The Reggio... Experience

Finally, after a very busy summer and in the midst of a move, I'm finally posting my Reggio Presentation from last year. Click on the title for the link to the slides. Hope you find it helpful in explaining some of the mystery behind Reggio as well as a bit of its history.

The Reggio Emilia Experience...

Exploring The Wonder of Learning Reggio Exhibit

What I noticed:

- The arts were embraced and always incorporated into inquiries.

- Educators mostly observed students and said very little.

- Authentic learning experiences occur in conjunction with the community; students' drawings of "sound machines" actually became real with the help of a local carpenter 

- Writing was incorporated in all inquiries in artistic ways; i.e.  Students were encouraged to illustrate the sounds and dances. 

- They used whole rooms to begin explorations and drew inquiries based on the students' dialogue and interaction in the spaces.

--There was room of columns where they explored movement and created a dance.

--The stairwell was a place to investigate sound

-- Light is explored through an entire room and overhead projectors were used with many different materials. 

What I wondered:

- how did educators guide inquiries; how did they move them along and build their vocabulary and understanding? 

- - what books they may have read for certain inquiries?

-- what questions did they ask?

-- how could I integrate more French into inquiries with their limited vocabulary? 

Possible Next steps:

- Invite parents into the classroom to share experiences, bring more authentic learning and build community 

- Create our own overhead projector and  workspace to explore light with mirror and various loose parts

- Group art projects:

--large floor canvases of materials to explore prior to using in art

-- provide different materials of same colour and create own art square and then put them all together

-Make more space to allow students to bring in natural objects and create art

 --investigate colour and texture by grinding up old leaves in different consistencies to create paint

-- pebble art project - create art outside by building with pebbles then reflect together on what they see in it.

A Snapshot of the Reggio Approach

Having finished my Kindergarten course a year ago, it is long overdue to share a few insights I gained.  I didn't end up reading the Hundred Languages of Children in depth; however, I did discover a lot of the history behind the Reggio Approach, some key components, and some excellent resources. I must say, having taught Kindergarten for a couple years, it was really fascinating to see the connections between the new Kindergarten practices promoted in the Ontario Full-Day Kindergarten Program (2010) and the Reggio Approach, which began so many years ago shortly after World War II. Unfortunately during my trip to Italy last summer I was so busy I wasn't able to fit a extra day trip to Reggio but lucky for me the Reggio exhibit is touring in Toronto this summer and I'll be making a stop there next week!  Also, I'm excited to read more about Reggio practices in Authentic Childhood, an excellence resource I only glanced over last summer. When I return home next week I will attach my slides from my Reggio presentation from last summer.