Qualities that make a teacher “Reggio-inspired”:

• The way we speak to children

• The way we speak about children

• How we trust children

• How we value play

• How we support learning

• How we plan for emergent learning interests

• How we arrange the learning environment

• How we build a community of learners

• How we support anti-bias thinking

• How we navigate conflict: between children, peers and families

• How we see ourselves as teachers and learners

• How we arrange our priorities

• How we track learning

• How we share children’s learning and growth

Teacher training and learning trajectory

We recognize that some of these Reggio quality elements may be something teachers are familiar with upon hire and others may be learning goals. We will offer many opportunities for teacher growth and training in the hopes that teachers navigate their own unique journey to competency in all areas. Being lifelong learners is an important value to us, and  we hope you feel excited rather than overwhelmed by the above teaching qualities.

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The Way We Speak to Children

We speak to children with authenticity and respect. We use real language and words and speak in a way we might speak to a respected adult. We narrate what we see, describe changes and transitions before they happen and while in the process. We use words to make connections between children, their ideas and the environment. We describe children’s perspectives, feelings and desires as valid and worthy of consideration. We sit with children in their emotions and don't use language that minimizes or distracts from their emotions and perspective. We use language that is the most generous interpretation of a behavior or action and never generalizes or gives a category word to a child (you were so upset, your hands felt like hitting and they did.) We use language to make connections rather than entice compliance. Many phrases that are commonplace in large school settings deny children respect and relationships and we actively work to notice these adopted phrases, think reflectively about them, and choose alternatives that fit better with our view of children and teachers.

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The Way We Speak About Children

We see children as capable, curious, competent and whole. This view, in some ways, goes against our culture’s ways of seeing children. Our modern world often looks at children through the lens of what they are deficit in. Knowledge they must learn, skills they must acquire, all in preparation for adulthood. Many see children as empty sponges, needing to be filled with knowledge – knowledge to pass tests, knowledge to graduate, knowledge to find a career. Or they see children as messy, incapable and immature, needing constant direction and instruction and overbearing safeguarding. Others still may see children as cute, silly or novel, and feel they need to be entertained, yet easily brushed off as not worth serious consideration.  Our teaching practice is fundamentally different from this.  Rather than seeing a deficit, we see a concentration of that which makes humans inherently good. Raw and at the surface, to be marveled and nurtured, children are capable – they see through eyes yet unfazed by failures and can persist and engage. Children are capable – they constantly test the limits of their abilities and knowledge, they can help themselves, help others, ask for help when needed. Children are capable – mastering their own perspective of themselves and others. Children are curious – they observe and test out their theories, they have an ever-transforming view of how the world works. Children are curious – always experimenting on their impact on this world, from a mark across a page to a shout heard around the room. Children are competent – they are fluent in the languages of connection and expression. Children are whole, complete and worthy. Children have the right to the highest levels of respect, and to be treated as valued colleagues, co-creators and protagonists in the story of their individual journey.   Whenever we speak about children in our spoken or written words, we work hard to make sure the way we describe children’s actions, intentions, thinking and behaviors maintains this utmost level of respect and understanding at the core.

“In order to work with authenticity, it is not enough to define your view of the child – you must also work to put this vision into practice” (Wurm, 2005, p. 21).  One's image of the child “orientates you as you talk to the child, listen to the child, observe the child.  It is very difficult for you to act contrary to this internal image” (Malaguzzi, 1994, p. 1).  An image of the child as strong and capable will lead us to “give them the recognition of their rights and of their strengths” (p. 5), rather than overprotecting and controlling them as a result of the image of the child as weak and incapable (Tarr, 2003).

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How We Trust Children

We trust that children are capable, competent, creative citizens. Their ideas, perspectives, understandings, intentions and words are to be honored and valued. We trust children to make relationships with adults and peers. We trust children to learn about themselves and others. We trust children to grow and become competent in many areas of development. We trust children’s play and follow the why behind it and reflect on our own thinking when their play challenges our own adult ideas. We trust that children are doing their best with the skills and abilities they have developed and at their disposal at the particular moment. We trust that children, with their social brains, will make meaningful connections with others and find ways to navigate playing and working around others and can use supports and strategies to strengthen their interactions and relationships. 

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How We Value Play

Research shows that children learn best through play. The brain is wired for play and through play, children develop the pathway in their brains that allow them to access knowledge, remember and recall, respond flexibly to varying situations, use creative problem solving, negotiate social situations and so much more. In the words of lifelong childhood advocate, Mr. Rogers,  “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

Our knowledge that play is the best form of learning for young children is the basis for the ways we structure the classroom learning environment, the schedule of the day and the types of activities we offer to children. Children will spend the majority of their day choosing areas to play and be with others. Our curriculum model will be focused on observing children’s play, decoding meaning and possibilities in children’s play and planning for continued experiences to build on children’s interests. When children find topics they are passionate about, the world of learning possibilities opens up for them. When joy is sparked through play, children’s brains focus in, making connections, inferring meaning and taking leaps in understanding. Children build their own learning and understanding through deeply engaging play. The work of preschool could be really summed up as learning how to learn. Discovering ways to seek and find knowledge about subjects children are passionate about through many research avenues (experimentation, books, technology, peers and adults) builds in children a lifelong love of learning.

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How We Support Learning

Children learn as they interact with the world around them through play, observation, experimentation and their relationships with others. Reggio Emilia recognizes the 3 main teachers of children to be their trusted adults, other children and their environment (their classroom and the world around them). When children are given a flexible schedule with time to engage in hands-on exploration, they thrive. The youngest infants begin to make sense of their world through their senses, categorizing and sorting information to remember and make meaning. As children grow, they are constantly updating their view of the world and how things work; adapting theories, incorporating new information. While a newly verbal toddler may at first categorize all furry, four legged creatures as cats or their favorite pet, over time they change how they categorize furry four legged creatures by increasingly small important details. New categories emerge for children to sort and catalog their experiences. Children are constantly building a framework for their learning to be connected to. When children learn through play, they are connected to this intricate network of adding new knowledge onto previous knowledge. Each child will have a dramatically different scope of their previous knowledge based on their different life experiences. To provide meaningful ways for all children to learn in our classroom, we provide open-ended, flexible and changing materials, experiences and play every day.

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How We Plan For Emergent Learning Interests

To best fit the ever changing needs and interests of a mixed age school of 2 to 5 year olds, we use an emergent curriculum model. For us, this means that we are actively planning the activities and offerings for children one week in advance. That gives us time to balance what we are currently interested in while providing time to prepare ahead. In our plans, we prepare for activities and classroom materials to offer learning opportunities in all of the developmental domains: social/emotional, physical, language/literacy, cognitive, mathematics, science and technology, social studies, creativity and the arts. We plan for whole group activities at circle time and on the playground. Small group activities in individual interest areas, and offerings for individual children based on their interests, needs or development.  We also believe that learning is often spontaneous and exciting. Sometimes the plans for the day may be laid by the wayside for a compelling interest that emerges in the moment. Flexibility in the day to day classroom experience allows us to be truly emergent.

How We Arrange The Learning Environment

We believe children have a right to beautiful classroom environments that inspire wonder, creativity and learning. If the 3 teachers of the child are adults, their peers and the classroom environment, we must put a lot of intentional planning and thought into the spaces we offer children. The classroom environment can be described as one part home, one part classroom and one part museum. We put intentional design into making the spaces for children homelike, warm and aesthetically pleasing. The space is also set up as a classroom where children can explore, create and play with low shelves that encourage children’s choice and autonomy. We also use the classroom spaces as a museum to display the evidence of the work of the children. The work of the children on display elevates their artwork, projects and creations. It is a way we advocate to the community of adults about our philosophy of how children learn as well as for the children in the classroom to see and appreciate. For the children, seeing their work curated and honored shows how we value their thinking and discoveries as well as allows time for them to make new theories based on past projects. Children engage with all of their senses and when we spark wonder and delight with interesting, novel, or open-ended materials and play activities, children’s brains are primed to investigate and make discoveries. As our schedule allows for ample time for free play and choice, we put much thought and planning into the areas where the children will choose to play to allow for many possible learning opportunities to unfold.  We designate play areas that correlate with children’s interest and developmental domains.

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How We Build A Community Of Learners

Another key element of the Reggio Emilia inspired philosophy is its value on education as an element of democracy. In some of its formal regulations the Reggio Emilia municipality states that education, “is a resource for gaining knowledge and for learning to live together; it is a meeting place where freedom, democracy and solidarity are practiced and where the value of peace is promoted”. Hope harbor Children’s Center is often the very first place where children experience coming together with a group of peers. We value the important place that early education has in setting the stage for how children learn to think, work and play with other people. In a community of learners, all participants are active: no one voice has more weight or value. Children’s choices and ideas are respected alongside those of the teachers.  Children begin to share their thinking and add onto the thinking of others. They build critical thinking skills through collaboration. One of the roles of the teachers is to elevate the voices of the children and support communication between children. This way of connecting children’s ideas is a foundational element of how we plan our school. When children try a new challenge, we might pair them with a child that has some expertise. When children ask questions about mice, we might direct them to a peer who has mice as a pet. When children share a theory about their play, we might bring it for discussion at circle time to plan the next step. When we plan our classroom boundaries and limits (what many schools may call a set of rules) we allow the children to think aloud about what is important about safety or kindness. Through active dialogue, the children develop their own set of agreements to abide by.  Children experience their voice being valued and participating in valuing the voices of others. Children also gather information about how they are similar and different from others in the community. How they think differently, look differently, have different opinions, likes and dislikes, different families, backgrounds and gifts. They see the hundreds of ideas that can come from a group of many thinkers collaborating together. Co-creation of community, finding compromise, respecting differing views, negotiating plans and seeing the value of the many is the core of our democracy, and we value children experiencing democracy in their earliest experiences with school and being in a community of peers. “Negotiation is not only the highest level of discussion but also of democracy itself.  Negotiation, as intended in constructivism, is a permanent process that enables the many othernesses to recognise that “we are the other” and that we are made of exchange and negotiation with others” -Carlia Rinaldi, Reggio Emilia Atelierista​

How We Support Anti-Bias Thinking

We recognize that anti-bias work is about more than skin color, so we talk with children about the range of people that make up our community and the wider world. We take care with the words and beliefs we express. Social problem solving is a present part of our daily lives. We challenge children to articulate their feelings and support them in working towards mutually agreeable solutions. By emphasizing alternate perspective taking, we help children advocate for themselves and recognize the needs of others. Teachers engage in ongoing professional development around anti-bias work to challenge our own biases, hone our anti-bias teaching practices, and gain further skill in supporting children’s individual identities and home cultures. We incorporate many developmentally appropriate materials to reflect the diversity in our school, city and wider world. Some of these materials may include books, dolls, games, puzzles, printed photographs, displays or posters. In our emergent curriculum planning, we will find ways to incorporate diversity into any classroom activity and projects. For example: during an ongoing project on fairy tales we may read many versions of one story, including versions from many different cultures. Planned anti-bias opportunities will be culturally sensitive and not reinforce stereotypes or historical inaccuracies. Young children are constantly categorizing and making sense of the world around them and may sometimes make statements of bias. Teachers will always respond and intervene appropriately to stop biased behavior displayed by children or adults including, but not limited to: Directly responding to bias, Redirecting an inappropriate conversation or behavior; being aware of situations that may involve bias and responding appropriately; and refusing to ignore bias. 

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How We Navigate Conflict: Between Children, Peers And Families

We view conflict as an opportunity to better understand each other. Conflict is a vulnerable place for listening, understanding and growth, and we don’t force children to avoid or quickly and quietly solve problems with adult driven fixes. Between children, we help them communicate their ideas, perspectives and goals and act as conflict mediators rather than conflict solvers. We trust that children can find their way through the sometimes sticky realm of conflict and that our supportive response to conflict helps children take away their own capacity for problem solving rather than fear of future conflicts and lack of self trust. With conflict within our teaching team, our expectations would be to show respect and trust in other teachers that there will be a mutually agreeable solution and find a direct and respectful way to reach that solution. Our leadership staff are all trustworthy and reliable mediators to help teachers navigate conflict in a way that honors all parties involved.

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How We See Ourselves As Teachers And Learners

We are guides, a partner in learning.  We observe and learn from the children in our care. We act as play researchers, decoding the why behind children’s play and planning for the possibilities that may unfold. We learn about who each child is – their unique personality, development, thoughts, ideas and temperament. From those observations, we guide. We see the beginning threads of children’s ideas in play and theorize ways to foster a larger understanding. This is how we teach. We believe learning is intrinsic, and valued in all forms. When children are interested in worms, we can dedicate our focus and efforts into delving into mud.  It is refreshingly human to explore that which is most interesting, and to seek that which you wish to pursue. Teaching in early education is this to us: an openly human experience. The art of building and fostering relationships. As teachers of young children, often a child’s first teacher, our role is important. We know that through this primary relationship, we can set the foundation for a lifelong love of learning and mastery of self.

 “We need to define the role of the adult, not as a transmitter but as a creator of relationships — relationships not only between people but also between things, between thoughts, with the environment. It’s like we need to create a typical New York City traffic jam in the school. We teachers must see ourselves as researchers, able to think, and to produce a true curriculum, a curriculum produced from all of the children. What we so often do is impose adult time on children’s time and this negates children being able to work with their own resources. When we in Reggio say children have 100 languages, we mean more than the 100 languages of children, we also mean the 100 languages of adults, of teachers. The teacher must have the capacity for many different roles. The teacher has to be the author of a play, someone who thinks ahead of time. Teachers also need to be the main actors in the play, the protagonists. The teacher must forget all the lines he knew before and invent the ones he doesn’t remember. Teachers also have to take the role of the prompter, the one who gives the cues to the actors. Teachers need to be set designers who create the environment in which activities take place. At the same time, the teacher needs to be the audience who applauds. The teacher has many different roles and she needs to be in many places and do many different things and use many languages. Sometimes the teacher will find himself without words, without anything to say; and at times this is fortunate for the child, because then the teacher will have to invent new words…...Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning and how to learn.” -Loris Malaguzzi

How We Arrange Our Priorities

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, safety and security are at the bottom. Of course we need to make sure these priorities are set into the foundation of our schedule, environment and interactions. But if we are only focused on the needs of children’s bodies, we are unable to spend time at the peak of the pyramid, self growth, understanding and long term learning. Our priorities in our Reggio inspired program are children’s whole development, their social/emotional growth, relationships, community learning, cognitive development, creative expression and understanding of self and others. We will find ways of allowing for these priorities in all areas rather than getting “stuck” only thinking of children’s needs for health and safety.