TAIP Conversations: Recent Episodes
Tokyo Association of International Preschools
A series of discussions of issues surrounding the international early childhood education community in Japan.
Welcome to Episode 5 of the TAIP Conversations Podcast. In this episode, 'Forest School Adventures: Nurturing Environmental Stewardship in Early Childhood Education,' we delve into the heart of environmental stewardship in early childhood education. Our guests, Ann Nishigaya of Tokyo Children's Garden and Kai Change of iForest International Forest School, join host Dr. John Adduru, past TAIP President and Center Director of Lighthouse GL, Inc., in a lively discussion about the importance of nurturing a love for nature in young learners. Please tune in to learn more about the transformative power of spending time in nature and how forest schools can contribute to Japan's international early childhood education community.
April McBride (ABC International School), Angela Aramaki (Willowbrook International School), and Merete Kropp (Komzawa Park International School) join TAIP President John Adduru (Ohana International School) to discuss their strategies and thoughts on early literacy.
They talk about parent involvement, building a literacy-promoting environment, tools, techniques, and rewards of preparing young learners to read.
TAIP President Alex Batten leads the discussion with Ayla International School Principal Puteri Zailan and a founder and Director of Youhou Eiken Kyoukai Mayumi Murata, covering licensing and authorization of early childhood care facilities in Japan.
Although there are many variations in rules and procedures based on municipality, we discuss the main framework of hoikuen, youchien, and kodomoen. We also talk about the different authorizations, such as ninka and ninka-gai.
Puteri Zailan also talks about her experience becoming a licensed foreign hoikushi in Japan.
TAIP Secretary and Principal of Komazawa Park International School, Merete Kropp, leads a discussion about play and play-based learning with ASIJ Early Learning Center Director, Christy Carrillo, and Ohana International School Assistant Director, John Adduru.
Our discussion this episode is about the role of play in the classroom. We discuss our definitions of play, and how we use play in our schools. How we handle rough or risky play. We also talk about the role of play in developing executive function, how we document play, and how we explain these topics with parents.