Inspiration of Reggio in the Classroom

            Last year in our class we spoke about pedagogy and what that could mean for the child, in our first few weeks of the class this year we have been talking about pedagogical documentation and materials and how they are related to one another. Initially, I did not want to have early childhood education as my specialty or a kinder placement mainly because I didn’t know what the best way to have the students learn. With our discussions so far about pedagogy and using materials in various ways within the classroom, I am starting to look forward on working in an early childhood teaching setting.

            In a 2010 article, Vecchi talks about ateliers [studio] “as a presence that provides direction to educational thinking” (Vecchi, 2010). From what I have seen up until this point, it appears that many kindergarten and primary classrooms are designed with centers that help guide students with their learning and inquiry process. Books are in one section, small tools and manipulatives in another, tables are typically centralized with a carpet facing in once direction, typically, towards a teacher or the main board.

            As there is a strong emphasis of incorporating the environment into the classroom and learning experience, many of the Reggio-inspired classrooms often includes foliage, branches, muted tones and materials that can often be found in the environment for example, pebbles, seeds, wood and plants are often seen. Some boards have attempted for the kindergarten classroom and educators have take the Reggio approach in regards to classroom set-up but not with their approach to teaching.

            Rather than having materials out for children to interact with, many of the classrooms in our public and catholic school boards will have certain centers out at a time and the students will often move back and forth from carpet-time to center-time. Ideally the children should have the opportunity to explore a space in their terms, which is what these Reggio-inspired classrooms aim for.

             

References

McDonell, A. (2015). A new year, a new classroom. Retrieved from https://thecuriouskindergarten.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/dsc03264.jpg

Vecchi, V. (2010). Art and creativity in Reggio Emilia: Exploring the role and potentials of ateliers in early childhood education. New York, NY: Routledge.