Our Planet

Text : Miho Masakuni

Six months have passed since I joined Yamanoko Childcare Center.I usually spend most of my time in the office at home working on my laptop to do this and that administrative task related to the daycare operation. Nevertheless, as one of the office members, I have recently become more and more aware of the significance of the childcare center back office, which supports the daycare centers that strive to interact responsively with children on a daily basis based on the philosophy of Yamanoko.

For short periods of time, I may also be involved in supporting childcare and interacting with the children. Whenever this happens, I always imagine, “How do the children see the adults in Yamanoko?” In this issue, I would like to write about what I think about the adults at Yamanoko Childcare Center, as seen from the office.

 

To me, as a newcomer to the company, it seemed that most of the adults in Yamanoko seemed to be putting on some kind of “regularity”. I have the impression that it is not a uniform regularity, but rather that each adult maintains a certain order within each of them. For some, it may be as simple as the regularity of one’s lifestyle, the way one communicates with others, or the manner in which one treats plants and animals. For others, it is the way they handle and care for things, and for others, it is the way they draw the line at children. Although there are variations and gradations in the kind of “regularity” maintained by each adult, when viewed as a whole, it is a very comfortable and gentle regularity. The word “regulation” conjures up an image of rules, or something rigid, but when applied to adults in  Yamanoko area, I think it is more akin to “solidness”. To put it another way, there is a consistent life form that exists in spite of all the diversity.

The home where I usually spend my time is a place where people are smaller than 0 to 2 years old, who still have fresh memories of the womb and are just at the beginning of exploring the world after birth.In a nursery school environment, where many people live together, it is almost always chaos for them, and finding something solid in the chaos leads to a sense of security and comfort.

Did the meaning of existence change from being present in the lives of the little people in the very early years of their lives, to the appearance of the adults, especially in the homes, becoming more unwavering?Or is it that someone has joined the community who is able to detect and respond to the subtleties of a small person’s development and lifestyle, no matter how small, and express his or her unshakable qualities with flexibility? At this point, I am unable to make a judgment

However, it seems that each of the adults in Yamanoko has something inside of them that cannot be contained by generalized explanations such as “because I am a childcare worker” or “because I have been involved in early childhood education for many years”. In their daily interactions with children, the adults in Yamanoko seem to establish both “regularity” and seemingly contradictory “diversity” at the same time.

As I mentioned earlier, the regularity of each of the adults in Yamanoko is not uniform, and within the regularity, there is variety. Behind the many variations in regularity, I feel that there is a strong will to build a community under the philosophy of Yamanoko, even though each adult comes from a different background, has different experiences, values, and expressions. I feel that by each adult bringing a varied regularity to the table, Yamanoko as a whole secures diversity.

If we look at this from the children’s point of view, it is very comfortable for them to accumulate time while encountering the diverse regularities of the adults of Yamanoko on a daily basis, and it is a continuation of their own future and community building, while maintaining their diversity. This is also my own wish as a parent.

If the future is merely an extension of the repetition of each day, we are reminded of the preciousness of each day. Since I joined Yamanoko, as a grown-up who is already approaching 40 years of age, I am inspired daily by the adults around me and face myself and live my life with an honest desire to be a better, more natural version of myself. The children’s absorptive capacity will be unmatched by me. I think about how rich the “daily life” and “future” of the children who spend time at Yamanoko Childcare Center would be if adults were considered part of the environment that I think about this when I see the children through the clear door of the office.