I don't get this Reggio thing...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Reggio Approach only exists in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Anywhere else, teachers are using a Reggio inspired approach. No one can replicate exactly what they do in Reggio because the approach depends on the community and culture it exists in. If you go to a training anywhere but Reggio, you are seeing the approach as it is adapted for their community and culture plus you may be seeing things that aren't truly Reggio inspired (i.e. common misconceptions about the approach).

Brought to you by the Reggio Board of Tourism.

Even taking what you say as true, it would make no sense for an American teacher to go to Italy to learn the true Reggio ways since that is dependent on Italian culture. Given that the teachers would be teaching in America, it doesn't help to learn system dependent on a foreign culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

Then who cares what "method" they use? As long as you're happy with what the children are doing, and your child is happy being there, then who cares if it's reggio, emergent curriculum, play-based, academic, or whatever? I don't understand why you, and others, are so hung up on the term Reggio when you appear to think the concept is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

Then who cares what "method" they use? As long as you're happy with what the children are doing, and your child is happy being there, then who cares if it's reggio, emergent curriculum, play-based, academic, or whatever? I don't understand why you, and others, are so hung up on the term Reggio when you appear to think the concept is fine.

...because my kid spends 9 hours per day there. I'd like to understand it, and I don't.

[Anonymous]

Mine will be spending 6.5 in Reggio soon. Hope he likes it. Don't really care for any philosophy. I wish they'd get a lot of socializing and recess in prek4. Teachers can sit around and just watch for all I care.
Don't need any letters or numbers to be shown or taught to him. He already knows them somehow and we'll gladly slow down the academics. He is interested in other kids and likes a set schedule he can follow: welcome to school,
play, singing-dancing-exercise-arts or what have you, lunch, quiet time, more play, the end. Not sure what curriculum that is or what philosophy. Don't need it to be called anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine will be spending 6.5 in Reggio soon. Hope he likes it. Don't really care for any philosophy. I wish they'd get a lot of socializing and recess in prek4. Teachers can sit around and just watch for all I care.
Don't need any letters or numbers to be shown or taught to him. He already knows them somehow and we'll gladly slow down the academics. He is interested in other kids and likes a set schedule he can follow: welcome to school,
play, singing-dancing-exercise-arts or what have you, lunch, quiet time, more play, the end. Not sure what curriculum that is or what philosophy. Don't need it to be called anything.

Don't care about full sentences. Too cool to care. Hope kid has fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

The schedule is the same (at least at my Reggio inspired preschool). It’s the environment/ classroom and hiwnthr teachers interact with the kids during free play and activities that is different.

For example - when my son was at Bright Horizons they would make construction paper snow men. Each child was given cutout pieces and a glue stick and shown the “right” way to make it. At his Reggio school they talk about snow and then some kids may choose to paint actual snow with food color while others go out in the snow and collect branches and leaves to paint with. Some other kids still might go to the atelier and get “loose parts” to build a snowman from boxes and recycled materials and paint it when they are finished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

The schedule is the same (at least at my Reggio inspired preschool). It’s the environment/ classroom and hiwnthr teachers interact with the kids during free play and activities that is different.

For example - when my son was at Bright Horizons they would make construction paper snow men. Each child was given cutout pieces and a glue stick and shown the “right” way to make it. At his Reggio school they talk about snow and then some kids may choose to paint actual snow with food color while others go out in the snow and collect branches and leaves to paint with. Some other kids still might go to the atelier and get “loose parts” to build a snowman from boxes and recycled materials and paint it when they are finished.

If OP doesn’t get it after reading this example, then I have lost hope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

The schedule is the same (at least at my Reggio inspired preschool). It’s the environment/ classroom and hiwnthr teachers interact with the kids during free play and activities that is different.

For example - when my son was at Bright Horizons they would make construction paper snow men. Each child was given cutout pieces and a glue stick and shown the “right” way to make it. At his Reggio school they talk about snow and then some kids may choose to paint actual snow with food color while others go out in the snow and collect branches and leaves to paint with. Some other kids still might go to the atelier and get “loose parts” to build a snowman from boxes and recycled materials and paint it when they are finished.

If OP doesn’t get it after reading this example, then I have lost hope.

Thanks! I'll see if I can get more feedback from my center. I did have the opportunity to view their yoga class today. While absolutely adorable, it did not look at all "child led". One child was directed aside for fooling around and not being ready to participate. All the kids were directed to pay attention and do the poses the yoga instructor was teaching, even if they didn't seem totally interested. Personally, I am fine with that - my kid needs a little pushing to go with the group, otherwise he totally does his own thing. (He'd actually really benefit from Montessori IMO). But anyway, while I really enjoyed watching the yoga class, it did not seem at all like a child-driven experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

The schedule is the same (at least at my Reggio inspired preschool). It’s the environment/ classroom and hiwnthr teachers interact with the kids during free play and activities that is different.

For example - when my son was at Bright Horizons they would make construction paper snow men. Each child was given cutout pieces and a glue stick and shown the “right” way to make it. At his Reggio school they talk about snow and then some kids may choose to paint actual snow with food color while others go out in the snow and collect branches and leaves to paint with. Some other kids still might go to the atelier and get “loose parts” to build a snowman from boxes and recycled materials and paint it when they are finished.

If OP doesn’t get it after reading this example, then I have lost hope.

Thanks! I'll see if I can get more feedback from my center. I did have the opportunity to view their yoga class today. While absolutely adorable, it did not look at all "child led". One child was directed aside for fooling around and not being ready to participate. All the kids were directed to pay attention and do the poses the yoga instructor was teaching, even if they didn't seem totally interested. Personally, I am fine with that - my kid needs a little pushing to go with the group, otherwise he totally does his own thing. (He'd actually really benefit from Montessori IMO). But anyway, while I really enjoyed watching the yoga class, it did not seem at all like a child-driven experience.

OP- some centers may say they are Reggio in theory but don’t do so well in application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

The schedule is the same (at least at my Reggio inspired preschool). It’s the environment/ classroom and hiwnthr teachers interact with the kids during free play and activities that is different.

For example - when my son was at Bright Horizons they would make construction paper snow men. Each child was given cutout pieces and a glue stick and shown the “right” way to make it. At his Reggio school they talk about snow and then some kids may choose to paint actual snow with food color while others go out in the snow and collect branches and leaves to paint with. Some other kids still might go to the atelier and get “loose parts” to build a snowman from boxes and recycled materials and paint it when they are finished.

If OP doesn’t get it after reading this example, then I have lost hope.

Thanks! I'll see if I can get more feedback from my center. I did have the opportunity to view their yoga class today. While absolutely adorable, it did not look at all "child led". One child was directed aside for fooling around and not being ready to participate. All the kids were directed to pay attention and do the poses the yoga instructor was teaching, even if they didn't seem totally interested. Personally, I am fine with that - my kid needs a little pushing to go with the group, otherwise he totally does his own thing. (He'd actually really benefit from Montessori IMO). But anyway, while I really enjoyed watching the yoga class, it did not seem at all like a child-driven experience.

OP- some centers may say they are Reggio in theory but don’t do so well in application.

Understood, but the director is so proud of it - she says "They are not just playing...what we are doing here is a science." I want to understand.

[Anonymous]

I taught at a school on the west coast which practiced a Reggio Emilia philosophy and also visited the city in Italy as a work related study. A school which truly understands this methodologie will have a deep understanding of the innate curiously of children and how to honor that. They also follow the practice of the environment as the third teacher which translates to a true devotion to a thoughtfully and beautifully put together environment that allows children to truly explore with accessible materials that are more open ended. So yes it is about playing but teachers act more like guides observing children playing and building a curriculum around their interests and discoveries rather than some random theme. For me what sets apart a true Reggio program is a beautiful environment and the atelier... you can look that up to learn more.

Perhaps you should do some reading beyond DCUM. In The meantime...
If you read the post above, it’s NOT all play. It’s about infusing the curriculum and following the kids’ lead. For example, if the kids are playing in the dramatic play area in the classroom and become engaged by creating their own pet hospital, the teacher could then take that lead. So when choosing a read aloud, she might select books about animals and taking care of them. They might write a book together about animal care. In math, they might be studying geometry and the concept of longer than, shorter than, etc. The teacher might use the stuffed animals from the “pet hospital” the students created as objects for students to measure with nonstandard units and then compare. The following year, the teacher is still going to teach math and reading and writing. But it may have nothing whatsoever to do with a pet hospital because that’s not what the kids are interested in.
Does that make sense?

The second quoted paragraph gives some examples of how it might look in a Reggio inspired school. Child led doesn't mean the children lead (decide) everything, rather the teacher uses the children's interest to teach things like literacy, math, science, etc. Interested children are more engaged in learning.

[Anonymous]

My son attends a reggio daycare. I haven't particularly tried hard to understand it, mostly because I love his daycare and (more importantly) he does too. My two big takeaways are that the place is absolutely beautiful, and that my two-year-old uses the words "piazza" and "provocation" a lot.

[Anonymous]

My kids were in a certified reggio-inspired program at an expensive, hard to get a spot at DC preschool, and... I wasn't bowled over. I do think one kid had a particularly weak head teacher, which is probably more about her, and the school letting her be there, than Reggio as intended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids were in a certified reggio-inspired program at an expensive, hard to get a spot at DC preschool, and... I wasn't bowled over. I do think one kid had a particularly weak head teacher, which is probably more about her, and the school letting her be there, than Reggio as intended.

Certified by whom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello this is OP. (My first response). I read all the answers and still don't see get it. Most of the posts were similar to what I read on the internet. I am not trying to diss it, I just don't understand it in application. Montessori is easy to conceptualize. Maybe I will ask my center for a proper tour (we registers sight unseen as we were overseas) and the director can point out examples of Reggio tools. We were in a DOD daycare facility before this and it seems absolutely the same (free play, breakfast, circle time, outdoor time, snack, activity, lunch, nap, outdoor time, snack, etc).

The schedule is the same (at least at my Reggio inspired preschool). It’s the environment/ classroom and hiwnthr teachers interact with the kids during free play and activities that is different.

For example - when my son was at Bright Horizons they would make construction paper snow men. Each child was given cutout pieces and a glue stick and shown the “right” way to make it. At his Reggio school they talk about snow and then some kids may choose to paint actual snow with food color while others go out in the snow and collect branches and leaves to paint with. Some other kids still might go to the atelier and get “loose parts” to build a snowman from boxes and recycled materials and paint it when they are finished.

If OP doesn’t get it after reading this example, then I have lost hope.

Thanks! I'll see if I can get more feedback from my center. I did have the opportunity to view their yoga class today. While absolutely adorable, it did not look at all "child led". One child was directed aside for fooling around and not being ready to participate. All the kids were directed to pay attention and do the poses the yoga instructor was teaching, even if they didn't seem totally interested. Personally, I am fine with that - my kid needs a little pushing to go with the group, otherwise he totally does his own thing. (He'd actually really benefit from Montessori IMO). But anyway, while I really enjoyed watching the yoga class, it did not seem at all like a child-driven experience.

I don't think the entire time at a Reggio-inspired preschool is meant to be "child-led". There is a structure to the day. The "work" segments of the day are child-led, but not snack time, etc.