Reggion Inspired Network Workshop on Clay

Reggio-Inspired Network of MN
November 20, 2011 10:44 am
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Clay, the next "Material Exploration" on December 3rd
Material Exploration: Clay from 9 AM to Noon on Saturday, December 3rd
Location: Nokomis Community Center
Address: 2401 E. Minnehaha Pkwy Minneapolis. For directions see www.minneapolisparks.org
Host: Sandy Burwell
Presenter: Karen Potyondy
Description: An exploration of both earth clay and paper clay with a variety of tools and materials with which to act upon the clay. Warm up exercises to become familiar with the language of clay, its consistency, temperature and malleability with all your senses. Techniques for manipulating clay – balls, coils, slabs, joining, pinch pots, etc.
Cost: $35. See registration form for payment information.
Limit: 20 participants
Registration Form for Materials Explorations (2)

Interesting article

http://www.stlbeacon.org/issues-politics/95-Education/114192-at-this-pre-school-students-set-the-curriculum-with-help-from-highly-trained-teachershttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Yoga in Early Childhood

Happy Halloween to all!

Next "Material Exploration" - Yoga for Early Childhood
November 12, 2011 10:30 – Noon
Material Exploration: Body/Movement
Program: Yoga for Early Childhood
Location: Washburn Public Library, 5244 Lyndale Ave. South, Minneapolis. Go to http://www.hclib.org/ for directions
Presenter: Milissa Link director of Tree of Life Yoga in Minneapolis, has been teaching yoga for nearly two decades. She has adapted yoga postures for toddlers through octogenarians in her private studio, as well as at corporations, schools and nonprofits. Milissa is an AMI certified Montessori Assistant and has worked in early childhood and early elementary educational environments.
Description: Yoga is a wonderful place for children to explore multiple relationships: to their own bodies, to their peers, to their community and to the planet. This workshop will provide a yoga sequence that can be adapted for children from 12 month to 6 years. Songs, mindful breathing, games and a peace walk will be interwoven with yoga postures that are appropriate for various age groups.
Benefits of yoga for children include: Large motor development, Emotional self-regulation, Social skills building, Environmental awareness
Note: Movement will be part of the session so please dress in comfortable clothing, with bare feet (socks are okay if you prefer). Yoga mats are not needed. Please leave your cell phone behind (or kindly silence it).
LIMIT: 20 Participants
Cost: $35. See registration form for payment information.

This is through the MnReggio website.

From the Star Tribune

Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful spate of weather! Mary O'

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/otherviews/130879693.html

Teacher As Researcher

A great way to explore your work is to meet with other teachers! The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota provides many good opportunities to do this. Check out their schedule at http://www.mnreggio.org

Strategic Plan

Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota's Strategic Plan 2011-2013 is available for viewing at
http://www.mnreggio.org/?p=929

I think it's worth looking at.

A good gathering opportunity!

Kick-Off to the 2011-2012 Year...
The Monthly Gatherings for 2011-2012 begin in September. The first is a Kick-Off event on Saturday, September 24th, hosted by the University of Minnesota Child Development Center (UMCDC), formerly the U of M Child Care Center.

The morning includes: a tour of UMCDC, a slide show of Pistoia, Italy by UMCDC director, Ann Edgerton, discussion of an article on children’s environments and an overview of the 2011-2012 monthly gatherings and research focus for the year. 9 to noon – 1600 Rollins SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Reggio Emilia and Pistoia are both cities of northern Italy that have earned particular recognition for their passion and innovation. While Reggio Emilia has achieved the highest level of international recognition, Pistoia is also acknowledged as a site of important leadership and experimentation.
For directions, handbook and photos go to http://www.education.umn.edu/childcarecenter
NOTE: Attendance is limited to 22 participants: Please RSVP and obtain an article by e-mailing Sandy Burwell at melchisedech1946@yahoo.com

Interesting article

Hope all is well as you prepare for the start of another year!

http://www.slate.com/id/2288402/

New Race to Top Spurs Concerns About Testing Preschoolers

New Race to Top Spurs Concerns About Testing Preschoolers

As you start the new school year...

*"All of this is a great forest. Inside the forest is the child.
The forest is beautiful, fascinating, green, and full of hopes; there are no
paths. Although it isn`t easy, we have to make our own paths, as teachers
and children and families, in the forest. Sometimes we find ourselves http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
together within the forest, sometimes we may get lost from each other,
sometimes we`ll greet each other from far away across the forest; but its
living together in this forest that is important. And this living together
is not easy."*

*- *Loris Malaguzzi (1994)

And...

www.thethirdteacher.wordpress.com

The Reggio Approach and teaching teams

from the Minnesota Reggio blog:

University of MN Philosophy Camp
Reggio-inspired work is not limited to young children. Dr. John Wallace from the University of Minnesota’s Philosophy Department writes, “The ‘documentation’ we do at Philosophy Camp might better be characterized as reflection, where every week there are at least three scheduled occasions on which students in small group conversations with an instructor, or in one-with-one conversation with an instructor, reflect on the meaning they are making of their experiences; there are also countless informal interactions between students and instructors in which instructors get insights into the meaning students are making. The ‘traces’ that these conversations leave are spoken-words heard and remembered, and so are somewhat ephemeral and not (at least, not systematically and regularly) physical artifacts. The instructors meet for an hour every morning (except Sundays) of the course, and the traces gathered in conversations inform and guide our framing of the activities for the coming day and days, and so function in somewhat the way that physical artifact traces do for Reggio-style teachers.
From time to time in the natural course of things students produce physical artifacts that express the meaning their experiences have, and these traces the instructors also study and learn from… Here is a ‘comic book’ reflection on Philosophy Camp that a student, Martha Megarry, did a couple of years ago. It is a concrete example of these unplanned (by the instructors) documentations.” Philosophy Camp \"comic strip: (0)

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

For your viewing pleasure

Link to Overview about Reggio Emilia
Here’s a link to an interesting news report about the schools in Reggio Emilia, with English subtitles.
http://youtu.be/N8xWKCkuhFA

Walker Art Center's Open Field

Hope everyone is having a great summer!


The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota invites families with toddler through school-aged children to stop by the Open Field (right next to the Walker Art Center, opposite the Sculpture Garden) on TUESDAY, JULY 26th, from 9:00-11:00 A.M. Dabble with clay, draw a cityscape, build with boxes, run, giggle, and jump with creative flying toys. Connect the city with the outdoors using materials of the earth: clay, paper, water, brushes, and silk.
For more information contact Dawn Lees
lees.dawn@gmail.com
952 927-6358

Experts Call for Early Focus on Black Boys' Nonacademic Skills

Experts Call for Early Focus on Black Boys' Nonacademic Skills

Study Finds Sudden Insights Key to Learning Words

Very interesting and, I think, impactful and influential for teaching.



Study Finds Sudden Insights Key to Learning Words

Resource

The editors of the Internet journal Early Childhood Research & Practice (ECRP) are pleased to make available “Projects to Go,” a CD-ROM and DVD collection of articles about the Project Approach and reports of projects conducted by teachers with preschool children around the world. “Projects to Go” is a unique preservice and professional development resource for early childhood educators interested in project work as part of the early childhood curriculum.

You can access the table of contents, the introduction to the 2-disc set by Lilian Katz, and the order form on the Web at http://ceep.crc.illinois.edu/pubs.html.

Jean Mendoza

Seeing Children exhibit at Southdale May 14

http://www.mnreggio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/SEEING-CHILDREN-EXHIBIT5.pdf

From Early Ed Watch

When Third Graders Can’t Read

* Author(s):
* Lisa Guernsey

Published: April 12, 2011
Issues:

* Reading
* PreK-3rd

The connection between early education and high-school completion has always seemed obvious to many of us who follow the research on how children learn. When children are immersed in high-quality early education and get the support they need to read by third grade, the chances are much greater that they will succeed in school.

A report published yesterday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation provides more evidence to back this up. The 15-page research brief, “Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation,” analyzes data from a national study that tracked 3,975 students from their early elementary years through adulthood. It found that reading proficiency in third grade was a significant predictor of whether a student would struggle to finish high school.

Among proficient readers, only four percent failed to graduate, compared to 16 percent of those who are not reading at grade level in third grade, the report showed. Children with the lowest reading scores account for three-fifths of those who do not graduate from high school.

Living in poverty held children back too. When children grew up without financial resources while also struggling to read, they were less likely to graduate, putting them in what the report calls “double jeopardy.” For children who were poor for at least one year and not reading on grade level in third grade, more than one-quarter (26 percent) didn’t finish high school – a rate that is six times higher than that for proficient readers.

The study was not designed to identify and follow children who were born to teenage mothers, so the percentage of children in “double jeopardy” could be even higher. Presumably, those children would have an even greater chance of growing up in poverty and not gaining the benefit of preschool and other language-rich early environments that put them on a path toward reading proficiency.

The brief was written by Donald J. Hernandez, professor of sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. Hernandez is also a senior advisor to the Foundation for Child Development. (Full disclosure: FCD is a funder of Early Ed Watch and the Early Education Initiative.)

With the Obama Administration’s emphasis on “college readiness,” the brief comes at an opportune time to ensure that policy changes within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) are tailored to give children a strong reading foundation by third grade. It’s time to prioritize dollars and resources to put the earliest years first by building strong systems of early learning for all children – and especially those in poverty – up through the third grade. PreK-3rd reform strategies are at the heart of the solution.

To learn more about PreK-3rd reform, see the Early Education Initiative’s Next Social Contract paper, view some of our recent presentations, and check out our online discussion space on how to make better connections in programs for young children from before birth up through third grade. (All our PreK-3rd blog posts are archived here.)

The PreK-3rd listserv moderated by Kristie Kauerz at the Harvard Graduate School of Education is also an excellent resource. Kauerz highlighted parts of the “Double Jeopardy” report on the listserv yesterday. Are you plugged in yet? If not, send a message to prek-3rd@list.gse.harvard.edu with “subscribe” in the subject line.
Suggested Reading
ESEA Briefing: Where Will Early Ed Fit?
Early Learning in ESEA, Part 5: Recommendations to the U.S. House's Ed & Labor Committee
Early Learning in ESEA, Part 1: Generating Ideas
A Next Social Contract for the Primary Years of Education

Another way to wonder about the end of the school year

This comes from the Reggio Listserv and my personal hero, Leslie Gleim

List,

I want to share something I sent to my families recently -- as I have them look ahead -- beyond Kindergarten, beyond elementary, HS and, yes, college!!

How does what we do in our RI preschool connect to the child’s future next year or, even, 20 - 40 years down the road.

Impossible to imagine? Perhaps not!

My pondering and reflecting is in broad strokes -- synthesized from images observed over the week in the classroom.


Image #1

Our last week began in a very unusual manner. For the first time ever, we (teachers) took a huge risk by having the children review the work they have been doing during this year – and, then, having them decided what work is “important” (to them).

We began our meeting by laying out seven possible directions – or, future learning possibilities – from which the children could choose. The choices were drawn from our documentation around the children’s past interests throughout the year – some encounters from recent months -- others from earlier in the year.

We placed seven possibilities on the table, and wondered --- how would the children react -- and how would they handle the choices?

At first – the situation was met with mere silence. Not a peep from the children! No complaints about any of the seven choices. There were no, “I don’t want to do this” comments -- or questions about “why” -- only silence.

Suddenly -- the children began to react! Pondering, discussing and debating the rationale as to why we should do what. When the meeting ended the children had settled on 3 directions -- the beach work, the Mayor/news, and (ocean) bubbles. Each direction full of potential and possibilities -- each choice weighed carefully by the children for validity and strength for continued work --- and learning.

Future-forward -- 20 - 40 years -- I see your children (individually and collectively) -- in whatever career or role they may pursue in life -- the “title” isn’t important -- as competent adults who are able to work with others as they look at facts or scenarios placed before them (in a court room, operating room, classroom, etc.) and not being overwhelmed! They will calmly and rationally weigh each plausible solution or direction that might yield the best positive outcomes for all -- for their families, community or their careers. They will do so in an unselfish and intellectual manor. Few adults in modern society are, currently, able to do this...

Image # 2

Two boys in the block area. They had constructed a plane. Then, they announced, to the teacher, that Continental was boarding. The teacher replied that she was going on Hawaiian airlines. The boys, “No you have to go on Continental -- it’s the only plane leaving.” The teacher shows the boys her pretend ticket, one of the boys looks at the ticket, removes it from her hand, tears it up, stamps a new ticket and announces, “Here’s your new ticket for Continental and it is boarding now!” :-)

Future-forward 20 - 40 years -- I see your children, as adults, who know what is “right” -- and who will not be intimated by “power, title or prestige”. As adults, they will advocate for the good of all people (or even just a planeload) vs. just the one!

Image #3

One of the girls is painting during our outdoor time. As the girl paints, one of the boys -- who needed to go inside -- passes the girl. The boy backs up -- stops behind the girl -- and looks at the painting. He says to her: “Wow -- that is a nice painting, interesting marks. Great job.” He then goes into the classroom. The girl smiles and continues her work.

Future-forward 20 - 40 years -- I see your children, as adults, who value the strengths and abilities of others. Adults who take the time to see and value each person -- be it through the eyes of a CEO, a CPA, an airplane pilot, artist or parent. Adults who see that EVERY person is “special” – and important to the global community.

Image # 4

Two of the children were writing in the message area. They had been there a while and had taken out a considerable amount of materials. The two then decided they wanted to go to the block area. Without a single reminder -- they cleaned up their space, putting everything back before leaving. No one reminded them to “clean up” the area.

Future-forward 20 - 40 years -- I see your children, as adults, who will be able to think and work on their own without being told. I see them, as adults, who have been instilled with the value of finishing one’s work -- no matter how big or small -- and never leaving a “mess” for others to clean up afterward. I see adults who value their home, work and community environment.

Image # 5

At group meeting, on Friday, the children were given 10 plans for the day (their entire day’s appointments). The children accepted the challenge and began to work. As I looked around the room, children were working together trying to remember all the plans for the day. Teachers were there beside them -- but only as a last resort vs. the first resort of the children helping each other.

Future- forward 20 - 40 years -- I see your children, as adults, who have been instilled with a strong belief in themselves -- yet are able to pull strength from colleagues and associates, as needed. Adults who will work as a team vs. relying on a boss to walk them through the work. Adults who are independent, yet collaborative.

Image # 6

This is a “biggie”. This year the children were given a project based on working with natural materials which captured their imagination and interest all the way to Spring Break. Coming back, after two weeks, this project work – naturally -- took shape once again. The important factor is that your children are involved in a year-long project – a project that is complex and all encompassing vs. traditional preschool curriculum projects just based on themes taken from whatever season it might be!

Future-forward -- 20 - 40 years -- I see your children, as adults, who will be able to stick with a job -- or a project within a job -- vs. leaping from thing to thing. I see adults capable of having a vision who are willing to see it through to the end -- adults who can think through both the long-term and short-term processing of becoming the best each can be.

Image # 7 



An email came to us this week from another private school wondering about our 1st grade WIND “project”. They were struck by the depth and work of our “first graders”. We had to smile -- as they were told this project was done by “preschoolers”.

Future-forward to next year and beyond:– Presently, the work your children are doing is BEYOND their years and they already possess the tenacity to follow their dreams and interest with thinking that is both “outside the box” and beyond what is encouraged in the traditional preschool curriculum! I see future adults who truly believe: If they can think it -- they can do it!

Image #8 -- This final image comes from our group meeting on Friday. Listen to the children’s words:

Discussion from our Group Meeting Friday.... letting everyone in Hawaii know about the poisonous, yucky water left after bulldozers dredged the canal at Kahala beach last fall. (Note: This has been an ongoing topic of debate ever since – with no resolution).

The teachers are confused – do the children wanting to move forward with creating a TV news article or doing a commercial. Listen as the children “figure” out what they think will be the strongest message...
Once again “C” for any child, T for the teacher’s remarks...

C: News tells you if it’s bad or good (things).

C: The news tells you about the bad places like in Japan. When bad things happen the news comes and talks about it.

C: We can go to the news people who are really big and they can talk about it.

C: We can ask the news people who are really big if they can talk about it. We can’t talk about it because we are little kids.

C: But we DO know about the poisonous yucky water!! (Ahhh...they are now beginning to see themselves as advocates with their own voice)

T: Yes! You are the experts about the poisonous yucky water!

C: I think we should do the newspaper instead of the TV news.

C: If you use the newspaper it just talks. If you go on TV they can just see it -- instead of talking.
(What does the child mean by the newspaper just talks? Could they be using the word “read” and “talk” inter-changeably? Let’s listen more.)

C: Hearing it is better than reading it!

T: If we use the newspaper would little children know what we are wanting them to know?

C: If we put a picture they would know! (Clever!!)

C: If we do the news they will know the color of it (poisonous yucky water), the newspaper you won’t show you. (The children are looking at the “literacy” of each media -- one vs. the other – WOW -- high level thinking!)

C: Cartoons are for kids! (The discussion is causing them to think of alternatives)

C: We could do a cartoon and the news then grownups and little kids could watch it. (WOW -- what a great idea!!)

C: Hey -- do a kid cartoon and put it on there (news)!

C: Yeah -- if we put it in the paper they look at the picture very closely they will say it looks like clean water (thinking of the paper as having black and white images). But if they see it on the news and they saw the color is brown they will say: “I won’t go in the water.”

(Summary) The TV news offers a richer medium -- video -- which children see as real time and represents objects as if one is looking at it)

There seemed to be a majority opinion being formed.

At this point we take a vote:

TV News -- 12

Newspaper -- 4

When the results were read shouts of Yea!!! YES!! The arms went up in as if a presidential election result had been announced. A celebratory classroom moment.

Your children’s ideas and voices are indeed valued and are being acted upon. The cheers came because the children knew that WE (children and adults) were about to embark on a new leg of our journey -- that their voices are going to heard and a “million” people will know how to be safe from the yucky poisonous water. :-)

Future-forward: I clearly see your children, as adults, who will -- one day -- look back on this journey and smile as they see how what they learned – in preschool -- was for a lifetime...

Back to listening...

Leslie

Inspiration for your environments

A new website to wander through on a gloomy Friday.

http://tribecacommunityschool.com/

Reggio Emilia, Parma, Bologna 2011

Who doesn't need a mini-vacation (or vacay as my adult children would say) right about now??

Some new resources from the Reggio Inspired Network of Minnesota

Reggio-Inspired Network of MN
March 28, 2011 7:01 pm
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Parent as Documenter – A Spider Investigation
Did you know that there are many downloads and links available within the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota website? The newest piece, just added under “Parents as researchers” is the work of a parent of Pre-K children who captured her children’s investigations of a spider in the house. It’s inspired work. Here’s the direct link: Parent as Documenter (2)

In Preschool, What Matters More: Education or Play?

Interesting article :) Hope all is well.


In Preschool, What Matters More: Education or Play?

Upcoming conference

Reggio-Inspired Network of MN
March 12, 2011 4:22 pm
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Spring Conference at MacDonald Montessori School
MacDonald Montessori School presents a Spring Conference on Saturday, April 30, 2011
“Complexity of Materials as a Language Integrated in the Daily Life of the Classroom”
Jennifer Azzariti, Key Presenter
• Former Atelerista at the Model Early Learning Center in Washington DC where she worked with Amelia Gambetti for five years
• Currently Studio consultant at St John’s Preschool and several public schools in DC
• Consultant to many Reggio-inspired schools and centers in Atlanta, Mountain View CA, San Francisco, New Jersey, St Paul and presenter at conferences in the U.S. and abroad
• NAREA board member
8:30 registration 9-4pm conference
Conference includes :
• Children’s research projects by MMS educators
• Hands on exploration of clay as a media
• Collaboration & dialog
• Materials folder
• Reggio Emilia Resource books for sale
• Meals & Refreshments
• Tours of the School
MacDonald Montessori School
175 S. Western Avenue (One block from St Clair & West 7th)
St Paul, MN 55102 Fax – 651 227 7304
Phone – 651 227 1039
Email – macdonaldmontessori@comcast.net
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Lunch/am & pm refreshments included
Check in begins at 8:30am
Space is limited….register early !!!!
NAME_______________________________________
ADDRESS____________________________________
EMAIL_______________________________________
CITY, STATE, ZIP______________________________
SCHOOL/CENTER_____________________________
PHONE______________________________________
***************************************
10% discount for 2011 NAREA (North American Reggio Emilia Alliance) Members

More from Hawaii

Kinda fun to see what a Reggio inspired environment does in Hawaii--their milieu is sand, ours is snow!

Final swirls --

http://www.midpac.edu/elementary/pg/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=99255

The other classroom became curious and wanted to do the swirls as well so we are doing an open atelier where we are pairing children from each classroom in working together on the swirl creations-- it has been amazing to watch this cross classroom collaboration unfold...

Here are the galleries to the new round of swirls between two communities...you can watch as it unfolds in these 3 current galleries..

http://www.midpac.edu/elementary/pg/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=99934

http://www.midpac.edu/elementary/PG/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=108425

http://www.midpac.edu/elementary/PG/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=109286

Also you may like to see how the swirls are connected to a SMALL slice from our current HUGE project work as connected in our outdoor atelier ~ the beach... which has been our laboratory for thinking this whole year...

with the toss (which began with a child but how we find a connection with this to Andy Goldsworthy's work) & our work with aqueducts --- which began with a provocation -- to create an aqueduct using a line, a swirl and a curve — each has to connect to the other. The aqueduct has to be able to support a flow of water in order to move a ping pong ball from the beginning to the end. (in this gallery you'll find images of their latest and most complex aqueduct that they have created (yes there are a LOT of images 1300 in this gallery)

In our work at the beach we are find many gender differences in how children think with their hands -- we would never have stumbled upon this in the classroom and atelier -- wow our research is making us (teachers) rethink our work and children's work and thinking...

http://www.midpac.edu/elementary/PG/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=105830

Road Trip!

for anyone who is interested in the Project Approach and who lives within driving distance of Davenport Iowa -- you are invited to the annual meeting of the Illinois Project Group Saturday, April 2, 2011, at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. Speakers include Dr. Lilian Katz and Dr Judy Harris Helm. You'll have an opportunity to see documentation of projects from early childhood programs in Iowa, Illinois (and perhaps beyond).

This is an informal event. It's always worthwhile. Professional development credits (CEs and CPDUs) are available. And -- it's free. For more information, see information on the Illinois Projects in Practice home page -- http://illinoispip.org/.

Back to business :)

Dodge Nature Preschool Resources
Dodge Nature Preschool
Learning Conference April 15, 2011
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Dodge Nature Preschool 1715 Charlton Street West St. Paul, MN 55118
Dodge Nature Preschool is offering this one-day conference to give educators an opportunity to observe and learn about nature-based education.
Learning Conference flyer (1)
Also check out this blog: www.dodgecatalyst.blogspot.com

Photos from Molly's wedding and most recent post from Tommy's blog about the grandbaby

This free picture slideshow customized with Smilebox

http://tinyobriens.wordpress.com

Reggio Inspired Network workshop

Next "Materials Exploration" – Puppetry
Coming up on Saturday, March 12, 2011…
Puppetry, a Materials Exploration at Walker Church, 3104 16th Ave. S. Mpls., MN 55407. 9:00 – Noon.
Registration required $25. Fee payable by check to “Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota” with the downloadable registration form. Mail to 312 Parkway Court, Minneapolis, MN 55419. Registration Form (2)

I'm just full of goodies today...

www.teachers.tv/videos/learning-from-europe-gunilla-dahlberg

Please read all the way through

Article from the Star-Tribune


An exhibit with an intriguing fusion of science and politics opened this week at the Science Museum of Minnesota. (And I'm not talking about the one that features Egypt and King Tut.) While the traveling Tut exhibit grabbed headlines, the Wonder Years quietly opened to teach Minnesotans about the stunning growth and brain development that takes place in infants and toddlers.

One activity allows visitors to see the world through the eyes of newborns and infants. A video shows children at different developmental stages to emphasize how much they learn in five years. A quiz show will test visitors' knowledge of young children in Minnesota. The exhibit even reveals some things that babies are better at than grown ups. (Identifying monkey faces? Hmm. Go figure.)

Exhibit creators at the University of Minnesota believe there's a gap between scientific understanding of infant brain development, and public understanding of this fleeting phase of life. If people knew, they might be stronger advocates for quality early childhood education, said Karen Cadigan, the U researcher whose team received $1.5 million in National Science Foundation grants to start Wonder Years and conduct related studies.

"The simple, everyday interactions between young children and adults, especially their parents, are powerful beyond appearance. It is the accumulation of these moments—in the grocery store, at mealtime, during play—that define the quality of the relationships upon which children's lives are built."

The opening of this exhibit comes as early childhood education is gaining political steam. While Gov. Mark Dayton didn't add much funding to early childhood ed in his 2012-2013 budget proposal, he singled it out as an area in need of investment when the state's finances stabilize. (One new investment in Dayton's budget would be an expansion of the Parent Aware system that rates the quality of child care centers and provides incentives for families to use the high-quality centers.)

The rating system was tested in Wayzata, St. Paul, north Minneapolis and in Blue Earth and Nicollet counties with the help of $20 million in private funding. Duane Benson of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation, the business group that raised the money, said it is possible for the state to improve its early childhood programs by simply doing more with the public money it already spends.


BE AWARE...the "public money it already spends" includes funding for ECFE and School Readiness. The Minnesota Community Education Association is working against including this money in Parent Aware funding.

Some new resources from the Reggio Inspired Network of Minnesota

I've had enough snow. How about you?

Resources of Interest
Here are a couple of resources that have come to our attention recently. The first is a Blog by Jeanne Vergeront, local museum consultant who served on the Steering Group that worked to bring “The Hundred Languages of Children” exhibit to St. Paul in 2004. Her piece on Loose Parts is inspired and inspiring! http://www.museumnotes.blogspot.com/
The other resource is the most recent catalogue of all the books and materials available through Reggio Children. It’s a gorgeous publication in itself. Reggio Children catalogue (1)

Upcoming workshop

“Wire and Found Objects” – Saturday, Feb. 12th


February’s Materials Exploration, Wire and Found Objects is coming up on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at SE Loft, 730 Stinson Blvd., Minneapolis 55413. Registration is required $25. Fee payable by check to “Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota” along with the attached registration form. Mail to 312 Parkway Court, Minneapolis, MN 55419. Contact Monica Malley for more information: monicamalley@gmail.com

An article worth looking at

Some very nice photographs with this article. Hope you enjoy it, that you are all staying work, and that you continue on your Reggio journeys.



Experiences with Light
http://www.ohio.edu/childdevcenter/DOCUMENTS/lightbook.pdf

Always something to think about...

From the Reggio listserv. Happy New Year to all!

List,

There has been some conversations on the list around environment. I'm sending you a link to a gallery which will share with you the evolution of our community. The environment has evolved as we observed and listened to the how the children and parents interacted within our classroom environment. Note how the conversation areas have shifted as well as many of the areas. (NOTE: We aren't finished yet!! Also a donation of a settee added to how we "set" the classroom)

The first gallery is the classroom as it looked first thing yesterday morning (1/6)

http://www.midpac.edu/elementary/PG/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=80921&g2_page=1

The second gallery is the classroom coming to life as the children discover and begin to have conversations with the various "communities" with in the classroom.

http://www.midpac.edu/elementary/PG/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core:ShowItem&g2_itemId=81138

Note: As we listened to the children just before the children left -- over the break our team discussed many aspects of the children's work. We were struck at the shift in the play and how the children were "inventing" play. For example we observed the girls using small stuffed owls that are in the room and wrapping them like babies. We noted the boys bringing in small figurines.

We wondered if the children brought in the own babies from home how this would foster the play as the children would view their own babies as "family." How would this unfold? Would this play into the individuality of each child? The same for the figurines.

Wanting to nurture and honor the children's work we asked that those children who wished to could bring in their babies or lego size figurines. The images from the first day reflect this change. We also noted to the families that they only bring babies and blankets--that the team would observe the play and then "add" or seed the environment in supporting their play/work as this unfolds.

As the first morning of work unfolded we were struck by how the various areas exploded! We felt the why for this was two fold--the children's adding to the play with their own things and the new environment supporting this "new" play as we had reset the environment from our early observations of the children's play/work. The timing of how we seeded materials in the environment throughout the year also seeded collaborative and group play.

We also observed a smooth transition unfold for our first day back after a long 2 week break. The younger children came into the classroom confident and assured. We strongly felt that because each child had a "piece" of home that they had brought in this helped in bridging a link between home and school as their "things" helped to remind them of their families and home. So a piece of home was alive in the classroom.

We are excited to see how this continues to unfold....

Back to listening...

Leslie