Reggio Emilia and kindergarten readiness

[Anonymous]

I am touring preschools for my younger child and visited a Reggio preschool today. I love the Reggio philosophy and personally feel it is the most developmentally appropriate. However, I also have a kindergartner and now know first hand just what is expected of them. Apparently the FCPS school we're zoned for is pretty academically intense compared to the other elementary schools in our immediate area, according to the director of the preschool I toured. My guess is it's because it is the AAP center and there are a lot of parents who basically groom their kids for AAP.

My now kindergartner went to a different preschool that had some of the elements seen at a Reggio school but is not "all in" the way the preschool I toured today is. For example, my older child's preschool still did some formal instruction on letters and their sounds as well as some basic math/counting. It was done through projects/activities as opposed to worksheets, but the instruction was definitely intentional. The Reggio school I toured today seems to expose the kids to this stuff but does not intentionally teach it the same way.

For those who sent their kids to a Reggio preschool, do you feel like they were well prepared for public K in this area? I know my older child's K did an assessment before school started asking the kids to identify letters (and their sounds I think) along with some basic counting/numbers stuff. This Reggio school seems to think that knowing all that isn't a big deal before K and that focusing on problem-solving, collaborative work, sharing, etc. is most important. Like I said I tend to agree that this is more developmentally appropriate, but I can't change the way K is nowadays and I don't want to set my kid up to be behind right off the bat. Complicating matters is the fact that my younger child has a condition that is not likely to qualify them for special ed preschool but will probably make classroom learning more challenging even with some services/supports.

I'd love to hear perspectives from anyone who has BTDT.

[Anonymous]

I love the Reggio Emilia approach, I would send your kid so they get the full benefit of the program and if they need it, work on letters/numbers at home!

[Anonymous]

My oldest went to a Reggio preschool and is now in AAP.

I can’t really weigh in on your youngest. If there’s a diagnosis perhaps speak to pediatrician or other specialist re: preschool.

GL.

[Anonymous]

My daughter went to a Reggio school and loved it. I loved it. She’s in kinder now and misses her school terribly. But she is doing great academically and socially. Her kinder teacher mentioned that she seems the most ready to learn of all the kids in the class and is kind and creative kid. All things she got from her great preschool. My older one is in AAP. My younger has more common sense and more creativity than my older one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest went to a Reggio preschool and is now in AAP.

I can’t really weigh in on your youngest. If there’s a diagnosis perhaps speak to pediatrician or other specialist re: preschool.

GL.

OP here. This is good point. I will speak to my child's specialists and people in our support groups to get their advice. I would probably be all for this if it had been my older child who was more verbal and able to pick up incidental learning in ways that my younger child can't.

[Anonymous]

My oldest did Reggio until first grade.

It’s great but it absolutely does not prepare your kid for an academic kindergarten at all.

It’s great for kids who will not have an LD and have parents who will educate a little at home. It’s amazing actually. I am choosing it again for our second child.

[Anonymous]

We did Reggio Emilia and my daughter was prepared for N Arlington schools. We did a lot of reading at home though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest did Reggio until first grade.

It’s great but it absolutely does not prepare your kid for an academic kindergarten at all.

It’s great for kids who will not have an LD and have parents who will educate a little at home. It’s amazing actually. I am choosing it again for our second child.

OP again. Yes, this is my big concern. Research shows that children with my child's condition don't learn as easily as others (a physical issue, not an intellectual one) and I worry that without some direct instruction my kid just isn't going to pick some things up the way a kid with no challenges would. Right now my toddler is doing OK compared to other kids his age... not advanced in any way but not delayed. But I just have no idea what's going to happen once the stakes get higher in terms of academic learning. I think I really need the advice from parents/specialists familiar with my child's condition to determine whether this would be a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did Reggio Emilia and my daughter was prepared for N Arlington schools. We did a lot of reading at home though.

+1

As long as you are reading to your child every day (as you should be!), most kids will be ready for K.

If there is an underlying issue I'd address it early and with outside help - regardless of preschool choice.

[Anonymous]

I don't think your preschool choice is going to affect your child's success in K. Pick a place where your child will be happy and enjoy going every day.

My DS went to a RE preschool and was reading at 3 years old. My DD went to a non RE preschool where she also learned some phonics and is dyslexic and is a struggling reader at 9.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in a Reggio program and I noticed that in the 4 year old program they were really focusing a lot more on understanding letters and having the kids do a lot of writing as part of their atelier activities. My daughter also learned a lot of letter recognition and sounds from playing with her LeapFrog toy and just being read to a lot at home.

[Anonymous]

My child went to a Reggio-inspired school and did fine in a high SES FCPS Kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

My kid learned all the letter sounds and number sense at home. Critical and creative thinking skills are the harder thing to teach.

Public school has to teach every student who comes through their doors. If your child doesn't know the alphabet when they arrive, it will be taught. If he needs more support, he will get small group instruction and worked with until he catches up. If your child has been in a school setting and learned how to learn, he will be fine and will meet benchmarks without issue.

Breathe. Choose the school you love.

[Anonymous]

I think you need to understand the curriculum at the preschool well to fully assess. I personally LOVE Reggio Emilia, but our preschool is one that adds in literacy learning as they get into the preK class. I personally like the balance of having some additional K preparation. It's done in a fun way, like they have cards with pictures and their names on them, and then they remove the pictures so it's just the names, and they start to recognize them that way.

My only caveat is that if you have a kid with a diagnosis that may require specialized attention, you might want to go with a preschool that has some more of an academic focus because certain issues might not be picked up until later if he doesn't start any academic instruction until kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

My youngest is in a Reggio Emilia preschool, and she has two older brothers (one with learning challenges). I actually kind of regret putting my daughter in this particular preschool. I'm not panicked about what she'll know going into kindergarten, and I'm sure she'll get caught up. But the pre-academic instruction has been really weak, compared to what we've seen at her brothers' schools. Some of it may be the school.

If you think your child may need some direct instruction in letters and numbers, I would look really hard at the curriculum and approach. You can learn letters and numbers and still have a blast in preschool.