Serious play raises the bar for all abilities.

The attitude toward play is completely positive.
Serious play cultivates the strength to take on challenges and overcome them.

When leisure operators who specialize in accepting children get together, they share heroic tales and compete over stories of the growth of the children they have hosted.
Here are some examples of such cases.

A middle school student who became a leader

A middle school student who became the leader of their group at a 10-day children's camp.
As a leader, they also had to take care of the elementary school students.
Did they prepare their change of clothes? Did they wash their dishes? Did they clean up their trash?
There are many things that require attention.
Beyond these tasks, the true goal is for everyone to have fun, so the essence is: Is everyone laughing? Are they playing seriously?
To achieve the essence of the goal without wavering, this wonderful middle school student led the group by raising their voice and having fun in earnest. Once summer vacation ended and the new semester arrived, they ran for student council. They became a member of the beautification committee, took charge of cleaning and tidying up, and devoted themselves to making the school's greenery beautiful.
They grew into a person who creates the beauty they were moved by in nature within the school, and who communicates and leads others toward that excellence.
I received a report from their mother, filled with joy and sometimes even tearful.

A middle school student who enjoys challenges

A middle school student who paddled a boat.
For ordinary children, everything about rowing a boat is a challenge.
They learn the feel of it while rowing with all their might and improve.
However, various water currents await them ahead.
Water hits rocks and creates sharp turns, there are white-foaming rapids, the paddle doesn't move when stuck in the foam, and the boat's direction changes on its own downstream of rocks...
The exact same situation never happens twice, and once you are on the river, you cannot go back, so you need the spirit to keep challenging yourself.
They challenge themselves where the water flows and repeat practice in calm areas.
A child who has overcome such drama is undoubtedly filled with confidence.

And six months later, they passed the entrance exam for a school one level higher than their original goal.
Confidence is gained, and self-esteem is heightened.
This is something you obtain as a result of engaging in something seriously and wholeheartedly.
Children who know the excitement of overcoming obstacles learn to feel excited about their goals.
Since their spirit toward play is positive, their growth is the fastest.

Elementary school students who played seriously

Elementary school students who enjoyed serious play.
Children who used to say it's hot, there are bugs, I'm getting wet, it's cold...
They played in a small mountain stream with cold water, got soaked chasing trout, caught them, and grilled them with salt.
Elementary school students who enjoyed themselves seriously had a change in the sparkle of their eyes, and grew to challenge anything they became interested in.

And then summer came again.
They showed me they had grown into completely different people.
The challenge begins the moment they enter the river wearing a life jacket.
At first, they just float, but soon they start swimming, looking into the water to chase fish, and finding places with currents to play at being swept along.
By the end of the day, they are jumping into rapids that even adults hesitate to enter, with excited faces, and floating down with a smile.
Their athletic ability is incomparable to how they were before.
With vastly improved physical ability, they perform front flips when jumping in. I've never seen a 7-year-old like this!

Since that previous experience, they have enjoyed moving their bodies and excel in physical education class.
Their parents happily told me that this athletic ability was acquired simply by playing actively in daily life, without joining any gymnastics clubs.

Raising the bar for all abilities.

If you challenge yourself, your abilities improve.
Everyone probably knows that.
However,did you know that the content of the challenge doesn't matter?

The confidence gained by challenging yourself raises the bar for all your abilities!

This is because your self-esteem skyrockets.
That challenge produces dramatically greater results if it is fun.
Serious play means your heart is positive from the start and overflowing with a desire to improve.
You can immediately make your eyes sparkle and spend the whole day with that sparkle.
By preparing such a world, a child's heart grows strong.

A little PR

Providing smiles through outdoor leisure for 35 years.
Now, we also accept various children, including those who are truant, socially withdrawn, or have developmental disabilities, and we enjoy the joy of seeing smiles and confidence overflow and hearts grow.

However, unless adults change, the essence of children will not change.
At the 'Heart-Nurturing Play School' that I operate, after adults learn the secrets of how hearts grow through serious play, they enjoy serious play as a family.
Children who have obtained shining smiles together with their families feel fulfilled with love.
This is the first step necessary to grow self-esteem.
The second step is for children to play seriously with each other, using that power of love as a source.
When they laugh seriously in the society of children, they grow by repeating the kind of growth written in the examples themselves.

Aero Cruise Co., Ltd.
Representative Director Toyoharu Kobayashi