Reggio Emilia Preschool
Reggio Emilia Preschool: Helping Children to Develop By Rewarding Curiosity
Our Values : We believe that children begin to form their individual identities and personalities during early development and must be given the chance to make the most of their natural potential. Our Reggio Emilia preschool curriculum reflects these beliefs. Within the classroom, children are invited and encouraged to work on their abilities by interacting with others and their environment. We provide a curriculum centered on the values of community, responsibility and respect, fostering the emergence of our young students as good, intelligent and capable citizens of the world.
Our Goals and Methods : Within a Reggio classroom, children have the right to share in directing their learning and to have opportunities to use their many "languages” of expression. Instead of having information dictated to them, they learn through working and playing with their peers, through moving, experiencing, observing and listening. Through a series of projects, they grow into roles as "little scientists” and become accustomed to forming their own hypotheses, asking questions and discussing their observations and ideas. As the primary teachers of their own children, parents are often included in activities and are kept aware of their children’s progress. Teachers communicate and work with the parents of their students to make sure each child is able to fully realize his/her potential. This theme of community extends to children who also learn that they are interconnected with other children and are vital members of a shared social structure.
Benefits : Children benefit from this inter connectedness, from learning from the environment, their teachers, their peers and their own self-led investigations and explorations of the world around them. Because their teachers encourage them to express their thoughts and help to introduce subjects of learning that draw their interest, they become confident members of their community and develop their initial curiosity into a thirst for knowledge and ability to question, learn and understand.
