Philosophy

Our philosophy is to create a love of learning. We are deeply inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach. Through play, your child will explore, interact, investigate and experiment through planned experiences set up in the classroom as learning centres. Our image of the child aligns with one of the underlying principles of Reggio Emilia, in which we see the child as 'rich in potential, strong, powerful, competent, and most of all connected to adults and other children' (Malaguzzi, 1993, p. 10). Educators work alongside the children and their natural curiosity to observe and develop in-depth investigations that reflect and are built upon authentic interests of the children, making their preschool experience fun, exciting and relevant to them and their world. Educators extend and expand these interests to create deep, meaningful learning opportunities which lay the foundation for future learning.

Guiding Belief

It would be well for the teacher of young children to keep in mind the word 'Kindergarten' - thinking of the classroom as a 'Childgarden'. The gardener does not try to pattern her plants; she accepts their differences in growth and design. She protects them, nurtures them, but lets them do their own growing. She does not poke at the seed to make it sprout more quickly, or try to pull open the first buds. In a child care center we will see as many varieties of children as there are flowers, each one interesting and beautiful in its own right". - Kindergarten - [Mid-19th century. < German, “children’s garden"

Incorporating the Reggio Emilia Approach

Many experts have hailed the Reggio Emilia approach as an exemplary system for helping children develop strong thinking skills. The primary goal of this method is to create learning conditions that help children develop these abilities through exposure to all matter of expressive, communicative, and cognitive experiences.

Seven guiding principles work together to meet this objective:

1. Emergent Curriculum

Topics for study are built on the interests of the children, determined by discussions with the class and their families, and by areas that fascinate many children, such as puddles or dinosaurs. Teachers use these observations to decide what projects are best suited to the interests of the class, what materials will be needed, and how they can get parents, or possibly even the community, involved.

2. Project Work

Children participate in in-depth studies of concepts, ideas, and interests. Projects can vary in duration from a week or two, several months or even the entire school year. Teachers stand by as advisors to the group, helping them decide what directions they should take their research in, how they should represent what they learn, and what materials would be best suited for this representation.

3. Representational Development / The 100 Languages of Children

Teachers present new ideas and concepts in multiple forms, such as print, art, drama, music, puppetry, etc. These variations are considered essential in making sure that all children, who have many different styles of learning and communication skills, have the opportunity to explore, engage and experiment in ways that ignite their curiosity.

4. Collaboration - Working Together with Children, Families, Educators, Community

Groups both large and small are encouraged to work together to solve problems using dialogue, comparisons, negotiations, and other important interpersonal skills. Each child’s voice should be heard within the group to promote the balance between a sense of belonging and a sense of self.

Connection between home, school and community are deeply valued and opportunities to build relationships and collaboration are plentiful. We believe “it takes a village to raise a child” (Anonymous), and our role at Childgarden Preschool is to build authentic relationships that support the child and family.

5. Documentation / Pedagogical Narration

Documentation is another facet of the Reggio Emilia approach. Through multiple forms such as photos, video, digital recordings and notes, observations are collected and reflected on. These can be self reflection, and / or between educators, with children, and families. These reflections and interpretations of the child’s experiences help both educators and parents learn more about how children respond to certain experiences, helps shine light on what a child might be curious about and the learning that is happening beneath the play.

6. Environment

The environment itself is referred to as the “third teacher” in Reggio Emilia schools. Great care is taken in constructing an environment that allows for explorations of various interests with ease. Reflecting the outdoors inside the class, Interesting items, plants, and animals are common. Whether we are inside the classroom, in our yard, in the community or in the Forest, the environment plays a major role. Conversations about surroundings and materials and the observations within this environment, play a key role.

7. Role of the Teacher

The role of the teacher is that of a collaborator and researcher with the children. The teacher’s role is to set up a classroom environment that is interesting for the children and provokes discussions and questions.

The constant observations of the teachers are a very important part of developing the curriculum. Analyzing conversations, and questions of the children, photos and video, provide the teachers with information about what the children are interested in learning or exploring. What do they have questions about? What are their theories? This is the basis for projects that the children will explore which will last as long as the interest is sustained. The teacher’s role will be to break down a topic into simple questions, and have the children explore.

The curriculum is built upon and extended so that the learning is deep, relevant, and meaningful. The teachers look for ways a topic can be extended in the classroom in other ways such as art, painting, drawing, clay representation, collage or drama, music, books, and photos. Literacy, science, socials, math, and art intertwine as a topic is explored, captivating the children, as these are topics that they are interested in are not chosen by teachers because of a calendar or convenience.

References:

Malaguzzi, L. (1993a). For an education based on relationships. Young Children, 49 (1), 9–12.