Chapter 1 · planning and evaluation

Specific aims, written for these children

A guidance plan stands or falls on its aims. This clause explains what makes an aim usable instead of decorative.

Ryuki Kataoka · 10+ years on the floor

The rule

Concrete aims and content, built on the children’s real lives

In guidance plans, set specific aims and content by looking ahead at how children develop through life at the nursery, taking into account the continuity of daily life and seasonal change, and fitting the children’s actual situation. To achieve those aims, arrange an appropriate environment that values the way children live and the ideas they come up with, so they can take part actively on their own initiative.

But here’s the key

The environment is how the aim becomes real

An aim written on paper does nothing by itself. The guideline says the aim is achieved through an environment you arrange, one that respects how the children actually live and think, so they can act on their own initiative. The room is part of the plan.

In real life

From “enjoy autumn” to something I can set up

“Enjoy autumn” isn’t an aim I can use. So I wrote: “Children notice differences between leaves and talk about them with a friend.” Then I set out a tray of different leaves, magnifying glasses, and a low table where two children can sit side by side. The aim told me exactly what the room needed.

A common misunderstanding

“Good aims are broad and inspiring.”

“Broad aims leave me flexible, so vague is safer.”

“A specific aim tells me what to notice and what to set up. That is what makes it useful.”

Why this matters to you

If you ever write a plan and then wonder what you’re supposed to do on the day, the aim was probably too vague. Rewrite it until it points at something you could see a child do.

Your turn

Take my current plan’s main aim: could I watch for it in a single child tomorrow?

If not, rewrite it until you can.

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