What is Himawari GSRP?

Himawari GSRP is a unique, tuition-free program that combines both state requirements and Himawari Preschool’s Japanese-immersion Reggio-inspired curriculum.

  • Himawari Preschool mission & philosophy
  • State requirements for GSRP

Himawari GSRP meets the state requirements for teacher quality, curriculum, assessment, and family engagement.  For assessment, we use norm-based surveys (ASQ-3) and observations (COR Advantage) that are in both English and Japanese.  For curriculum, we use our own Himawari curriculum that is based on the Japanese kindergarten standards, and then adapt them to a Reggio-inspired format.

Himawari’s Mission is to provide a Japanese immersion environment that allows children to grow into the Japanese language and cultural environment while growing their individual and social skills.

Himawari’s Educational Philosophy has learning to listen to others as it’s main goal, while at the same time finding many different ways of self-expression. The methods we use enable children to grow up with a sense of self-confidence and independence, while helping them learn social customs and socializing skills. We do this by promoting 3 aspects of a child’s self-vision:

  • 「Happy, active child」 Encourage children to do and try many things
  • 「Kind child」 Help children to grow a warm heart (care about others) and play with friends
  • 「Thoughtful child」 Listen to other people, show their feelings appropriately

We have chosen “Reggio-inspired” as the curriculum approach that most closely models our own. The state definition of Reggio-inspired is as follows:

Distinctive traits of the Reggio Emilia approach include collegial and relational-based provocative experiences, the importance of environments and spaces, intense co-participation of families, affirmation of competencies in children and adults, educational documentation, listening and intentional, flexible planning for children. Guiding principles include:

  • A strong and optimistic image of the child who is born with many resources and extraordinary potentials.
  • Participation values and fosters dialogue and the sense of belonging to a community.
  • The flow of quality information via documentation introduces families to a quality of knowing that tangibly changes expectations.

Research represents one of the essential dimensions of life of children and adults, a knowledge-building tension that must be recognized and valued.