About this episode
Hiroshi Okamoto discusses the innovative Anji Play approach to early childhood education and its architectural design.
Our guest today is Hiroshi Okamoto, principal and co-founder of OLI Architecture. He's here to tell us about Anji Play, an early childhood education facility in the Zhejiang province of China. Anji Play uses a hands-off, play-based learning pedagogy that encourages kids to be kids and lets them explore the environment under their own initiative. The school's architecture and design support the program's key aims of self-determined play and encourage its guiding principles of love, risk, joy, engagement, and reflection to create a true "Kids' Kingdom." The curriculum is currently being practiced in public early childhood programs in all of China's 34 provinces and administrative regions, and it has expanded to pilot programs in Europe, Africa, and the United States.
People in this episode
Guest: Hiroshi Okamoto
Topics covered
- early childhood education
- play-based learning
- school architecture
Keywords
- Anji Play
- self-determined play
- Kids' Kingdom
- education in China
Mentioned in this episode
Products: OLI Architecture
Places: Zhejiang, China, Europe, Africa, the United States
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