Provocation Station: More Background on Reggio Emilia

I wanted to share some of the basic concepts from an article written by staff at the University of Chicago Lab School with you.

The preschools of Reggio Emilia were created after World War II. They gained worldwide recognition when they were named the best preschools in the world in 1990 by Newsweek Magazine.
Four big ideas from the Reggio approach:

the image of the child as competent and capable--a social, organizing and strong person full of potential
the Hundred Languages of Children--give children a variety of media and methods to express themselves in many ways, such as the visual, dramatic and musical art forms
the environment as teacher--the classroom organizes the children and gives them opportunities to collaborate so that children can explore ideas they may not come up with on their own. The classroom's set up should provoke a child to learn; spur creativity; allow children to see things from different perspectives; give children space to be active. Classroom design is a process. After watching children's responses to the environment, teachers respond by refining the environment to enhance learning.
the school is a system of relationships, collaborations and possibilities.

The Reggio concept of long-term investigation through projects. Long-term projects are either child or teacher initiated. Either way, they reflect the interests and personalities of the children. Project changes and evolution are child directed.
A Reusables Center? One center used corridor lockers to store donated materials that children can use to create new objects, either useable or purely artistic. The purpose of the Reusables Center is to stimulate creativity, increase environmental awareness and keep items out of landfills by encouraging reuse. A list of their items they requested to be donated:

Friday, June 6, 2008