I trace my knowledge of early-childhood education to a set of cereal boxes: attention-grabbing illustrations from a February 2008 article on selecting a preschool.
Pre-cereal box, I’d heard of Reggio Emilia from several friends in my parenting community delighted with their children’s Reggio-based “play school,” but Waldorf and Montessori were new to me. In my research since, I’ve discovered some appealing elements in Waldorf and Montessori, as well as some appalling ones. Undoubtedly I’ll adopt or adapt some Waldorf practices (especially the emphasis on seasons), but on the whole neither of the two styles is the right fit for our family.
Reggio, on the other hand, intrigues me more the more I read. I still don’t expect to adopt it in toto. I don’t agree, for example, that a child’s peers provide the proper social context for learning — more on that later. So as a starting place, what does appeal to me?
- project-based learning
- emergent curriculum (based on child’s interests)
- teacher as partner, nurturer, and guide
- documenting and displaying the child’s work to revisit and assess learning
- beauty, order, and possibility in the learning space
I’ll be exploring each of these aspects in detail, starting with this last one. Order in my surroundings is almost embarrassingly important to me. I am profoundly impacted by my space, and find that the clarity and depth of my thinking depends more than it should on having clear kitchen countertops. My current reading focuses on the learning space, and I’ve recorded many useful and brilliant ideas from Designs for Living and Learning.
More on that next time.
***
After thoughtful consideration prompted by an article on “slow reading,” I’ve decided to remove the distraction of links within the body of my posts.
Links:
cereal box illustrations
Wondertime article, “Shopping for a Preschool?”
API Seattle, my parenting community
“The art of slow reading”
“Reggio Emilia Approach”
Open Book homeschool theory series
Homeschool Theory: Resources




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