I recently attended the Reggio Emilia Study group which this month was held at Beverly Hills Church Preschool in Alexandria, Va. This is my first experience at a Reggio school. First impressions: many of their stations included natural materials and the organization of the classrooms were very organic. One of the first things I noticed was that art and expression is included in every aspect of the children's day. The group watched a movie focused on observing children at the Infant-Toddler Center in Reggio Emilia, Italy throughout a year. The film was organized not chronologically but according to activities throughout the day. After viewing the film, we split into groups to discuss it and the article "Participation in Progettazione: The experience of the Infant-Toddler Center and it's contexts" from Innovations in early education: the international Reggio exchange. One of the things I noticed during the film, and that was discussed after, was the small amount of verbal communication and how calm and unhurried the environment was. A lot of discussion revolved around how it was possible that the teachers stayed so calm and the fact that here in the states we get so caught up on scheduling and staying on task that we feel we don't have enough time. Some mentioned feeling pressure to make sure children all get a chance to have the same experiences so that they "don't fall behind." A comment was made that we always have time, time is steadily there for us to fill, but our choices on how we use that time is what we should be concerned with.
The fact that we couldn't understand what was being said in the video really moved observation to the forefront, so I feel the group focused on how the teachers were able to pull off such a calm environment without feeling the need to intervene and without pressure of time constraints. But I think even without understanding the very little that was being said verbally, it was easy to see that they were not using verbal language as direction, instruction, or even leadership, but rather as expression and support. The children are not being told "Put these feathers in one bucket and these stones in another and notice the difference in weight." They are being encouraged to experience the materials in a way that is natural for them and at their own pace, developing languages and vocabulary in the other senses, and communicating non-verbally. What they take from the experience of playing with transparent green bottles and a projector on one day may not be what the teachers had intended or assumed would occur, and that is perfectly fine and actually a learning opportunity for the teachers.
In the article, the researchers cover a room in white paper to see how the children will react to the environment changing so drastically. They were shocked when the toddlers did not show surprise at all but began exploring as normal and they attribute this to the fact that everything is new and amazing to young children. The boy who eventually did pull off a piece of paper and began hypothesizing that a marker would flow down through the tube that was formed demonstrated that he had a sense of equilibrium and balance, as it was quite larger than he is and he didn't crush it although it was frail. So because the teachers did not pick up the markers to show them, "Look you can make marks all over the room," as I suppose is what was assumed would happen, the child was able to explore the environment and his experience was much more meaningful. The teachers were also allowed to observe and learn more about this child as an individual. Much of the video exemplified this as well. When allowed to explore the environment on their own, the naturally curious child will find ways to experiment and explore, learning what he needs to learn in such a way that a relationship between the child and material are formed. I could really see the idea of "children as capable" coming to life in this respect. Relationships could also be seen between the child and every other entity: the materials, the environment, the teachers, and the other children.
So when addressing the concern that all children may not get the same experience or "fall behind," which creates this need to direct and control activities for toddlers, my experience from working at Art at the Center has helped me to understand the value of providing an environment conducive to learning and allowing children to explore that environment naturally and at their own pace while offering support and expressive language to encourage their development.
Links:
Beverly Hills Church Preschool
Art at the Center
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