Reflections about Reggio Emilia
Melanie Lowin
Melanie Lowin, MEd., M.A. is a Pre-Kindergarten teacher in Blake School’s Early Learning Center, which opened in the fall of 2023. Along with a number of colleagues, she participated in the spring 2023 Study Tour in Reggio Emilia. Melanie also participated in the Early Childhood Education Pedagogy graduate certificate program through the University of Colorado-Denver, in partnership with Boulder Journey School. 

My first professional exposure to the Reggio approach was in 2021, during Covid, when I virtually attended the Reggio Children International Study Group. Then, in the spring of 2023, I was fortunate to be part of a group of colleagues who traveled to Italy to experience Reggio firsthand and participate in a five-day Study Tour. One thing stood out above the beauty, food and architecture: Reggio Emilia is its own unique place with different geography, government, resources, constituents and community. I know that I cannot take exactly what Reggio Emilia has created and plop it into my school. Still, I wondered “How do I do this at my school?”

We’re five months into the school year, and I’m energized as I work to incorporate the Reggio Emilia approach in my work with children, parents and colleagues. I’m increasingly seeing children as capable co-constructors of their learning, part of a supportive community. Instead of requiring teacher-directed activities, I’m creating more open-ended invitations and observing to see what direction the children move.

For example, I set out Legos, not expecting that the children would create an entire Lego City. They worked cooperatively with their own ideas. I listened to their ideas and convened a group where we made a plan and map. This involved using the big blocks as a platform, Lego base plates as the ‘ground’ and then adding small blocks and wooden train tracks to expand the city. I intended to introduce maps at some point during the year, but I incorporated the Lego city experience into map-making more organically, with the work the children had begun themselves.

 

I am using recycled materials, as at Remida (the center for reusable materials in Reggio Emilia), to spark resourcefulness and creativity. My experiences in Reggio inspired me to consider materials as ‘languages’ where they use elements such as light, paper, sound, mark making and clay. I increasingly see the classroom as the third teacher, making sure creative supplies are at child-level and are organized in ways to engage children. While blocks and Legos are always available, other resources are changed or reorganized to continue to spark new learning.

For example, the children chose different materials for their Lego City. They created and attached paper signs providing directions. I offered small desk lamps and the children turned them into different suns and explored light and shadows across their city. Through these explorations, they created signs and played with science, social studies and 2D and 3D math concepts.

 

I am making learning visible as I observe, document and display children’s processes (not just the end product). I take photographs, videos and audio recordings of the children’s collaborative work. I share documentation, not only with the families, but it also is on the walls where the children can revisit their work.

I’ll continue to challenge my own learning through collaborations with fellow educators–locally, nationally and internationally. As a school community, we are gathering to share our experiences and ideas, hoping to create collaborative connections and cross-disciplinary learning for all of our children.

Just as Reggio Emilia is building an approach to education one step at a time, so too, can I build my educational practice, one step at a time.