01 / METHOD
The Yuria Method
A practice framework grounded in children's best interests, development and agency.
Learn more →CHILDREN FIRST, ALWAYS.
Trust in every child'scapacity to grow.
The Yuria Method is a practical approach to early childhood education that respects each child's voice, development and individual pace. It turns the principle of the child's best interests into everyday observation, thoughtful environments and responsive support.
In their own way.They thrive.
WHY HOIKU
HOIKU
One Japanese word for care and education, held together.
HOIKU is a Japanese word for the integrated practice of caring for and educating young children. Its documented use in Japanese early childhood education reaches back to 1876, when Japan’s first kindergarten was established at the Tokyo Women’s Normal School. It entered official public usage by 1879.
Historical research suggests that the early word was connected with ideas such as protection and upbringing and protection and education. In 1906, one of the earliest documented definitions described HOIKU as protecting and nurturing young children and, at the same time, as early childhood education.
A LONGER HISTORY
HOIKU has been used in Japan since the nineteenth century—well over a century before today’s international ECEC vocabulary became established in policy discussions.
CARE + EDUCATION
We should not project today’s exact technical categories back onto 1876. However, Japan’s 1965 national guidelines made the integration explicit: care and protection (yōgo) and education (kyōiku) are to be carried out as one integrated practice. Current national guidelines retain that principle.
OUR AMBITION
In English, the field is commonly described as Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). HOIKU holds those ideas together in one short word. We want HOIKU to become a shared international term for early childhood practice in which care, education, well-being and development are inseparable.
Historical note: documented use of “保育 / HOIKU” in Japan’s early kindergarten context dates to 1876–1877, with official public usage by 1879. The explicit national formulation integrating yōgo and kyōiku appears in the 1965 national guidelines and continues in the current guidelines. OECD publications were using “Early Childhood Education and Care” by 1999 and prominently in Starting Strong (2001).
ABOUT
From principle to everyday practice.
The Yuria Method helps educators translate children's rights and developmental understanding into concrete practice. Rather than trying to shape children to fit an adult-led plan, educators observe closely, prepare the environment and offer support at the moment it is needed.
The result is a shared professional language that helps an entire preschool reflect, communicate and improve together.
02 / INTRODUCTION
How it is introduced
A five-stage process that moves from shared foundations to practice and certification.
See the process →03 / CERTIFIED
Certified Preschools
Meet preschools that are putting the Yuria Method into practice.
Explore certified preschools →JOIN & SUPPORT
Learn. Introduce. Grow together.
Consulting, individual and preschool membership, and members-only resources provide different ways to deepen practice.
Consulting
Hands-on support to make practice more concrete and build a shared language across your team.
Explore consulting →NEWS
Latest news
News from the association, open practice sessions, lectures and certified preschools.