The Reggio Emilia Philosophy

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is inspired by the world-renowned schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Our image of the child as a naturally capable and motivated learner, who works towards balancing the rights of self and others, guides our pedagogy.We believe in the importance of fostering 21st century skills, including critical thinking and reasoning, collaboration, self-direction, invention and informational literacy. Learning in a Little Reds classroom is brought to life through the collaboration of the child, teacher and classroom. Children have the freedom to navigate their learning, teachers have the flexibility to cultivate meaningful experiences and the classroom environment has boundless inspiration. Our classrooms are carefully and methodically structured to strengthen your child's aptitude and competence to enter elementary school. 

Social-Emotional Development
In addition to academics, Little Reds also emphasizes both social-emotional development and physical education. Social-emotional development focuses on the child’s increasing capacity to understand and regulate emotions, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships with peers and adults and make responsible decisions. By playing and working with each other, children practice their social skills with guidance and support from adults and peers.

The Foundation of Reggio Emilia:

  1. Strong Image of the Child – All children have preparedness, potential, curiosity and interest in constructing their learning by negotiating with everything their environment brings to them.
  2. The Child as a Collaborator – Our teachers focus on each child in relation to other children, their family, the teachers and the community rather than each child in an isolated learning environment. We appreciate the forming of the child through their interactions with not only their peers, but with adults and materials found in our natural world.
  3. The Child as Communicator – Languages come in many forms: words, music, movement, drawing, painting, building sculpture, shadow play, collage, dramatic play and more. We encourage the children’s need to communicate what they know and understand in all forms to make their thinking visible and tangible.
  4. The Environment as the Third Teacher – The design and use of spaces both inside and outside encourages encounters, communication and relationships with a respect for the child’s emotional and intellectual development.
  5. Teachers as a Partner, Nurturer and Guide – Our teachers facilitate children’s exploration of themes in both short and long-term projects while also guiding experiences to encourage open ended discovery and problem-solving. The teachers use the children as a basis to plan curriculum by asking questions and listening to the children’s ideas.
  6. Teachers as Researchers – Our entire teaching staff works together to collaborate on the curriculum ongoing between the different classrooms.
  7. Parents as Partners – Parents are encouraged to become active members of the children’s learning experience. The exchange of ideas between parents and teachers supports the development of all children in the classroom.
  8. Documentation – Teachers’ commentary on the activities, learning processes and transcriptions of children’s verbal language are artfully crafted to help keep parents aware of their school experience and show the children that their work is valued.


FAQ

“It's necessary that we believe that the child is very intelligent, that the child is strong and beautiful and has very ambitious desires and requests. This is the image of the child that we need to hold.” Loris Malaguzzi