Reggio Emilia Tag

03 Dec

Published on December 3, 2015 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  In the Reggio Emilia schools, they say children have 100 languages. They don’t mean languages in our usual sense of the word, but symbolic languages through which children express their questions and ideas about the world. The Reggio educational philosophy goes beyond speaking, writing and numbers to encourage pre-school children to illustrate their thinking through drawing, painting, sculpture, dance, dramatic play, construction with all sorts of materials, gestures, music, physical activity, map-making, etc. All are...

28 May

Published on May 28, 2015 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

Reggio Emilia burst upon the early childhood scene in 1991 when Newsweek described their schools in Northern Italy as “the best early childhood experience in the world.” Suddenly educators everywhere were studying their philosophies and practices. There was a lot to study: books, videos, tours to the schools, conferences led by Reggio educators in the U.S. Throughout, the Italians told us, “Don’t try to copy us. You have to find your own projects based in your...

08 Jan

Published on January 8, 2015 in Marianne's Early Childhood Column by

  Parents wonder what they can do to help their children become successful learners. There are certain “mind sets” that are important for young children to develop which will help them considerably later on. One is known as “hypothesis testing.” Children have a lot of questions about the world. Often they make a wrong assumption about why something happens. You can provide the correct explanation, but a better way is not to provide an immediate answer. Rather,...