcing them to learn.
・ Because letters are presented to children as a part of the school environment, try to write precisely
and neatly.
・ When selecting supplementary marks and pictures accompanying children’s names, ensure that
they are appropriate to the educational environment.
・ Children will find it hard to recognize the language environment if it is presented in a disorganized
setting. Keep the classroom tidy to make letters and characters easily recognizable.
・ Exposure to an excessive amount of letters can be problematic. Be sensitive to children’s language
development and adjust the environment accordingly.
・ Cherish close communication with each child when writing his or her name and your comments
on their art work. Such an intimate experience with a teacher will reinforce a child’s trust in you
and he or she can feel ‘positively regarded,’ which will motivate the child to communicate more
themselves.
・ Adjust the language environment to the individual child’s level of development so that a child who
is not ready for reading does not have low self-esteem.
・ The front cover of a picture book posted on the wall is, among other language presentations, an
effective way to send a message: ‘We have such a wonderful book. Please try to read this.’
・ If children are mature enough, write lyrics of a song in a large paper and post it in their classroom.
Through memorizing the words, children will learn the letters without realizing what they are
doing.
・ For a group project involving many children, a large instruction chart that shows materials to
prepare and steps to follow can effectively make the whole group understand the flow of the
project.
・ The name labels on trees in the yard and plants on the flower bed can prompt children to become
aware of the nature in the kindergarten.
・ A Japanese picture-card game is designed to play with a small number of people, and yet, with the
help of picture clues, even those who cannot read can enjoy the game. Those whose linguistic
curiosity was stimulated by the game will start actively learning more and more letters. When a
large number of children are participating, divide them into smaller groups and give each group
the same set of picture-cards. The game will then become fun for all.
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Writing Letters
Children see letters, symbols and signs during everyday life, at home and outside. By watching
adults reading them, or by reading and talking about signs with adults, children gradually become
interested in words and letters. And, by seeing adults reading a newspaper or writing a letter, they
instinctively understand the meaning and purpose of words and are inspired to use letters and
symbols like adults do. Children’s writing attempts may often look like scribbles, but remember
that some start writing shapes that are like letters from a fairly early age. As they mature, many
children start to ask a teacher or friends how to read letters. In daily activities, Japanese
kindergartens emphasize the function of letters as a means of communication and try to let children
know it is fun to use letters and to communicate with others.
Educational goals
・ Recognizing the functions and meanings of letters as symbols, through exposure to
various letters, symbols, and signs at home and in the community.
・ Enjoying expressing oneself in words by trying to write and read letters, through a
growing interest in letters in the course of everyday life and play.
・ Enjoying communication with others, by means of letters in everyday life and play.
・ Understanding what is represented by words and letters, through word games and
playing with letters, which helps a child realize and enjoy different styles of expression
and shows that it is fun to use letters.
・ Being able to construct a short sentence to convey what one feels, thinks or wants to
communicate.
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Writing activities at kindergarten
Three-year olds wrote a letter in scribbles.

They are enjoying “writing” and trying to
convey a message in something that looks
like letters.
A teacher needs to fully respect children’s
motivation to write and their enthusiasm to
communicate.
Boys playing trains are writing a logo of

a train company.
The sign on the hat says ‘JR,’ or Japan
Railways.
Through their course of everyday life
the ‘JR’ logo has become familiar to
them and was therefore adopted in
their play.
The train shows its destination, ‘Tokyo,’ in

Chinese characters, just like a real train.
Even though this is fairy difficult for
younger children to write, Chinese
characters are still used in their play.
A pretend pastry shop has opened.

In an attempt to let everyone know,
they made a signboard.
Then they taped the signboard on a
building block.
For easier reference by children, a list

of the Japanese alphabet is posted on
the wall.
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Five-year old children created cards for a

Japanese picture-card game.
The Japanese card game is played by
matching a word card read out by an adult
with its corresponding picture card, the
top right corner of which shows the first
letter of the sentence on the word card.
Around New Year’s Day children and
adults enjoy playing the game together.
They are playing with their

hand-made cards.
The reader is reading letters on
the word cards.
While children compete for the
picture cards, they can learn
letters and have fun.
This is a list of all the children’s names in

the group.
A teacher tries to find an opportunity to
write children’s names as often as
possible in daily activities at kindergarten
and teaches them the functions and the
importance of written words.
A teacher has flipped a card and

announced to the class, ‘Tomorrow’s
leader is Yuri.’
The card shows the child’s name.
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Keep in mind
・ Children’s early writing attempts may often look like scribbles or mirror-letters that are written in
reverse. This is the important step toward using letters as a means of self-expression and
communication. Instead of correcting their “writing” right away, praise their achievement and
encourage them to write.
・ By introducing letters through writing a sign or a letter to someone in the course of play, try to help
children feel interested in writing. Even though at first a teacher has to write for them, children will
gradually start writing by themselves.
・ When a child comes to you for help by asking, ‘Please write it for me,’ ’How do you write this?’ or
‘Tell me about this,’ teach them with patience and show them the correct way to write.
・ Supply an adequate range of writing materials, including paper of various kinds and sizes, pencils,
as well as markers and crayons that are easily used by children who cannot grip small pencils tightly
enough.
・ Creating a quiet place with desks and chairs to help children concentrate on writing.
・ Respect children’s enthusiasm to write by praising and appreciating however nice or poor their
handwriting may look.
・ With sheets of drawing paper ready, you can let children draw some pictures on the paper and create
a story which will then be written by adults, resulting in children’s own picture book or picture-story
show.
・ Introduce something that involves writing in a play, such as a menu at a restaurant, or an inventory
or price list for a shop, in order to provide children with an opportunity to write letters.
・ Always have pieces of paper handy. Children can keep record of activities such as who plays a
particular character in a drama and how many times one person jumped over a rope.
・ It is nice to let children write invitation cards to a birthday party or a performance and give them to
their family or neighbors.
・ For those who can write their own names, encourage them to write their names on their art work.
107
5-4 Numeracy: using everyday numbers
Children in early childhood like to line up or count things. However, young children have not
gained sufficient understanding of number yet. For example, you might see children who
proudly count to 100, but are bewildered by a task such as dividing six cookies fairly between
three friends. The concept of number is said to be acquired after the age of five-and-a-half.
By starting from recognizing the quantity of objects - in terms of being many or few, more
and less, bigger and smaller kindergarten children can develop their concept of quantity into a
concept of numbers.
M a t h e m a t i c a l t h i n k i n g i n e v e r y da y l i f e a n d p l a y
A kindergarten provides many opportunities for children to explore mathematical thinking, for
example distributing journals or newsletters to fellow children (one-to-one correspondence),
separating marbles according to colors (sorting), lining dumplings according to their sizes (size
arrangement), putting away empty boxes by separating bigger and smaller ones (size classification),
and lining up from the shorter to the taller children (height arrangement). Through these various
tasks that challenge their comparing skills to judge which is more or less and which is bigger or
smaller, children develop mathematical thinking that allows them to recognize the quantity, in terms
of how many there are, and size, in terms of a measurement. As mathematical thinking demands
recognition of numbers as symbols, children gradually become interested in the power of written
numbers. Thus, through the kindergarten activities and play, children encounter and think about a
wide range of numbers. By focusing on the hands-on math experiences, a teacher at kindergarten
needs to organize the environment in such a way that children can discover numbers on many
occasions and in various ways, and so develop their mathematical thinking.
Educational goals
・ Developing quantitative and numerical concepts by comparing a wide range of
elements, through autonomous activities.
・ Developing quantitative reasoning skills to judge the right amount that one wants,
while dealing with things and objects.
・ Developing confidence and self-competency, by engaging in independent activities that
utilize numerical abilities appropriate to individual levels of maturity.
・ Expanding logical thinking, through organizing play by arranging things in order and
choosing proper tools for the play.
・ Associating an amount of things with their corresponding number and understanding
what numbers, as symbols, stand for, through employing mathematical thinking on
many different occasions.
・ Establishing a basic foundation for mathematical thinking, through activities related to
space or time, such as putting building blocks away or guessing the speed of a thrown
ball.
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Daily math activities at kindergarten
〈Distributing snacks〉
A child is giving plates to members in a
group and distributing a fair amount of
snacks to everyone.
Children are seriously comparing the
number of their own snacks with those of
other children. If there are some snacks
left over, children will try to divide them
until every child gets an equal share.
〈Putting scissors away〉

Scissors are supposed to be put away in
the corresponding holes in a holder.
By checking empty holes, children can
work out how many pairs of scissors are
missing.
〈Putting a sticker on a journal〉

Children are putting a number sticker on
their journals, which shows the same
number as the date on the calendar in
front of them.
109
Math Activities in Play
〈Making sand dumplings〉

For firmer dumplings, children are
thinking the right ratio of water and sand
(correspondence between the amount of
water and that of sand).
It sometimes takes more than half an
hour to make nice and shiny sand
dumplings, but children are trying hard to
make a firmer and shinier one than
anybody else.
〈Playing house〉
A child is arranging a set of a plate
and a bowl to each friend for a
dinner party.
Initially a child sets plates and
bowls separately, but as she gets
used to it, she can arrange a dish
and a bowl at the same time as a set.
When there are too few or too many
dishes, the child will find that out
by matching the dish with a person.
〈Stamp rally〉
By identifying a leaf with one of the
five leaves on a card (one-to-one
correspondence), children are
thinking how many of which leaves
they need to find next.
110 〈Dice game〉

By rolling dice, children are practicing
counting the numbers.
〈Tic-tac-toe〉
Two players try to place three pieces in a row before the opponent does.
Mature children can logically think where they should put their pieces while
blocking their opponents’ move at the same time.
111
〈Card game: War〉

By comparing one's card
with others', a person with
the highest number card can
take all the cards.
The winner is the person
with the most cards.
〈Bowling〉
Children try to knock all the pins
down at one time.
Children decide how to align the
pins and how far the bowler is to
the pins.
Children with sophisticated
mathematical ability can compile
a calculation table with which
they can figure out how many
pins were knocked down.
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Keep in mind
・ Provide an organized environment and encouragement to help children spontaneously develop
mathematical thinking through fun activities.
・ Start from small numbers understandable to children, such as three, and gradually increase to bigger
numbers such as ten.
・ With regard to various ways of counting numbers, encourage children to exchange their opinions
freely with others.
・ Try to be sure that every child who wants to do the job of distributing snacks has a turn.
・ Identify storage places clearly to promote children's responsible behavior. For a younger class,
indicate individual storage places for each item as in one-to-one correspondence, whereas for an
older class, display the amount of toys through both the number and the drawings corresponding to
the quantity.
・ Draw children's attention to the classroom calendar by putting information about events and
activities.
・ When playing with cards, remove King, Queen, and Jack cards from the game. If Ace cards also
seem confusing to some children, overwrite them with 1s.
・ During the card game, some children may cause trouble in an effort to win. A teacher should guide
them to resolve the situation by providing the time to talk together about what happened.

・ Numbers are often taught in a lesson setting, but it may be better to start by introducing numbers
through using real objects in a game.
For example: By showing a 5 card, you ask, ’Can you find five things that are the same kind in this
room?’ Then let children show and say the items they found.
・ Any teaching materials and tools at kindergarten can be used for counting and dividing. A teacher
can stimulate children’s mathematical thinking even in music or physical exercise classes.
・ A number table that shows numbers and drawings corresponding to the quantity can effectively
attract children’s interest and curiosity toward numbers. When posting the cards on the wall, show
and explain them one by one to children so that they come to be aware of these number cards. You
can also use a table when children need to count certain things.
・ During traditional games, some children can develop mathematical thinking. Make the games easier
and simpler for young children and put them at a game center or other shelves within the children’s
reach. In addition to mathematical thinking, many games can also effectively stimulate logical
reasoning.
For example: Traditional games such as ’Congkak’ in Malaysia, ‘Mancala’ in Africa and Pakistan,
and ‘Shagai’ in Mongolia can help players develop numerical understanding.
・ Card games can familiarize children with numbers and further develop their early arithmetic skills
such as simple additions and subtractions. Among a wide range of card games, choose appropriate
ones in relation to children’s readiness.
For example:
Familiarizing with numbers: Memory game, where players find matching pairs of cards.
Number sequencing: Lining cards starting around the 7 cards by putting the cards of the same suit
in one line (or 5 cards for a variation)
Comparison: War, where two players lift one card from one’s pile and placing it face up, then the
person with the higher card can get both cards.
Addition: Double War, with 32 cards of 1s to 4s each player lifts two cards and adding the values,
then the person with the higher value can get both pairs of cards. Adding more cards
increases the level of difficulty.
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5-5 Music: using tunes and rhythms

Children love to move their bodies to music. If cheering a friend - ‘Hip, hip hooray!’ - or
chanting - ’Pull all the way. Pull all the way’ - they call out loud and move their bodies
naturally. When musical activities and expressions are embedded in their everyday lives, as
in engaging in fun games with rhythms and songs and trying to make sounds with musical
instruments, children can develop their imagination and sensitivity to music.
Songs and rhythmic activities

Children love musical activities that allow them to sing songs while playing with friends, move to
music, and dance with friends. These musical experiences teach children to feel fun with rhythms and
songs, and can nurture children’s sensitive, creative minds.
Japanese traditional children’s songs, which have been passed down for generations, are sung by a
group of children like fun chants during play. Japanese kindergartens incorporate many traditional
children’s songs and other folk songs (such as nursery rhymes and songs around the world) in their
teaching materials, hoping these songs will form an integral part of children’s lives.
A rhythmic activity in which children move their hands and body to a simple song gives children a fun
experience to express rhythms physically while they are singing and this is one of the most popular
activities at kindergarten. It is also a useful tool for teachers to draw children’s attention or to
introduce a relaxing mood to the class. Songs and rhythmic activities can be enjoyed solo, but with
friends, these activities produce more excitement because children can communicate with one another
through music, and share the pleasurable moment with friends.
Educational goals
・ Developing emotional stability and sensitivity, through the act of singing.
・ Becoming familiar with different cultures, through enjoying a wide variety of songs.
・ Developing an awareness of seasons and interest in festivals, by singing special songs
associated with them.
・ Increasing vocabulary by memorizing verses, through repeated practices and
nourishing imagination by imagining what the verse means.
・ Feeling a sense of community with others, through singing songs and playing rhythms
with friends.
・ Developing sophisticated rhythmic movements, through free bodily expression of the
music.
・ Developing musical expression skills, through putting one’s feelings and thoughts into
tunes and dances.
・ Enjoying creative movements, by producing hand and bodily gestures to songs and with
rhythms.
114
Enjoying songs and rhythms
The lyrics of a new song are written on the

paper to help children memorize it easily.
The drawings associated with the image of
the song help younger children who cannot
read become interested in the song.
The lyrics are displayed somewhere the
children can always see, whenever they
need to check.
A whole class is having fun with moving

their hands.
Moving their hands and bodies to the song
creates excitement for the children.
Children are rhythmically hitting their

chests like a gorilla, chanting, ‘I am a
gorilla. Eh-ho-ho.’
Encouraged by the fun of singing this
song with the teacher, some of the
children came to the front and
demonstrated the gesture to the
class.
115
They are dancing to the music.

Children first shake hands and dance in
pairs, then turn around at a teacher’s
signal to change partners.
Lots of hand-shaking and paring with
different partners. What fun!
Children are dancing and shaking

pompons to the music.
The teacher is also having fun dancing.
Pompons make the dance more
exciting.
Pompons are always available for play
and children are allowed to play CDs
or cassette tapes by themselves to
dance.
Upon leaving, children get together and

sing a good-bye song.
While playing the song on a cassette
player, a teacher reminds them the verse
by giving a prompt.
Sometimes a child who can recite the song
comes up to the front and volunteers to
lead the class.
Experience to lead the class develops
children’s self-esteem which encourages
them to sing more lively.
116
Keep in mind
・ It is important that you introduce to your class traditional folk songs passed down for generations
in your region and country. Try to cherish your own regional culture, and other cultures, equally.
・ By watching a teacher singing with full of expression, children can feel the pleasure of singing.
Always try to be a model for children to sing cheerfully while focusing on proper vocalization,
tuning, and rhythm. But at the same time, you should not overemphasize perfection to children.
What is important is to get them motivated to enjoy singing.
・ The accompaniment to a song, which is not crucial, can be anything around you. Clapping hands,
tapping feet, rocking the body with the rhythm can create wonderful improvisation.
・ Singing songs can always serve as an effective tool for classroom management. Relaxing music
after an active play, for example, can make a smooth transition between activities of the day at
kindergarten.
・ When they are having fun with dancing and singing, children are enjoying their freedom through
musical expression. Try to share the time with them by joining their song and dance.
・ Many songs can accompany various plays and actions such as drawing, bouncing a ball, and
jumping a rope.
・ Share with parents the songs you taught to the children. Singing songs with parents can not only
become a pleasurable experience but also console and comfort children.
・ Ask parents for volunteers to organize a choir and have them sing to the children. The beautiful
chorus of parents will create a dazzling moment for the children.
・ When introducing a new song to children, not only displaying the lyrics and their associated
drawings on the paper but also using a paper puppet theater, dolls, and flannel board theater can
make expressive presentation of what is sung in the song.
・ It is fun to make a new song by inserting new phrases into children’s favorite songs.
・ Try to present many traditional rhythmic activities and dances from your country and region ,and
other countries and regions, to the class.
117
Playing with musical instruments

Singing songs and playing musical instruments bring fun to children’s lives and stimulate their
imagination and creativity, which contributes to developing their emotional stability. By listening to
music and watching a teacher playing musical instruments, children become interested in these
instruments. Through touching the instruments and trying to play, children learn about different tones
and grow a love for expression in music.
A wide range of musical instruments is available to children at kindergartens in Japan, particularly
percussion instruments that even younger children can easily play (bells, tambourines, castanets,
triangles, drums, and cymbals) and melodic instruments (wooden and steel xylophones, harmonicas,
melodicas or wind instruments similar to the harmonica and accordion, as well as organs and pianos).
Not only making a sound with instruments but also improvising a rhythm to music can be an exciting
experience to children. Musical play that has started off from playing the instruments solo expands in
scale and children will enjoy synchronizing tunes or rhythms with others and playing in concert joined
by percussion and melodic instruments. With a careful selection of instruments, children of different
ages can participate together in musical activities or in a more structured concert performance. Musical
activities can be incorporated into a wide range of kindergarten programs to enrich children’s
experiences with music, such as playing a festival song at an event and performing a concert for friends
and parents.
Educational goals
・ Expanding imagination and developing musical sensitivity and creativity, through
listening to music and feeling the flow of tunes.
・ Cultivating musical expression skills, by expressing one’s thoughts and feelings with
rhythms.
・ Training musical and acoustic sensitivity through hearing different tones while playing
musical instruments and expressing oneself with them.
・ Realizing that there are different tones characteristic to each instrument, and
cultivating creative attitudes and aesthetic sensitivity through trying to make sounds
with various instruments.
・ Developing interest in math through considering the number of musical instruments
played together.
・ Developing coordinated motor skills while learning how to play musical instruments
and how to make sounds with them.
・ Feeling the pleasure of participation and fulfillment in the shared musical experience,
as well as nurturing friendship, by playing in concert with others while listening to their
tunes.
・ Developing cooperative attitudes, social skills and positive self-esteem and further
feeling senses of achievement and satisfaction, through the process of playing a whole
piece together.
118
Playing with musical instruments
For children’s convenience, bells, tambourines

and other musical instruments are stored at a
A child loves his hand-made instrument

that makes a maraca-like sound when
shaken.
Out of curiosity about the inside of a

musical instrument, children took a bell
out of a basket and played with it.
The pleasure of synchronizing tunes
with friends led to a creative activity to
make a new instrument with the bell.
With colorful stickers on wooden bars for

an easier recognition of the musical scale,
children are practicing playing the
xylophones.
Instead of reading a musical score,
children learn to play by remembering the
places to hit while a teacher tells them a
particular note on the scale.
119
By jointly playing all the instruments

that each child has practiced at home
- such as bells, triangles, xylophones,
drums, and cymbals - children can
experience the pleasure to put
everyone’s part together to bring
about a wonderful symphony.
Children are playing a Japanese drum.

The drum is often played at a
community festival and kindergarten
events.
They feel the tense skin.
They touch and feel the tension of a
skin and become familiar with the
drum by striking it with a hand.
Children become interested in playing
the Japanese drum, through learning
that a resonant sound is made by a
dynamic striking action using the
whole body and that there are various
way of striking the drum.
120
Keep in mind
・ To stimulate children’s interest and curiosity in music and musical instruments, provide numerous
opportunities to listen to music and prepare various kinds of instruments that they can freely use in
expressing their feelings.
・ By watching a teacher enjoy playing the musical instruments, children will try to share the
pleasurable experience. Instead of teaching children how to play, the teacher needs to respect their
independent motivation to express themselves in their own way.
・ Ensure that the particular musical instrument is suitable for the children’s level of maturity, and
that the pieces of music are familiar to children or appropriate for instrumental play.
・ Naturally children strike rhythms and make sounds as freely as they can. A teacher can support
them to develop self-control skills through being exposed to different musical experiences where
they listen to as many different tunes as possible to compare and analyze which tune sounds more
pleasing than another.
・ Since playing melodic instruments requires understanding musical scales, children at first try to
find the right note that they heard. If frustrated they will give up. A teacher, therefore, needs to
support them by sharing exciting moments of play and emphasizing the importance of having fun
in expressing themselves in music, regardless of how well they can play.

・ Try to give sufficient instruction about how to handle fragile instruments and mallets to avoid
possible accidents.

・ Tips for creative rhythmic instruments: Empty cans or boxes with pebbles and nuts inside, and
twigs or wooden pieces can be fun to make sounds with.
・ A wind instrument can be made by blowing into a hollow bamboo trunk or other wood.
・ Children’s usual musical activities can gain momentum if they are incorporated into special events
at kindergarten, such as a field day festival and annual performance show.
・ The musical activity can expand to a cultural awareness program in which children encounter and
play a wide range of musical instruments from their own and other cultures.
・ It could be an inspiring experience to listen to musicians invited from outside the kindergarten and
play music with them.
・ Leaves and reed pipes can make pretty tunes. Children will love them.
121
5-6 Art: encouraging creativity

Children can express their thoughts and feelings in drawings, embody their mental images
through empty boxes and containers, and enthusiastically create something grand by putting
their ideas together. Through these art activities, not only do they learn about the proper use
of tools and art techniques appropriate for their level of maturity, but also they develop
persistence and creativity. In addition, the completed work brings an enormous sense of joy
and satisfaction to them.
Art work
As soon as becoming able to hold pencils and crayons, at the age of one to two, children start drawing
lines, dots, and circles. When they acquire the ability to draw a circle, they add eyes and a mouth to make
a face and further draw hands and legs directly sticking out from the circle to create a man without a
body. Sometimes, they draw a see-through house, or flowers and suns like faces with eyes and a mouth.
These drawings are characteristic of kindergarten-age children. Japanese kindergartens make pencils,
crayons, markers, and paints readily available to children, who in turn can draw anything whenever they
feel like it. They can do thematic drawings, such as what they did at a field trip or a field day festival, or
sketch plants or animals. These art activities enable children to learn the use of drawing materials and try
out various art formats, further fostering their interests in the unlimited expression in art.
Educational goals
・ Developing imagination and creativity, through free and spontaneous expressions of
one’s thoughts and feelings.
・ To appreciate beautiful and inspiring combinations of colors and patterns, and
cultivate artistic sensitivity and aesthetic senses, through the drawing activity.
・ Becoming familiar with the characteristics and proper use of various art materials,
through using and experimenting with them.
・ Developing spatial awareness, by arranging objects in relation to one another, paying

・友達と相談したり、力を合わせたりしながら、大型の製作に取り組んでいくことで、一人で
attention to their shapes and sizes, and drawing a picture in perspective.
行う活動よりも持続して取り組み、やり通した成功感、成就感を味わうことができる。
・ Feeling relaxed and liberated, by expressing their thoughts and feelings in the art form.
・ Feeling fulfillment and satisfaction, through group projects in which children jointly
draw about a common theme on a large piece of paper.
Drawing activities
122
Crayons are one of the art materials easily

handled by small children. Children can
take them out of their drawers anytime
they like.
With watercolor paints that allow an

unrestricted, large-scale drawing, children
experiment to create a dynamic work of
art, which consequently will bring them an
immense sense of achievement.
Cut-outs of children’s drawings are

displayed on the wall to brighten up
the classroom.
They are also practicing how to use
scissors and glue by cutting and
pasting things.
123
The surface of a crayoned drawing was

brushed with diluted watercolor paints.
The oil in crayons repelled the paint
and unexpectedly created a lively piece
of art.
Displaying children’s drawings that

portray their memories of an event lets
children share a sense of community,
where they talk about memorable scenes
depicted in friends' pictures and respect
individual differences in artistic senses
and expressive styles.
Chairs have been moved out of the

classroom to the deck, and children are
sketching fallen leaves.
By seeing the limbs of a tree that once
thrived with full of green leaves,
children perceived the winter is
approaching and wanted to express
their feelings in drawing.
124
Keep in mind
・ For children, the act of drawing is an outward expression of their thoughts and feelings. Do not
instruct children about what to draw or interfere with their drawing. Try to set up a liberal
atmosphere that encourages children’s free and fun expression in art.
・ Struggling with the use of pencils, crayons, brushes, and paints, some children may feel frustrated
and become reluctant to draw, leading to loss of interest in art activities. Give proper instruction that
is suitable to each child’s level of development.
・ Unlike adults’ work, children’s work of art is far less organized. Try to listen carefully to them and
make notes of what was fun to them, what they saw, and how they felt when drawing.
・ Due to individual differences in drawing skills, adjust your assistance to individual children's
experiences and level of development, with consideration of their age, family environment, and
parents' views on education.
・ Although it is important to set art supplies readily available to children, you need to teach them not
to waste paper by recklessly drawing one paper after another to compete with other children to make
many drawings, or by throwing away the blank leftover paper after cutting out a tiny object from a
big piece of paper.
・ As it is difficult to judge where to draw objects on paper with limited space, you can sometimes add
more paper to help children to enjoy their unlimited expression of art.

・ Crushed flowers or berries can be used as paints.
・ Paper cut-outs of humans, animals, and plants with sticks attached in the back can become paper
puppets.
・ Try brushing thinly resolved watercolor paints over on the crayoned drawings, such as drawing a
fish with crayons and then brushing it with sky-blue paint, or crayoning stars and then painting over
them in black. Children will be inspired by the unexpected expression created by the oil in crayons
that repelled the paints.
・ You can create an ink pad by putting cotton or cloth that is soaked in paint, at the bottom of a thin
plate. A hand, bottom or top of a bottle, twigs, and cut vegetables can make interesting patterns.
These stamps can decorate a small card or be used as a token or a ticket in a play.
・ The leftovers from paper cut-outs, magazines, newspaper, and wrapping paper can be saved for
materials for collage art.
125
Construction art
Among various means by which children embody their thoughts and ideas is through construction art,
an art form that utilizes empty boxes, containers and other used materials. Besides the completion of a
constructed piece of art, the activity brings children a valuable artistic experience to create something
out of diverse goods and materials used in everyday life, only limited by their imagination and
creativity. Through the constructing process of cutting, pasting and combining objects, children realize
the characteristics and beauty of individual materials such as color, quality, and shape, and will
develop their color sensitivity and designing skills.
In a Japanese kindergarten, children engage in various creative activities including building toys they
use for play and making a particular thing in class under supervision of a teacher. It is a happy and
rewarding experience for children to play with their hand-made toys or to see their art work displayed
in the classroom.
Educational goals
・ Enjoying an immense sense of achievement and satisfaction upon completion of the

art work, and through using one’s work in play or everyday life, feeling attachment
to the object and fostering the attitude to cherish it.
・ Realizing the characteristic qualities and shapes of various materials, and
cultivating creative thinking by producing something out of these materials while
learning their proper use.
・ Developing manual dexterity through such craft skills as cutting, folding, pasting,
and rolling.
・ Developing persistence, through completing large-scale time-consuming
construction work.
・ Nurturing creativity by thinking about what to make and how to use a finished art
work.
・ Acquiring knowledge about the usages and functions of a wide range of art tools.
・ Realizing that constructing art work involves sequential steps and various linked
tasks.
・ Promoting communication with teachers and friends while describing and
discussing one’s idea of what to make.
126
Constructing art activities at kindergarten
In the classroom, materials for constructing

art (empty food containers, toilet paper
tubes, empty boxes, etc) are always sorted
out and ready to use.
Materials and tools that are harmless for
children to use alone are stored within their
reach.
Storage places for construction materials

and tools are identified with pictures and
words so that children can easily locate
and return them.
A child is sorting materials brought from
home into their appropriate storage
places.
A child who wanted to be more like an

alligator decided to put a tail on his back.
Since the tail is made of a sturdy milk
carton, it won’t be ripped after days of use.
Children started playing with flyers

by folding, cutting, and rolling.
Depending on the size and thickness
of flyers, they make fatter or
thinner rolls.
127
A traditional Japanese toy,

Cup-and-Ball, was created by
combining a food container
and a toilet paper tube, and a
string taped to a paper ball.
A teacher helped with a tricky
part.
Colorful fallen leaves regained their

beauty as a necklace charm.
Children picked favorite shapes
among circles, stars, and hearts
outlined on colored paper by a
teacher, and cut out the shapes
along the line.
Then they glued favorite leaves on
cut-out paper to make a charm.
A child started gluing leaves and nuts on

a plastic bag for decoration. Inspired by
the child’s idea, a teacher suggested
turning the bag into a shirt.
Other children also joined in a
shirt-making project.
The decoration on the shirt can be

broken when folded.
A teacher hung it on a cloth hanger
just like a real shirt.
Eventually, the project spread to
the entire class.
128
Keep in mind
・ Try to prepare tools, equipment, and materials that are best suited for the children’s level and stage
of development and to think of ways to present these art materials attractively.
・ Children should be well-informed about the proper use of potentially hazardous tools, and
should only use these tools with a teacher or under a teacher’s supervision. Moreover, these tools
need to be immediately put away in a secure place after use.
・ A teacher needs to give thorough, personal support to younger children who are struggling with
how to spread glue, cut tapes, roll paper, and cut along a curved line with scissors.
・ Even though many art materials and goods should be available, children will not be interested to
use them if these supplies are disorganized. Put constructing materials in order so that children can
easily pick them up.
・ For those who are wondering how to put their ideas into shape, a teacher can give them a support
in such ways as finding potential materials with them, helping with their work, and suggesting that
they can refer to a book.
・ A child’s creative work that incorporated novel ideas or invention can be introduced to the whole
class so that children can learn from each other.
・ When displaying children's art work, try to find the best place and space to nurture children’s
aesthetic sensitivity.

・ It could be a wonderful idea to organize an art exhibition to display all the children’s art works and
show them to parents. At an exhibition where all the interesting pieces are shown, children can
appreciate friends’ works which are unique and interesting in their own way, while
communications among teachers, children, and parents are promoted.
・ A place to display children's art work is not limited to their classroom. Try to find other effective
or unusual art spaces in kindergarten; Children’s motivation in art activities will be all the more
stimulated.
・ It should be a stimulating experience for everybody if a child comments on his or her work in
class so that other children can view his or her work from a new perspective.
・ Try to introduce traditional play unique to your culture, such as ‘Cup-and-Ball’ in Japan, into
constructing art programs. Especially in situations where toys are hard to find, children will surely
love their hand-made toys.
・ Anything that is easy to handle and free from danger can be acceptable as art materials. Try to
think of some extraordinary materials unique to your country and region.
129
Playing with cardboard
Cardboard boxes are available everywhere in our daily lives. As they also are familiar materials to
children, Japanese kindergartens often use them for constructing activities and other plays.
Because these big boxes are sturdy enough to endure even when children go in and out, and push or
pull them, and are flexible in shape, and easy to handle, children can play by imagining them to be a
bathtub, a house, a ship and other kinds of transportation. Children build or line up many big and small
boxes, combine and connect them, or suppose an object created by chance as something in particular.
Furthermore, they come across novel ideas when making or breaking boxes and feel excited about
playing with invention, thus evolving the play by themselves. A cardboard constructing program is a
comprehensive, cooperative, and systematic activity in which children's naive ideas are realized in
creative plays.
Educational goals
・ Developing imagination and cultivating creativity while constructing something with
cardboard through trial and error.
・ Developing artistic expression skills while having fun in flattening out, reshaping,
and constructing a three-dimensional object.
・ Becoming interested in quantity and shapes as well as stimulating sensitivity to
space and structures in terms of width, height, and brightness, through the play with
cardboard.
行う活動よりも持続して取り組み、やり通した成功感、成就感を味わうことができる。
・ Feeling an enormous sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, by discussing and
cooperating with friends in a big construction project in which a child can display
・ more persistence than in independent art play.
・ Becoming familiar with a wide range of materials, objects, tools and equipment,
through the construction process.
・ Developing motor skills and practicing how to balance and use one’s muscle
strength, while playing with the constructed object that involves hand-foot
coordination and handling something big or heavy.
130
Cardboard play at kindergarten
By passing a rope through, the cardboard box

was turned into a fun thing to ride. Children
take turns to tug or ride.
A child has to tug the rope very hard with a
friend sitting on the box. The child learns
how to use all his muscle strengths.
By standing the open cardboard box upright,

children turned it into a huge clock with a
pendulum.
The clock has a dial and the pendulum made of
a recycled tape core.
Children gathered around the cardboard and
decorated the clock with drawings.
Children made houses by connecting a

few boxes.
They visited each other’s house by
greeting, ‘Hello’ and ‘Welcome.’
They are securely settled in a
cardboard house.
Inside the house is a comfortable
space to snuggle up.
131
Children are asking a teacher how to

open a hole for a window on the
cardboard house.
Except for some tricky parts or tasks
involving the use of a dangerous tool, a
teacher tries to encourage children's
independent activity to embody their
imagination by giving advice and
suggestions.
With a telephone stand and shelves,

the box is arranged more like a house.
By seeing from the outside, a friend
gives some suggestions.
The connected cardboard boxes turned

into a big boat to ride with a friend.
To sail on the sea of corridor by pushing
and pulling, the boat has to be much
stronger.
By bringing in a thick cardboard, they are
discussing how to reinforce the boat.
132
Keep in mind
・ Try to flatten out any used cardboard boxes and store them in a convenient place.
・ Playing with cardboard requires a spacious, safe area to guarantee unrestricted activity. Secure a
plenty of free space in the room and arrange tools and materials in a proper place.
・ Choose in advance materials that children use and make them readily available.
・ Supervise children when they are using cardboard saws, scissors, and gimlets.
・ Let children bring play toys such as a pretend kitchen set, dolls, and picture books into the
cardboard house.
・ Help children build stronger friendship ties through interacting with others when playing with
cardboard.
・ Because of the stiffness, children may find it difficult to deal with cardboard. Though it is
important to let children play on their own, a teacher should give a proper support anytime upon
their request.
・ Repairs and tidy-ups are joint work by a teacher and children.

・ Not limited to use as a box, by cutting it flat, cardboard can serve as a sturdy signboard or message
board, or play toys such as number cards or paper puppets.
・ With colored paper and decorations, children can turn a cardboard box into a nice wastebasket. By
teaching that trash needs to be thrown away in an appropriate place, you can make children aware
of the importance of keeping things clean and tidy.
・ By entering into a crushed box and crawling forward like a caterpillar, children can exercise their
whole body.
・ With posted drawings of toys and tools that need to be put away in, cardboard boxes can serve as
convenient storage boxes.
・ You can build a stage for a puppet show or an entrance gate for a field day festival by stacking up
several boxes, or use a box as furniture such as a showcase stand and a desk.
・ If the construction or play activity cannot be finished in a day, it can be stretched to another day.
Also, complex facilities such as a maze, an amusement park, and a haunted house can surely be
played for several days.
133
5-7 Environment: learning to coexist with nature
Nature is full of fascinating elements to stimulate children's curiosity. As children grow,

they might interact with nature in various ways such as picking wild flowers, growing and
eating vegetables, paying attention to a tiny bug, being curious about fishes and crayfishes.
By feeling nature close-by, they learn that humans are nurtured by Mother Nature and that
all the living organisms on the earth coexist by receiving benefits from nature.
Growing plants
Japan is blessed with four distinctive seasons which have unique natural beauty and characteristics. In
such dynamic natural climates, Japanese early childhood education has adopted growing plants and
vegetables as an educational activity since the beginning of the program. For it is believed that it is a
stimulating experience for children to dig the earth, plant seeds, bulbs or seedlings of the season, and
closely watch the plants growing through their attentive care. It is also assumed that growing plants
can develop children’s interest and curiosity about natural science.
Where nature is diminishing, for example in the big cities, children can hardly see the natural growth
process in which plants and vegetables sprout, blossom, and bear fruit. Through hands-on experience
at kindergarten, to grow flowers and vegetables by learning a proper cultivating skill, children come to
realize the power of nature and appreciate it with awe and wonder.
Educational goals
・ Realizing how plants grow while tending the garden, sowing seeds, and planting bulbs
and seedlings.
・ Discovering a plant’s characteristics in terms of how it sprouts and grows and how it
differs from other plants.
・ Feeling an attachment to the plant and appreciating its vitality, regularity of growth,
and wonder in nature, by observing one's own plant growing.
・ Realizing the importance and difficulty of proper care and developing persistence to
engage in a continuous activity, through unhappy experiences such as seeing withering
or dormant plants.
・ Feeling the pleasure of harvest and satisfaction with one’s achievement, by harvesting
and eating vegetables resulting from one’s own care.
・ Appreciating that the plant has come to bloom and born fruit, which is conducive to
developing one’s curious and inquiring mind.
・ Becoming interested in nature and the natural law, which leads to developing scientific
thinking, through discoveries and questions derived from observing the growing plant.
134
Growing flowers and vegetables at kindergarten
Sweet potatoes are ready for

harvest.
After shoveling the earth
deeply, a child can carefully dig
up the sweet potatoes with
hands, trying not to ruin them.
The child is feeling the texture
of earth and a sweet potato.
Children are playing by arranging

the sweet potatoes in line.
They are calling the sweet
potatoes as 'Daddy potato,'
'Mommy potato,' and 'Baby
potato’ according to the size.
They are naturally employing
mathematical thinking such as size
classification, sequencing, and
weight comparison.
Children are playing with the

sweet-potato vines.
They are skipping or wrapping their
bodies with the vines.
A teacher looks satisfied with
children’s free imagination.
Seeing a child skipping the vines,
another child who has never dared
to skip now seems motivated to try.
135
Children are eating baked sweet potatoes

just harvested from the yard.
The sweet potatoes are baked in the pile
of dry leaves collected by children.
The smell of smoke, the sound of burning
leaves, and anticipation of the treat –This
is a wonderful experience stimulating all
the children's sensory capacities.
With anticipation of its growth in mind,

children are watering a plant.
They care for the plant as if it were
their friend and say, ‘It drank water,’
and ‘It looks happy.’
While taking care of plants, children
realize how they grow.
A child came to his friend to show a

fresh radish picked straight from
the garden.
Other children approached and
sniffed the radish.
They enjoyed the fresh smell of the
vegetable.
136
Keep in mind
・ Show children your cherishing and nurturing behavior to plants, which in turn will develop their
attitude to take good care of plants and value life.
・ The time of a year (a season) for planting or harvesting varies depending on which plant you
would like to grow. Make a cultivation plan well in advance.
・ Plants or flowers to show the growing process should be familiar to children. In addition, they
need to be easy for children to take care of, including planting and growing.
・ Place watering tools close to the children. By seeing them close by, they feel like taking care of the
plants.
・ While tending the plants with children, a teacher can show them the proper watering technique.
Letting children water plants while observing their condition will contribute to developing
children's self-control skills.
・ As plants grow, the tending tasks need to be changed accordingly. To draw the children's attention
closer to the plant, you can personify the plant as if it were their friend. For example, when you are
giving fertilizer to the plant, you can say, ‘It has grown bigger, hasn't it? I think it needs more
food.’
・ Understand and respond with sympathy to what children have discovered, feel excited about what
they question and wonder, and try to find keys to the solutions to their questions, which are
conducive to developing their scientific thinking.

・ It is refreshing to arrange natural things at kindergarten. Try to place green plants at the height of
children’s eyes.
・ As hands-on experience about natural plants, field flowers and grasses can be introduced into
children’s play.
・ Anything around you can serve as a wonderful growing material: you can plant fruit seeds to see
them sprout, and plant vegetable roots in earth or in a watered container as hydroponics.
・ Watering tools can be created by children by making holes in the bottom of empty containers.
・ You can let children choose any favorite wild plants on the roadside and continuously observe
their growth.
・ Any empty containers and bags (jute, plastic, etc) can be used as plant pots.
137
Connecting with living things
Japanese kindergartens emphasize activities that involve touching and feeling insects and small
animals. Rabbits and guinea pigs give you warmth and comfort when you hug them. Caterpillars and
tadpoles have a short metamorphosis cycle and you can easily observe their dramatic transformation.
Woodlice and ants are fun to gather. Crabs are funny - just to watch them walking sideways. Claws of
crayfishes and horns of beetles are fascinating defense weapons.
Caring for diverse insects and small animals can stimulate children’s quest for nature. They might
initially handle small creatures roughly. However, as a teacher shows a nice and gentle attitude
towards small living things, children will come to know the appropriate way to deal with each unique
living thing.
Eventually, while living together and taking care of them, children develop an attachment to the small
creatures as they do to their friends. To care for living things, on the other hand, involves birth and
unavoidable death. It will surely become a valuable experience to think what life is and how
wonderful and difficult it is. With all their available sensory abilities, children will perceive that all
living species on the earth including humans are living their one-time lives.
Educational goals
・ Developing caring and affectionate attitudes, through touching and playing with living
things.
・ Acquiring responsible behavior through taking care of insects and small animals.
・ Developing interest and curiosity in natural science, through emotional experiences such
as being surprised, excited, touched, and impressed.
・ Empirically discovering the biological facts and characteristics of a creature through
feeding and observation.
・ Experiencing various emotions such as joy and sadness, as well as realizing the dignity
of life through encounters with a creature's birth, life and death.
・ Realizing the food pyramids and law of nature, by witnessing a predator and its prey.
・ Strengthening friendship ties, through cooperation and shared experiences in taking
care of small creatures with friends.
138
Playing with living things
Children went out to a field nearby to

catch bugs.
By carefully looking into the bush, they
are searching for grasshoppers and
crickets.
The captive insects are carefully kept in
an insect cage.
Children went out to a field nearby to

catch bugs.
By carefully looking into the bush,
they are searching for grasshoppers
and crickets.
The captive insects are carefully kept
in an insect cage.
Children caught a beetle and drew

a picture of it.
Their style of drawing varies from
a gigantic beetle embodying a
child's exaggerated excitement
to an accurate descriptive drawing
based on close observation.
139
Children found a caterpillar in the yard

and they had been feeding it in a tank.
One day the caterpillar became
motionless and turned into a chrysalis.
Children are awe-struck by the utterly
transfigured form.
A butterfly came out of the chrysalis.

Children look overwhelmed in surprise
and excitement.
‘A butterfly was born!’ says a child
excitedly showing it to her friend.
Through daily observation, children
have learned how a caterpillar develops
into a chrysalis and to a full-grown
butterfly.
A crayfish which sheds skins as it

grows attracts children's interest.
They are fixing their eyes on the
crayfish raising its claws, saying, ‘It
looks strong,’ ‘This one is bigger.’
140
Keep in mind
・ Show your nurturing, affectionate attitude towards living things, and from this, children will learn
to coexist with other living things and respect every single life on the earth.
・ When keeping a small creature for an educational purpose, try to choose one which is safe and
harmless enough for children not only just to look at but to touch or hug.
・ A teacher may need to learn the proper care for insects and small animals from a book or from a
professional.
・ Before going outside to look for insects or small animals, ensure in advance that there is no
potential danger in the surroundings. By setting and showing the boundary first, you may allow
children to wander freely within that limit.
・ Some children may find it uncomfortable to touch small living things. Try not to force them but
make the child feel secure by showing yourself and other children playing with the creatures.
・ Value and sympathize with children’s surprise and wonder towards nature and try to share these
feelings with other children.
・ When a school pet died, face the fact and discuss the importance of life with children.

・ If an insect cage is not available in your situation, you can create one with used materials or empty
containers.
・ Hand-made teaching materials, such as a storybook and a paper puppet theater, in which a
particular animal or insect appears, can raise children's awareness of living things effectively.
・ The amazing, exciting experience to touch and feel a living thing can be expanded to other forms
of expressive activities, including drawing a living thing and engaging in a pretend play to become
a living thing.
・ The responsibility for caring for living things can be shared among small groups of children.
Through cooperating with each other in taking care of the pets, children will become more
responsible for their behavior.
・ Teach that all the organisms exist together with humans in Mother Nature and set small animals or
insects free after children have observed them for a while.
141
5-8 Peer relationships: developing positive

interaction between children
Abilities to relate to other children do not develop unless they can learn to rely on others. In the
kindergarten, children build a reliable relationship with friends by playing games and group play,
by playing in the same sandbox, and by facing experiences in their play and in life in which they
have to cooperate and discuss. Reliable relationships such as these will lead them to feel
sympathy with friends and be considerate towards others, and thus to nurture abilities to relate to
other children.
Games and group play

Games and group play are the activities through which children learn to relate to others and learn the
rules to play. Experiences of playing with friends help children to understand the necessity of
communication and the rules of play. According to what kind of play it is, the number of those playing
might be from two to more than ten, but in order for children to play without teachers, members should
not be too many. Play is sometimes guided by teachers and other adults, but often by other children of
the same age or different ages. In some play children enjoy copying their partner's gestures, running
away from their friends and chasing them, children learn how to relate to others thorough these physical
experiences.
Educational goals
・ To find out that it is fun to mix with others, through sharing a place and rules with several
children.
・ To enjoy moving their bodies as hard as they can, for example by running away, chasing,
changing their role, and competing with each other.
・ To stimulate and develop their communication skills, through developing play with their
peers.
・ To learn to control their own feelings, by expressing their opinions and facing difficult or
unexpected events.
・ To feel satisfaction and fulfillment by doing their work together to create enjoyable play.
・ To learn the meaning of words and how to use them while they exchanging necessary
words for their play.
・ To and deepen friendships and relationships, through personal interaction with teachers
and others naturally through play.
・ To understand that they cannot play the game unless they know and observe the rules.
142
Games, Group Plays
“Janken play” is full of excitement and

thrills. The choice of ‘stone', ‘scissors', or
‘paper' decides who wins and who loses and
you must know the rules. “Janken play” is
appropriate for children aged four or more,
because children of that age can
understand the relationship between these
three objects.
“Janken” can be played by two children, or
by many.
(For the rules of “Janken”, refer to p.185)
The "Donjan game” is a more

complicate but exciting form of
“Janken”. First, two routes to a
centre point are prepared, for
example connected color hoops, or a
spiral line on the ground. Two children
start, one from the end of each route,
at the same time. When they meet,
they play “Janken”. The child who wins
goes forward, while the one who loses
has to go back to the starting point
and follows the route again. Children
respond excitedly to a win or a loss at
“Janken”, and enjoy acting quickly.
They learn rules of “Janken” while
they play it over and over.
143
Children enjoy a traditional type of play

called “Hana ichi monme”. The children are
divided into two groups and they sing and
choose one child from the other group.
Two children picked from each group play
Janken, and the one who loses is put into
the other group, thus the group increases
its members.
It is fun for children to join hands with
others in the same group, and close-in on
the other group or go backwards as they
exchange rhythmic phrases in chorus.
It is thrill to be called on to play Janken,
and winning or losing becomes an aspect of
the play.
Singing “Kagome kagome….”, children go

around ‘an ogre’ joining hands with their
friends. When they finish singing the
last part of the song, “Who is behind
you”, they stop moving, and a child, who
plays a part of ogre, guesses who it is.
The child who guessed right becomes
the ogre this time, and the game
continues as before.
Children are playing, “London bridge is

falling down” in the room on a rainy day.
Two children join their hands to make a
‘bridge'. Other children go under the
bridge, singing.
When they finish singing, the two make
the bridge fall down, and catch some of
the children under the bridge. The
children caught by the bridge become
another bridge, and so there are more and
more bridges each time.
144
Keep in mind
・ Take the children's age into consideration - it is better to let children start playing with simple rules.
Games with lots of repeated songs and movements are best.
・ It is better not to force children to follow the rules, but let them recognize the necessity of rules
when they have a trouble with their games.
・ It is important to make the rules more complicated little by little, and increase the members
gradually to broaden the type of play.
・ Have children experience through their relationships with their friends that their own selfishness
or opinion is sometimes is not accepted.
・ It is also important to offer a chance to children to decide the rules of a game. Play which is based
on the children's own rules is attractive to children, and they are keen to enforce these rules.
・ As for making the place for the group play, you should keep the surroundings in a good condition,
so that it is not dangerous for children even when they are absorbed and excited.

・ When organizing play with a small or large number of children, the type of fun and the rules will
change, even within the same play. So you should let children know this, and enjoy the play
according to the circumstances.
・ It is helpful to tell children that they can do things they have done before, even in different
circumstances. .
・ Children can change the existing game and make their own songs or a variation of a usual song.
・ In group play and games, children can take risks and try out different decisions and strategies, so
they can learn to make the best use of their opportunities in different circumstances.
・ Teachers can check if children understand ‘Janken’ by first playing ‘Janken’ with each child,
individually.
145
Play in the sandbox
Sand and soil are, for children, the natural things close to them. They can collect and use these
resources as much as they like. And they can freely shape and reshape over and over again, if sand and
soil are moist.
In the sand box, various scenes can be seen, such as one child with sand all over his body, one digs a
tunnel in the mountain, another uses a piece of wood like a car and runs in the sand box, and another
makes shiny mud dumplings while teaching his friend the knack of making them.
When they get to play with their peers in the sand box, they tell their ideas to each other to try to make
a higher mountain or more attractive one. Sometimes they argue with each other, or someone's opinion
is so strong that it causes dissatisfaction among their friends, and as a result, trouble starts. In such a
case, the children sometimes try to adjust their opinions, with a teacher's help, but the main thing is to
exchange their opinions with each other.
Also, through the experience of fun and a sense of achievement, they learn to play dynamically with
their peers' cooperation.
Educational goals
・ Foster creativity through trial and error, by handling, sand and dirt which can be
shaped freely, so children can easily create their images.
・ Encourage scientific interest and questions from children, during their play in the
sandbox through learning the nature of sand, dirt, and water.
・ Develop ideas and concerns about quantity and quantity, through the number of
their works and their shape.
・ Experiencing a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, by making a mountain, a
dam and mud dumplings enthusiastically and patiently.
・ Share fun and pleasure with their friends, from the experience of deciding that each
child has a role to dig a hole and make a mountain cooperatively.
・ Develop cooperation and conflict resolution skills, through quarrels about a play
spot or play tools, or about how to heap up sand, or how to irrigate the water.
・ Develop mental stability, receptiveness and tolerance, through working silently, or
move actively, according to the type of task.
146
Play in the sandbox

When children put sand, dirt and water into
a big container, playing with mud starts.
“Wow! It’s so good!”
“It’s like chocolate”
“Ive got a good idea! I’m going to be a
dumpling shop”
From a playing with mud to dumpling
making, then running a shop, children
develop their play.
Children collect sand and make a mountain.

When they make a big mountain, they use a
shovel to carry a lot of sand.
Children must make their mountain hard, or
when they dig a tunnel it will collapse.
After they make a mountain, they dig a

tunnel.
In order for the mountain not to collapse,
carefully they keep on digging with their
bare hands.
When the tunnel is linked, they can shake
hands in the mountain.
Children made a river with a shovel to

make more water flow.
Someone takes off his shoes and goes
into the river, feeling the water flowing
around his feet.
Another one tries to stop the flowing
water.
147
“First the mud mountain, then sprinkle

dirt around it, and finally white sand”
Like this, children know which dirt or
sand is food to make a dumpling.
A girl repeatedly sprinkles the dirt and
makes it round patiently.
Some are making dumplings and show
them to each other, while the other
makes one silently by herself. Finally,
hard and smooth mud dumplings are
made. These are important treasures
for them.
Children are constructing the sandbox

with a shovel all together.
They dig a hole, collect the dug sand
and make a mountain using their whole
body.
“I am a shovel car!” says a boy, entering
the sandbox with his tricycle to
participate in the construction.
Children are playing with all their might,

getting mud all over their bodies.
One boy put sand on his chest, and then his
friends put more sand on his stomach.
One girl buries her foot in the sand along
with her friend, and she is so excited,
saying, “Oh my feet are gone!”
Once buried in the sand the feet can
hardly move, nor can they be pulled out of
the sand easily.
148
Keep in mind
・ Dig the sand several times in advance so that children can use the sand easily. If the amount of the
sand is not enough, add more.
・ In preparation, check if there is anything dangerous, such as sharp pebbles, broken pieces of glass,
or animal's excretion in the sandbox. While children are playing, it is necessary to keep paying
attention to these hazards.
・ Have children wear casual clothes which can become dirty, and have them turn up their sleeves
and the bottom of their pants. Tell them to take off their shoes and become barefooted. In addition,
it is better to prepare spare clothes just in case their clothes get very wet or become dirty.
・ If children say that they do not like getting their hands and feet dirty, tell them that they do not
have to worry because later they can wash the dirt away completely. Until they get used to the
sand, do not force them to play with it. Tell them something which arouses their interest in sand
play. Or to begin with, have them touch the sand with their hands, and work with them so that they
can learn to enjoy the touch of the sand and mud.
・ To keep a good sanitary condition in the sandbox, make sure that cats and dogs not to enter it, and
cover the sandbox with a vinyl sheet or a net when it is not used.
・ Set up a sandbox near the water supply. Topping up the water becomes easier, and it is convenient
for the children to wash their hands and feet, body, and clothes after playing in the sandbox. Also,
cut the children's nails neatly, before they play.
・ Put play tools such as a scoop, a bucket, a cup and a sieve on the shelf near the sandbox, or put
them on a movable basket. Choose the place to put them so that the children can use them easily.

・ In preparation, not only keep a normal flat sandbox, but sometimes make a high and big mountain
in the sandbox bigger than the children could make alone. Then children's activities can be
different from before.
・ By using a piece of pipe or a tube, play such as making a mountain or a dam, or a waterway can
develop dynamically. Furthermore, a piece of wood, a brick and a pebble can be used creatively as
an imaginary car or a table, or for the partition of a dam and reinforcement.
・ Flowers and leaves of plants, nuts and twigs can be used as a decoration for a sand cake or a pizza,
and a plate. So it is advisable to collect those not only from the nursery garden, but also from
outside.
・ Any empty containers can be used in the sandbox. So make use of things near yourself.
・ A piece of bamboo can be used as a shovel, a plate or a cup, if it is cut suitably. But take care that
the children do not get injured by the cut surface.
149
Cooperate and discuss while playing
In children's group life, there are many cases when they cooperate together and lead their play. In such
a case, children discuss many things. When they decide to play a playing house, for example, they
discuss who plays the part of ‘a mother', and ‘a baby'. Or when they decide to make a building, they
discuss where they are going to make an entrance and windows. In the process of their talking,
children recognize that there are a lot of different opinions from theirs.
Also when they find different opinions, they need to adjust their opinions in order to continue their
play. Sometimes it is difficult to reconcile their difference of opinions, and they end up quarreling.
Other times, they ask their teacher for help. The teacher's help provides a model for the children to
work and play together better.
By talking with their friends and cooperating together to continue playing, more dynamic and exciting
play will be developed. From their experience of having enjoyed playing, children will learn that
expressing their opinion, and listening to others’ opinions, is very important in order to play together.
The result of such activities will increase children's ability to get involved with others.
Educational goals
・ For children to recognize the difference between their friends' opinions and their own,
through the process of expressing their opinions clearly, so that they can keep playing.
・ Cultivating the children's communicative ability, through the process of thinking how
they can get their friends to understand what they want to do and what they think.
・ Raising the children’s ability to change their way of thinking and to accept other’s
opinions, though the process of overcoming their troubles and conflicts with others.
・ Learning that they can play more dynamically and have more fun, if they cooperate to
play together.
・ Getting deeply involved with their friends and creating a sense of camaraderie, though
the process of developing their play by discussing and cooperating with their friends.
150
Cooperating and discussing during play
Since it was a beautiful day, a boy thought

of spreading a mat in the playground.
He asked his friends to help him

borrow many mats from their teacher.
The teacher supported them by
asking,“What's going on?” and “It’s
going to be fun, isn't it?” She
supports the children's play.
A boy tries to spread a mat with his

friends, but it is too big for them to
do by themselves.
With a teacher's help, they could
make it, finally.
However, it seems that the place where

they spread the mat was a little different
from their original idea. So the boy
explains this to his friends and teachers,
and he asks them to move the mat to a
different place, and decides where to
move it with his friends.
Many other children get together

and start playing happily.
151
Children gather around blocks, and

start asking one another, “What kind of
house are we going to build?”
One of the children, who was running up

and down the mountain while playing tag,
crossed the bridge and ran away. Since
running on the bridge is dangerous, by
the bridge, they started talking about
what they should do to avoid a danger.
This picture shows the children who try
to solve their problems by themselves,
through talking and discussing.
After eating lunch, the children

decided to play altogether.
They decided what kind of play tools
they needed, and went to their
teacher to get them.
As they all talked at the same time,
the teacher could not understand
what they needed.
The teacher advised them that
when they have decided what they
want, it is better to choose one
person to ask the teacher.
152
Keep in mind
・ When many children play together, special considerations about safety are needed. When they
might run into each other vigorously, check if something dangerous is around them, or see if
something might fall on their heads. If they play in a very small place, a teacher should suggest
how to make a bigger space.
・ Some children are not good at expressing what they think. When trying to cooperate and discuss,
such children's opinions tend to be neglected, so teachers should pay special attention to them.
・ Cooperation and discussion are introduced within early childhood care and education, gradually
according to the children's development. Start with discussion and cooperation among two or three
children, and add more children little by little.
・ Even though it might seem that all children are discussing something, one influential child's
opinion sometimes leads the discussion. So check exactly what is happening with cooperation and
discussion.
・ When starting an activity with discussion and cooperation, in a group or in pairs, take children's
character into consideration when you cerate the groups.
・ Giving children opportunities to listen to others and express their opinions during their early
childhood care and education helps children to cooperate and discuss with each other.
・ When children succeed in cooperating to do an activity, teachers should explain to the other
children how they succeeded in their activity. Other children can then apply this method next time.
・ By spreading the children's cooperative activities throughout the classroom or the kindergarten,
whole class activities, such as athletic festivals and children's concerts, can be developed
appropriately and effectively. Thus, events have continuity with daily children's play, and children
are not forced to, but are willingly and spontaneously involved in the events.
153
6-1 Creating the kindergarten environment
The masters of the kindergarten are the children. So both its buildings and its playground are created
for children as a place for their daily life. Children will learn many things and grow through their daily
life in this environment. The environment created by the kindergarten buildings should be planned and
designed to help children's growth.
Using the kindergarten buildings
Entrance.
Teachers clean the playground, set
everything in order in the classroom,
air the building, and wait for the
children to come.
Shoes boxes and an umbrella stand are

ready.
Children coming to the kindergarten
enter the buildings here.
A day at the kindergarten starts.
Children put their outside shoes in the

shoes box, and change into the shoes
for kindergarten.
Changing shoes prevents the inside of
the buildings from getting dirty with
soil and mud, and help to create a clean
and safe environment.
155
After changing shoes, the children put

their bags and jackets in their own
lockers, or on a bag rack on the wall.
After that, at some kindergartens they
are asked to put on an apron or a smock.
A place for their private cups and

towels is available.
In the classroom, there are many

attractive play things, which are kept in
good order in their own place.
There are many toys, musical instruments,
and things for the play house, which
children can take out to play with freely.
After playing, they are expected to put
everything away in the same place.
In the classroom, there is a special

corner for the play house partitioned off
with a tatami mat or a screen.
On the shelf, there are various things
for the play house, such as kettles,
bowls, plates, spoons and artificial food.
When the children put "cooked food" on
the tableware, they put them on the
table.
156
There are bookshelves for picture books

in the classroom.
Books that the children love to read are
put ready for them.
Children can take out their favorite
books any time and read them.
The walls of the classroom are colorfully

decorated with children's artwork.
Cherry blossoms in spring, sunflowers in
summer, colored leaves in autumn, and snow
views in winter. So the decoration matches
the seasons, and will teach the children
about changing seasons, and about Japanese
traditional charming sights that show the
seasons.
At the entrance of the classroom, the

name of the class is shown and decorated,
and this helps the children identify with
their classroom.
In the classroom, the children's photos

are put together under the month in
which they are born, and their names
are decorated. The children’s pictures
and artwork is also displayed, for
everyone to see.
157
In the classroom or in the corridor, there is a

sink. The children gargle and wash their hands
after coming back from outside and before
lunch, and they brush their teeth here.
In the classroom there is a corner for

cleaning-tools such as a broom, a dustpan, and a
floor cloth. The children will do basic room
cleaning themselves by picking up garbage, wiping
the tables, etc.
A place is prepared for children to get

emergency treatment, if they are injured
during kindergarten, or they can rest in the
bed if someone feels sick.
Sometimes, those who want to spend some
time alone quietly, although they are not
sick, can stay here.
Measurements of children's height and
weight is regularly taken here.
In each classroom, a first aid kit is

provided for the treatment of minor
injuries.
158
This is a toilet for children.

The sinks and doorhandles are made
small and low to match the children's
size.
And the door of the toilet is made low so
that teachers can check a child inside.
There is no partition between sinks and
toilets so that children can easily get in
and out.
This is a hall.
It is more spacious than a nursery
room, and children from any classes
can come in and play in freely.
They can play in a big group and move
around dynamically here.
The stage usually a place for children's

daily play, and is used for birthday
parties, assemblies, and concerts.
Teacher's room
Here, the basic preparation and
administration for nursery education -
such as morning meetings, clerical work,
preparation of materials, and faculty
meetings - are held.
159
6-2 How to create a playground
Generally a kindergarten has a playground.

The playgrounds are enclosed by trees and plants or fences, and aim to create a space where children
can play safely. Fixed play equipment is, taking account of the children's motor development, is
arranged around an open space where children run around freely.
Plants of the play ground
At the surroundings of the play ground,

trees are planted, while at the corner
of the play ground and around the
entrance, flowerbed made by blocks or
bricks, a farm and planters are put, and
plants and vegetables are raised.
These are good teaching materials
familiar to children. They observe the
flowering and bearing fruits, and they
feel the growth of the plants and the
changing g of seasons.
Sink
After playing outside, children use this

when they wash their hands and feet, put
water into a container and carry it to the
flowerbed, farm and the sand box.
This is installed near the classroom or the
sandbox taking account of children’s
movement.
160
Fixed play tools

In the play ground, following fixed play tools are generally installed, taking account of children’s
safety and their movement.
〈Sand box〉
Children are making a mountain and
digging a hole.
Near the sand box, there are baskets
full of play things like buckets, shovels,
plates and cups.
Children can choose their favorite play
things and enjoy playing in the sand box.
When children play alone, a teacher
sometimes joins them and leads them to
the play house, or suggests that they
make a tunnel and a river, to encourage
them to take part in cooperative play.
〈Slide〉
Climbing up the steps and sliding down the
opposite side. Children play repeating such
actions many times.
When they play with friends, they learn
rules, such as waiting for their turn, no
pushing other children, no stopping on the
way down, no interrupting children who
climb up from the bottom and try to slide.
They are not only getting a thrill by sliding
from higher place, but also by sliding with
several others. Children can develop many
different creative ways to use the slide.
If there is no slide, you can use cardboard
boxes, which are linked to form a slope.
Children can use this as a slide.
161
〈Jungle gym〉
Children climb up to the top little by little.
When they reach the top, they can look down
on the playground, and have a different view
from higher place.
Children experience thrills by playing in the
jungle gym, and they also experience a sense of
achievement when climbing up a high place.
〈Iron bar〉
At first, children enjoy hanging from a bar and
swaying, or they enjoy the upside-down view
when hanging by their legs.
When they get used to the bar, they can take a
risk and turn forward around the bar, or make a
forward upward circle on the bar, or turn around
with one leg on the bar.
They copy other children who are good at it, or
ask them how to do, or are encouraged by the
others. They take time to get a knack of their
new skills.
When they succeed, they can feel a sense of
accomplishment and satisfaction - “I made it”, or
“I did it by myself”.
〈Swing〉
At first, children enjoy hanging from a bar
and swaying, or they enjoy the upside-down
view when hanging by their legs.
When they get used to the bar, they can
take a risk and turn forward around the bar,
or make a forward upward circle on the bar,
or turn around with one leg on the bar.
They copy other children who are good at it,
or ask them how to do, or are encouraged by
the others. They take time to get a knack of
their new skills.
When they succeed, they can feel a sense of
accomplishment and satisfaction - “I made
it”, or “I did it by myself”.
162
〈Net〉
If there is a rope net, on a wooden
and iron frame, children can climb it,
hang from it, walk across it, and can
play in many ways making different
physical movements.
〈Monkey bar〉
A ‘monkey bar' is like an iron bridge made
from a ladder. Children hang from it and
go forward by “walking” with their hands
and kicking their legs.
〈Mountain, tunnel〉
A mountain is created linked with a big sand
box, or it is created at the corner of the play
ground.
hildren run up the mountain all at once and have
a race. “Who is the first to climb up to the top
of the mountain?”
At the top of the mountain, children play
dynamically by calling out to their friends in a
loud voice, shouting, sliding down the mountain,
or running down.
A tunnel is an attractive, closed narrow space
for children.
It is used as a hidding place for hide-and seek,
or a secret base, or they play secretly in this
enclosed area, or they chase their friends
through the tunnel - and try not to bump their
heads against the wall.
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〈A small hut〉
A small hut is built, to make use of
branches that have been cut down.
The children are happy and play
inside the hut.
Playing house, looking outside
through the window, and going in
and out of the hut - children enjoy
playing both in the open space and
the closed space.
〈Bench, chair, table〉

It is convenient if benches and tables
made of wood are in the playground.
When the children play with colored
water and blow soap bubbles, the tables
and chairs help them to do the activity
carefully without spilling the liquid.
For those who would rather sit and look
at the others than play, because of their
physical condition on that day, or those
who cannot join in with the other
children, this is a good place to stay.
〈Seesaw〉
Divided into two groups at both ends of the
board, children sit on the board and hold the
bar. They push down on the ground and bounce
up and down in turn, and play on the seesaw.
Children experience that it does work well if
the speed of moving up and down becomes
different because of the imbalance if the
number of children on the seesaw is not the
same, or if they are sitting differently.
They enjoy playing and looking at their friend's
expressions at the other end.
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6-3 Experiencing the outside world
Children directly approach the environment through various outdoor activities. Several outdoor
activities can be planned in kindergarten, such as a daily walk or a field trip. By walking,
children are exposed to a natural environment that is larger than a kindergarten's playground.
Children also use the public facilities outside, or meet people in the community working and
living outside. Outdoor activities enable children to learn social rules and manners that respect
other people, who they may not know.
Teachers can also invite outsiders into the kindergarten to talk to and work with the children, for
example a local police officer or nurse. This activity expands children's relationships to adults other
than teachers and parents, and stimulates their interests in new skills and cultures. Now, let us look at
some of these activities.
Field trip
〈Visiting a park〉
Teachers can do educational activities in the park with natural plants and forests. Nature does not
always provide a comfortable environment for children, in relation to their physical capacities. An
unknown environment triggers several feelings for children: “it is strange”, “why is it like this?”, “let
me take risks”, “it must be dangerous”, or “I am frightened.”
These outdoor experiences deepen children's perceptions of nature and the urban environment.
Sometimes, children face problems that go beyond their knowledge, or they experience frustrations.
However, all these experiences increase children’s capacities to challenge and overcome daily
problems.
〈Visiting zoo〉
Sometimes, teachers take children to the zoo. At a zoo, children see animals, which they have never
met real in their daily lives and have known only through books and television. They learn about the
ecology of animals (eating, excretion, birth and death, roaring) and feel that they are also the living
creatures like human beings.
After this exposure, some children try to reproduce their experiences. They draw the animals in zoo,
imitate their noises and movements, and create animals with cardboard. We can learn about their
interests and understandings from what they draw, which moves they imitate, and what other aspects
they focus on. Through the shared experiences of visits, children might develop the play with others
based on what they saw and heard.
W a l ki ng
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〈Walking in the community〉

Children may observe adults working in shops or
constructing buildings when they take a walk from the
kindergarten. For example, they may meet a shop
owner when they visit a shop to purchase their learning
materials. There, children learn how to buy products
and to understand the process of selling. From seeing
construction work, children can see different ways of
working, the use of different tools, and different
responsibilities. Some children imitate the way of
working and enjoy this pretend play.
〈Visiting elementary school〉

As part of outdoor activities, teachers can take
children to the local primary would be more widely
recognized] school. They can observe the facilities and
classrooms, or sometimes interact with primary school
children. Compared with kindergarten, the primary
school has different sizes and types of facilities. The
way of teaching, and what is taught are also different.
Unlike kindergarten, many rules and conditions exist:
chairs and tables are provided, activities are run according to a timetable, all students learn same
subject at the same time etc. Through observation and some interaction with students, children can be
aware of these differences before they enroll at the school. They can also get an image of their future
at the school, and they can ask questions and address possible fears.
Experiences such as “I have been here before”, “I came in this classroom”, and “I have talked with
that teacher” will give children the confidence to adapt to their new environment at school.
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Meeting new people
〈Exposure to the different cultures〉
Not only the outdoor activities, but also inviting people from the community into the kindergarten
can help to expose children to the outside world. In some cases, teachers ask people from the
community to help out at events. Through their help at events, people from the community will also
learn about the kindergarten activities.
In other cases, teachers might invite a professional performer or a foreigner to the kindergarten and
ask them to perform for the children. For example, “SHISHIMAI”, the traditional New Year
celebration performance that is rarely found in the urban area now, can be introduced to children. A
person from other country can introduce a picture book that is familiar to children and read a little of it
in his/her native language. Seeing a performance on a musical instrument may also expose children to
a new skill. These unusual experiences cultivate children's interest about new things. Exposure to
outsiders and different cultures will develop children's understanding and sensitivity towards others.
Through various outdoor activities and experiences, children expand their knowledge and
perceptions of the natural, urban and social environment. They will learn that the world consists of
“people” “objects” and “matters” through these experiences.
Important considerations for outdoor activities

1 Safety of children
During any outdoor activities, the greatest attention should be given to the children's safety.
To prevent the accidents, teachers should visit and check the place for the visit beforehand.
Some points to check are as follows:
・The shade of a tree: is a good place for taking a rest, but the tree may also create a ‘blind
spot’ for teachers.
・The condition of ponds and marshes: check the location and depth of any water. Water
provides a good place to observe interesting new forms of life, but can cause accidents
through slipping or falling.
・Toxic plants and insects: pay attention to bees or certain toxic plants. Children might react to
these toxic plants while they are playing.
・Tap water and toilets: check the number and location of drinking-water and toilets, and
whether they are properly functioning properly and can accommodate boys and girls safely.
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・Road and traffic: check the amount of traffic, pedestrian crossings, the duration of traffic
lights, and the condition of sidewalks.
・Reservation of facility: if there is a superintendent at the public facility? If so, make an
appointment and check the condition and availability of facilities.
2 Manners in public places

Many rules exist in the public places, so that everyone can comfortably share the facilities and space
with other people. It is important for children to learn how to share the same place without disturbing
other people.
Tips for outdoor activities and visitors
・When you utilize the outdoor environment, give children information about the place of the visit, or
the background of the person visiting, before the event. The teacher explains the issues in a manner
that fits the children's ages, so that they can expand their images and interests. It is desirable to
share the experiences and impressions that the children have gained by discussion, drawing,
craftwork and play after the event. To assist children effectively, a teacher should carefully observe
each child's interests and interaction to the outside environment or visitor.
・Any activities and experiences outside the kindergarten can be meaningful for children. For example,
the people children meet on the way to the kindergarten, grass and flowers on sidewalk, plants in a
garden, or even pet animals, draw children's attention. Some children also might be interested in the
items of in a shop, or a shop owner when they visit there with their families. In other cases, children
who visited their relatives might be exposed to different festivals or annual events. Children are also
exposed to a different world through television and family conversations. Those individual
experiences can be brought into kindergarten life, be reproduced in their play, and be shared by
other children. Teachers can make the best use of these chances, directly support them, and make
them appealing for other children. In this way, the effects of outdoor activities and experiences can
be maximized in the early childhood education.
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7 Materials for teaching
Paper folding (ORIGAMI)
(1) Hat (KABUTO)
Preparation: a page of a newspaper or a 50-60 cm square piece of paper
How to Make （Illustration 1）
① Fold a page of a newspaper so that one vertical (side) edge touches one horizontal (top
or bottom) edge, cut off the extra part to make square piece of paper
② Fold this square paper into half, and make a big triangle
③ Fold down both corners of the longest edge, to the third corner, to make a small square
④ Fold up the sides and make small triangles on each side
⑤ Open up both edges to outside and make two horns
⑥ Fold up the bottom of one page along the dotted line
⑦ Fold up the paper based on the dotted line
⑧ Put the rest of papers inside the hat
How to Play: Put on your head and play
Illustration 1
Cut the paper

into square
Cut out this part
Finish!
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(2) Handbag or Cap
Preparation: a square piece of newspaper or a 50-60 cm square piece of paper

(see above)
① Fold the square paper in half, to make a rectangle

② Fold it into half again and make a crease
③ Open the paper and fold both sides to the center
④ Use your fingers and open the corners
⑤ Roll up the middle part three times
⑥ Flip over the paper and fold both sides to the center
⑦ Roll up the bottom part again three times
⑧ Use your hand to open and press the middle top
⑨ Put the string and make a handbag
⑩ Put it on your head as a cap
How to Play
Handbag / Wallet: follow the process to ⑦, put a string and play（⑨）
Cap: use it for the roll play of chef or waiter/waitress in the restaurant（⑩）
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Illustration 2
Press
Open
Cap
Handbag/Wallet
Finish!
Finish!
Roll up the bottom part

again three times
Flip over
Roll up the middle

part three times
Open the corners
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(3) Airplane (2 types)
Preparation: : 1/2 a piece of newspaper or one rectangular paper (54x40 cm)
How to Make （Illustration 3A, 3B）
Illustration 3A
① Make a square paper, fold it into half and make a rectangle
② Make a crease and open up the paper
③ Fold both corners to the center and make a triangle on one side
④ Fold both sides into the center again
⑤ Fold up the top triangle and flip over the paper
⑥ Fold into half based on the center line
⑦ Pull down the paper based on the dotted line and make a wing
⑧ Do it again and make the other wing
⑨ Finish! (This plane flies fast)
Illustration 3A
Flip over
Finish!
Open up
Fold both sides into

Fold both corners the center again
to the center and
make a triangle
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Illustration 3B
① Make a square piece of paper, fold it in half and make a rectangle
② Make a crease and open up the paper
③ Fold both corners to the center and make a triangle on one side
④ Fold up the triangle leaving some space at the top
⑤ Fold down the triangle
⑥ Finish 5, and flip it over
⑦ Fold into half - based on the center line
⑧ Put down the paper based on the dotted line and make a wing
⑨ Do the same again and make the other wing
⑩ Finish! (This plane flies slow and long)
Make wings
Flip over
Finish!
Fold down
Open up
Fold up the triangle

Fold both corners leaving some space
to the center and top
make a triangle
How to Play
1. Go outside and fly planes from high/low places
2. Which airplanes flies the longest? Where and how should we fly an airplane
to make a long-distance flight?
3. Balance is crucial in any airplane. You can adjust the balance of an airplane
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by folding the front part.

(4) Paper Cracker
Preparation: newspaper or one rectangle paper
① Fold the four corners of paper inside
② Fold the paper in half
③ Fold it again
④ Put your hand into the pocket, open the paper in the middle and make a triangle
⑤ Pull up the folded triangle
⑥ Repeat ④
⑦ Pull up the folded triangle
Illustration 4
Hold here
How to Play
1. Hold the edge of the paper tight and quickly swing it down (the cracker will
make a sound)
2. Whose cracker makes the biggest sound? Compare your paper cracker with
others.
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(5) Paper Tree

Preparation: newspaper or one rectangle paper
① Cut a piece of paper into half, and make two rectangular papers
② Roll the papers from the left to right tightly. Connect the two papers and roll
them up together
③ Cut the rolled paper leaving 1/3 on the bottom. Keep 1.5 cm space between each
cut
④ Put your fingers inside the roll and pull out the center paper
Illustration 5
How to Play
1. This paper folding can be performed in a magic show, perhaps during a birthday
party or other events.
Performer: (by showing the paper to children) “What is this?”
(children will answer - “a newspaper”)
“Yes, this is a newspaper. It is something to read, but today,
I will make a tree out of it.”
2. (The performer can play the music. He/she can also wear the magician’s hat and
shirt on the stage)
3. If children become interested in this magic, teach them how to do it and perform
together.
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(6) A Hand-Size Picture Book

Preparation: a B4 size piece of paper (40x30 cm)
① Fold the piece of paper three times, open it and make eight equal sized rectangles
② Fold it into half from the side, and cut the paper along the line
③ Open the paper and fold it in half
④ Joint both sides (* sign) together
⑤ Fold the papers and make a book
Illustration 6
How to Play
1. Draw your favorite pictures on each page and play
2. Write the title, name and picture on the cover page and make “my book”.
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177
Paper Puppet Theater

(1) Story Telling
Preparation: hard paper, wooden or bamboo sticks, scissors, glue, crayon or color
pencils
1. Draw a puppet on the paper and cut it out. Make sure to leave a margin for the
picture
2. Put glue on one side of the paper, place a stick in the middle and paste them with
the other paper
Basic Puppet （Illustration 7-1）

Puppet figures are same on both sides, but they are facing each other in
symmetrical way.
Illustration 7-1 Cut out the margin
Draw two figures facing

each other, slightly
putting their faces up Finish!
Put glue on one side of the
paper, place the stick in the
middle and paste them with the
other paper
Moving Puppet （Illustration 7-2）

Puppet figures are slightly different on each side. By flipping the paper
quickly ,the picture moves.
Illustration 7-2
Singing frog Ball play Swinging rabbit
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How to Play
1. Pick up stories that are familiar to children. It is better to pick up a story with a
few characters, which frequently appear. By flipping the paper, puppets start
moving or changing their sides. Do not flip them too quick or children cannot
see the figures well.
2. The teacher can initiate the stories, in the beginning. If children become
interested in the stories, teach them how to perform.
3. Children can enjoy puppet play without a stage. If a stage is required, you can
make it in the following way.（Illustration 7-3,7-4）
Stage for Mono-Performance
Preparation: plywood and rafter for permanent stage, cardboard for

easy-to-carry stage
How to Make （Illustration 7-3）
Wooden Stage – Cut the plywood 10 cm over to the rafter. Place the rafter
under the plywood and open holes every 2 cm. These holes
are used to put in the scenery for the show (trees, house
etc.) The width of stage is around 1 meter.
Cardboard Stage −Use the thick cardboard and cut it into 20x100 cm. Joint
three pieces of cardboard with 10x100cm. Place three
boards under the first piece of cardboard and paste them.
Illustration 7-3
Joint three cardboards
Plywood
Open holes
Thick cardboard
Rafter
〈Wooden Stage〉〈Cardboard Stage〉
How to Play
Place the puppets

between the stage
and performer.
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No problem to show the performer’s face during the play
180
The Stage for Group performance
Preparation: a long bamboo bar or hard wire, heavy books or stones for weight,
black curtain or bed cover, two chairs
How to Make （Illustration 7-4）
1. With the bamboo bar or wire, make a stage. The height of the stage can be adjusted
according to the height of the performers.
2. Tie the background scenery (trees, house etc.) to the chairs
3. Place the puppets behind the curtain
Illustration 7-4
Long bamboo bar or hard wire
Heavy books or stones
Chair Black curtain or bed cover
Place the puppets behind
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182
(2) Number Songs

Preparation: hard paper, wooden or bamboo sticks, scissors, glue, crayon or color
pencils

1. Cut out a piece of paper to make it round (18 cm across), and draw a yellow
butterfly, red dragon etc.
2. .Prepare the same size round paper, and write the number which relates to the
shape above, and color the background with yellow, red etc.
3. Put glue on one side of the paper and place the stick in the middle.（①）
4. Paste them together and cut out the margins. (ex. paper with butterfly and yellow
color paper )（②）
Illustration 8
Chimney picture
on the back
Glue
Put glue on one side of the paper

and place the stick in the middle
(chimney picture on the back)
Paste the paper with
number 1 and cut out
the margin.
How to Play
1. Hold the stick with one hand and show the number
2. Swing the stick right to left with the rhythm or song. (“Number one, number
one, what is this?”) Spin the stick with both hands quickly.
3. After a child answers the question, flip the paper with the rhythm or song.
(“Chimney, chimney of the factory”)
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How to Develop Exercises

1. Number Quiz
- With the children, think together about the image of each number. Draw the
number on one piece of paper and imagine the item on the other piece of
paper.
- Swing the stick right to left with the rhythm or the song and get the attention
of the children. (“Chimney, chimney, number one, so what is next?”)
2. Color Quiz
- Draw a balloon with colors (yellow, red, green etc.) on one piece of paper,
and use the same color on the other paper (yellow butterfly, red tomato,
green leaf etc.).
- Swing the stick right to left with the rhythm or the song and ask questions.
(“Yellow balloon, yellow balloon, what is this?”)
- After a child answers the question, flip the paper with the rhythm or the
song. (“Yellow butterfly, yellow butterfly, fly to the air.”)
3. Shadow Game
- Draw a black square or a round figure on one piece of paper and the
imagined item (mountain, foot ball etc.) on the other piece of paper.
- Swing the stick right to left with the rhythm or the song and ask questions.
(“Round shape, round shape, what is this?”)
- After a child answers the question, flip the paper with the rhythm or the
song. (“Foot ball, foot ball, round ball.”)
- You can make several items (moon, sun etc.) with same shape (round) and
ask questions to the children.
- You can also make edible and non-edible items on two paper cards and ask
the children whether they can eat it or not. (“Round shape, round shape, can
we eat it?” “Round bread, round bread, yes, we eat it.”
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Hopping Rope
Preparation: three shredded pieces of cloth
(width: 10 cm length: child’s height plus 30 cm)
How to Make
1. Sit on the ground and tie up all three pieces of material at the end. Put the knot
between your big toe and your second toe.
2. Braid three strings into one by pulling them tight
How to Play
1. Practice jumping the rope
2. Try to keep jumping rope while running
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Plays in Nature
(1) Leaf W hist l e
Preparation : nontoxic small leaves, stalks like barley or reeds
How to Play
Illustration 9-1
2.Roll up the 3. Blow the air from
1. Take a green young leaf and press the pressed corner
leave from camellia, one corner
spindle tree, oak, or
laurel
Illustration 9-2
1. Pick up a piece of straw
with sharp tip point
2.Unroll the bottom of the
leaf and gently roll it up 3. Blow the air
again from the
bottom
(2) Bamboo Ship
Preparation: bamboo grass
Illustration 10
1. Fold both sides of the
grass gently inside
Two notches
2. Based on the lines of
the leaf, put two
notches and make
three even loops
3. Move both ○ B and ○

C
to the other side by

looping through ○
A
How to Play
186
Float the bamboo ship on a pond or puddle
187
(3) Bamboo/Can Horse
Preparation: bamboo (8 cm across) or two empty cans, two strings (150 cm each),
handsaw or can-opener, hole opener (drill or nail and hammer)

Bamboo Horse
1. Cut the bamboo at the top of joint and 10 cm below this（①）
2. Open four holes on the face of bamboo（②）
3. Put two strings inside the holes and tie them up（③）
4. Adjust the length of strings based on a child’s height
Can Horse
1. Open up one side of the can and make the cut end smooth with hammer（④）
2. Open two holes side by side on the can, and pull the string（⑤）
3. Tie the strings on the top, based on a child’s height
Illustration 11
Try to jump
with one foot
Try to step over stones
and wood on the ground
How to Play
1. Hold the strings tight and try to walk ahead and walk back. Go up and down the
slope or step over stones and wood on the ground.
2. Try to run fast or jump with one foot. You can also draw a circle on the ground
(like an island) and hop from one circle to another
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Janken
(Stone, Scissors, Paper)

“Janken” is what Japanese people do instead of tossing a coin. People make the shape of a
rock, scissors, or paper with their fingers to decide the winner. This helps to decide “it” in
the game, the order to eat sweets on the plate, or just to select one person from many
people.
The ‘stone’ shape is when you hold all your fingers. Scissor’ is the “peace” sign with two
fingers out. For ‘paper’ you open all your fingers. The rules are as follows:
(1) Stone is stronger than scissor. (2) Scissor cuts paper. (3) Paper wraps up stone.
→Stone wins over scissor. →Scissor wins over paper. →Paper wins over stone.
Stone ＞ Scissor Scissor ＞ Paper Paper＞ Stone
If “janken” is done with two people and both make same signs, it is a draw and they do another
round to decide the winner. When there are more than three participants and they show
three different signs, they keep repeating the rounds until the winner becomes clear.
The equity and fun of this “janken” game is that even a

child can win over an adult by chance. This game can be
introduced for children over 4-years-old - children who can
understand each shape and use them randomly.
“Janken” in other Countries

Countries such as Korea, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar,
Laos, Germany, U.S.A., and France have games that are similar to “janken.” They also decide
the winner with hand shape. For example, in Korea, people call it “stone, scissor, cloth.” In
India and Bali of Indonesia, hand shapes stand for “elephant, people, ant”. In the Canton
region of China, hand shape stand for “God, chicken, gun, fox and white ant”. Euro-American
countries also have “janken”, but it is not as popular as Japan.
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190
191
8 Cooperation with parents:

building an understanding of Early Childhood
In kindergarten, children are apart from their family and spend their time among children of the
same-age group, and teachers. However, the family is the base of each child's life and cooperation
with parents is indispensable for effective early childhood education. If a child has an irregular life
pattern, or even just has a cold at home, this condition also affects life at the kindergarten. It is also
expected that any special events in a family (e.g. the birth of younger sister or brother, family
members' admission to the hospital etc.) will affect children's behavior. Therefore, an awareness of
each child's family background is essential for providing a quality education for children.
Equally, children's experiences at kindergarten also have an effect on their family lives. Children
report their activities in kindergarten: “I made a sand castle with my friend” or “ I fought with
another boy today". However, this daily conversation only reflects part of their life in kindergarten.
For that reason, teachers report the details of child's life at kindergarten to parents.
Mutual understanding and frequent communication will help to ensure cooperation between
teachers and families. All kindergartens should make a great effort to establish good cooperation.
1 Parents' Day
In their daily lives, parents have very few opportunities to learn how children are doing at
kindergarten. They see their children playing in kindergarten when they say goodbye to them in the
morning, or they learn about some of their activities when a child gets home. But to fill the gap that
is left between these two sources of information, kindergarten has a“Parents' Day" for them to see
the children's lives in kindergarten.
Parents' Day is not only for the observation of activities but also for discovering different aspects
of children's lives and sharing knowledge of their progress. It also provides the opportunity for
parents to look through the kindergarten which they only glance at when they say goodbye to their
children in the morning. Parents learn how facilities and amenities are arranged according to the
levels of students, and receive insights about education principles and methods in the kindergarten.
Teachers announce the date and schedule of “Parents' Day” in advance. Ideally, all parents should
have free access to the any place in the kindergarten, but “points of observation" can be clarified in
advance. Observation through these special points helps to enhance the mutual understandings.
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2 Participation in Education
From time to time, teachers ask parents to engage directly in childcare at kindergarten. Through
this experience, they can learn how teachers prepare, plan and support children. Sharing the
childcare role will also diminish the distance and formality between parents and teachers.
In some cases, parents not only support teachers but also initiate the childcare. At times, they
read picture books, or perform plays or concerts at kindergarten. Parents can also initiate physical
exercises, or cooking, and set an example by working together with children. Parents' participation
in education and new activities excite the children. It also increases children's motivation to learn,
since their mother or father becomes a “teacher".
Through planning, preparing, and practicing activities, parents can communicate with others and
can share the challenges of childcare. This increases the mutual support among them.
3 Participation in Events
Parents often participate in the preparation
of events such as a “Sports Festival", “Cultural
Event", or “Picnic". They also participate in
the planning and previous preparation for the
events. Many hands are required to carry out
these events smoothly.
Events are different from the daily activities
in kindergarten. Children can be in high spirits
or feel uneasy over the events. Unexpected
things might happen as well. Besides the
preparation of events, adults are required to
guide children and prevent problems before
they happen. Cooperation and mutual
understanding with parents helps teachers to
carry out events successfully.
Through activities, sports, and interaction, children and parents can deepen their ties by sharing
new memorable experiences.
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4 Picture Book Libraries

Many picture books in kindergarten can be better utilized through a library system. Children can
borrow the picture books to read at home. This library helps the family to enjoy expensive picture
books that they might not be able to afford. Parents can support this library service. In the presence
of children, they check the name of books, the person who borrows the book and keep records in a
notebook. They can also support by sorting the books or repairing old books. Through this process,
parents discover and enjoy the same picture books they read in childhood, or look at the books from
a new point of view.
5 Method of Communication
(1) Daily Interaction
Parents briefly talk with teachers when they take a child to and from the kindergarten. This daily
short interaction is very important. For example, a teacher can pay special attention to the child, if
told by parents that s/he is not feeling well that day or has had a bad experience.
In the same way, when parents take their children from the kindergarten, the teacher should
report any special things about children, good and bad, (injury, sickness, worries, achievements) in
addition to talking about the daily activity. If they receive reports about a minor injury to a child,
they can follow-up and check the condition at home. Parents can also motivate a child by telling
how the teacher was pleased about his/her achievement at kindergarten. Daily interaction and
reporting will help to bridge the children's two lives, at home and kindergarten.
(2) Class Letter/Report
Besides this daily interaction, the teacher also makes a class letter to inform parents about the
activities and progress of children. This report serves to gain the trust and cooperation of parents at
the kindergarten. Report should be thought out to illustrate each child's progress and process of
development as well as the activities in kindergarten.
Initially, teacher should decide the following things:
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Contents of Letter principle of kindergarten, class activities, announcement, birthday

boy/girl's announcement, event schedule, discipline which should be
adopted at home etc.
Frequency of Letter fortnightly, monthly etc.
Editor rotation of teachers
To clarify the meaning of kindergarten policies, specific examples from real experience should
be given within letters. Other useful information about early childhood education can also be
included to support parents' better childcare at home.
6 Meetings with Parents

Teachers hold regular meetings with parents to discuss the principles of early childhood
education, the kindergarten's management policies, and each child's progress. This meeting is also
an occasion to listen to the needs of families and share their concerns. By exchanging ideas in the
meetings, teachers can build a positive relationship with parents.
(1) General Meetings with Parents
General parents meetings usually take place after the child's admission to the kindergarten, at the end
of each term and at the end of a school year. All parents are invited to this meeting. Prior to a child's
admission kindergarten, teachers inform the parents of the education principles, required materials, and
the expected manner or behavior in kindergarten. The brochure of a kindergarten also helps to convey
the messages clearly to the parents. After the enrollment, teacher will again emphasize on the
importance of early childhood education, elements of child development and age-group characteristics.
(2) Class Meetings with parents
A class teacher conducts the class meeting to discuss management issues and class activities.
Teachers can exhibit each child's work or show videotaped activities of the children. Since this is a
small meeting, parents' daily concerns and problems can also be shared with others. It is important
to make this class meeting a platform for exchanging opinions and for providing
mutually-supporting advice. From time to time, teachers can ask parents to facilitate the discussion.
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(3) Individual Meetings with Parents
Teachers set up individual meetings with parents every term or every few months. These
meetings are for discussing more personal issues or concerns that cannot be shared in general or
class meetings. The teacher checks the records of each child beforehand, and explains in detail to
parents about their child's activities, and relation to other children. It is important to ask parents
about their concerns and about the child's behavior at home. This process helps the teacher to learn
about new aspects of the child's home life, and to share their way of thinking. By talking to each
other face-to-face, teachers can deepen the mutual understanding with parents.
All the time, teachers are required to explain children's activities by using real and simple
examples. Teacher should not dominate this meeting, but try to speak with the parents as equals and
in a relaxed way. To achieve that kind of equality and trust from parents, the teacher needs to
establish a good relationship with them. It is also recommended to ask parents to submit the
questions they would like to discuss, before the individual meeting.
Some parents might bring small children to the meeting. The teacher needs to take this into
consideration and set up an appropriate time and frequency for meetings. Provision of childcare,
such as a playroom or a parents' childcare rota, might also be required.
7 Counseling for Parents

When parents have significant problems looking after their children, the teacher, as a
professional in early childhood education and a daily carer of a child, may offer advice. If the issue
cannot be addressed through daily interaction, a teacher might make additional time after school to
talk with the parents.
In counseling, the most important skill required is listening. A teacher should not criticize or
judge parents during counseling, but should keep listening and sharing their concerns. The content
discussed during counseling often concerns private issues, so the teacher must keep what is
discussed confidential. If a teacher feels that the issue goes beyond his/her capacity, never try to
offer easy simplistic advice, such as “I’m sure she will be happier next year”. This often makes the
situation worse. If a teacher cannot give appropriate advice, the teacher should immediately
introduce the parents to professional help, such as a child psychologist.
This type of counseling works well when teacher has already established positive relationships
with parents. It is important to provide a safe and secured environment for parents to be able to
share problems, major and minor, with teachers.
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9 Methods for improving education:

teacher's self-reflection and development
A teacher is responsible for initiating and improving daily childcare. There are many approaches
to early childhood education, and there is no fixed formula. The reason is because every child is
unique - every one of us is an unique person on earth. Teachers will meet children from different
backgrounds at different times in their lives. In such circumstances, there is no single absolute
method for early childhood education. An act by a child that look the same as something s/he did
before may convey many different messages in each time. Therefore, early childhood education
requires a flexible relationship with children, but within a recognized framework of development
principles. For effective teaching, teacher needs to make constant efforts to improve education and
build up his/her capacity. So, how can teachers improve their own education methods?
1 T he es s enc e o f impr ove men t

In essence, the improvement of education requires self-reflection and self-development by
teachers. This process requires trial and error, continual engagement, accumulation of knowledge,
and flexible thought. Following the charts - “understanding of children”, “review of teaching plan”
and “interaction with children” - can support improvement.
2 U nde rst a ndi n g t he c hil d ren

The improvement of education depends on a teacher's efforts of self-reflection. Children's
activities often give you clue about improvement. Not only the observation of “what the child did”,
but also an analysis of “how child did it”, “with whom he/she did it” and “what were his/her
feelings about it” helps a teacher to reflect on the education process. To organize their thoughts,
teachers can keep records of observations.
Observation report
After the children leave in the afternoon, a teacher updates the records of activities. This record
can be made into the class record or in an individual child's record. There is no standard format, so
each teacher can compile these data for their own use.
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Tips for improvement
Self-improvement Group-improvement
◇ Record keeping ◇ Share the records and exchange
・ Where and how children were ideas.
playing each other? ◇ Ask about each child’s behavior
・ Were there any challenges or and development from colleagues’
problems for children? points of view.
・What were the feelings behind the ◇ Exchange opinions about
particular behavior of children? children's feelings behind the
Understanding
・How did they interact with other children's particular behavior.
of children
children? ◇ Share the impressions of children
・What was the environment of the with other non-homeroom
activities? teachers.
・What was the activity/thing that the
children were interested in?
◇ Keep and organize records.

◇ Review each teaching plan ◇ Discuss the areas of improvement
considering the progress of in common activities with other
children (daily, weekly, monthly, teachers.
quarterly, annual planning) ◇ Share the teaching plan review
◇ Review the details of planning (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly,
・ Was the aim feasible? annual planning).
・ Did the activities suit the ◇ Discuss the issues about the
children? teaching plan, its feasibility,
Review of
・ Was the method suitable for content and method of teaching
teaching plan
the children? activities, and learning
・ Was a suitable environment environment.
provided?
・ Were the materials and
instructions matched with the
aim of the activities?
・ Was time management
appropriate?
◇ Review the interaction with each ◇ Observe and discuss each other's
child. teaching and interaction with
・ Was the talking with the children.
children appropriate? ◇ Decide the specific theme and
・ Were timely supports research on that topic with all
provided? teachers.
Interaction
◇ Were activities and interventions ◇ Discuss each teacher's perception
with children
made with respect for the of the children, development, early
independence of the children? childhood education.
◇ Review your own perception of the ◇ Organize a conference of teachers
children, development, early on early childhood education.
childhood education. ◇ Invite a resource person and
organize a conference.
The daily records about the children help teachers to review the overall activities of the children;
what was the activity/thing the children were interested in, how children interacted with each other,
what was the learning environment etc? The teacher recalls each child's way of playing and
activities, while keeping the daily records. Any specific situation that drew the teacher's attention
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can also be included in this daily record. Sometimes, the teacher refers to the attendance register
and other reports to keep this record. This record keeping activity facilitates teachers to understand
the feeling behind the certain behaviors of children and their problems.
Organizing records
Based on daily records and personal journals, the teacher reviews
the children's records every term or every few months. Daily
planning helps teachers to improve the methods of education, and
reviewing these records gives them insights into the long-term
development of the children. The teachers keep in mind the
significant observation points and can review their records
accordingly. Some of these points are: children's interests, play,
behaviors, interest towards natural surroundings, interaction with
other children, and health issues.
Information sharing
In some kindergartens, submissions of these records are compulsory. By combining all records,
the whole picture of child care activities become clear. On some occasions, other teachers bring out
unrecorded stories, or recorded issues are brought out in casual discussion. Information sharing
exposes teachers to other perceptions of children. Through this, teachers build up their capacity to
understand multiple aspects of children's development.
3 Revi ew o f te a c h ing p la n s
(D a ily , W eek ly , M o nt h ly , A n n ua l Pla n ni n g)
Each teacher reflects on daily, weekly, monthly activities based on the teaching plan. At the end
of the day, the teacher reviews the daily plan reflecting each child's level of participation, and
prepares the next day's teaching plan. The review will be made according to the specific standards,
and will be reflected into the next planning.
Did the daily plan, content of activities and methods suit children?
Did I push the children to do activities, and neglect their pace of learning?
Was the time allocation appropriate for the activities?
Was the arrangement of facilities and learning materials appropriate for the children?
Weekly and monthly records will also be reviewed using the same standards. If there were any
common activities taking place across classes, all related teachers should review these activities
together.
A teachers' general meeting can be called to review daily, weekly, monthly, and annual planning.
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The outcome of this meeting helps to improve the education process in the kindergarten. These
holistic reviews of education are essential, since our surrounding environment and demands
constantly change.
4 I nte ra cti o n wi t h chil dre n : re view o f t he a ppr oa c h t o a n d

su pp ort for c hil dre n
It is sometimes difficult for teachers to reflect on each child's activity as they may supervise
many children. In such circumstances, teachers need to interact with those children during the next
day and carefully observe their progresses. Reflection should especially be made about unprepared
activities and quick judgments made during the day. Some review points are as follows:
Was there timely support and appropriate talking to the children?

Were the explanations sufficient or not?
Was the timing and support appropriate or not? (Did I disturb the children's own efforts to
learn.)
Was the way of instruction appropriate or not? (Might I have scolded a child too loudly?)
Principles and knowledge are just a part of childcare. A teacher's humanity and personality affect
the way education happens and consequently, create the uniqueness of a particular teachers
approach to education. Therefore, the improvement of education requires self-reflection on one's
“perception of the child”, “perception of development” and “value judgment.” This self-reflection
can be made through informal conversations with other teachers or at formal conferences. These
occasions help teachers to revise their perceptions and values, and as a result, increase their
abilities.
As was discussed, the understanding of each child, good teaching plans, and the way of
interaction make early childhood education more effective. Conferences, research and workshops
will also develop the teacher's abilities.
5 Fur t he r e f f or ts f or i m p r o ve m e n t: c o n fe r e nc e s , r e s e a r c h a nd
w orks h ops
Activities such as a conference on early childhood education with all teaching staff, research
activities on specific topics of education, and teaching and learning workshops can support the
development of teachers.
In a teachers' conference, it is important to create an equal and open platform for discussion. The
purpose of this is not to summarize the teaching activities nor to draw one simple conclusion, but to
share diverse opinions and experiences. Each teacher can identify areas of improvement, appreciate
the diverse perceptions, and restructure their own methods of teaching.
In Japan, kindergarten teachers conduct research on practical issues of childcare. The Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), as well as municipalities, designate
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some kindergartens as research centers and subsidize research activities at these for a number of
years. As government offices designate these research centers, teachers are required to present their
research findings and the research outcomes will be public. Each kindergarten also conducts
independent in-house research from time to time. Through “Research Centers” and “In-House
Research”, teachers find areas of improvement for daily childcare. It is important to recognize this
process of findings and progress of teachers through research. During this process, university
professors are sometimes invited and asked for their guidance and academic suggestions. As these
research outcomes become public, the kindergarten receives further advice from outside and can
improve its education.
In early childhood education in Japan, it is compulsory for all kindergarten teachers to attend
training workshops in relation to their career. Some of them include “Freshman Training” for
newly recruited teachers, a “10th year Sharing Workshop” for experienced teachers and “Principle's
Training” for kindergarten principles. Besides these government workshops, education-related
publishing companies or other relevant private institutes also organize private workshops about the
principles and skills of early childhood education. These workshops provide opportunities for
teachers to go out and learn new methods of education that can be reflected within their future
practice.
There is no blueprint for early childhood education, as each child requires unique forms of
attention from a teacher. This is a challenge for teachers, but is a reward for them as well. The
improvement of education depends on the will of teacher. Conferences, research, and workshop
opportunities will assist teachers to develop their own methods of education.
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Supporting Early Childhood Education in

Developing Countries
There is a tendency in developing countries to turn their focus to pre-primary education when primary
school education has become widespread to a certain degree. Until then, early childhood education was for
children of the privileged classes, but recently, there are more and improved educational facilities for the
pre-primary education of children of the common classes and the poor. It is believed that what lies behind
this phenomenon is the increased global interest in early childhood education, and the need for literacy
education, which is a pressing challenge for developing countries.
At the World Education Forum held in Senegal in 2000, one of the concrete objectives presented in the
Dakar Framework for Action was “the expansion and improvement of pre-primary education.” A global
current was presented in support of the pre-primary education of developing countries, and a pledge was
made for industrialized and developing countries to take action together. While Japan’s support for the early
childhood education in developing countries has been carried out little by little in past years, there will be
increased calls for Japanese support into the future.
As mentioned above, developing countries are increasingly striving to make early childhood education
available to more children, with a heightened sense of need to improve the content and methods. In
response, Japanese aid organizations with a focus on early childhood education have reinvigorated their
activities, while requests for early childhood education support from developing countries to organizations
such as the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers increases yearly.
In Parts 1 and 2, I introduced the theoretical and practical aspects of Japanese early childhood care and
education, and described how the information can be interpreted and utilized in the actual early childhood
care and education setting. Here We will touch upon the considerations and attitude expected of the
provider of support, describe the content of the early childhood education support from the perspective of
the support provided so far (experiences of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and other support
organizations), and will present these matters as the information available at this point in time.
1 Attitude and considerations expected of early childhood

e d u c a t io n s u p p o r t e r s
・ The supporter should take in the circumstances surrounding early childhood education in developing
countries, and strive for understanding through a flexible approach.
・ The supporter should never forget that he or she has come here of his or her own free will.
・ The supporter should understand the country’s educational policies and social situation, and respect its
views on education and child-rearing.
・ The supporter should not compare and criticize the country’s views and methods against their Japanese
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counterparts. There should be opportunities for sharing of ideas.

・ The supporter should not impose the Japanese way of doing things, instead observing what the other
party is doing, and maximizing on their strengths to foster autonomy.
・ Waiting too much for the other party’s autonomy, and presenting nothing, may make the supporter
seem inept. The supporter should present effective content upon request.
・ Through actually observing, or listening, or moving the body, the supporter should start from content
that can be understood in concrete terms, and activities that are useful in actual practice.
・ The supporter should maximize on his or her experience in early childhood care and education to offer
early childhood care and education methods that are suited to the circumstances and views of the local
community.
・ The supporter should devise teaching methods that are appropriate for the children in that country, and
convey the significance of these methods while gaining the approval of the other party.
2 C o n t e n t p r o v i d e d t h r o u g h e a r l y c h i l dh o o d e d u c a t i o n s u p p o r t
・ Human development in developing countries: The supporter actually provides early childhood
care and education, shows the results, and nurtures small children that are healthy and sound.
・ Assisting the growth of local teachers: The supporter practices together with the local teachers,
and conveys teaching methods and techniques.
・ Providing visiting guidance to the local communities: The supporter provides advice and guidance
for the local early childhood care and education setting, and assists in the local community’s
efforts at coordination and collaboration.
・ Hosting of lectures: Topics may include early childhood care and education content (making
educational materials, early childhood care and education practice, teaching methods for babies
and small children), sanitation, nutrition, safety, lifestyle improvement, and childrearing in the
home.
・ Support for facilities and equipment: The supporter provides advice and cooperation in the
installation, upgrading, and maintenance of the building, play tool, and health facilities.
・ Cooperation and coordination with the teachers in developing countries: The supporter participates
in training and professional development courses for active teachers, or in exhibitions.
・ Fostering of teachers: The supporter teaches in teacher-training schools to support the fostering of
teachers and research in early childhood care and education.
・ Operation of kindergartens and daycare centers: The supporter provides advice and assistance in
regards to cooperating in coordination with the children’s guardians.
・ Coordination and cooperation with the community and government bodies: The supporter deepens
understanding for early childhood education by building a trust relationship through such means as
participating in local cultural projects or events.
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・ Training in Japan: The supporter provides assistance for the teachers in developing countries to
come and train in Japan.
・ Deepening understanding for supporting developing countries, and establishing a system of
support: The supporter builds a network in contact and collaboration with kindergarten personnel
and supporters in Japan.
3 The circumstances around early childhood care and

e d u c a t io n i n d e v e l o p in g c o u n t r i e s an d c h a l l e n g e s fo r
providing support
The early childhood education in developing countries has a short history, and the reality is that
there are many points that require further development. We will mention three points that require
particular support.
・ Generally speaking, there are almost no teacher-training schools for early childhood care and
education teachers, or there are few teachers with early childhood care and education experience.
For this reason, many teachers are forced into early childhood care and education settings without
the opportunity to receive adequate training. There is a need for lecturers to be dispatched to
teacher-training schools, and support provided to upgrade teacher-training programs.
・ In many cases, there is a lack of knowledge about young children’s development and
understanding of appropriate teaching methods. There is room for improvement, including
situations where the instruction is given in primary-school classroom style, or there are too many
children per teacher, or the teacher takes the lead unilaterally. It is critically important to work
together with the people in developing countries to improve the buildings, facilities, and
equipment, resolve the lack of educational materials, and develop teaching methods that are suited
to small children’s development.
・ Because of the low adult literacy rate in many developing countries, there is a strong emphasis on
the “reading, writing, and counting” literacy in early childhood. In response to such tasks, the
early childhood education support from Japan needs to cooperate with the people in developing
countries to engage in developing teaching methods and materials for “literacy education.”
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4 Actual situations of early childhood care and educational

co n t e n t a n d t e a c h i n g m e t h o d s
We will introduce, from practical examples up to the present, what kinds of support we can provide for
the children and teachers in developing countries. I believe it is possible to discern how the Japanese views
and innovations regarding early childhood education have been put to use, how seriously the teachers in the
developing countries have absorbed the concepts and practicalities of early childhood education, how
enthusiastically these teachers are growing, and how they are giving thought to improving the early
childhood education in their country.
(1) Methods and forms of teaching
In developing countries, there is not much consideration for methods of teaching that are appropriate for
early childhood. Rather, the situation is often one in which the children are educated strictly, in a classroom
lecture format. It is conceivable that the local teachers need to be presented with methods of teaching that
are appropriate for early childhood, and ways of teaching that make learning interesting and fun. The
supporter needs to appeal to the teachers’ understanding by capturing the scene of children learning with
enthusiasm and interest. The support should be such that allows the teachers themselves to be creative and
motivated.
The teacher writes English words,

numbers, calculations etc. on the
blackboard, and children are
required to copy them down or
recite them in unison. This kind of
teaching method is widespread and
considered the norm.
A semicircle desk was brought in,

allowing the teacher to face the children
and observe each child while teaching.
The cost of the desk was covered by a
gift from a Japanese group supportive of
early childhood education.
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In this small kindergarten, which is

private preschool-type, one teacher takes
care of all ten or so children. We tried
arranging the desks in a U-shape, so that
the teacher could face the children and
give each child fine-tuned attention.
The letters on the blackboard, and the

thick rod (for pointing), stand out.
When the teacher always uses a loud voice
to teach, the children bow to authority, but
do not seem to develop the attitude for
concentrating.
The children gather together on the mat,
where they play with words and numbers,
and enjoy riddles, while learning to listen to
what the teacher is saying.
A suggestion was made to the local

teacher to take advantage of the shade in
the morning, while it was still cool, for
read-aloud of picture books and
picture-story shows.
Later, the teacher began to make
hand-made books to read aloud.
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(2) Playground, play tool, and play
Old tires are used effectively in every

developing country.
In this grassy playground, the tires are
half-buried in the ground.
Teachers and guardians worked together to
condition the playground so that children
could play freely in bare feet.
Although there is a good, solid sandbox,

it was not used very much up to now.
Only recently, the children began to
play together using water.
We look forward to more active sand
play.
The dry dirt playground is dusty when

the sun shines, and extremely muddy
when it rains.
To keep out the heat, the windows and
doors are made small in this
kindergarten building made of stacked
concrete blocks.
There is a full range of play tool,
including tool made of old tires, a slide,
and swings.
It is worrying to see the tire hanging
from the worn rope.
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The kindergarten building has large

openings and no door, to allow the sea
breeze to blow right through.
There are trees in the playground that
offer shade.
The old tire swing needs attention; its
support and ropes are too slender.
The sturdy slide in the foreground is a
gift from Japan.
In this kindergarten, winter

temperatures dip as low as minus 30
degrees. In summer, the children
spend as much time in the sun as
possible without their clothes on, to
improve their health.
The children love this see-saw.

They call out to each other and
relate with one another naturally
as they play.
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(3) Play tool and games that take advantage of natural objects
The low fork in the branches of this

tree makes it ideal for climbing and
hanging down from.
The green shade that is always
available in the playground is a natural
place for children to gather and play.
The ground was dug and tires were

placed, to plant seedlings about one
meter in height.
In countries with high temperatures and
humidity, it will take only two or three
years for them to spread their roots and
grow into sturdy trees.
This is a good example of systematic
planning of a playground.
A rich, welcoming natural

environment is near at hand.
The children play with grass and
wild flowers.
There is a pond beyond the woods,
where children can enjoy swimming
and catching fish.
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The children spontaneously started

playing with mud in the playground.
They also use flowers and leaves.
The teacher also plays together with the
children.
This teacher received about a year of
training in Japan.
Japanese supporters made a bower

and a log balance beam out of the
abundantly available local timber.
Although the creations looked very
pleasing, they rotted away in just two
years because no preservatives were
used.
The local people seem to make play
tool out of metal and concrete.
That is more practical in countries
with severe changes in climate.
Empty coconut shells can be used for

many purposes.
On sports festival, clogs made of
coconut shells were used in a race.
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(4) Materials for teaching letters and numbers
Reading, writing, and counting numbers are considered necessary components of literacy education for
early childhood. However, the reality consists of having children mechanically copy down letters written on
the blackboard, or do calculations, or use drills, without any further creativity.
In providing support for early childhood education, it is necessary to be active in presenting teaching methods
that are suitable for small children. Materials also need to be created, such as letter charts with English and the
local language, as well as flash cards with letters and words. It is important to support the creation of teaching
materials that maximize on the ideas and drawings of the local teachers.
Numerals and real numbers (pictures of

animals corresponding to the numeral),
how to read numbers, number cards,
picture books, and puzzles are placed in a
highly visible location for the children.
A supporter on a guidance visit

demonstrates a method of learning
letters and numbers in a song in front
of the children.
Guidance visits are effective for
conveying “teaching methods that are
suitable for small children” to the
local teachers.
Pieces of wood are used as dominos.

The local teachers now make teaching
materials out of a variety of things they
have brought in from the community.
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The circle, triangle, and square shapes

are arranged for shape recognition.
Since there is no paper, the activity is
done on the floor.
Ringtoss and number games are there

for the children to play with.
Supporter and local teachers worked
together to create these.
The children become familiar with

numbers as they play a game of
fishing for numbers.
Developing countries have just begun to publish

picture books by local authors and illustrators.
However, few kindergartens and households can
afford them.
Therefore, Japanese support groups have made a
“picture book box” and lend them out in turn.
In this way, picture books made by their
countrymen have begun to be read in many
kindergartens and households, and by many children.
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(5) Plastic arts
In developing countries, supporters are sometimes asked to teach origami. It is a good thing to accept this
interest in Japanese origami, and create rapport with the local people through moving the hands and
conversing together with them. However, materials from Japan, such as origami paper, are not available in
sufficient quantities. Therefore, the basic premise is to use materials that are easily procured locally. It is
important to prepare materials with input from local teachers, including how to find, collect, and buy the
materials. Japanese arts and crafts are but an introduction, a hint. It is important to nurture teachers who can
devise and create things that are suitable for the children of that country.
Local wild flowers were boiled to create

locally made paint in this country where
crayons and watercolors are hard to come by.
The paintbrush is also hand-made, out of
coconut.
Teachers devised an organizing

system for materials they found
themselves: scrap material and
natural objects.
The teachers and children have
begun to make hand-made toys
out of things they find in the
organized collection of objects.
208
Old newspapers are precious

household supplies.
The supporter brought in his or her
own newspaper to use as teaching
material.
Teachers and children experience
“playing store” for the first time.
The merchandise and wallets are
hand-made. Leaves are used for
money.
Goat hide is used to cover the

drums.
The people of Africa have an
outstanding sense of rhythm.
Gourds and empty cans were
made into musical instruments.
With both newly created and
traditional musical instruments,
it is now even more fun to dance.
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(6) Training sessions for teachers
In training sessions for teachers, the theme and content is decided upon in consideration of what the local
teachers want and need. How to conduct such sessions? First, they must be interesting and fun. Seminars
are devised which allow participation and shared activity by local teachers and community members.
In countries that rely on tourism as

a major industry, English is essential
from a young age.
Children have fun learning English
through finger rhymes in which the
letters and words can be changed
freely.
A training session on creating daily

and weekly lesson plans.
The session is held in a relaxed
atmosphere. The light-bulb mask
reminds participants to “shine a light
in their heads” to think.
Although paper was hard to

come by in this country, the
participants were taught origami
to accommodate an impassioned
request to learn the craft.
As a hint, the participants were
informed that origami crafts
could be made with materials
other than paper.
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Practical training session at the Training

Center.
Participants seem to have enjoyed harie (a
Japanese art form using torn pieces of
paper or other materials pasted onto a
large piece of paper to create a picture)
more than drawing. The reason for the
popularity seems to have been in the fun
of collecting the materials.
The participants commented that they
liked the feeling of accomplishment and
success that came from using creativity
and attention to detail.
An open dance class for children.

Through observing the children
having fun dancing, the adults seem
to have understood the importance
of incorporating lively rhythms and
lyrics that children can understand.
Of course, Arab dance is also
handed down as a cherished legacy.
Newspapers are used to make hats.

The teachers experienced the fun
of playing with materials that one
comes across unexpectedly in
familiar surroundings.
The teachers are gradually changing
and broadening their approach
toward teaching materials.
Learning about exercise for children.

Everyone feels like a child again as they
crawl like babies or pretend to be
animals.
Side-splitting fun at this very first
training session.
211
The supporter visited several

kindergartens in turn, conducting
teaching sessions, study groups, and
exchanges with community guardians.
In the village square, a drama is
performed to inform about health and
nutrition.
Teachers from developing countries

participate in training sessions in
Japan.
Teachers have a high level of interest
in Japanese early childhood education,
and strongly desire to observe early
childhood care and education in
progress.
The participants actually experience
early childhood care and education as
they play with the children.
212
(7) Kindergarten life
Birthday party.
Masks are used to liven things up.
The children say their names and
ages.
Children who cannot yet say their
ages hold up their fingers to show
how old they are.
Children are given duties to carry out.

These are good opportunities to think
about numbers in daily life.
Counting people, plates, spoons, and the
like offers hands-on experience with
numbers.
Before, “learning” was thought to
consist solely of writing numbers or
doing calculations.
The entire teaching staff, including

the kindergarten principal, performed
“The Enormous Turnip” for the
children.
The support of Japanese teachers
has resulted in a variety of changes in
the kindergarten’s system of
cooperation.
213

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Early Childhood Education Handbook

Research Center for Child and Adolescent Development and Education

1 Framework and mechanisms of early

1 The characteristics of early childhood education in Japan

2 Forms of early childhood education in Japan

3 Philosophy of care and education supporting early

4 Institutional framework of early childhood education

5 Framework of teacher development and training in early

(2) Method of teacher training for early childhood education

(3) Mechanism of designated research and presentation

(4) In-House mechanisms in kindergartens for improving early childhood education

2 Promoting the children’s development in

2 Nurturing the spirit of inquiry

3 Nurturing an interest in matters

(2) Nurturing the child’s relationship with books

(3) Nurturing an interest in numbers

(4) Nurturing the child’s relationship with nature

(5) Nurturing an interest in life outside the kindergarten

4 Nurturing the child’s relationships with peers

5 Experiences that prom ote the c hil dren’s development

(2) Nurturing the sensitivity for surprise

(3) Nurturing the capacity for calm engagement

to look like as a whole.

(4) Nurturing the ability to investigate

3 Teaching in early childhood education as

From dirt ball maze to marbles

Transformation of the marble maze

“You too, Tetsuo, here we go!”

4 Overview of the development of the

1 The relationship between children and adults

2 The development of children themselves

3 Supporting children’s life and development

4 Main characteristics of development

(2) Infants from six to fifteen months

(3) Fifteen to twenty-four months

1 Principles into practice:

1 Principles of ‘Child-Centered Education’

(2) Respect the pace of development of each child

(3) ‘Zone of Proximal Development’

(4) Develop child independence

Early childhood educators have the following roles.

2 H o w to p u t t he pri n cip les i nt o pra ctice

Child: What is ‘KU CHI KA’?

◆2：Make them think from various viewpoints

◆ 3: Do not stick to your ideas or suggestions

Child: ‘Make a horse, please’.

2 Guides to formulation of curriculum

(2) Educational aims

Children who think and act

Children who are healthy and ・Four-Year-Old

(Cultivate feelings) everyday life in their own way

(3) Guidelines for the formulation of the curriculum

Guidelines should be flexible. Kindergartens should develop them continuously through

(4) Yearly instruction plan

＜Annual plan of events＞

・Opening Ceremony ・Children’s Day Party ・Planting vegetables (sweet

・Parents’ Day ・Parents’ Open Day pod)

・Annual Health Examination ・School Trip

・Opening of Swimming Pool

July August September

・Star Festival ・ Early Childhood Care During ・Opening Ceremony

・Day to enjoy the cool of evening Summer Vacation ・Emergency Drill

・Parents’ Day ・Harvest (soybeans in the pod)

Date （Mon）（Tue）（Wed）（Thu）（Fri）