Yama-no-Mitsu Nursery School, located in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, practices childcare utilizing its vast, approximately 2,000-square-meter school site under the educational philosophy of "growing up together with nature. The school has approximately 90 children, and is highly popular in the community, with the average annual ratio of applicants to enrollment from parents being five times higher than that of applicants to the school.
Features of Childcare
Education using nature as a classroom: The garden has a "vegetable garden," "flower garden," "small animal house (rabbits, chickens, goldfish)," and "forest corner" to provide opportunities for children to have daily contact with nature.
In the vegetable garden, seasonal vegetables (spring: eggplant, summer: tomatoes, fall: potatoes, winter: radishes) are grown. By planting, watering, and harvesting the vegetables themselves, the students gain a sense of responsibility and an understanding of the preciousness of life.
In the small animal house, the school children are divided into groups and are in charge of taking care of the animals. Through feeding and cleaning the hutches, the students develop a love for animals and learn the importance of group work.
In the Forest Corner, visitors can increase their interest in the environment through activities such as observing seasonal changes and collecting fallen leaves to make compost.
Learning through play: We actively incorporate "outdoor play" such as "mud play," "water play," and "tree climbing," which are rare in urban preschools. While children play freely, they naturally develop the ability to judge danger and solve problems. For example, thinking skills are nurtured through the process of judging "which branches are firm" when climbing a tree or thinking "how much water to add to make a shape" when playing in the mud.
Nutrition education practice: "homemade cooking" using vegetables harvested at the school is conducted on a regular basis. By making salads with tomatoes grown by the children themselves and dumplings with sweet potatoes, they realize the importance of food and the results of their actions. We teach them to always use the words "Itadakimasu" and "It was delicious" when eating, fostering a spirit of gratitude.
Cooperation with families: Distribute "Home Nature Observation Notebook" to preschool children and promote activities such as "observing stars" and "feeling the strength of the wind" with parents. At the monthly "Parents' Meeting", parents report on activities at the preschool and exchange opinions on "how to get in touch with nature at home". The school also deepens its ties with the community by holding seasonal "harvest festivals for parents and children to participate" and inviting local farmers to offer agricultural experiences.