Reggio Emilia

Our Approach

Our curriculum is based on the Reggio Emilia Approach and includes a combination of exploration, creative expression, practice of everyday tasks, and small-group cooperative efforts. Children are encouraged to learn by exploring their environment using their senses. Teachers are guides who create classrooms full of opportunities for stimulation, the use of challenging materials, and fun activities. Children are encouraged to repeat key experiences, observe and re-observe, consider and reconsider, represent and re-present. Teachers are responsive to the children’s interests and are highly sensitive to topics that capture children’s imagination.

History of the Reggio Emilia Curriculum

Reggio Emilia is a town in Northern Italy with a population of about 150,000.

Immediately after World War II, citizens decided to collectively invest their time and efforts into establishing quality public preschools with the goal of creating a sense of hope in their war-torn community. From the beginning, the establishment of schools in Reggio Emilia were different because of their centralized image of the child as being competent, engaged citizens. The establishment and expansion of schools for young children in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy was predominantly pioneered by a man named Loris Malaguzzi, who was a middle school teacher with a strong background in psychology. As the curriculum developed, it possessed inspiration from various sources, including: American and European standards for progressive education, Piagetian constructivist beliefs, Italian postwar left-reform politics and participatory democracy.

In 1963, the city assumed funding for these schools which aided in their expansion across parts of Italy. Now there are currently more than 30 preschools and infant-toddler centers offering full-day care and social service support for families in Reggio Emilia. Present-day, educators around the world practice teaching in a Reggio Emilia-inspired fashion, with schools established in numerous European countries, the United States, Canada, China and Australia. Hundreds of educators visit the sacred city of Reggio Emilia, Italy to better connect themselves to the well-known educational philosophy and gain a deeper understanding of how these schools came to be.

Reggio Emilia in the Classroom

There is no certification for educators who choose to engage with children in a Reggio Emilia-inspired fashion. Rather, it is a lifestyle choice, a commitment to viewing children as strong, capable and competent individuals who have endless contributions to share with their world.

Taken from Reggio Emilia at NAEYC by Penny Fahlman: The renowned public preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy emphasize the following concepts:

Emergent Curriculum

The emergent curriculum builds upon the interests of children. Topics for study are captured from the talk and play of children. It requires the teachers to observe, document, and brainstorm. The teachers then work together for possible directions of a project, the materials needed and possible parent and community support and involvement based on what they learn from the children.

Daily Documentation

Documenting children’s daily experiences and ongoing projects gives interpretation to all that the children do. It is through documentation that the teachers are able to gain insight into the thoughts and feelings of the children, determine further investigation for working on topics, create a history of the work, and generate further interest. Other benefits of documentation are a better understanding of children, opportunities to evaluate children’s work, making parents aware of children’s experiences, a venue for children to recall and value their own work and the process of that work, facilitating communication and an exchange of ideas among other teaching professionals.

Environment as the Third Teacher

The environment is considered the “third teacher”. Teachers carefully organize the space for small and large group projects and small intimate spaces for one or multiple children. Documentation of children’s work, plants, and collections that children created are displayed both at the children’s and adult's eye level. Space is available to all children with dramatic play areas, a space for art, and work tables for children to explore materials. Other supportive elements of the environment include ample space for supplies, frequently rearranged to draw attention to their aesthetic features. The environment should bear homelike features and be reflective of the children occupying it.

Children, Parents, and Teachers as Partners

Teachers, parents, and the environment are a trio of active protagonists who collectively work together to support the development of the child. Parents are viewed as partners, collaborators, and advocates for their children. Teachers respect parents as each child’s first teacher and involve parents in aspects of the curriculum whenever possible. It is not uncommon to see parents volunteering within Reggio Emilia classrooms.

Teachers as Learners

The teacher’s role within the Reggio Approach has many sides. The role of the teacher is first and foremost to be that of a learner alongside the children. The teacher is a teacher-researcher, a resource, and a guide. Teachers carefully listen, observe and document children’s work and the growth of community in their classroom and provoke, co-construct, and stimulate thinking and children’s collaboration with their peers. Teachers become skilled observers of children in order to inform their curriculum planning and implementation. Teachers often work in groups where they share responsibilities and learn together under the spontaneous children’s activities.

The Hundred Languages of Children

Children have one hundred languages and they want to use all of them. As children explore their environment, they express themselves through a multitude of ways including drawing, sculpture, dramatic play, writing, communicative and cognitive languages including words, movement, painting, building, shadow play, collage, and music. As children work through problems and ideas, they are encouraged to depict their understanding using many different representations. As their thinking evolves, they are encouraged to revisit their representation to determine if they are representative of their intent or if they require modification. Teachers and children work together towards an expressed intent.