Reply to I don't get this Reggio thing...

Forum Index » Preschool and Daycare Discussion

Reply to "I don't get this Reggio thing..."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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). [/quote]

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. [/quote]

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

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.   [/quote]

I don't think the [u]entire[/u] 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. 
[/quote]
Exactly this. I actually teach yoga in a Reggio-inspired school (outside of the DC area), and for me it’s the [i]planning[/i] that’s child-centric, not the [i]facilitation[/i]. It would be dangerous if, for example, Toby was doing horse kicks while everyone else was doing tree pose, and distracting if Hattie was running around the Circle or playing on a xylophone while everyone else was having relaxing time.

I build my sequences to fit in with our child-centered curriculum (it’s a nature-living bunch, so we’re studyi birds this week; the practice is based on a bird life cycle and types of birds), and the poses I know the children like (Tommy has been asking for crocodile pose, Sebastian loves warrior 2, a few of them are ready to try handstands). This week, I did add a child-directed section: when “our baby birds kearned to fly,” the students suggested things they saw from the air, and I made their suggestions into poses. It was fun coming up with Doc McStuffins pose! :D

Obviously, I don’t know exactly how the yoga classes work at your child’s school. But I hope this gives you a glimpse into how something more structured can fit in with the philosophy. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics