"Can we take apart a human heart and look inside?" That's what a student asked me while we were discussing next steps for our investigation into anatomy and organic systems. As a rational adult, my mind immediately jumped to all the ways such a request could go terribly wrong. Like most sane people, the first... Continue Reading →
Like all people, preschool teachers are really bad at a lot of things. From the activities we design to the words we say to the way we behave, teachers bungle something on a daily basis. Speaking for myself, I don't dance, which as a preschool teacher, is a pretty big deal. It takes a lot... Continue Reading →
The forest is beautiful, fascinating, green, and full of hopes; there are no paths. Although it isn’t easy, we have to make our own paths, as teachers and children and families, in the forest. Sometimes we find ourselves together within the forest, sometimes we may get lost from each other, sometimes we’ll greet each other... Continue Reading →
Documentation is one of the most crucial aspects of our experience as Reggio-inspired early childhood educators. It is the foundation upon which best practice, strong pedagogy, and personal relationships are constructed. Taking the time to document the things children say and do is one of the primary ways we show students that we consider them... Continue Reading →
As educators, the words we use have incredible power. Our everyday language is an essential and sometimes overlooked component of the classroom environment, and as such it necessitates a certain degree of vigilance. How we speak to children, and especially how we speak about children, can have a profound impact on the way students behave. ... Continue Reading →
Almost any teacher will tell you that pedagogical documentation is invaluable. Inside and outside the classroom, it has a tremendous number of uses encompassing everything from assessment to curriculum development to perpetuating the cycle of inquiry. In many ways, honest and meticulously collected documentation can become a sort of guidance system for the trajectory of... Continue Reading →
Treating children with respect is one of the most fundamental aspects of teaching in the Reggio Way. While it manifests itself in all kinds of different ways, often times the simplest way to convey respect to children is by really listening to what they say, and also acknowledging that what they say is often exactly... Continue Reading →
To me, working in the Reggio Way is all about a sense of community. Students learning in a Reggio-inspired classroom need to feel like they belong there, almost like the environment is a second home for them. They need to feel respected, free to express themselves, and safe to take risks and make mistakes. But... Continue Reading →
Without Windows 