Sony Education Foundation

Activities

Sony Preschool Education Program for Children

Theme: Nurturing Scientific Minds ~Cultivating the roots of keen sensitivity and creativity~

Aware of the importance of preschool education, the Sony Education Foundation established the "Sony Preschool Education Program for Children" in 2002. The aim of the new program is to provide support and assistance for the teaching staff at those kindergartens and nursery schools (for 3 to 5 year-olds) that are motivated to apply fresh new approaches to preschool education. The program is designed to provide assistance on the basis of ability for preschool education projects and plans submitted by both publicly and privately operated kindergartens and nursery schools.

We believe that it is important to cultivate a deep sense of emotion towards the beauty of nature, as well as a sense of wonder (“Why? How come?”) and compassion in early childhood, through involvement with people, nature, and things.
Specifically, we call for child-care practices and plans from kindergartens, nursery schools and accredited day-care nurseries nationwide based on the main topic of “Nurturing Scientific Minds”, and support their activities.
So that the information sent in can be of reference to a wide audience, the top award-winning facilities hold presentations and workshops.
We also choose distinctive case studies out of the project essays sent in, and publish a collection of project case studies each year.
On our homepage we offer information regarding presentations, case studies and educational materials, and also send out a seasonal web magazine (updated twice a month) introducing practices and episodes from various kindergartens. We also introduce carefully observed case studies of individual children from 0 years old, as well as the concept of the “Scientific Mind” in an easy-to-understand manner through children’s words, videos, and comics.
In April 2007, we collected case studies that have been sent in, as well as messages from specialists in education and science, and published a book titled “The Scientific Mind that Develops in Early Childhood”.

Nurturing Scientific Minds ~Cultivating the roots of keen sensitivity and creativity~

Wow! How strange! A mind that is surprised, moved, and provoked to imagine by events that occur around them.
A mind that is fond of nature, and is surprised and moved at nature's wonder and beauty.
A mind that is fond of familiar animals and plants, that recognizes the importance of life, and coexists with various life forms and cares for people and nature.
A mind that learns how to cherish things, and learns the proper path of appreciation and compassion as a human being through involvement with “people, things, and events” in daily life
A mind that finds joy in playing, learning, and living together
A mind with a sense of wonder that asks and thinks “Why? How come?” through involvement with “familiar events, people, things, and nature”.
Curiosity and creativity nurtured from finding the answer, and experiencing the joy of understanding.
Express one’s thoughts and ideas in different ways (physical expression, words, sounds, sculpture/painting/making things) in order to nurture the joy of thinking, creating, and the motivation to finish something to the end (we have in mind the complete process of creating art as a diverse form of self-expression)

Introducing case studies of “Nurturing Scientific Minds”:

Sony Education Foundation strongly believes that the sense of wonder and excitement (“Wow!” “Interesting!”), curiosity and imagination (“Why? “ “How?”) are important for young children. With the desire to help children discover the value of life, the fun of play and the joy of living with others, we have proposed the theme, “Nurturing a ‘Scientific Mind.’”
On these pages, we describe from a variety of perspectives how different kindergartens have interpreted what “nurturing a scientific mind” means to them, how they have linked their thinking with their philosophy and what activities they have implemented in their day-to-day activities with the children.