Kodomo, Loveland

Hello! I am Miho Akizuki, the owner of Kodomo. I am from Osaka, Japan. Kodomo literally translates to “child” in Japanese, which is my native language. I attended Colorado State University in 1996. My concentration was Early Childhood Development. In 2000, I returned to CSU and completed the Early Childhood Education teacher licensing program. I worked at the CSU Early Childhood Center for 10 years. I also worked with children in Japan for a couple of years. When teaching children, I love the moments when I see their bright, curious faces. I love seeing them motivated, and eager to explore and share their findings with me. It is so satisfying when they exclaim: “Miho! Look! Look!” I believe children should be respected the way we adults like to be respected. The most important element of my teaching is accepting and listening to their feelings. Regardless of whether they are happy, sad, or angry, I like to be available to them and treat them the way I would like to be treated. While Reggio Emilia is child centered and child led, the children at Kodomo are still at the beginning their learning journey. So we will show them many doors that they can choose to open. We will support whichever doors they pick, and empower their exploration by providing materials and a space to use or experiment with them. Our goal is to make learning fun and interactive so the children will become socially capable, and look forward to learning throughout their lives.