+1. Since a Reggio Approach ( not curriculum ) is taking its cues from the children and their interests, curiosities and passions in order to reach the standards for the grade set by the schools system, it requires an exceptionally well-trained, passionate and creative teacher who is deeply knowledgeable about child development as well as the academic needs of the kids going forward.

The smartest and most dedicated teachers do this well and I think that is why a reggio approach attracts good staff. That said, there is, of course, a learning curve so if this approach was just implemented at your school, you need to give the teacher some time to make the switch.

Just as an FYI, play based learning for Early Childhood classrooms is simply best practice as this is the most developmentally appropriate manner that young children learn. Reggio Emilia is a little town in Italy, so no school should call themselves 'Reggio,' but rather 'Reggio Inspired' (as OP corrected herself on.) Furthermore, there is a misconception that the Reggio Emilia APPROACH is actually a curriculum, which it is not. It's a philosophy of education which guides how children are viewed, which then translates into what happens in the classroom. Unless you are at a school where the teachers truly believe in, and are invested in the values laid out in the Approach, your child will receive a haphazard, uninformed experience masquerading as 'Reggio Inspired.' My own child attends a Reggio Inspired program which strives for authenticity and sends their educators to Reggio Emilia for training on a regular basis. I have also worked and trained with educators who are inspired by the Approach (both inside and outside of DCPS,) so I have a realistic understanding of what an authentic Reggio Inspired program should like, and what a 'grab bag' program looks like. At the end of the day, a Reggio Inspired program is really only as good as the Principal and teachers who work there, and their belief in the Approach and all it entails.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the absence of interesting nuggets at the PK level. I trust what the teachers are doing in the classroom is developmentally appropriate for a four year old.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's a highly regarded Reggio school on the Hill, must be SWS. OP, did you try to lottery to another school?

OP here - nope, not SWS. Perhaps I should have said "reggio-inspired"? Did not try to lottery out - kid is happy enough and I am assuming/hoping K will be better. Just disappointed that this year has turned out to be treading water - at best. Last year I just really enjoyed all the interesting nuggets of information learned in class that kid would proudly proclaim. This year - zip. Teacher is very nice though! Just doesn't seem to actually teach anything.

I had actually been warned that PK in general was kind of a holding pattern year (kids are already used to school from PS-3 and know expected social skills, but no exposure yet to K-type demands). But it is worse than that - not even as good as PS!

Brent has two PK classrooms and a mixed-age classroom. One of the PK teachers was moved from another after many years teaching at this level. Many parents are expressing concerns about whether this was a good fit. A similar experiment didn't work out last year when a K teacher was moved to 3rd Grade only to be returned to K this year. Additionally, this is the first year of the Reggio-inspired "curriculum" which seems to be art-centric. Have you shared your concerns with the teacher, instructional teacher or principal? If not, why not given the end of school year is fast approaching.

Pre-K at Horace Mann is also Reggio-inspired. Teachers are great and seems to inspire curiosity and interest in learning.

We are at the JCC and staying through Pre-K. It is Reggio and if totally depends on the teachers. Fortunately the JCC does a lot of teacher training. The teachers look at what interests the kids and then run with it.

One class was interested in mail. So they learned how mail works, made pen pals in another class (which gave them time to work on letters and writing) and delivered letters. They went on a walk and talked to a mail carrier. They built mail boxes. The kids had a blast. Another class worked on animals. They each picked an animal, raised money to adopt animals from the WwE, took a field trip to National Geographic, works on letters and marker-holding by drawing about them.

One class now is doing the human body. The kids traced each other and are building the insides. Each kid is making a "book" about it and writing the names of the body parts so working on letters. A nurse came in and talked about taking care of babies when they are born. And taking care of bodies turned into a discussion about healthy eating.

The school has solid teachers so it works.

It's not a Reggio phrase, it's a quote from Gertrude Stein about Oakland: "there is no there there."

Basically OP was asking whether there's anything to Reggio or it's an empty front.

Gertrude Stein wrt Oakland "There is no there there."

http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2012/02/gertrude-stein-puts-there-back-in.html