The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education which values the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it.
Background
The Reggio Emilia Approach originated in a town called Reggio Emilia and is unique to the town. you wont find any textbooks or methodology. It is not a method. There are no international training colleges to train to be a Reggio Emilia teacher. you can only use an adaptation of the approach to suit the specific needs of your setting or your community. your setting will differ from ay other settings around you because the families and the children you welcome are different.
Children are capable of constructing their own learning
as a rule, children want to understand and know more. They follow their own little agenda as far as their learning is concerned because they are driven by their interests.
When interacting with others, children understand their place in the world, understand who they are.
There is a strong focus on social collaboration, working in groups, where each child is an equal participant, having their thoughts and questions valued. The adult is not the giver of knowledge. Children search out the knowledge through their own investigations.
Children are communicators
Communication is a process and children are encouraged to investigate and explore using language. They are listened to and any questions they may have are investigated in a collaborative process: children ask the question and the adult help them to find the answers by themselves.
The environment is the third teacher
The environment is recognised for its potential to inspire children.
The environment must inspire the children. it must be well lit, ordered and beautiful. Each material has a purpose and every coner designed is ever-evolving along with the interests of the children.
The environment must inspire the children. it must be well lit, ordered and beautiful. Each material has a purpose and every coner designed is ever-evolving along with the interests of the children.
The adult is a mentor and guide
Our role as adults is to observe (our) children, listen to their questions and their stories, find what interests them and then provide them with opportunities to explore these interests further.
The Reggio Emilia Approach takes a child-led project approach. The projects aren’t planned in advanced, they emerge based on the child’s interests.
An emphasis on documenting children’s thoughts
You’ll notice in Reggio and Reggio-inspired settings that there is an emphasis on carefully displaying and documenting children’s thoughts and progression of thinking; making their thoughts visible in many different ways: photographs, transcripts of children’s thoughts and explanations, visual representations (drawings, sculptures etc.), all designed to show the child’s learning process.
The Hundred Languages of Children
Probably the most well-known aspect of the Reggio Emilia Approach. The belief that children use many many different ways to show their understanding and express their thoughts and creativity.
A hundred different ways of thinking, of discovering, of learning. Through drawing and sculpting, through dance and movement, through painting and pretend play, through modelling and music, and that each one of these Hundred Languages must be valued and nurtured.
These languages, or ways of learning, are all a part of the child. Learning and play are not separated.
The Reggio Emilia Approach emphasises hands-on discovery learning that allows the child to use all their senses and all their languages to learn.
