Chapter 1 · the environment of childcare
Let them touch the world themselves
Environment (a) opens a new section of the guidelines — and it starts with a single word: themselves.
Environment (a)
Children engage the environment on their own
Take care that children themselves can engage with their environment, act on their own initiative, and build up a wide range of experiences.
But here’s the key
“Themselves” is the whole point
Not an experience you gave them — one they reached for. The guidelines don’t ask you to deliver experiences to a child. They ask you to build a world a child can reach into on their own terms, at their own pace, and pull something real out of it.
In real life
The basket I didn’t explain
I set a basket of pinecones, shells, and smooth stones on a low table, no instructions attached. A two-year-old spent ten minutes lining them up by size, on her own, with no one guiding her hand. If I’d turned it into a lesson — “this is a pinecone, this is a shell” — she would have gotten my experience instead of hers.
A common misunderstanding
“I should explain what they’re seeing.”
“A rich environment means I’m constantly narrating and explaining every object to them.”
“A rich environment means I set it up well, then let them discover it their own way first.”
Why this matters to you
Resist the urge to narrate everything. Your restraint is what leaves room for a child’s own discovery — and their own discovery is worth more than your explanation.
Your turn
Where today did I explain something a child could have discovered alone?
Try staying quiet one more beat next time.
About Bond Japan
NPO Bond Japan
Bond Japan connects international schools so they can learn from one another and deepen a shared understanding of early childhood education and care.
