Life Lessons Learned Through Play

Where We Call Home.

Children enjoying nature, each in their own way.

Welcome to the forest kindergarten!

It's run by US-born Frederick Lauer, or simply: Fred.

Here, kids can play, explore and discover to their hearts' content.

They choose their own activities.

Sometimes they bump heads, sometimes they make mistakes, but every time,

it's an invaluable experience that teaches them important life skills.

Kids need to play
more than anything.

They learn much more that way.

One of the participants has difficulty making friends.

Will he be able to open up?

Let's tag along with Fred as he encourages the children to learn and grow through play.

The village of Sakegawa in Yamagata Prefecture is home to around 4,000 residents.

Every weekend, this minivan drives children to a place of fun and adventure.

This natural park is the stage for the forest kindergarten,

a project that began in autumn 2021 with the goal to foster children's creativity and enrich their minds through playing in nature.

Some of the participants come from afar, even outside the prefecture, and stay overnight.

Morning! Nice to meet you.

I'm Fred.

Nanoha, right?
Let's have some fun!

You can do anything you want!

Parents say that here, their kids experience things they can't learn at school.

I want my daughter to learn
through hands-on experience.

It's really nice to have a place like this
where kids put their heads together...

to play and learn outdoors.

Let's go!

And so, the adventure begins!

The children have started to dig their own snowy slide.

No need for shovels.

Yeah!

Nanoha picks up some snow, and rolls it into a ball.

The others wonder what she's doing.

She's made a giant snowball from which to jump.

I was a bit embarrassed,
but I made friends. It was fun.

This is Taisei, hard at work doing...?

...Wait, what is he doing?

I'm making a house for three gnomes.

Here's the entrance.

He's building a rest area for the gnomes that he says dwell in the forest.

There's room for more than three!

One, two, three, four, five, six.

It's a gnome hotel!

More than anything, children
need to spend time and energy playing.

It sounds like a cliché
but it's important.

By creating something out of nothing...

and freely choosing their own activities,
children can learn so many things.

Fred was born and grew up in nature-rich Wisconsin with his parents and older sister.

As a boy, he often played in the woods near his house, building secret bases, complete with pitfall traps.

Mischievous at times, he once set the garbage on fire, which almost reached the house.

His mother had an unexpected reaction.

She didn't say, 'What were you thinking!?'
She was relieved I didn't get hurt...

and the fire didn't spread.

I did it because I felt like it.

I knew my parents trusted me.
So, I learned from that experience.

Fred says the many failures he experienced while playing freely during childhood

were the foundation for the knowledge and skills needed in adult life.

Dreaming of visiting Japan, a country with a culture and language unlike his own,

Fred made the big move in 2009.

Now, he teaches English to elementary school students in Sakegawa.

...and do what I do.

Everybody, put your hands up!

OK.

Now, can you go like this? Can you go…?

Yoga!

For the younger kids, he uses no textbooks and instead focuses on having fun while learning.

Oh, my Gosh!

But for the older students, it's quite different.

The curriculum to prepare them for junior high school is dense and demanding,

leaving little to no time for playing.

For Fred, this was a heartbreaking realization.

They spend so much time sitting in class.

They have too much homework to go out.

On weekends there's cram school
and other lessons. No time to go out.

Fred and his family moved to Sakegawa in 2019.

Morning walks around the neighborhood are a part of his daily routine.

Something has been bothering him lately.

There are kids here
but we almost never see them.

Good morning!

The absence of children cheerfully playing outside worries many of the local residents, like Mr. Takahashi.

As a kid, I used to play here.
We don't see any kids now.

Since we moved to Sakegawa, I felt
I had the responsibility to do something.

Fred strongly wished to create a place in this beautiful village of Sakegawa

that would give children the freedom to learn and grow more spontaneously.

That's when he discovered the forest kindergarten.

It's an educational method developed in Denmark in the 1950s.

Letting children play freely in nature and allowing them to fall down, argue, and make mistakes prepares them for adulthood.

Forest kindergartens also include activities with tools like knives.

Instead of staying away from such dangerous objects,

becoming familiar with their safe use gives the children strength to tackle the challenges of life.

The forest kindergarten is now two years old.

"Good morning."

A boy starts to shave some branches with a knife.

The other children are curious.

The rule of the forest kindergarten is that once they teach the kids the basics on how to use a knife,

adults should be involved as little as possible, and simply watch them work.

Fred believes that keeping children away from the potential danger of knives

deprives them of the opportunity to learn from experience.

The parents have to be brave and trust their kids.

She never uses a knife at home.
I'm a little nervous.

The kids are so focused.

Even if they don't have a shape in mind,
it's fun to just carve away at the wood.

The kids can shape the world according
to their imagination. It feels great.

Yes! You got it?

Nice!

Mana, who's normally very cautious, grabs a knife and gets to work.

Usually, she never tries anything
that scares her.

But here, she participates more actively.

It's nice.

Mana is completely absorbed.

But accidents happen!

Does it hurt?

Oh, I see.

Fortunately, the cut wasn't deep.

And then...

I want to continue.

A bit of disinfectant and she's back at it.

Fred told me she didn't cry, didn't lose
her motivation and kept going.

She's getting stronger!

The kids learn their limits.

They need to gain confidence.
So, we let them try.

Overcoming minor dangers as a child leads to self-confidence in adulthood.

It's a principle Fred strongly values.

Fred lives with his wife Chihiro and their two sons.

At home, the boys take active part in the housework.

Bon appétit!

It's good!

Yummy!

A writer and illustrator of children's books, Chihiro provides an artful contribution to Fred's efforts.

She once worked as a nursery school teacher.

She too witnessed an education system that leaves little time for children to play,

and decided to change her career.

Chihiro's dream is in synch with her husband's motivation behind the forest kindergarten.

He's a nice guy.

We need people like Fred
for new things to be born.

If Chihiro hadn't said that,
we might have left Sakegawa.

You're so important to me.

The following weekend's forest kindergarten is a bit different.

We're digging up vegetables.

It's like a treasure hunt in the snow!

The forest kindergarten also aims to nurture in children the ability to collaborate with others to train them for adult life.

And so today, they're going to dig up vegetables from under the snow.

Vegetables harvested in autumn are preserved in the winter soil to enhance their sweetness and flavor - tried and true snow-country wisdom.

You'll learn how to dig the veggies up.

The gnomes hid them.

Dig for vegetables.
You might even find some gnomes.

One boy, Motoharu, stays apart from the group.

His mother hopes he'll overcome his shyness and make lots of friends.

He becomes shy when he meets new people
or goes to a new place.

I hope he can grow emotionally.

The kids get busy digging up cabbages.

Dig a bit lower.

These two work together to rescue a head of cabbage from under the snow.

Nice work!

Motoharu is having difficulty alone.

Fred quietly watches.

Taisei, a regular participant, comes to offer a hand.

Are there gnomes?

No way.

Maybe there are!

Let's dig here, Motoharu!

No cabbage.

There must be one!

There's one. See?

There it is, Motoharu!

Their combined efforts bore fruit... well, vegetables.

A little taste test.

He doesn't say so, but he likes it.

A successful collaboration well worth the excitement!

Bon appétit!

Hamburg steak prepared with the treasures they found.

Yummy!

Today's experience bolstered the kids' confidence.

We can see their progress.
I'm so happy.

It was exciting for me, too.

I hope my kids will remember
this experience even after they grow up.

If they reach a goal they set,
it gives them confidence...

and enriches their lives.
It's so important.

Fred plans to further expand his scope of activities.

Today, he heads to Kinonezaka, a section of the village deep in the mountains.

Due to the declining population, this area is only inhabited by a total of 25 people.

Fred wants to convert an abandoned school into a new kind of learning center.

Morning! Sorry I'm late.

The idea is to create a place for teenagers to practice a variety of activities including sports and arts to help them find what they love to do.

Wholeheartedly collaborating on the project is Inoue Takashi of the Sakegawa Board of Education, a former student of this elementary school.

The boards are still intact.

The doors were never locked.

The locals would drop by the school...

and chat with the students.

It was a place for kids to connect
with the community, and it will be again.

We do it for the children and also
for the entire community.

It's for the people who love the village.

The people of Sakegawa have put their hopes on this new learning center

to help the cheerful voices of children echo through the village once again.

As always, today at the forest kindergarten, children play freely,

learning from both successes and failures.

Fred continues to teach kids life skills through play.

Grownups think they can build
a better future, but I don't agree.

Children are the ones
who will build the future.

We must value and cherish them.

The forest kindergarten is a way
to ensure a better future for all.

The forest kindergarten keeps on going!

This is where we call home! Waaaaah!

Hi, I'm Than Htun Oo.

I work for a leather processing company
in Tokyo. I apply patterns to leather.

I'll show you my work.

Sumida has a long history
of leather manufacturing in Tokyo.

8:30 a.m.
arriving at work.

This 70-year-old leather company
employs a staff of 30 workers.

Htun applies patterns to the leather,
one of the firm's specialties.

This is pig leather.

We apply a film, process it...

and add another layer of film on top.

He sets the pressure,
temperature and speed.

Heat transfers the pattern
onto the leather.

It takes three workers to prevent
wrinkles and warping.

After the leather has cooled,
the film is peeled off.

I find the settings I think
will work perfectly.

So, when it does come out perfect,
it feels great.

The leather Htun works on is used
for shoes, accessories and apparel.

The orders can at times be complicated.

This leather still retains a lot of fat
to make softer, comfortable shoes.

Because of the fat, the silver film
doesn't adhere very well.

The order is for leather with
a glittery pattern of silver foil.

The fat causes the silver film
to come off.

It lacks shine.

Not very glittery.

I've worked hard on this...

over the past week.

Luckily, there's someone Htun
can turn to for advice.

Each piece of leather differs slightly.

The film applies evenly on some,
but not on others. It's tricky.

That's leather.

To make sure the silver foil sticks
to the fattier leather...

the pressure and time are adjusted
for each piece.

This is OK.

It's nice.

We want to give the client
a product of the best quality.

So, when it doesn't come out nicely,
I'm so upset I can't sleep at night.

Htun studied ICT
in university in Myanmar.

He found work at a Japanese
IT-related company.

Realizing he didn't like working
at a desk, he quit after a week.

In 2010, he found his current employer
which hired many non-Japanese.

In 2018, he married a woman from Myanmar.
They have a four-year-old son.

This is our president, Sato Taiji.

Since Htun joined, we could significantly
expand the lineup in our showroom.

He contributes a lot.

When applying the film, he slightly
adjusts the way he works...

to make sure the finish is beautiful.

He's a great help.

It's the product of many, many failures.

We went to Italy together to try
and purchase new machinery.

We learned much.

It was a lot of work.

Together they work to add original
pattern designs for the leather.

My treasure is my car.

It keeps our family safe
when we leave every morning.

Htun had dreamed of buying a car
after coming to Japan.

It wasn't expensive...
Actually, it was.

My wife saw I liked it. She said,
'We should buy things we like.'

She said, 'I'll work hard, too.'
I'm grateful.