Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota RINM Blog

Thinking about Listening

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 18:11:32 GMT

Thinking about Listening
Lani Shapiro
Now retired, Lani was an early childhood educator teaching both typical and special rights children and their adults (parents and teachers) for more than 40 years. She is a founding member of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota, is a current Board member, works on the Network’s Communication Committee and facilitates its Open Book Study.

“Listening” frequently functions as a call to obedience: listening to directions, attending to the voice of the adult or waiting for a turn to talk. The Reggio Approach offers a different, much deeper understanding:

“Listening: An active attitude of listening between adults, children and the environment is the premise and context of every educational encounter.”

Indications, Reggio Children

Long before we can speak, we converse through body, expression and gesture, and can listen with our eyes.

“Very early in life, children demonstrate that they have a voice, but above all that they know how to listen and want to be listened to. Sociality is not taught to children: they are social beings.”

There are different kinds of listening: to the self, to others, to the world…

…to listen not so that we agree but so we have an opportunity to understand each other and the world.

“…school should be: first and foremost, a context of multiple listening. This context of multiple listening, involving the teachers but also the group of children and each child, all of whom can listen to others and listen to themselves, overturns the teaching—learning relationship.”

“Thus, moving from one language to another, from one field of experience to another, and reflecting on these shifts and those of others, children modify and enrich their theories and conceptual maps. But this is true if, and only if, children have the opportunity to make these shifts in a group context—that is, in and with others—and if they have the possibility to listen and be listened to, to express their differences and be receptive to the differences of others. The task of those who educate is not only to allow the differences to be expressed but to make it possible for them to be negotiated and nurtured through exchange and comparison of ideas.”

Quotes above are from In dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, researching and learning. (Rinaldi, C. 2005, p.49-51).

The above ideas about listening reference children, others and the world. These intrepid explorers need adults as partners. To be available as this kind of listener, we must embrace listening as an act full of curiosity, desire, wonder, doubt or interest.

Whether you are a teacher, administrator or policy maker, you can ask yourself questions such as, “What do I wonder…

about children and their approaches to learning?

about the work of teaching and learning?

about the roles of the teacher, parents and children?

or about the purpose of school?”

To launch conversations, consider possible “think-about-questions,” rather than “do-you-know-questions.” For the "think-about-questions" to be effective in generating conversation, building relationships and deepening thought, you must listen (with all your senses) and build upon what follows.

I would like to know more…

This is very interesting…

You started to say…

I am wondering…

…and then?

Does this remind you of anything?

What are your ideas about this?

I wonder…?

What do you think about…?

Could you tell me more…?

Would you mind sharing…?

I’m curious…

What might happen if…?

What do you suppose happens when?

Why do you suppose this happens?

How do you think that happens?

What happens after that?

Has this happened before?

What was it like when…?

However, even more important than a set of useful open-ended questions is cultivating a curious disposition within yourself. Notice that these questions invite thinking, not judgement.

Think about the way your decisions about space, materials, tools and time affect conversation. Dialogue is enriched when you are genuinely curious about others’ beliefs, assumptions, or theories and when peers share group work. Language is intertwined with deep listening, a capacity for dialogue and the ability to think critically. It is only when we are open-minded that we can listen with empathy, see unique perspectives and learn from each other.

Adults can offer language that children can borrow to support genuine listening and peer exchange:

I think…

My idea is…

In my opinion…

Thanks for sharing your opinion. I have a different one. Here’s mine…

It’s ok that you don’t agree with my opinion. We can have different points of view.

I have a different idea.

Carla Rinaldi insists that in order to listen in this way, you must give up the idea that you control the outcome. Under these circumstances, uncertainty, doubt and error are resources. This kind of deep listening leads all the parties, the speakers and the listeners, into entirely new terrain. This process is true for all of us, not just children!

On Advocacy

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 18:22:18 GMT

On Advocacy
Amy Warzybok
Amy has her M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University and her B.S. in Business from the University of Minnesota. Amy taught preschool using a Reggio Emilia approach, managed family, preschool and camp programs in nature and environmental centers and was an adjunct professor in child development. She is currently Director of the Dodge Nature Preschool in West Saint Paul.

In spring 2024, I first laid eyes on Draft One of the revised Minnesota Family and Center Based Child Care Licensing Regulations. I was overwhelmed and concerned about the impact these new regulations could have on child care programs and families across our state. I had a basic understanding of Minnesota’s government but didn’t know how to effectively advocate for my and other programs' needs or share the impact these new regulations could have on our state’s childcare programs.

I spent the 2024-2025 school year participating in the Child Care Advocates Ready to Emerge (C.A.R.E.) Fellowship program to deepen my understanding of the Minnesota Legislature and learn how to better advocate for children, families and providers. Draft Two of the Licensing Regulations was released this year. I partnered with provider groups, including Minnesota Early Childhood Outdoors, and this group, the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota, to provide feedback. I also met with my local legislator, Mary Frances Clardy, to share concerns and hopes for these updates.

This month, I hosted a site visit for Diane Hualcy and Randy Keys from the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families. They have been visiting child care sites around the state to learn more about the needs of programs and the impacts licensing regulations can have on providers. They shared that Draft Three is currently being written based on the feedback programs have shared during the listening sessions, surveys and more.

If you have concerns about the new licensing regulations or other items being discussed in legislation, reach out to your local legislators to inform them about the issue and the impact it will have on your community. Learn who represents you and how to get in touch with them.

For more information on advocacy work for child care and families in Minnesota, here are some great resources:

Reflecting on Wire and the Power of Gathering

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 16:56:13 GMT

Reflecting on Wire and the Power of Gathering
Marty Watson
Marty Watson, an educator since 1977, started exploring the Reggio Emilia Approach in 1993 after completing a Masters degree in Education at Bank Street College, NYC. She had the opportunity to be part of a Bank Street Study Group that visited the Reggio Emilia Schools. After her return from Italy, she used her leadership positions to successfully implement the approach in early childhood and school-age programs. Marty retired from her position as director at Dodge Nature Preschool in 2019 and continues to be active on the RINM Board.

I was fortunate that my schedule permitted me to attend the first Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota (RINM) Gathering of the new 25-26 school year. The September event, “Authentic and Intentional Work with Children and Loose Parts,” was a weeknight gathering at the RINM Loose Parts Lab located at the Lenox Community Center in St. Louis Park, MN.

At least one person commented that they were surprised to see me there since I am entering my sixth year of retirement from Dodge Nature Preschool. Having worked in the field of education since 1977, learning is part of my DNA. As a director for most of my career, one of my most important responsibilities was to ensure the highest quality of professional development possible for my staff. Well-educated staff leads to well-educated, well-cared for and well-rounded, happy children.

Sandy Burwell, Heidi Wolf and Ross Thompson facilitated the event. They all have a great deal of education and experience in Early Childhood and are part of the RINM committee that plans Monthly Gatherings. They are the dreamers and workers who made the Loose Parts Lab a reality. They warmly welcomed me to the gathering. I soon joined a table with familiar and unfamiliar faces. There, I encountered different types of wire. There was also an article about the use of wire with children, a document that would be easy to use with staff in any school or center.

Relationships are central in Reggio schools, woven throughout the Reggio Emilia educational project. The Gathering started with introductions. There were people that I had known for many years, new people from programs that were very familiar to me and new people and new programs that I became familiar with that evening. Names and contexts matter, and networking is an important aspect of each gathering. Once we shared our names, it seemed like we had permission to share ideas.

Our evening then turned to the wire at each table, all of which was recycled from various sources. This was an evening to experience. We soon realized that we cannot really understand children’s work with a material until we, as teachers, have investigated its possibilities. There was a feeling of exploration and wonder, no sense of right or wrong. There may be some techniques to learn before we can be successful or even creative. Some of these ideas dawned on me after the experience. I must admit that part of me, during the event, was wondering what I was learning.

The facilitators paused us several times – to offer additional loose parts and to pose questions such as “How are you making decisions about the wire you are choosing?" “What new things are you learning about the wire as you use it?” They also invited us to look at each others’ work. There were many opportunities to learn and grow. I wondered, is that what the words “authentic” and “intentional” from the workshop title were referring to? The evening included time to study additional documentation and further network with each other.

So what did I learn?

I learned that these RINM Gatherings continue to be oxygen for me. They continue to invigorate me, much like a spa experience or a workout at the gym invigorates others. These gatherings inspire me to continue my excitement for learning and working in the field of early childhood education, even in retirement.
I learned through the environment as the third teacher. Prepared workspaces, inviting materials and documentation along with refreshments supported my curiosity.
I was reminded how powerful it is to have time to work and create. I really do not know the possibilities of a material unless I actually manipulate it and experience it with my own hands and mind.
I met new people and learned about their work with children and their interest in the Reggio Emilia Approach.
I learned from others as I observed their work, reflected on that work and considered comments and questions. Reflection is part of the learning process. Questions about our own ideas and others’ ideas are important to the process of understanding.
I learned that the evening was not just about wire. It was about all the things that are connected to learning!

During one of my first visits to the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy, I quickly learned that they prioritize professional development. They gather weekly to study documentation about children in their care. The teacher is thought of as a researcher. They spend most of the month of July on professional development.

As a director, there were many ways that I planned for professional development with my staff. I do hope that those reading this will take seriously many professional development opportunities. Make it a priority to learn what is offered by the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota and make a plan.

I look forward to seeing you at my next Reggio workout!!

Transforming My Teaching Practice/Growing a Program

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 12:46:47 GMT

Transforming My Teaching Practice/Growing a Program
Jennifer Kalika
Jennifer Kalika has been a string instrument teacher for over 20 years. She has taught all ages, but her love lies in teaching primary school students. She currently teaches at an independent PreK-12 school in the Twin Cities. Jennifer participated in a study tour at the Loris Malaguzzi Center in Reggio Emilia, Italy and holds a graduate certificate in Early Childhood Education Pedagogy from CU Denver. An avid performing musician as well, Jennifer plays both modern and baroque viola and is a member of the Lyra Baroque Orchestra in St. Paul, Minnesota.

At first glance, particularly from a beginner’s perspective, the Reggio Emilia approach seems wholly disconnected from traditional, skills-based teaching and learning. My practice, as a string instrument teacher (violin, viola, cello), was very teacher-led, highly structured and prioritized mastering specific skills delivered within a 30-minute, once-a-week lesson schedule. This approach to teaching focuses on repetition and incorporates strong adult influence, be it from the teacher or the parent. The idea of an emergent curriculum can feel intimidating for those used to structured instruction. These teaching techniques place little emphasis on student exploration or interest.

I’ve been part of the arts faculty in a PreK-12 independent school for 13 years. Over the last few years, the Lower School underwent physical and organizational changes to broaden and deepen its attention to Reggio Emilia philosophy with a new Early Learning Center (ELC) for PreK-1st grade.

I discovered a connection between the Reggio Emilia approach and general music teaching for young students. I was already familiar with the Orff-Schulwerk Approach to music education and identified correlations with its child-led vocal and instrumental exploration and creation through improvisation and composition. There are many articles that describe clear connections between Reggio-inspired pedagogy and the Orff-Schulwerk approach. However, I struggled to find much written about string teaching with a Reggio mindset. As I pursued information about this philosophy, I actively explored how I might incorporate the Reggio Emilia principles into my context. What could make learning a string instrument interesting to a PreK student so they feel choice, inspiration and interest? What if the teacher took the time – perhaps a whole year – to explore aspects of string instruments that 4 and 5-year-olds find interesting?

As changes began at my school, I was determined to learn more about the Reggio approach. I started with the PreK teachers at my school who had created Reggio Emilia-inspired environments in their classrooms. They directed me to Reggio Children, the website for the Loris Malaguzzi International Center in Reggio Emilia, Italy where I participated in a summer online workshop.

The founders of the Reggio Emilia approach were inspired by great educational thinkers like Piaget and Dewey whose philosophy of education for young children places the child at the center of their learning process. They emphasized the history of the educational system in Italy prior to World War II and how it impacted the education system, especially for preschool children. The unique cultural and political nature of this region continues to influence the development of this educational approach.

I also looked within the United States for further educational opportunities in the Reggio Emilia approach and discovered the Boulder Journey School, an established preschool in Boulder, CO, which incorporates the Reggio Emilia approach and has an excellent teacher education and professional development program in collaboration with the University of Colorado, Denver.

I enrolled in the teacher training at Boulder Journey School and practiced documenting student activity using note-taking and photos and videos for that entire semester. In addition to my coursework, I began to document in my classroom.

Still, I struggled to find a connection between my string teaching context and the Reggio Emilia approach. What I needed was to connect my experiences teaching young string students with the child-centered emergent curriculum that is at the core of the Reggio Emilia approach. I shared ideas and had multiple conversations with various colleagues about how we could incorporate the Reggio Emilia thinking into our teaching.

How can I incorporate the Reggio Emilia philosophy into string teaching at the early learning level for students in PreK, Kindergarten and 1st grade?
How can I structure string teaching so that children’s learning is visible and they feel empowered as creators of their own knowledge?
How can I connect children with community in a way that is meaningful to them?
How can I devise a way for learning string instruments to be more equitable and accessible to all ELC students?

I considered the children. They pursue knowledge, and my role is to support their curiosity and trust in their abilities as collaborators. I needed to be more comfortable with 4 and 5 year-olds handling string instruments and other materials. This was a challenging prospect considering my school had just purchased twelve small string instruments that were my responsibility! I also needed to relax my pacing to provide students with ample time to explore and create. My focus switched from providing students with information to asking questions, to find out what they already know and what they want to know.

Drawing on the children’s interests and thinking about my questions and conversations with colleagues, I outlined a curriculum as a “string journey.”

PreK: Exploration – What is a string instrument?

Kindergarten: First experiences – short units on violin, viola and cello

First Grade: Introduction to formal instruction on chosen instrument – violin, viola or cello.

The curriculum itself is emergent, drawing from the children's curiosity and desire for knowledge. Now, I see the students as partners and participants in the process of the acquisition of this knowledge.

For PreK, I offer provocations to spark student interest – planting a seed or introducing a potential topic. For example, last year I provided natural materials to construct “instruments.” The children discussed their ideas and collaborated as their inventions materialized. Other avenues of interest developed and a handful of students delved into that research, while others remained with the original idea.

Many provocations I introduce take off, and the children spend ample amounts of time on their ideas, sometimes carrying over several class meetings. Knowing when to move on is an important skill for the teacher.

An important part of my role as teacher is to document the children's processes as they are occurring. I observe closely and listen carefully. Sometimes I ask questions to see what the children are thinking, such as, “how did you come up with your idea?” As the children answer, others add into the conversation and share their point of view. I sometimes pose follow up questions to help us dive a little deeper.

I use documentation in my teaching, because it allows me to look back and reveal areas of student interest that I missed or passed by too quickly. It provides me with material from which I can build upon student knowledge and avenues for fresh provocations and research.

To document, I use my phone to take candid photos and videos of the students sharing their learning. On occasion, I transcribe a video where two students are researching something together. Another type of documentation is of a creation, such as an instrument made from natural materials or a drawing of sound waves. Children’s work is visible throughout the school, making learning visible to the entire school community. This is a powerful method of sharing children’s thinking.

The process of documenting student work can be a daunting prospect if one has never explored its possibilities. Beginning with small steps is helpful. A great way to start is to choose only a couple of groups to document for a short period of time. Keep things simple with a photo here and there or a quick video of students working together. Then, set an intentional time to revisit and reflect on your documentation. Print photos, transcribe a snippet of conversation and consider what part of the learning you want to build upon.

As a provocation, I offered the children an array of loose string instrument parts. These included broken pieces of violins, like fingerboard, pegs, bridges, bows, string, etc.

I did not provide any verbal direction to the children, but rather, observed them follow their curiosity. Many attempted to put together their concept of an instrument. Others were interested in manipulating the parts to try to make a sound.

One student, while examining a bow, discovered that there were small mechanisms that manipulated the tension of the bow hair.

“Hey, there’s a screw.”
Brian discovers that there is a screw that loosens the bow hair.

“Look! It comes off!”
Brian discovers that the frog is removable and the bow hair is loose.

I invited the owner and head luthier from a local violin shop to come visit the PreK classes and demonstrate a bow being re-haired. The students were enthralled. He started by having one of the students cut the bow hair of the bow that he was going to work with, which is a big no-no in the string world! We used a camera to document so the children could see what he was doing close-up. They were fascinated by the new horse hair that he brought for rehairing the bow, and the luthier passed a lock of horse hair around for the students to hold and feel. Following the event, I expanded upon the students’ excitement and interest in horse hair with a provocation about the bow and what it is made of, specifically, horse hair. This tied the whole experience together and expanded the children’s interest in the process of rehairing.

An emergent curriculum still maintains a level of classroom structure and planning and this can take time to balance and incorporate. For my purposes, I am able to utilize a more authentic Reggio Emilia approach with my youngest students and allow skills to become a part of the learning exploration. I discovered that the Reggio Emilia approach is, in fact, organically aligned to string instrument education–or any education for that matter. I find it to be a perfect fit for me personally and professionally. It allows me time and flexibility in my teaching. If a student wants to stop and try something, or ask a question about a part of the instrument, we can take the time to explore. Of course, I would like to deliver my lesson plans in a timely manner and I have goals that I would like to achieve with my students, but now I don’t feel as much haste in the process. My intention is to expose my students to string instruments in a way that brings them joy and a sense of accomplishment. The children come first. They are capable, curious, knowledge-seekers and have the right to equal access to learning a string instrument.

The ELC string program has two years under its belt. As with any new program, we’re finding large and small ways to evolve. I never imagined myself, at this point in my career, undertaking this complete shift in the philosophy, approach and delivery of my teaching. I am now teaching more authentically and with greater intention. Continued growth depends on patience, perseverance and good communication.

Fundamentals: Advocacy

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 22:28:01 GMT

Fundamentals: Advocacy
In order to create a pathway for people new to Reggio-inspired work and deepen our shared thinking, we offer a regular column, Fundamentals, to introduce and explore central principles of the Reggio Approach. The Reggio Approach is a complex system of thought and practice with many dynamic and synergistic entry points; it is not a method, program or curriculum. (Key Principles)

Education is “always a political discourse whether we know it or not. It is about working with cultural choices, but it clearly also means working with political choices.”

Loris Malaguzzi

The Reggio Emilia project had an explicitly political birth at the end of World War II contesting fascism, asserting women’s rights and calling for greater social equality through collective civic action. This political aspect of the Reggio Approach is often overlooked or avoided.

https://reggio-emilia-research.com/en/

A basic principle of the Reggio Approach is an image of the child as capable, competent, desiring to be in relation with others and bearing rights. Advocacy is not a separate activity in this context, but instead, a fundamental role for teachers, parents and the wider community as they defend and promote these rights, desires and potentials.

A journey into rights

Making learning visible through documentation brings the thinking of children into public awareness:

at the mall,

at the Capitol and

within administrative venues.

You are engaged in advocacy, not only when you work to influence public policy or engage in civic action, but also when you document and make visible the work of children, collaborate with colleagues, participate in a Network event or challenge norms.

Everywhere Atelier, A Scholarship Reflection

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 23:46:37 GMT

Everywhere Atelier, A Scholarship Reflection
Heidi Wolf
Heidi Wolf is the Program Director and early childhood teacher at Benilde St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, MN. She is currently interested in the effects of the environment on children and the benefits of loose parts material explorations. Heidi serves on the Board of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota and along with RINM colleagues, founded the Loose Parts Laboratory: Materials Center for teachers, families and the greater community. She holds a degree in child psychology from the University of Minnesota.

I am writing this reflection with deep gratitude to the Network for supporting my experience at the “Everywhere Atelier” workshop, led by educational consultant and atelierista Roberta Pucci in Reggio Emilia, Italy in June 2025. I had so many questions about the trip ahead of time, like “How can I best prepare myself to get the most out of this experience?” I read books and articles, asked others about their experiences and sought advice from those who participated in Reggio Children Study Tours. Ultimately, I decided to let go of the anxiety and pressure and bring myself as an open book. My goal was to take in each moment and absorb as much as I could.

Each day was thoughtfully planned with multiple ways to explore various materials in hands-on workshops. For example, during a midweek trip to Bologna, the walk from the train to the workshop was an intentional part of the experience. Were we able to slow down? What details were we drawn to? What did we notice? Did we see the beauty in the porticos and arches that framed each alley, the massive door knobs, the mosaic tile works on the sidewalks? Details were and are everywhere, but how often do we slow down to notice? From the perspective of a child, what would they notice?

After our long walk, we rang a bell outside one of the many massive doors around the city. We were at the art studio, Interlinea Lab, owned by Valentina Pucci.

We entered what can only be described as a secret garden. Valentina’s studio and home were located down a cobblestone path and behind an iron gate that opened into a beautiful garden.

Coffee, refreshments and sweet and savory treats welcomed us into a space complete with bamboo plants and shade from a massive flowering magnolia tree.

Valentina led a session exploring paper as a surface and thread as an unconventional graphic tool. The thread was not to embroider in the traditional sense where the design of the thread patterns is the focus. In this case, the thread became marks on paper, leading to experimentation and dialogue between the two materials.

Roberta led a session looking closely at and transforming paper in many ways, one of which was to manipulate wet paper and objects. This created the opportunity to bring impressions of the objects into the paper.

Both of these experiences with paper, along with the walk to the garden studio (in the middle of the bustling city), made a huge impression on me. They highlighted the impact of surroundings and context, which literally and physically made impressions on us as educators. Valentina and Roberta described four essential ingredients for building relationships with others and the world: precision, gentle gestures, time and silence.

For example, if you push paper too fast or hard when it's wet it rips. Working gently and with precision and time, the wet paper can take on the impression of other materials. Threads become tangled or rip the paper surface when rushed.

I wondered, how do these essential ingredients – precision, gentle gestures, time and silence – impact our work with children? Do we slow down for children? Do we offer time and silence and really observe? These can be true gifts to the children in our care. How do we as educators make impressions on those around us?

As I reflected on my journal notes each night, I realized that people were the common thread I wrote about each day. I saw passion for children, learning and community as the teachers and children exchanged ideas around documentation panels and tour guides responded to our questions.

The most impactful part of the trip was not the famous town, the piazzas or the buildings, it was the idea of many cultures coming together, in dialogue with one another. I experienced the people, the culture and the essence of a community that supports each other. These important parts of the Reggio philosophy were evident in the experiences that Roberta and others facilitated. My new question is how I might bring the essence of this experience back to my community and our local contexts.

My suitcase may be unpacked and all the new books and materials put away on a shelf, but I believe it will take much more time to unpack the ideas still rolling around in my heart from this amazing opportunity. This experience has left a deep and lasting impression on me, and for this I will forever be grateful.

Fundamentals: Tribute to Lella Gandini

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 23:40:05 GMT

Fundamentals: Tribute to Lella Gandini
A Tribute to Lella Gandini, an obituary published by Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 21, 2025

Northampton, MA - It is with deep sadness that we mark the passing of Elena (Lella) Gandini Little, a renowned educator, author, and tireless advocate for early childhood education, who died on June 16, 2025, in Northampton, Massachusetts, at the age of 90. Lella's work profoundly shaped educational practices in North America and beyond, primarily through her commitment to the model developed in the city of Reggio Emilia in Italy.

Lella was born in Tregnago, Italy on July 3, 1934. She moved from Italy to the United States in 1972 when she married distinguished historian Lester K. Little, now Professor Emeritus at Smith College. Their dedicated partnership helped them maintain strong ties and important influence in both countries, in part through their leadership of the American Academy in Rome from 1999 to 2006.

Lella earned a B.A. and M.A. at Smith College and an Ed.D. at the University of Massachusetts. Her doctoral work included a dissertation on children's bedtime rituals, exploring the "historical background of traditions (lullabies) and devices (swaddling clothes, cradles) to ease and facilitate the going to sleep of infants and young children" and the "rituals of separation at bedtime." She also conducted comparative studies, noting that in the U.S., book reading was more prevalent for bedtime transitions, while in Italy, storytelling, lullabies, or lying beside the child were more common.

In the 1970s Lella published several books for children in Italy, focusing mainly on traditional nursery rhymes and fairy tales. As she became familiar with schools and childcare centers in the U.S., she realized that many of the practices that she observed did not correspond to the child development theories she had studied that placed value on relationships and learning. Thus she began to bring visual materials and documented stories from Pistoia and Reggio Emilia to present and publish in the U.S., to help educators open new possibilities both for children and for their own profession.

In 1976, Lella began collaborating closely with Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach. Lella became Malaguzzi's trusted translator during his pivotal visits to the U.S. She served as United States Liaison for the Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia approach, and as Associate Editor of the journal, Innovations in Early Childhood Education, which dedicated a special issue to her accomplishments in 2023.

Lella championed the Reggio view of children and teachers as endowed with strong potential, ready to engage in relationships, listen, and learn together. She highlighted the teacher's role as a "researcher in collaboration with colleagues," and stressed the importance of relationships among children, teachers, and the environment, which is considered the "third teacher." Her work underscored the "hundred languages of children" – their diverse ways of expressing thoughts and theories through drawing, sculpting, storytelling, dramatic play, and other forms of creativity. She also promoted the idea that nothing in school should happen without joy. Lella observed and shared instances of children's playful discoveries, demonstrating how deeply trusting teachers can spark children's learning.

Lella taught at the University of Massachusetts, Lesley College, and Smith College and served as a Visiting Scholar at Lesley University from 2008. Her honors include an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the Erikson Institute (2004) and the Smith College Medal for Distinguished Alumnae (2008). Among her publications for educators, the best known is The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education, which has been translated into at least 26 languages across at least 145 countries.

Lella's collaborations with Cathy Topal at the Smith Fort Hill School and Center for Early Childhood Education culminated in their co-authored Beautiful Stuff books and many influential teaching workshops. Her close friendship with beloved local children's author Eric Carle further underscored her appreciation for the intersection of art and early learning.

Learning Journeys

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Mon, 05 May 2025 03:40:38 GMT

Learning Journeys
Judith Julig
Judith Julig is a retired early childhood teacher and parent educator. She worked with young children and their families in many different settings for more than 40 years. A highlight of her career was working with other teachers and mentors learning and practicing the Reggio Emilia Approach.

After serving as a literacy coach in an urban public school district for a number of years, I returned to a Pre-K classroom in the same district with great anticipation. I recalled my visits to two Reggio-inspired colleagues’ spaces, which contained rich layers of documentation, communicating the children’s interests and studies. I noticed evidence of reflective practice with the team and connections to the children’s lives at home. I recognized a level of teaching in their work that I had never achieved, but strongly aspired to.

The children and I came together with shared anxiety. They were all new to school, very few spoke much English and I knew little of their languages. They were very brave, and I also had to be very brave. I soon learned that most of the limitations were my own because these children were eager and curious learners. I had to readjust my way of “being” in the classroom.

The meaning behind “100 Languages of Children” began to make sense to me as I paid greater attention to the varied ways the children communicated with me and with each other. This was more challenging than I thought it would be. It had been easier to set up simple “arts and crafts,” send them home at the end of the day and then start all over the next day. I soon realized that without making their work visible and revisiting it, something was lacking.

We learned together. I began inviting the children to regroup and revisit their day’s work by sharing it with their classmates and making plans to revisit it the next day. They learned that what they did was important, that their work was safe at school and that we needed it for continued study.

My growth and understanding as a teacher paralleled the growth and understanding of the children. I learned that I had to carefully “listen” to the mélange of activity within the room. There are always many stories a teacher can choose to tell. To support the context for learning, I encouraged social interaction, provided fresh “raw materials” as provocation and privileged particular work in order to elicit questions and sustain interest.

A study of owls and birds in our neighborhoods emerged from reading the book, Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. It became a pivotal spot in my growth as a “listening” teacher and documenter of children’s learning. The book makes clearly visible the worries of child-parent separation. The children were drawn in by the story, enjoyed repeated readings, participated in the refrains and showed great interest when invited to draw owl babies.

We could have stopped there. I could have sent the drawings home and chosen a new book for the following week. But, the children had questions and this was the point at which I started paying more attention to their voices and ideas.

What could I do with this interest? A child asked, “What kind of food does she bring back?” I said, “We can find out.” I brought back an armful of books about owls. The children were fascinated by pictures of an owl with a fish or mouse in its talons.

In a meeting with Reggio-inspired colleagues, we studied the traces we collected, considering what we might offer back to the children to ignite deeper engagement. Questions about practice emerged: How do we “regroup to revisit?” How do we connect a child to their first effort to elicit more detail? In what ways do we draw the attention of other children into this process? I returned to the classroom with renewed interest and courage to attempt more with the children.

The children and I began to create a documentation panel of our work. They used a variety of two and three-dimensional media to express what they were learning about owls and other birds.

The children began to select work and requested tape to attach additions to the growing documentation. Their drawings became more detailed as the children studied real owls and their habitat. With encouragement, they wrote about their ideas and a vocabulary about owls emerged. As their vocabulary grew, so grew my skills as a documenter and transcriber of children’s thinking.

I came to realize that the standards that I was accountable to teach were met, and often exceeded, as a result of this rich, engaging collaboration between and among the children, the adults and the materials.

I noticed the children spontaneously talking about owls and other birds, and I wondered how to capitalize on their responses. In an email exchange, a colleague suggested ways I could scaffold the conversations by offering questions like, “Have you seen owls?” or “Do owls live by this park or by the pond?”

In the exchange of emails and reflections with colleagues that emerged from studying the children’s work, we also considered the children’s parents. What role can the parents play? How do you draw the parents’ voices in? What do you send home with the children to entice these voices? How might we encourage a reciprocal exchange? I recalled the daily pages that other Reggio-inspired teachers sent home and realized that I had not yet made many family connections.

Early on, to connect with parents, I sent home book bags. During spring conferences, I added the children’s work about owls and birds, some images and transcribed conversations. I also sent a note asking families to look for birds in their neighborhood and to draw and write with their child about what they saw. This work from home became part of our study.

Again, I asked, “Where can we go from here?” and colleagues suggested slowing down, examining ways to “enrich the terrain” to deepen or extend the children’s work. The public library became a resource, including their urban birding activity.

The trajectory of this work began with the intimate and ended with the public – from the intensity of parent/child separation (described in the book, Owl Babies), to owls in general, then on to other birds, to wildlife in our neighborhood and finally, urban birding.

As I reflect on this experience, I can see the emergent process that came out of working with trust and curiosity at the heart. I offered more “languages,” saw potential beyond isolated activities, trusted the children, conferred with colleagues along the way and welcomed family input. The result was a much deeper and more coherent experience for the children and enormously satisfying for me as an educator. I was able to make a deeper connection for the children to the place they now live.

Children's Places of Importance

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Mon, 05 May 2025 03:28:06 GMT

Children's Places of Importance
Meredith Dodd
Meredith Dodd is an early childhood and teacher educator. While a Head Teacher in the Nursery School at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Meredith focused on the craft of pedagogical documentation. She thinks deeply about the role children have in democracy, cultivated by her connection to her Kanienkéha:ka (Mohawk) ancestral homelands of the Six Nations of the Grand River. Meredith learned about the incredible influence the Kanienkéha:ka, and all the Nations within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, had on the creation of democratic thinking and governing structures of the United States. Meredith’s passion is to support people of all ages to open the doors of self-acceptance, self-love and to know how it feels to belong, the essence of living fully in a democracy.

Secret spaces may be found inside, outdoors, or in the middle of nowhere – in a tree, fort, snow igloo, or beneath the stairs. But seeking getaways like Cruso’s bower or the bridge to Terabithia, is essential to putting things together for themselves and becoming who they are… The social construction of a voice, the discovery of a way to be “Me,” thus requires a complex bridging such as words and objects perform, locating a middle ground of experimentation and expression.

-Elizabeth Goodenough

Childhood memories play an important part in who we are as adults. To make a difference in the world, remembering our secret spaces of childhood is important. Whether real or imagined, they connect us to our earliest experiences of belonging. These spaces often mark our first sense of autonomy, creativity and agency. They are our first encounters with systems of relationships and culture.

Such memories are not just nostalgic, they are formative. They offer insight into how we began to understand ourselves as participants in a shared world. The cumulative impact of these early experiences shapes how we engage with others, how we express our needs, how we listen, how we are heard and how we speak up. These are foundational acts of democratic participation.

When adults reflect on these formative spaces, they reconnect with a sense of agency and belonging that is crucial to civic life. They remember what it felt like to matter, to explore and to enter spaces. This remembering can strengthen their voice in the present. It becomes easier to understand why participation matters, why every voice counts and why systems must include all people, not just those who speak the loudest.

“Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”

-John Dewey

If democracy must be continually reborn, then childhood, and the education of the heart and mind through lived experience, is where that rebirth begins. When we take childhood seriously, we lay the groundwork for more inclusive, imaginative and participatory futures.

The context for this investigation, about children’s special spaces and memory, was a college lab school with access to many indoor and outdoor places. We invited the students to think about places important to them, beyond those we explored at school. The children involved were four and five-year old students who had been with me the year before as threes and fours.

Children constantly make meaning by constructing their understandings of the world from where they’ve been, their experiences in those places and the relationships in their lives. The early childhood teacher is in a position to hear children’s deep, thoughtful, joyful and complex ideas about the world, which are often wrapped in expressions of emotion.Too often and sometimes inadvertently, adults stifle children’s efforts to make sense of the world.

In our classroom, we used the word landscape to define spaces: our block building area was the landscape table and the outdoor environments were particular landscapes. In this investigation, students were offered multiple languages: drawing, building using wood and other three-dimensional materials, paints and storytelling. In their play, children developed a repertoire of ever-changing environments to develop a lived sense of the patterns that connect.

What is the pattern that connects the crab to the lobster and the primrose to the orchid, and all of them to me, and me to you? What is the pattern which connects?

-Gregory Bateson

The children’s voices and emotions are patterns that connect, expressed through the hundred languages – spoken, unspoken, through gestures and media. Language is sacred because it connects the inner life and the shared world; it is how children enter places, express their truths, begin to participate and listen each-other into being. In honoring their languages, we are practicing democracy in its earliest form–listening deeply, making space and recognizing that every voice matters.

I created a process for investigating “Children’s Places of Importance” with the intention of supporting the students’ thinking and was curious to observe how they would respond to the sequence I proposed. Over the course of a month in the spring, and working with the children in small groups, we began with questions:

What landscape, place, space is important to you?
How would you share its meaning with others?

DRAW: Imagine an important landscape.

SELECT: Inspired by materials.

BUILD: Find the tools, begin 3D construction.

STORY-TELL: Reflect with watercolor.

My role was to take the children seriously and listen deeply. Having selected the sequence, I made strong invitations, changed the invitation or made it more complex by moving into a pre-selected language and was patient with even the most reluctant children. All this created the conditions for students’ thinking to become visible.

They started by talking about their memories of important places. I was present but conscious of listening carefully. Over the course of the work, some stories shifted and a few places changed. Some students were hesitant while others were eager. Different media drew out different competencies. There was storytelling throughout, but the stories presented here came at the end.

Henry

Once my dad was walking along when he saw a flower. His wife, my mom, was walking with him. And they were at the botanical garden. And then they saw a flower. And I was walking along with my dad and mom and Arlo. It’s important to me because I’m a big brother.

Nora

Me and my sister were at the beach and my sister went in to swim and she saw a fish and I was making a sand castle. The end. I like going to the beach, because I get to make sandcastles.
Gabriel

It’s called the Black Treedom Forest. There’s animals in it. And they are armies for me. The path leads to my kingdom. The path is made out of wind. If someone steps on one of the wrong pieces of wood they die. The wind helps the bad guys to fake it.

Gus

Above the Clouds
My landscape is a land floating above the sky. And the chains are supposed to be connected to the ground. There are floating trees and floating bushes. It’s my peace place, that’s why it’s important to me.

Livia

It’s about the birdhouse. So birds come inside. They could go on that piece of string, but it’s not there because I forgot to do that. This is the roof. The green and blue pompoms are pillows for the birds, and they can take them off. The colors of the sky are red, purple, blue, light blue. It’s so important for the birds because some of them don’t have homes.

Children’s early experiences, and the memories of those experiences, influence who they become as adults. My hope is that the exploration of spaces brings us, the adults, closer to understanding each child and children as a collective of thinkers, dreamers, makers and thoughtful partners with our environments. Families can, by listening (or not), affect that process. If you don’t know that your voice and feelings are important and that you need to advocate for them, you won’t know how to participate. Democratic habits are learned during early childhood.

Perhaps we can learn from children the importance of the places we introduce them to, participate in and care for, and take part in the patterns of memory-making that will inform their developing sense of self.

We cannot live without meaning, that would preclude any sense of identity, any hope, any future.

-Carlina Rinaldi

Public letter from Ann Pelo and Margie Carter

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 23:11:46 GMT

March 10, 2025

Dear colleagues,

Greetings in this perilous time in the United States, which has such impactful reverberations around the world. We’re writing to you as comrades committed to inspire thoughtful, ethical action on behalf of children, families, educators, schools, communities. We who have been nourished and challenged and fortified by the schools in Reggio Emilia have a significant responsibility and opportunity to speak out and act up.

Too often, the historical context for the creation of the first schools in Reggio is overlooked. If ever there is a time to call that history forward, it's now, as citizens in the US confront a authoritarian coup that is unraveling our democracy.

You know the story well, and Malaguzzi's telling of it. You know his declaration that:

We are part of an ongoing story of men and women, ideals intact, who realize that history can be changed, and that it is changed starting with the future of children.

And you’ve heard his reflection that:

The first philosophy learned from these extraordinary events [Mussolini’s rise to power], in the wake of such a war [World War II], was to give a human, dignified, civil meaning to existence, to be able to make choices with clarity of mind and purpose, and to yearn for the future of mankind.

What choices are we called to make now, in the face of the “extraordinary events” that are taking place? What clarity and purpose can we mobilize to guide our choices? How can we join together to chart a course forward for our work?

This is a time for our courage. Those of us who look to Reggio for inspiration and heart have a responsibility to speak out about why a pedagogy inspired by Reggio matters. A responsibility to spotlight the ways in which this approach cultivates curious minds and expansive imaginations—children’s and our own; grows an appreciation for questions; enhances our capacity to engage complexities beyond either/or thinking; opens us to a wider embrace of our shared humanity. Strengthens our capacity to resist authoritarianism and to creatively construct the society that we want to see flourish.

Many of us, both in the US and outside this besieged country, are building a resistance movement to the “extraordinary events” taking place in the US that are aimed at dismantling structures and spaces dedicated to progressive education, social justice teaching and learning, and the rights of children, their families, and educators to live proudly in the fullness of their identities. How might we allow ourselves to be truly inspired by Reggio, joining together to act, “ideals intact,” committed to change history?

As we mobilize our courage, consider the forums in which we might individually or collectively take action in our communities:

Are you a member of NAREA or a state Reggio network? Will you be attending the NAREA conference in Hamilton?

Do you have a podcast?

Do you teach adults?

Are you a director or pedagogical leader of an early childhood education program?

Are you involved in a Community of Practice? In a book group?

Consider questions that we might pose with colleagues to launch dialogue, learning, and action:

Matt Karlsen and Susan Harris MacKay, at the Studio for Playful Inquiry, ask us: What is the nature of teaching for democracy, and how might that be different than teaching for autocracy?

Let’s ask each other: What lessons can we learn from the story of the founding of the schools in Reggio Emilia, where citizens turned to a pedagogical vision to ensure that fascism would find no toehold in the lively minds and engaged hearts of children?

What action can we take that is worthy of the legacy of Reggio’s founding? Action to protect the immigrant and transgender children, families, and teachers in our schools? Action to teach the true history of the US—Indigenous history, the history of resistance to enslavement and white supremacy, the history of women rising up together, the history of workers and unions, the history of disability activism? Action to resist the dismantling of the Department of Education?

How might we come together to support each other in our boldness and determination, in our efforts to develop broad, effective strategies of collective resistance, to nurture our joy and to sustain our lives beyond fear and despair? How might we comfort and reassure each other in our tears, exhaustion and rage? What existing organizations and undertakings might move into a coordinating role to further our thinking and connections?

This is a time for us to respond to Malaguzzi's call to action. This is a time for each of us—and for us collectively—to join the ongoing story of people who realize that history can be changed.

Please add your name to ours and send this out to people in your networks. If there’s an arena in which you can imagine taking action or inviting dialogue, jot that down, too, as you forward this. None of us has to do everything, but there is something for each of us to do.

So much is possible when we stand strong, together.

With hope in collective resistance,

Ann Pelo and Margie Carter

Reflections on the January Gathering:Exploring the Languages of Snow and Ice Dodge Nature Center

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 01:57:34 GMT

Exploring the Languages of Snow and Ice

Presenters: Joey Schoen and Kristenza Nelson

Reflections from Participants:

A wonderful morning of exploring the many joys that can be taken from the winter season. Joey and Kristenza started the event with asking participants what their favorite seasons were and why. This was a great way for everyone to share in the dialogue. We learned that our outlook and enthusiasm makes all the difference in presenting experiences to children.

Winter is full of possibilities for exploration, as all have access to snow and ice. Snow and Ice are open ended and the creativity in children, bursts out of them. Every child enjoys building snowmen which opens up conversations on different types of snow and learning about the science. Children are always ready to go outside but they don’t have long term memory and quickly realize they’re cold. Be mindful, check in with the children often and teach them how to shake off mittens. Have provocations ready to go when the children arrive outside. Some children are going to enjoy the experience and some are not, embrace both. Keep it fun!

Snow activity ideas: picnics, bring the outside in and vice versa, pull dolls in sleds, use time lapse photography, look for revelations in outdoor surrounding, snow stories from animal tracks, discovering scat, winter affects on sound, moonlight on snow, tree shadows on snow, different layers of snow and how it captures light, snow forts, using like glue-imbedding objects in. Designs and patterns from boots and other items, melting snow, drawing in snow, sculptures with natural materials and snow, pushing heavy snowballs-requires collaboration, cut chunks of snow and build with, use snow saws, make big piles, pack it down, hollow it out, ask parents to help build Quinzi mounds.

Ice Activities ideas: puddles, smashing, wood pick made from sticks, how much weight can ice hold, air bubbles in layers, breaking ice-using pieces, molds-ice cube trays, color droppers, freeze twine in molds to hang ice shapes. Use Sensory tables for combining ice and snow-colored water and eye droppers, brushes. Ice cubes outside can become treasure, ice slides, water freezing in gutters

Reflections by Kelly Kritsberg Assistant Director/Toddler Teacher South Metro Montessori School

After attending the workshop on snow and ice, it brought me back to my sense of wonder and curiosity of the natural world. What a great opportunity to meet with other educators and discuss our own experiences with snow and ice while exploring Dodge Nature School’s space and the work of their teachers with the children. As I walked the environment, I could see the beauty of materials that was offered to children and I could see learning happening. I will take these experiences/conversations back to my own environment and develop provocations for snow and ice in our own context. Snow and ice evokes a sense of serene beauty, purity and the stark transformation of the wintry landscape.

Reflections by Cecilia Condra Preschool Teacher South Metro Montessori School

It was a very rich experience, in the sense that we were able to get to know other participants, talk about what we like and share different perspectives about the topic at hand. It reminds us again, that it is a matter of observing every detail before our eyes and discovering through provocations, that children can think beyond what their eyes observe. There were lots of ideas and themes presented on how to take advantage of the season. Participating in these gatherings always gives me more ideas from the opportunities to discuss the unique experiences presented. I was very grateful to participate and meet new teachers!

Our Youngest Citizens: Living and Learning Democracy in Early Childhood Classrooms

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:32:12 GMT

Our Youngest Citizens: Living and Learning Democracy in Early Childhood Classrooms
Meredith Dodd
Meredith Dodd is an early childhood and teacher educator. While a Head Teacher in the Nursery School at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Meredith focused on the craft of pedagogical documentation. She thinks deeply about the role children have in democracy, cultivated by her connection to her Kanienkéha:ka (Mohawk) ancestral homelands of the Six Nations of the Grand River. Meredith learned about the incredible influence the Kanienkéha:ka, and all the Nations within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, had on the creation of democratic thinking and governing structures of the United States. Meredith’s passion is to support people of all ages to open the doors of self-acceptance, self-love and to know how it feels to belong, the essence of living fully in a democracy.

What happens in early childhood classrooms is more than preparing children for adult life; children are doing much more than just practicing how to become citizens in society. Children are active participants in the cultures that define and impact the governing structures of their nation.

In the United States, schools are the connective places where children from a diversity of backgrounds come to learn not only academics, but the democratic cultural practices and values of the nation. Therefore, educators in the United States are inherently democratic cultural practitioners. Each educator plays a role in the nation’s cultural expression through school programming, pedagogy and practices for daily participation in the U.S. constitutional democracy.

If schools are key to learning the culture of a nation's democracy, then early childhood educators are its gatekeepers. Early childhood programs are essentially spaces where a culture of care and democratic thinking develop together, setting the stage for children’s understanding of themselves as citizens within a democratic community.

That’s a whole nation of grown women and men, who are acknowledging a six-year-old boy…So you know what that little boy must feel like? That his whole nation loves him. That he has a place in his own nation. And they’re all doing this for him. So there’s a lot of power there. And that’s what they’re teaching him.

–Sakokweniónkwas Tom Porter (Porter, 2008)

Children engage in everyday democracy through their schools’ and teachers’ interpretations of democratic ideals of freedom, community, equity and justice. How teachers care for and educate children in their classrooms—how they talk to and care for each other—reflects their own experiences and understandings of how they value democracy and live democratically. Early childhood educators are one of the essential culture bearers for children’s democratic development. As such, the profession and each educator is obligated to look at their practices and themselves.

The rights of children must, importantly, include the right to be themselves and to talk for themselves.

–Nelson Mandela (2003)

One School Community: University of Chicago Lab School

The University of Chicago Lab School, where I taught for the majority of my career, was founded by John Dewey in 1898. Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Italian-based Reggio Emilia Approach (REA), was inspired by Dewey’s belief that learning is an active process, not a transmission of a prepackaged curriculum. The school is also influenced by the philosophy of American educators Frances and David Hawkins, protégés of John Dewey. The Hawkinses and Malaguzzi shared the belief that teaching requires students and teachers to learn together through a variety of relationships with subject matter.

The ideas of Dewey, the Hawkinses and Malaguzzi represent a philosophical triangle whose core educational ideas are straightforward. In order to know how and what to teach with a particular group of students, the teacher needs to be curious alongside the children “messing about,” listening to what the children already know (Hawkins, 1965).

Reggio Emilia Approach

The Reggio Emilia Approach considers children citizens of the school and larger community. Children’s ways of knowing the world, their ideas and expressions of knowledge are essential assets for partnering with educators, families and the community. The schools of Reggio Emilia were founded upon democratic pillars and social constructivist practices.

In their work, the teachers of Reggio have struggled to raise the emancipatory potential of democracy, by giving each child possibilities to function as an active citizen and to have the possibility of a good life in a democratic community.

-Rinaldi (2021)

The Reggio Emilia Approach and the Deweys

Malaguzzi and the early pioneers of the Reggio Emilia Approach drew upon a range of thinkers, among them Piaget, Vygotsky, Freire and the American educational philosophers, John Dewey and Alice Chipman Dewey. Through their writing, teaching and practical methodological suggestions (McEwan & Bull, 1991), the Deweys in particular explored connections between school, society, democracy and art (Dewey, 1934), communication (Hook, 1950) and the lived experience of the child (Gandini, 1993).

We must learn how the school may be connected with life so that the experience gained by the child in a familiar, commonplace way is carried over and made use of there, and what the child learns in the school is carried back and applied in everyday life, making the school an organic whole, instead of a composite of isolated parts.

-Dewey (1907)

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an ever-evolving, responsive way of teaching. The Approach interprets Dewey’s vision of teaching and learning as an organic system of reciprocity, much like a game of ball where the child throws a ball one way to the teacher and the teacher throws it back another way (Inviting Children’s Creativity - a Story of Reggio Emilia, Italy | ChildCareExchange.com, n.d.). This game of ball keeps the players fresh to interpret and integrate alternate techniques learned outside that particular ballpark (Edwards et al., 2015). The Reggio Approach recognizes that cultural and societal changes impact what is learned and how it is taught. In fact, the REA school environments are designed for children to be active participants in the production of culture and knowledge within the school and the larger community.

Schools provide children the opportunity to learn and practice democracy throughout their lives as students. In Reggio Emilia, the primary role of teachers is to communicate a robust image of the child as a person with thoughts, desires, competencies and perceptions of their experiences. The student forms an image of themselves as a democratic participant through their collection of experiences in school. The educator’s teaching methodology is informed each year by the nature of the group and the particular children that comprise it.

The democracy we practice in early childhood classrooms does not look the same as the democracy we think of when we celebrate the Fourth of July or cast a vote. As children progress through school, they will learn facts and concepts related to government and history. In early childhood, however, the questions asked, the possibilities considered and thinking together are the most important part of learning democracy. It is a sharing of power in the name of living together with respect.

A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience.

–Dewey (1926)

In my classroom, respect means we think together, we participate in taking turns to voice our ideas, listen to other people’s perspectives, raise additional issues to consider and negotiate solutions. To be successful, democracy must be inclusive. The classroom becomes a sacred space for a culture of care that learns about our roles and responsibilities within our shared world.

My intention is to offer a place where children are valued meaning-makers. Educators play a role in creating the kind of relationships that support a democratic community within the classroom. Our choices for school and curriculum design reflect our image of children, our understanding of democracy, the role of the child in the democracy and the future outcomes we hope for children in this democracy.

These democratic ideals are especially relevant to young children in early childhood classrooms:

1. Freedom
People, including children, have rights. We all should be free to make choices and determine our own future within a context of community.

2. Community
People in a community care for each other and make decisions together. Everyone has a voice in our decisions. Sometimes decisions are made by voting, consensus and negotiation.

3. Equity
In a democracy, everyone has fair access to opportunities and resources. Everyone is included.

4. Justice
When something goes wrong, everyone has a responsibility to help make it right. We are always learning and growing. Where there is injustice, we must speak out and act.

Democracy is evident in how the children play and inquire. Children have a great capacity to accept, acknowledge, forgive, reflect and grow together as a group. Their confidence and openness come from curiosity. The most important parts of learning democracy are the questions asked and the resolve to act. The broader message to the children is this: Democracy is important. The way we relate to each other and work together matters.

References

C. (2018, April 17). Influence On Democracy - Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Haudenosaunee Confederacy. https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/influence-on-democracy/

Democracy Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary. (n.d.). https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/democracy

Derman-Sparks, L., Olsen Edwards, J., & Goins, C. M. (2020). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Second Edition (2nd ed.). NAEYC. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/books/anti-bias-education

Dewey, J. (1907). The School and Society. University of Chicago Press.

Dewey, J. (1926). Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education.

Dewey, J. (1934). Art as Experience.

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Nimmo, J. (2015). Loris Malaguzzi and the Teachers: Dialogues on Collaboration and Conflict among Children, Reggio Emilia 1990. Zea E-Books, 29.

Gandini, L. (1993). Fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education. Young Children, 49(1), 4–8. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ474815

Hawkins, D. (1965). Messing About in Science. National Science Teachers Association, Science and Children, 2(5), 1–4.

Hook, S. (1950). John Dewey, Philosopher of Science and Freedom: A Symposium.

Inviting Children’s Creativity - A Story of Reggio Emilia, Italy | ChildCareExchange.com. (n.d.). http://exchangepress.com/article/inviting-childrens-creativity-a-story-of-reggio-emilia-italy/5008538/

McEwan, H., & Bull, B. L. (1991). The Pedagogic Nature of Subject Matter Knowledge. American Educational Research Journal, 28(2), 316–334. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312028002316

Messing About. (n.d.). Hawkins Centers of Learning. https://www.hawkinscenters.org/messing-about.html

Paley, V. G. (1986). On Listening to What the Children Say. Harvard Educational Review, 56(2), 122–132. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.56.2.p775487x30tk69m8

Porter, Tom, and Lesley Forrester. And Grandma Said ... Iroquois Teachings : As Passed down through the Oral Tradition. Philadelphia, Pa.] Xlibris Corp, 2008.

Rinaldi, C. (2020). The child as citizen: holder of rights and competent. The Reggio Emilia educational experience. Miscellanea Historica-Iuridica, 19(1), 11–22. https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/1945364

Rinaldi, C. (2021). In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. Contesting Early Childhood.

On Thinking Together

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:23:38 GMT

On Thinking Together
Patti Loftus

Patti Loftus B.A., M.A., is a retired early childhood teacher whose career included twenty-eight years in the Pre-K program at Blake School (Minnesota). She’s been interested in the Reggio approach since 1992 and has served as a RINM Board member. She’s currently a RINM Communications Committee member.

As described in Fundamentals, one of the central ideas of the Reggio approach is “participation,” the relatively non-hierarchical involvement of many stakeholders – children, parents, teachers/pedagogistas/atelieristas, other school personnel, community members and various civic organizations – who bring different points of view, and each perspective is valued.

“... it develops in a multiplicity of occasions and initiatives for constructing dialogue and the sense of belonging to a community…Participation generates and nurtures the feelings and culture of solidarity, responsibility and inclusion; it produces change and new cultures that contend with the dimension of the contemporary world and globalization.”

–Indications

There are many dimensions to participation – convening meetings, listening carefully, asking thoughtful questions, offering a point of view. In Reggio-inspired practice, thinking together is an essential dimension of participation, a quality of engagement/dialogue that moves toward an undetermined outcome.

–Reggio Children, Shoe and Meter (1997)

Participants who think together come up with ideas that they might not have anticipated. It’s unlikely that Loris Malaguzzi and the people he worked with at the time imagined that leveraging the leftover rubble of WWII – a tank, six horses and three trucks – would launch a world-wide and evolving educational project.

This aspect of participation involves deep thinking about values, working to align theory and practice. Through documentation, referencing a common trace – text, drawing, video, images or narrative – participants pose, revisit, refine and relaunch questions that fuel next steps. Playing generously with ideas prompts new thinking.

The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota has supported “thinking together,” from its inception. Since its early days, the Network organized Monthly Gatherings open to everyone interested in Reggio-inspired theory and practice. Offerings grew over the years to include Book Studies, Community Conversations, Documentation Labs, Loose Parts Lab and an unstructured get-together called “Let’s Talk,” all of which have provided the possibility for in-person and virtual spaces for participants to share perspectives and ponder questions together. This quarterly newsletter, which we have been publishing for more than thirteen years, is another place for the meeting of writers’ and readers’ minds and the exchange of ideas.

Books can be powerful resources for thinking together. Many find that writing from Reggio is difficult to understand and remote from our context. In their 2018 book, From Teaching to Thinking: A Pedagogy for Reimagining Our Work (Exchange Press,) co-authors Ann Pelo and Margie Carter, both with deep roots in Reggio study, invite readers to join their process. Pelo and Carter’s thinking, firmly lodged in the U.S., is deeply grounded in Reggio principles, yet very approachable.

They reflect on their decades of work in a back-and-forth format, “Ann offers theory, story, and core concepts in her writing, and Margie offers a response that speaks to the ideas that especially stand out to her, and the questions for practice with which she wants us to engage,” (p. 29). They encourage the reader to “join the conversation” and invite colleagues to read and think together.

They pose questions for their readers, starting with:

“What kind of people do we want to be?
What kind of world do we want to live in?
What is the purpose of education?”

They describe:

the importance of questions, particularly those that challenge assumptions, to embrace uncertainty and favor inquiry over instruction,
professional development as an ongoing process,
the need for dialogue in response to the U.S. educators’ predisposition to focus on outcomes, certainty, standardization, etc.,
the productive tensions that arise when we embrace dis-equilibrium, opening up the possibility for new thinking.

The authors agree with Peter Moss “that new stories are necessary, that ‘offer hope that another world is possible, a world that is more equal, democratic and sustainable, a world where surprise and wonder, diversity and complexity find their rightful place in early childhood education, indeed all education.’”

Pelo and Carter ask the question, “What convictions drive your work?” (p. 28).

They discuss the importance of “creating a culture of inquiry” that prizes questions and the process of investigating them, more than arriving at answers. It “values complexity, not-knowing, uncertainty, divergent and contradictory ideas.” These ideas remain fresh, relevant and more important today.

Thinking together requires intention on the part of participants – first in finding time and space to gather and then determining productive questions and resources as the subjects for consideration. Ongoing dialogue is an avenue through which multiple perspectives can encounter one another to build/deepen understanding and chart next steps. Participating in RINM events, discussing books, such as From Teaching to Thinking, and focused dialogue among interested colleagues can be starting points.

References

Pelo, A., Carter, M. (2018). From Teaching to Thinking: A Pedagogy for Reimagining Our Work. Exchange Press.

Reggio Children (2010). Indications: Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centres of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.Reggio Children.

Fundamentals: Participation

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:17:11 GMT

Fundamentals: Participation
In order to create a pathway for people new to Reggio-inspired work and deepen our shared thinking, we offer a regular column, Fundamentals, to introduce and explore central principles of the Reggio Approach. The Reggio Approach is a complex system of thought and practice with many dynamic entry points that interact; it is not a method, program or curriculum. (Key Principles)

Typically, we understand participation to mean ‘to take part’ or ‘to attend.’ However, the straightforward definition misses the rich implications of this Reggio concept. Reggio educators mean something more complex. To participate is to act as a protagonist, to have agency, to belong, to bring one’s unique point of view, skill or interest. This participation is multifaceted and dynamic, operating both on the individual and community levels.

“Participation, in fact, is based on the idea that reality is not objective, that culture is a constantly evolving product of society, that individual knowledge is only partial; and that in order to construct a project, especially an educational project, everyone’s point of view is relevant in dialogue with those of others, within a framework of shared values. The idea of participation is founded on these concepts: and in our opinion, so, too, is democracy itself.”

–Paola Cagliari, Angela Barozzi and Claudia Giudici

Participation goes back to the founding of the Reggio educational project as an act of citizens, particularly the women, who insisted, “we don’t want our children to be duped by fascism, as we were.” Malaguzzi described school as a place characterized by uncertainty, complexity, wonder and solidarity and, perhaps most importantly, a context to practice participation and democracy.

Participation creates a web of relationships that is strengthened through ongoing exchange. U.S. educators might regard this level of participation as highly inefficient, but it’s also highly productive – it is circular, dense and leads to results that astound us.

Participation is understood as an opportunity, a strategy and a responsibility.

The Value of Individual and Organizational Self-Care in Nature

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 14:56:26 GMT

The Value of Individual and Organizational Self-Care in Nature
Karen Walburg
Karen has been teaching and leading nature programming at Westwood Early Childhood Center for over 35 years. She is an advocate for the well-being of early childhood educators, especially in nature. She is open to assisting other organizations in recognizing the value of Self-Care in Nature and to bringing the subsequent benefits to their members and communities. She can be reached at k.walburg@westwood.church

This is the story of the evolution of an idea, as seen through the lens of the inspiration of Reggio Emilia. The Reggio way of seeing the world is an expression of universal truths and the natural world of which we are a part.

In this story we will see an example of those truths playing out for the educators and staff at the Westwood Early Childhood Center (WECC). Using a continuous cycle of Observation, Possibilities and Actualities, we will share a long-term investigation into the value of our place in and with nature as crucial to our well-being. In more or less apparent ways, you will find Reggio inspiration embedded in every step of this investigation.

Observations
For many years, the WECC observed the value of experiences in and with nature for the well-being of children, staff, families and the entire WECC community. We observed that staff well-being translated into deeper, richer and higher quality care and relationships with the children and the community. Two and a half years ago, we also observed that our current staffing situation and other resources might allow us to realize a dream of providing those kinds of experiences in the form of restorative time alone in nature for all staff during their busy work days. Using these and other observations, we developed the WECC’s Self-Care in Nature (SCN) initiative. The initiative’s tentative Mission Statement and Guidelines reflect an ongoing evolution of observations, possibilities and actualities.

WECC’s Self-Care in Nature tentative Mission Statement
WECC believes there are spiritual, emotional, physical, mental, social, recreational and environmental benefits to taking time alone in nature. The Self-Care initiative gives educators and staff time during their work days, away from other commitments to WECC, to focus on their own self-care and access those benefits. Through work and life, the effects of those benefits are consequently spread to the wider WECC community and the world beyond.

WECC’s Self-Care in Nature tentative Guidelines

Self-Care in Nature time must be spent for self-care alone in or around nature.
Self-Care in Nature will occur at locations agreed upon by educator/staff person and administration.
Cell phone use is permitted only for the purposes of photography, music conducive to self-care or to research discoveries made while in self-care time.
Self-Care in Nature time may include required reflections such as an entry into a shared journal during allotted time.

Possibilities

Four key possibilities were initially identified:

Logistics - Would our resources be sufficient to support the establishment and maintenance of this initiative?

Benefits - What could/would the benefits be for individuals, the organization, the community and beyond? What would the cost/benefit ratio be?

Evolution - In what ways would/could the initiative evolve? What might drive those changes?

Replicability - Would others see the value in this practice? Would there be a desire to replicate this initiative in other settings/organizations? If so, how might that happen? What could it look like? What part might we play in that exploration?

These possibilities overlapped in many ways as the actualities of this initiative took shape.

Actualities

Logistics - We discovered that we did indeed have the resources to begin this initiative.

Each educator/staff person is offered 1 or 1.5 self-care hours in nature (depending upon variables) approximately every 2-3 months. Our goal is that everyone will have at least one turn during each of the four seasons. Feedback from educators and staff reflected a desire for more SCN time, to experience the benefits received from that time. Although we are not able to provide more during working hours, staff have found ways outside of work to spend more time in nature either alone or with family or friends.

The staff person who schedules creates an SCN schedule that is basically repeatable for every rotation, with vacations, illnesses, etc. included.

The educator/staff person’s time out is covered by an on-staff float teacher who is qualified to fill each person’s position for that time frame. In our case, this float teacher also provides occasional opportunities for creative expression during a person’s SCN times. She also documents participants’ reflections to share with the WECC community.

We have access to a lakeshore woodland trail onsite. We began our initiative exclusively using this access for SCN.

During the winter months we set up a small tent near the lakeshore, with a battery powered heated blanket, microwaveable heat wrap for the neck and warm beverages available. When the Minnesota cold makes even warm tent time impractical, we have set up an indoor space with an outdoor view.

During the summer months there are cold beverages available. A portable sand play therapy tray is available for use during any SCN time.

Many participants share that this initiative and these added touches show how deeply they are appreciated and cared for by the organization. This feeling and knowledge of being valued contributes greatly to the well-being of the individual as well as the organization.

Benefits

We created a backpack to be taken along each SCN hour.

The backpack contains a shared journal and pencils, pens, colored pencils and markers to make entries into the journal. We ask that during each SCN hour, a journal entry or another form of documentation be made. This documentation serves as a way for participants to reflect upon their experience and share it with others. It can be as simple or as complex as the author/illustrator desires.

“For the first time, in a long time, I finally feel safe where I work. I feel free to be myself. I feel free to turn mistakes into learning experiences. I feel free to grow. Thanks to you.”

The value and benefits of journal entries go beyond self-expression, insights, memories, gratitude, spiritual connection and cathartic release for the author/illustrators of the entries. They include the benefits of shared experiences and feelings with the wider community, now including you.

Evolution

The position of the float teacher was originally a volunteer role. Over time, after weighing the cost/benefit ratio, it was determined that the benefits merited the cost of making the position a paid role in the program. This shift also better reflected the embrace of the initiative by the entire organization.

Weather and other factors dictated that we expand our options for agreed-upon locations for a person’s SCN time. Locations now include the small wooded lakeside area on our campus, a nearby nature center and a few other sites close enough that the majority of the hour could still be spent alone in nature.

For the first year there was no structure to the time; it was entirely left to the participant to choose how the hour alone in nature was spent. The second year, we added the occasional opportunity for artistic expression, which was always optional. The third year, we added more in-depth learning opportunities about self-care. Extra time was given for reading and journaling as a more structured approach, but we soon realized that the structure could be too limiting. The learning opportunities were subsequently made available in a more ongoing model, available at any time and without expectations.

Replicability

WECC has found the benefits of this initiative to be varied, impactful, far-reaching and replicable. We have given presentations about this initiative at conferences and gatherings, working with individuals and groups interested in beginning similar practices.

Avoiding Burnout: The Importance of Self-Care

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 14:55:16 GMT

Avoiding Burnout: The Importance of Self-Care
Q&A with Jen Johnson as told to Eileen Galvin
A reprint from the 2017 RINM newsletter
Jen Johnson is the Director of Willow & Sprout in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In spring 2017, they hosted a Monthly Gathering at their center. During that Gathering, Jen talked about the importance of self-care, which resonated with those attending. We followed up with her about the importance of self-care in a teaching practice that requires observation and reflection.

How do you define self-care for yourself and your teachers?

For me, it is about being mindful and intentional to nurture and love one’s whole self – your mind, your body and your spirit. We, the staff, sit down and create personal goals for each of those areas, and it is the same thing that we do with the children. We have leading questions – how do you love yourself? How do you notice yourself – your whole self, your mind, spirit and physical body? And then, how do you nurture yourself? How do you love yourself? We separate those because nurturing can be different than loving. I tried to make it as simple as possible. This could be a new topic for some of us, and I didn’t want to make it too complicated.

One of the things I think about is how do you rest? How do you replenish? How do you find those quiet spaces in your day so you can replenish and get a break from daily rhythms?

How do the goals work? Weekly? Yearly?

We have yearly goals and then every month I do a check-in and then if they need something different in between we can talk about it and change it. Up until now the check-ins have been via email because that was what we all wanted. This year we are going to go deeper into the work with a physical check in addition to email. We need to figure out if email needs to be bi-weekly. With email it is easy to let the work go; with a physical check-in there is a different level of accountability. It is vulnerable work.

Why is it important for a practice that requires teachers to be present and reflective to have self-care as a priority?

When I looked at the profession I really saw high turnover. At my first teaching job there was turnover after turnover after turnover. We know from research and best practice that young children need consistency. There are many factors that go into consistency, but one of the things I noticed across the profession was that the teachers are really not looked at as professionals.

They need to be treated with respect as professionals and as a whole person...with hobbies, interests and families outside of work as well.

We have a huge disparity in how the teachers are valued and seen, not only in their organization, but as a culture. We have some work to do; we need to consider all of the parts that create a caring environment in our early childhood communities. It has to be about holistic living. It has to be about connection. It has to be about the four parts - children, environment, parents and teachers. We need to consider all of those entities. Also, in order to be present and reflective you have to be able to do that for yourself. If you don’t take that time, there is often a huge disparity between what you say you want and desire and what you can actually do. I do like the airplane analogy. Put on your oxygen mask first; then you are stable and you can go and nurture others. Then that becomes the ripple effect and they become as regulated as they can be.

Jen provided the following update:

Currently, we have monthly staff check ins. This is a place where we reflect and set goals for each month. In our reflection time we go over what we connected about the month prior. What happened or didn’t happen and why? Maybe new ideas and goals were pursued that we get to capture in our time together. Sometimes they do get accomplished and we articulate how it was accomplished. Next, we work on setting new goals for the upcoming month based on what we discovered during our reflection time. Lastly, we do take time to connect about where things feel full of flow and spaces where the flow may be feeling stopped. In other words, where are spaces that feel things are going well and what support may you need during times of stress in your day?

I have found that when humans feel a sense of worth and contribution to a community they are more dedicated to themselves and the community as a whole.

From All Outside to Functioning Outdoor Classrooms

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 14:54:31 GMT

From All Outside to Functioning Outdoor Classrooms
Amy Warzybok
Amy has her M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University and her B.S. in Business from the University of Minnesota. Before Dodge, Amy taught preschool using a Reggio Emilia approach, managed family, preschool and camp programs in nature and environmental centers and was an Adjunct Child Development Professor.

In 2019, I joined the Dodge Nature Preschool team as the Preschool Director. Little did I know six months later I would be collaborating with an amazing teaching team to figure out how to move forward with preschool during a pandemic. After finishing our 2019-2020 school year with Zoom story times and car parades, we knew we wanted to get back to in-person preschool, but how? A team of eight brave teachers came together for three weeks in summer 2020 to figure out how to utilize our large outdoor nature playscape to meet the safety needs of preschool during the pandemic.

Our team had been discussing an outside model, which we adapted and adjusted as we learned more about the pandemic. We piloted strategies in a small summer camp program and landed on dividing our large outdoor space into three separate outdoor classrooms. We created tree swings, found loose part slides, built new sandboxes, added planter gardens, playhouses and much more. The teachers put a lot of love into designing these spaces so we could run an All Outside Preschool.

In 2023, we knew we wanted to continue this design into the future, but we had a hill that was sinking, creating some unsafe conditions. We partnered with Aune Fernandez Landscape Architects to create a design with input from preschool staff, preschoolers, preschool families, nature center staff, board members and other stakeholders in the community. After six months we had a design, and once funding was secure, we selected Parkos Construction and Natural Landscape Designs to help us with the build in summer 2024. We ran our summer camp amidst construction during which preschoolers shared their appreciation for the hard work of the construction team with artwork, cards, lemonade and tea with herbs harvested from our gardens and grounds. We wanted to allow these campers to experience the playground after the build so we hosted a summer playground celebration in September to bring them back to play. Preschoolers, siblings and grown-ups alike enjoyed a morning of playing together in the sandboxes, gardens and playhouses.

As we live in our new outdoor classrooms; I think of all the hardship and stress caused by the pandemic. The children taught us how wonderful outdoor classrooms could be as we experimented together, with different materials and designs. I wonder what Dodge Nature Preschool would be like today if we didn’t have the opportunity to learn with the children in 2020.

Fundamentals: Organization

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 14:53:44 GMT

Fundamentals: Organization

In order to create both a pathway for people new to Reggio-inspired work and deepen our shared thinking, we offer a regular column, Fundamentals, to introduce and explore central principles of the Reggio Approach. The Reggio Approach is a complex system of thought and practice with many dynamic entry points that interact; it is not a method, program or curriculum. (Key Principles)

In our contexts, organization is often understood as an administrative concern, influenced by cost, efficiency and practicality. Sergio Spaggiari, former director of the Infant Toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio Emilia reminds us: “I urge you to think of the value of organization…we believe it is an integral part of the educational project…a decisive element…Organization, in itself, is a pedagogical thought.”

Viewing organization as a value means that organization of environment, time, roles and responsibilities and materials is not an afterthought, incidental or a bureaucratic set of decisions. Rather, it is essential in strengthening relationships between families and schools and creating opportunities for collaboration among educators.

The many roles in Reggio – pedagogista, atelierista, cook, educator, family, public official – are layered, organized to maximize interaction and collaboration both within and across the preschools and infant-toddler centers and the city.

In Reggio, they make intentional organizational decisions that prioritize relationships. They group children and schedule staff to “foster stability, continuity, and a sense of belonging.” For example, children remain with each other and their teacher for multiple years.

Additionally, physical space, furnishings, materials and schedule support small group work, and the walls reflect the history of the children’s experiences.

“The organization of the work, the spaces, and the time of the children and the adults is a structural part of the values and choices of the educational project.”

The learning environment is itself a teacher. It communicates to children and adults many possibilities and invites multiple responses. The spaces, light, colors, attractive and appropriate materials and visual images surrounding children support learning. Reggio-inspired educators carefully select, arrange, organize and plan a learning environment that is rich, inviting, beautiful, unhurried and stimulating. Time and schedule are also components of the environment. Deliberate choices are made to slow down, to support uninterrupted play, exploration and interaction among children, building connections between experiences. An environment supportive of learning allows children to make choices, use a wide variety of materials, move around, work both alone and with others, engage all the senses, have new experiences and reflect on experiences.

Role of the Learning Environment

As Reggio educators allocate resources (time, space, relationships and attention) they deliberately enact and strengthen their stated mission and values, integrating theory and practice.

Resources

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., Forman, G. (Eds.), (2012). The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experiences in Transformation (3rd ed., p. 35). Praeger.

Reggio Children (2010). Indications: Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centres of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Reggio Children.

Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota: Role of the Learning Environment

Getting to Belonging Part Four: Putting Design into Practice

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sun, 05 May 2024 15:47:32 GMT

Getting to Belonging Part Four
Putting Design into Practice
Rie Gilsdorf and Christy Spencer
Rie Algeo Gilsdorf, MS, MA, has broad experience as a principal, arts administrator, instructional coach, teacher of science and dance and parent in many settings, including the Reggio-inspired programs of Portland’s Opal School and The Blake School in Minneapolis. Rie is a past Board Co-Chair and Civic Engagement Committee Chair of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota and current member of its Resource Development Committee. She now provides racial equity seminars, coaching and consulting through Embody Equity (www.EmbodyEquity.com).

Over the past year in Getting to Belonging we have had our heads deep in theory, explicating the relationship between a design process and Reggio-inspired pedagogy as they pertain to developing a broader consciousness of race and difference. We’ve broken down each into component parts and attempted to weave them together. This entails oscillating back and forth between theory and practice. It is time to venture into practice.

Documenting Two Prototypes
In this piece we reflect on documentation of two prototypes and the insights they reveal. Similar to the Reggio-inspired practice of offering a provocation and then reflecting on it, we chose current RINM formats, Let’s Talk and Doc Lab, two virtual events. They were opportunities to explore the future by doing, gathering feedback and reflecting on what worked, what didn’t and what might come next. The first, Let’s Talk in January 2024, offered an open-ended conversation framed as an opportunity to explore considerations and anxieties involved in talking with young children about race. February’s Doc Lab focused on exploring race in early childhood by studying documentation of children’s work.

Structurally, Let’s Talk emphasizes dialogue with an invitation for participants to bring their own questions. This event, following previous Network Gatherings, asked, “What do you worry about in exploring race and culture with young children?” Thus, educators’ anxieties became the springboard for this discussion. The conversation had an organic flow and was lightly facilitated with the only ground rules being to listen with curiosity and speak your truth.

By contrast, Doc Lab focused on transcriptions of student conversations and utilized a formal protocol to structure the conversation. The protocol included specific prompts, each with an allotted time, from observation and description, to questioning, to speculation about children’s strategies for constructing understandings. The structure positioned participants as careful, nonjudgmental observers and colleagues. It also required more active facilitation as well as in-depth note taking to enable later reflection.

The Role of Intentionality
There was a palpable difference between the two prototypes, despite significant overlap in participants. As we later reflected on documentation of the events, we became more aware of the nuances within the structures. As our awareness grew, it became apparent that we had unintentionally created a discrepancy in tone between the two.

The Doc Lab felt collaborative and supportive. The protocol positioned the presenting teacher to first listen, saving clarifications for later. This listening practice involved letting go of the role of teacher as expert. The predictability inherent in the structure invited vulnerability, of the presenting teacher and of the observers who must comment on children’s work with minimal context.

Let’s Talk began with prompts about anxiety, unconsciously positioning people to show up either in certainty or defensiveness. As a result, a subtle tone of rigidity arose. Unlike Doc Lab, this format had neither traces of children’s encounters nor a structured protocol to provide a supportive container that would have allowed participants to embrace ambiguity. The conversation spiraled away from possibility as it amplified limiting concepts we fully believe, but that are figments of the imagination. “We can’t. . . because. . . .”

The language we captured from each conversation is also telling. In Doc Lab, we noted words such as “tricky,” “nuanced,” “context,” “interconnectedness,” “dynamic,” “flexible.” These words acknowledged the complexity of the children’s expression and the teacher’s nimble responses. On the other hand, Let’s Talk produced words such as “ominous,” “fear,” “pressure,” “confronting,” “avoidance,” “roadblock.” These words indicated a mindset that is not conducive to curiosity, creativity or compassion. Doc Lab’s language of potentialities was strengthened by its protocol’s progression from observation through speculation.

Making Space for the "Why" and "How"
In Let’s Talk, participants shared books, websites and scope and sequence documents, but we now realize this exchange didn’t encourage deeper critical discourse. Rather than “How might we use this?” the conversation leaned toward “I did this,” or even “Do it this way,” adding to a tone of certainty. While these resources were useful, a “why and how” conversation might have deepened the conversation.

One metaphor that came up during Let’s Talk was Malaguzzi’s idea that “the eye jumps over the wall,¹” which suggests going beyond boundaries to see with fresh eyes. This generative idea moved the conversation to the notion that we as adults need to go over the wall; children are always ready to do this. This is just the kind of organic flow that we have seen arise in Let’s Talk. However, it was quickly squelched as conversation reverted to how adults can get past the anxieties of going over the wall. Soon the voice of certainty crept back in, attempting to grasp onto resources as a way of coping with these anxieties.

Doc Lab participants also shared resources. The difference lay in the foregrounding of the “why” and “how” – the children’s responses and the exchange between teacher, children and resources. Broad themes such as democracy, fairness/justice, interconnectedness and gratitude were woven together in a process of revisiting and recombining resources and experiences. The resources, from a classroom scale to an outdoor pond, served as tangible scaffolding for the big ideas and these ideas provided a thematic framework for the resources. This beautifully illustrates the iterative and generative process of negotiated curriculum.

Intentionality and consciousness – the “why” and “how” – come into play in selecting resources and using them as provocations. Both are crucial. Even the most excellent book or resource only creates part of the conditions for rich understandings to be made. And, with “why” and “how” in mind, resources are literally everywhere. For example, in the exchange presented at Doc Lab, the presenting teacher wove a common classroom scale into themes of race and belonging. In addition to providing a concrete metaphor for these abstract ideas, it offered a reference point for children to enter the conversation.

Suggested Iterations: Let's Talk & Doc Lab
What comes next? What could we tweak and try again? Reflecting on Let’s Talk, we want to make clear that this format leads to valuable emergent conversations if presented with intention. In the case of conversations about race, it could include starting from “How do we?” vs. “I’m worried about.” The latter leads to a deficit mindset, expressed as “we can’t.” Starting from the “why” and “how” promotes an asset mindset that reveals more possibilities.

Historically, Let's Talk and Doc Lab have not been paired. If we were to prototype a similar pairing we might reverse the order and use Let's Talk to continue the conversation. This would allow all participants to share inspiration they took from the Doc Lab, how they translated it into their environment, how children responded and how it affected their practice. Our intention would be to create space for new curiosities to arise and dive deeper into the discourse in a spirit of collaboration and support.

Both the Doc Lab and our reflections on it have been fruitful in that they promote a spirit of prototyping and experimentation that inspires action. It strikes us that this should not be a “one and done,” but rather an ongoing practice that invites multiple people to share documentation on the topic of equity across human difference. We could also experiment with different modalities: video, audio, transcripts, photos, artifacts. We also learned that we should allow a full two hours for conversation.

Conclusion:
In this series, “Getting to Belonging,” we proposed a Reggio-inspired design process for adults, to animate substantive change and actualize early childhood communities that are dialogic and democratic. The series explored how these ideas might support complex and nuanced conversations about human difference, especially racial difference, that engender a sense of belonging. Doc Lab and Let’s Talk are practices that support this work. These adult conversations must precede dialogue with children, and the arc of this learning comes to fruition in ongoing work alongside children.

Getting to Belonging Part One
Getting to Belonging Part Two
Getting to Belonging Part Three

Citation:

1. Spaggiari, S. (2004). “The path toward knowledge: The social, political and cultural context of the Reggio municipal infant-toddler center and preschool experience.” Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Exchange.

The Life of a Dead Tree Trunk in the Classroom

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sun, 05 May 2024 15:32:19 GMT

The Life of a Dead Tree Trunk in the Classroom
Tom Bedard
Originally Posted in Sand and Water Tables, March, 22, 2021
Now retired, Tom Bedard, M.Ed. has worked in early childhood education since 1986. He has taught thousands of children representing diverse backgrounds and abilities, from infants to preschoolers. His particular interest has been to promote and analyze how children explore the area devoted to sensory play, to better understand their curiosity and competence in all areas of development. He has presented locally, nationally and internationally. Tom was the first early childhood teacher to be a finalist in the Minnesota Teacher of the Year program.

In a way, this post is a sequel to my previous post about the possibilities for play in a provocation I called the Swamp. The environment helped determine the possibilities. And by environment, I meant the process of setting up the provocation by me; I meant the children and the curiosity and imagination they brought to their investigations; and I meant the materials themselves, which begged to be explored.

This post is an experiment to see how the possibilities of play unfolded when just one of the materials offered to the children got placed in other parts of the room. The object and its potential I would like to examine is a piece of tree trunk from a tree I cut down in my yard.

As part of the swamp, the tree trunk was a loose part that could be used as a place where some of the plastic animals could find a home. (If you look closely in the picture above, there is a plastic grasshopper on the tree trunk.)

And because it was a loose part, it did not have to stay in the table. In the picture below, the child lifted the tree trunk out of the table and was about to drop it on the floor.

In a way, he was deconstructing the swamp by piling the pieces of wood on the floor. But at the same time, he was constructing his own collection of wood by using the floor as an open platform to pile.

After the swamp, I moved the tree trunk to the housekeeping area to see how the children would use it in their play and explorations. I placed it on the shelf by the window and by some living plants.

In the picture above, the child noticed that the tree trunk had a hole in it. She found a stick from the bowl of sticks on the bottom shelf and used it to explore the hole. By the way, the hole was an entrance to an old bird nest so it was worth exploring.

One child took the tree trunk off the shelf to put it on the floor where he proceeded to dislodge a piece that had rotted and become weak.

I noticed that the child found the work gloves in the house area to add a little authenticity to his deconstruction operation.

I subsequently moved the tree trunk to the writing table as a provocation with other Fall elements like gourds and corn. The children found many more ways to explore and examine this natural element.

For example, the child pictured below examined the bottom of the tree trunk. That way she was better able to see that the hole was bigger on the inside where the nest had been.

For another example, the child below found a different way to examine the hole in the tree trunk. He used one of the ears of the Fall corn to "measure" the size of the hole.

A good question is: Did any of the children draw the tree trunk? I do not know and since these pictures were taken more than five years ago, I do not even remember. However, one of the more stunning pictures I took was a picture of a child showing his mother the picture of the girl examining the bottom of the stump.

This was the same child who had used the Fall corn to explore the hole in the top of the tree trunk. In other words, the documentation from the week before triggered a memory, a memory that he could share with his mother about his own interaction with the tree trunk.

This was actually an enjoyable reflection for me. I remembered that I had brought a tree trunk into the room to add to the swamp, and I remembered that I had moved it around the room. However, I had not realized how this dried up piece of wood spawned so much engagement by the children in multiple areas of the room, whether that engagement was with the piece itself or in concert with other objects. The quintessential point was that this was a narrative about just one object in a sea of objects in my early childhood classroom. As it moved, so did the narrative. And it was not lost on me that this dried up piece of wood was basically waste wood not even good enough for firewood. Leave it to the children to bring it back to life and make multiple meanings out of it.

The Influence of Collaboration on Understanding

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sun, 05 May 2024 15:14:57 GMT

The Influence of Collaboration on Understanding
Inez Hohn
Inez Hohn student-taught at the Fishback Center for Early Childhood Education, the lab school at South Dakota State University. She now teaches Kindergarten at Freeman Academy in Freeman, South Dakota. Inez enjoys finding new ways to engage her students each day as she learns from them. She recently received the Early Childhood Student of the Year, awarded by South Dakota AEYC.

Introduction
How do children learn, not only from experience, but also from each other? How do children co-construct meaning? As a student teacher, these questions informed my work as I facilitated an inquiry of towns and maps with a small group of four and five-year-old children that spanned two months. The four children possessed varying dispositions, skills and background knowledge, which they brought to the investigation.

Map Making
In our initial mapmaking, the children illustrated scenes and buildings that were important to them. Their maps reveal how they viewed the world and what they thought of when imagining a map. They included places we had talked about; for example, Margaret focused on her house, a playground, roads and stop lights. Oliver included houses, farms and playgrounds. Some had roads while others did not. This presented the opportunity to look into how roads are represented on maps.

While there are roads in Margaret’s map, she focused more on scenic aspects such as houses and a playground.

Oliver’s map is a specific scene which includes grass, trees and farm buildings.

An Exchange of Ideas, Resources and Actions
We continued with an exchange of ideas. To elevate the idea of roads on maps, I brought in a variety of road maps and posed ideas and questions. The children responded and crafted interpretations. In turn, they located towns and used their fingers to trace roads, pretending to drive from place to place. They associated roads with traveling and used past experiences to make sense of characteristics of roads, such as how they connect places and that the curvatures matter for smooth driving. They brought their experience to the discussion and in doing so talked about places they had traveled, referencing the maps in front of us. The conversation focused on their hometown, Brookings. They branched out to talk about places they had traveled, such as Sioux Falls, a major nearby city.

Looking at road maps

When we revisited map-making, the children focused on the roads. The children took what they noticed from examining the published map and transformed their maps to include more prominent roads. I noticed a deeper understanding in their discussion of road function and representation on maps. From this point, all the children added roads to their maps. One map focused on having straight roads and the child resisted using circular and curvy roads. Their reasoning was to make sure people traveling through the town didn’t get sick from all the loops.

“The roads are straight, no circles for roads.” -Oliver

“It’s a straight-line road and then you go left and right. When people are walking, they have stop signs.” -Cora

They focused on including spacing between roads and logical paths to ensure that travel from place to place was possible. They took these ideas directly from the experience of their fingers driving on the printed road maps. Travel became the purpose of roads.

Margaret made sure to make all the roads connected for smooth travel.

Oliver focused on having straight roads with corners so there were no loops.

As we walked around campus, I pointed out the use of sidewalks to travel. The children made the connection that sidewalks were similar to roads. Henry labeled the sidewalks as “walking roads,” which opened up another meaning-making conversation. The group noticed the sidewalks as college students walked past them. They contrasted walking and driving in their analogies.

We had some experience with 3-D maps when we used Google maps to get a street view of places in our town. We changed our perspective by switching between street view and aerial view, which allowed us to get a better idea of locations. To navigate our walk, we referenced a 2-D map of the SDSU campus in which the buildings were drawn to appear three-dimensional. They explored their surroundings making connections between where they were and their location on the map. They again followed the pathways with their fingers. This time, they traced our walking journey. The children noticed the aerial view and realized the connection between sidewalks in aerial view and the same sidewalks in street view. The children’s conversations deepened over time. Their understanding of maps evolved, highlighting their growing understanding of the concepts of travel, how travel flows, the purpose of roads and sidewalks and finally how they are represented.

The children traveled along the sidewalks as if driving on roads.

Meaning-Making
Through these interactions and exchanges, children’s perspectives shifted. Still working independently, they created a third map, increasingly aware of each other's efforts. Their experience of finger tracing the road maps, their campus walk and what they learned from each other was evident in their third map, which included more elaborate buildings and roads with more connections. They focused on the pathways that connected places and highlighted movement between places. Then, the children worked to solve the problem of representing buildings that fit between connected roads.

Margaret drew the roads first, focusing on leaving room in between them for buildings.

Oliver created an intersection which left room for buildings.

In these drawings, I saw the give and take between their experiences and their growth in knowledge. When I revisited and reflected on this inquiry process, I found that each child influenced the others through common themes, such as landmarks, representing roads, and including space for buildings and homes.

The children’s ideas about maps developed as they participated in activities, drawing and conversations. They included the purpose, flow and visual representations that are apparent in maps and formed their own versions. Through each step, they made sense of their experiences as they constructed together what maps meant to them. Although they developed individual interpretations, their experience deepened as they collaborated.

Collaboration
This inquiry continued for another three weeks. As the project progressed, I called them to work together on parts of the town.

The children collaboratively drew a new map that they later built into a three-dimensional town.

Reflection on My Learning
I reflected on our inquiry project and noticed a process had unfolded. I brought information in the form of activities, materials and experiences and the children made meaning. At the same time, the children brought their ideas to the conversation and formed meaning from what their peers shared. I then crafted my plans to fit what I saw and heard from the group. This shifted the path of our inquiry and sharpened my attention to what the children said and did, ultimately allowing me to better support their engagement and enrich their learning.

The children learned to collaborate through this inquiry. I, too, collaborated, creating an idea map (below) with my mentor that outlined aspects of our journey. The graphic provided a visual representation of our process, promoting further reflection.

I found a deeper understanding of the interactions that occurred between the children and I, including the energy bursts that occurred among us. When I pay close attention, I can see the growth of children's thinking more clearly and respond to it.

Fundamentals | Documentation

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 03 May 2024 00:04:25 GMT

Fundamentals | Documentation

The Reggio Approach is a complex system of thought and practice with many dynamic entry points that interact; it is not a method, program or curriculum. (LINK to Key Principles)

Documentation is central to the Reggio Approach, a fundamental tool.

An essential component of a Reggio-inspired program is to make visible the learning of both children and adults. This happens through documentation, in which the process of learning is recorded through note-taking, dialogue, photographs, video and other means of transcribing the interactions of children with the environment, with adults and with each other. Through this process the learning can be studied, reflected upon and re-entered; ideas can be brought in to add variety or complexity to renew the experience.

More than mere “evidence” of completed work, documentation in the Reggio tradition becomes part of a reflective loop: it makes initial ideas visible, creates access points for new participants and new dialogue and paves the way for fresh ideas–which will, in turn, be documented and incorporated into the growing body of thought. In Reggio-inspired practice, documentation helps children grow their ideas; it also opens up an avenue of participation for parents, elevates the professional discourse among teachers, and serves as a source for advocacy in the world of public policy.

Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota - Seeing Children

Documentation is not limited to making visible what already exists: it also makes things exist precisely because it makes them visible and therefore possible.

Rinaldi, C. 2006 In Dialogue with Reggio

We tend to believe that observation and documentation can be objective, but the Reggio tradition acknowledges that we are always, whether or not we are aware of it, selecting what to pay attention to and what to ignore. Documentation is never neutral. That’s why it’s important to share it in a tentative and ongoing process and invite other perspectives.

Fundamentals | Formazione

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:48:52 GMT

Fundamentals: Formazione
In order to create both a pathway for people new to Reggio-inspired work and deepen our shared thinking, we offer a regular column, Fundamentals, to introduce and explore central principles of the Reggio Approach. The Reggio Approach is a complex system of thought and practice with many dynamic entry points that interact; it is not a method, program or curriculum. (Key Principles)

In the United States, we typically refer to professional development as processes that occur outside of the everyday and external to the individual, such as instruction or ‘training’ via classes, certificate and degree programs and in-service workshops or conference sessions.

While teachers in Reggio Emilia do engage in formal activities similar to what we call professional development, they value a deeper and more daily avenue of professional learning, which they refer to as formazione.

Formazione…from Malaguzzi’s perspective, is an integral part of the everyday pedagogical work, an attitude of mind, a way of thinking and being, a part of life, an inseparable element of what it means to be an educator. Valuing uncertainty and wonder and with the concept of evolution in mind, Malaguzzi would have hoped for and welcomed surprising and unexpected consequences, the creation of thought, understandings and knowledge.

-Peter Moss, Role of the Pedagogista, p. 10

Formazione is used to refer to processes of continuous collegial dialogue, engaging multiple perspectives, research based on observation, interpretation and documentation, resulting in knowledge-building and professional learning. Therefore, formazione is from within, with others and socially co-constructed. Inquiry into the not-yet-known-possible involves continuous exchange. We never ‘arrive.’

Getting to Belonging, Part 3: Navigating Participation and Evolving Perspectives

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:24:10 GMT

Getting to Belonging, Part 3: Navigating Participation and Evolving Perspectives
Rie Gilsdorf and Christy Spencer
Rie Algeo Gilsdorf, MS, MA, has broad experience as a principal, arts administrator, instructional coach, teacher of science and dance and parent in many settings, including the Reggio-inspired programs of Portland’s Opal School and The Blake School in Minneapolis. Rie is a past Board Co-Chair and Civic Engagement Committee Chair of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota and current member of its Resource Development Committee. She now provides racial equity seminars, coaching and consulting through Embody Equity (www.EmbodyEquity.com).

Previously in Getting to Belonging, we’ve looked at embracing ambiguity (Part 1), dispelling ideas of developmental appropriateness, and taking on new mindsets and practices (Part 2) in order to welcome negotiated curriculum, discourse, and a view of the teacher as researcher. With these in place several other Reggio-inspired principles surface, each facilitating the next: (1) participation and pedagogy of listening and (2) group construction and multiple perspectives. These, too, are tools of designing for belonging. At the end of this article, we will highlight how these interact with each other to cultivate belonging.

Participation & Pedagogy of Listening
Equal Participation is a value statement that tends to float in the aspirational realm. Negotiated curriculum can actualize equitable participation in the here and now by facilitating and valuing participation of all stakeholders. Kelsey Blackwell (2018) argues for creating intentional ‘architectures of conversation’ to disrupt unequal participation perpetuated by the dominant discourse. She views this discourse as “the water in which we all swim. No one is immune. Those values dictate who speaks, how loud, when, the words we use, what we don’t say, what is ignored, who is validated and who is not.” By making everyone’s participation visible, a negotiated curriculum opens the possibility of a new architecture of communication.

Following the design steps Open Mind, Open Heart and Open Will, the next move is Co-creating. When co-creating we explore the future by doing, remaining open to feedback and reflecting on what’s working and not. This learn-by-doing process is also called prototyping. Reggio-inspired teaching includes a similar responsiveness between provocations and dialogue, as well as observation and documentation of the unfolding process. Engaging in the documentation process provides adults with feedback and opportunities for reflection that are necessary for co-creating. “The most ‘design malpractice’ happens when people are acting but not reflecting,” (Montoya, 2022). Reflection is an active choice that keeps us out of habitual thought and action.

The co-creating design step requires letting go of the role of the expert with a voice of certainty. In designing for belonging, it can be tempting to try to actualize idealistic value statements in one grand gesture. In reality, change is iterative and generative. Prototyping the smallest practical ideas will produce the clearest insights to inform next steps. We never ‘arrive,’ instead we inhabit a state of ‘perpetual beta.’ Certainty is a facade distracting us from acknowledging the complexity that is a constant in every context, including race and culture.

Children operate in perpetual beta. We expect conversations and encounters to be revisited as they acquire more information or experience additional interactions. Children will grapple with misconceptions and partial knowledge as they construct a coherent understanding. Our role is to hold space for children to return again and again to scaffold their learning. As adults we also must extend ourselves the same courtesy. When caught off guard by children’s expressions about race we may falter in the way we respond; however, we also have the opportunity to revisit and ‘repair’ those conversations with children (Haulcy, 2023). Like the learning process itself, the race conversation is iterative and generative.

In addition to their ideas, children’s vocabulary is in perpetual beta. They don’t yet have an adult vocabulary and we may misinterpret what they are trying to express. A pedagogy of listening grants a reflective pause to consider the child’s context before responding. In practice, we must choose to listen to the words and beyond the words to the emotional content and patterns of lived experience. This allows for reflective discourse, rather than projecting adult meanings onto children's words.

Group Construction & Multiple Perspectives
As adults model this deep, reflective discourse, children learn to construct meaning as a group. In a climate of group construction, children feel agency and enhance their capacity to listen and weigh ideas. The standard power dynamic of adult-as-expert is disrupted and children are more inclined to express their thinking. An atmosphere of ‘perpetual beta’ supports divergent thinking. By contrast, environments where a singular ‘correct’ way of thinking is implied engender cynicism in children. Why express ideas when there’s only one that’s right? Current societal shifts, including shifts in public discourse about race, bring us to a place of uncertainty. In Design for Belonging, Susie Wise highlights the example of group construction by reflecting back to constituents that “their inquiries mattered and they were indeed participating in a civic process,” (2022).

Group construction of meaning requires us to hold and value multiple perspectives. This applies to both children and adults and is embedded in the definition of the Reggio collective design process, progettazione. When participants have equitable but distinct roles, a rich array of results are apt to arise, honoring their individuality within the collective. As in the folktale of the blind people and the elephant, no individual perspective is complete, yet all provide important insights.

Because human systems are dynamic, we now employ the final design step of Co-evolving. In this step, constituents create flexible infrastructure that adapts to an ever-evolving context. This requires letting go of the voice of certainty (Scharmer, 2018a). The educators of Reggio Emilia refer to their schools as an ‘an evolving educational project.’ Their infrastructure is a set of principles that are not prescriptive, but rather promote nimbleness. As a result, the educational project of Reggio has adapted in response to societal shifts as they arise, beginning at its inception in the aftermath of World War II. Leaning on the flexible infrastructure of the Reggio principles positions us to co-evolve.

Belonging via Broader Consciousness
In addition to providing a flexible infrastructure, the Reggio-inspired principles that we have outlined are cumulative. While there is benefit to practicing even a single principle, the impact is multiplied by their synergy.

Further, just as understanding each of these Reggio principles helps us navigate the complexity of the whole, understanding multiple perspectives helps us navigate the complexity of human systems and leads us to develop a broader racial consciousness. A narrow consciousness may persist in both children and adults unless we become more aware of others. Broader consciousness disrupts habitual patterns of attention, increasing the capacity to notice patterns of interaction, contribution and flow. Design thinking provides a road map to belonging: when we listen deeply to all constituents, we can be confident enough to take the small next steps to prototype inclusivity, knowing that they are not the end point. We must continue to listen and adapt, both individually and programatically. In essence, to cultivate communities of belonging for adults and children “means creating a learning environment in which the learner can step into his or her highest future potential in the context of hands-on societal challenges,” (Scharmer, 2018b).

Drawing from the Reggio and design thinking concepts we’ve discussed in Parts 1, 2 and 3, in Part 4 we will continue with the idea of ‘getting to belonging’ by focusing on practice. What might ‘getting to belonging’ look or sound like in adult conversations when talking with young children about race.

Resources

Blackwell, Kelsey. (2018). “Why people of color need spaces without white people.” The Arrow Journal. https://arrow-journal.org/why-people-of-color-need-spaces-without-white-people/

Haulcy, Diane. (2023). “White Parents Navigating Anti-Racist Parenting in Minneapolis.” Early Risers Podcast. https://www.mpr.org/episodes/2023/03/22/white-parents-navigating-antiracist-parenting-in-minneapolis Accessed 8/17/23.

Montoya, Louie, quoted in Andrea Small and Kelly Schmutte. (2022). Navigating Ambiguity: Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns. Stanford d.school guide. Ten Speed Press.

Scharmer, Otto. (2018a). The Essentials of Theory U: Core Principles and Applications. BK, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., a BK Business Book.

Scharmer, Otto. (2018b). “Education is the kindling of a flame: How to reinvent the 21st-century university.” Huff Post, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/education-is-the-kindling-of-a-flame-how-to-reinvent_b_5a4ffec5e4b0ee59d41c0a9f Accessed 8/17/23

Wise, Susie. (2022). Design for Belonging: How to Build Inclusion and Collaboration in Your Communities. Stanford d.school guide. Ten Speed Press.

Movement, Music and Representation

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Movement, Music and Representation
Mark Sorvari
Professional musician, performer, teacher, and event curator, Mark Sorvari is the Director and Lead Instructor of Playing With Music, which began in 2015 as a vehicle to foster, teach and share inspiring and uplifting music and creative movement experiences for young children and their caregivers. Mark has worked in early childhood music education since 2010 and has experience working with children following the Reggio Approach and is certified in Orff-Schulwerk (music education pedagogy) and Music Together.

Seven years ago, I discovered the teaching duo Segni Mossi, meaning “Leave A Trace” in Italian, while researching music and creative movement in a Reggio-inspired setting. Their interdisciplinary approach prioritizes experimentation as a working method, emphasizing the creative process over the final outcome. The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota Education Scholarship enabled me to attend the Segni Mossi Pink & Red training workshops in October 2023. These workshops explored the interaction between dance and graphic signs, using paper, oil pastels and the human body.

The Segni Mossi workshops not only provided illumination but also inspired answers to ongoing questions within a Reggio-inspired context. How can educators facilitate cross-domain connections and interweave different competencies within the Hundred Languages? What learning environments stimulate critical thinking and aesthetic feeling simultaneously? How can we advance Malaguzzi’s vision for ateliers to embrace innovation beyond the original visual art template, specifically incorporating music/sound, movement/dance, drama, and poetry? Is the atelier a technique rather than a physical space? If teachers are to become co-creators and co-learners alongside students, is expertise in the Hundred Languages essential or does the lack of expertise open up possibilities brimming with critical thought, creativity, collaboration and communication?

Segni Mossi’s playful approach challenges participants to engage in art within a social setting, stimulating critical thinking and aesthetic feelings simultaneously. The workshops break barriers between language, body, and line, creating a dynamic, exciting environment. Participants explore expressive qualities of body movements and signs, interweaving competencies and viewpoints. Segni Mossi’s goal is to “liberate the sign from representative subordination,” (https://www.segnimossi.net/en/about.html).

In an initial proposal, we spoke our names, added corresponding body movements and transferred that movement to leave a trace with oil pastels on a large sheet of paper affixed to a wall. The transformation from name to movement to visual representation was a very powerful experience as it broke barriers between language, body and line. Additionally, we represented a chosen sign with our bodies in space, allowing it to become three-dimensional, interweaving and making connections between the different languages. Carefully curated music accompanied each experience, creating a beautiful dance and interplay between the human body, mark-making tools, paper, space and our connections to others. The whole process was playful and exciting, and it felt like a performance or a story unfolding right before my eyes.

Fellow educators, many currently working in Reggio-inspired environments, unanimously agreed that such proposals freed them from specific expectations, empowering uninhibited play with materials; no particular expertise or skill sets were required to participate and enjoy these proposals. The environment, materials, and provocations were the basic ingredients. The excitement of watching each participant’s (or group of participants’) creative and cognitive interpretations unravel was added spice! The immediacy and freedom to explore was liberating as it challenged us to move out of our comfort zones.

In another captivating proposal, we embodied the concept of expansion by moving our bodies as though we were seeds sprouting from the soil. This dynamic movement was translated onto a large piece of white paper (approximately 10’ x 10’) on the floor. Beginning from the center with an oil pastel, each of us expanded our body outward, leaving a distinctive trace of movement on the paper. Observing each person’s unique expansion and the remnants of their movements expressed through oil pastel lines, led to fascinating reflections.

During the subsequent discussion, we delved into the role of the observer within the context of the Reggio-inspired approach. It became evident that not only teachers could play this role, but observation also emerged as a crucial aspect of the experience for the children themselves. The act of observation contributed to the visual aesthetics of the proposal, creating an intricate interplay between the lines left on the paper, the body movements, and ultimately, between each individual in the experience.

As these lines organically grew across the paper, so did the connections and relationships between the participants. We forged deep bonds with each other through our interactions with expressive languages in a shared space. In this environment that encouraged freedom of expression without judgment, we found ourselves not only learning about each other but also discovering more about ourselves.

These encounters pushed me to break free from habit, emphasizing that this space was meant for testing theories, experimenting, taking risks and gaining a deeper understanding of the world. The challenges compelled me to be more adaptable and think on my feet in order to foster ever-evolving experiences for children.

Upon returning from the workshop, I began offering Segni Mossi-inspired proposals to children. It became evident that this approach inspired new ways to move their bodies and to have a multi-layered sensorial experience. As they danced, the squiggles and lines left on paper overlapped, creating a beautiful fusion. Children embraced the opportunity to dance their own lines, interpret each other’s circle or scribble, mirroring the collaborative dance of lines on the paper.

Intriguingly, they started imagining pictures formed by the intermingled lines, giving rise to a series of captivating stories. At one early childhood center with high vaulted ceilings, where children had shown curiosity about echoes, I introduced proposals integrating body movement and mark-making as a tool to explore concepts related to sounds, vibrations and echoes, providing an enriching experience for the young learners that deepened their understanding and gave rise to new questions.

After participating in the Segni Mossi workshops, I've gained a fresh perspective on utilizing the Hundred Languages, free from hierarchical constraints or divisions. This approach allows for a fascinating dance to unfold among various expressive languages. Excited about the insights gained, I am eagerly anticipating another series of Segni Mossi workshops scheduled for February 2024 in New York City. I look forward to exploring additional avenues for blending and interweaving the Hundred Languages in my work.

Reflections about Reggio Emilia

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 23:55:55 GMT

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.

Reflections on First Encounters: “If the Eye Jumps Over the Wall”

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 23:54:00 GMT

Reflections on First Encounters: “If the Eye Jumps Over the Wall”
Patti Loftus
Patti Loftus B.A., M.A., is a retired early childhood teacher whose career included twenty-eight years in the Pre-K program at Blake School (Minnesota.) She’s been interested in the Reggio approach since 1992 and has served as a RINM Board member. She’s currently a RINM Communications Committee member.

For decades, academics, artists, architects and civic leaders from around the world have participated in study tours convened by Reggio Children. How and why does the Reggio educational project resonate with such a diverse group and what inspires folks to move beyond initial interest (even infatuation) toward a deeper understanding?

Initial Ideas
This article is a reflection on first encounters with Reggio ideas from varied perspectives. I reached out to a group of educators from Blake School who recently participated in a five-day study tour in Reggio Emilia. In addition, I contacted others who have encountered Reggio ideas, some of whom did so decades ago. A few in this second group have never participated in a study tour while others have done so multiple times.

Some have made (or hope to make) substantial changes in their work, even upending it. As one teacher described with enthusiasm, “I’m rethinking everything!” It’s as if they glimpsed another world, one that is familiar and at the same time completely different.

“If the Eye Jumps Over the Wall” was the original title of the first Hundred Languages exhibit. Sergio Spaggiari, former Director of the Istituzione Scuole e Nidi d' Infanzia Municipality of Reggio Emilia, said, “It is important to acquire the skill of going over walls, going beyond boundaries, seeing limits and passing through them…To be able to go over the wall means you can topple cultural paradigms that seem fixed. It means you can turn things on their head. It means you can start with fresh eyes.”

The Reggio educational philosophy is both appealing and challenging. In part, it is appealing because the city itself offers a beautiful backdrop to uniquely designed and organized schools. Teachers, pedagogistas and atelieristas work with children to offer unusual materials and surprising experiences to prompt unexpected subjects for study. One recent visitor noticed that “in the midst of a garden, the children focused on three invasive weeds growing out of the sidewalk,” which led to extended project work.

Reggio is also challenging, because the educational project is multi-faceted and inseparably woven into the city’s historical, civic and cultural context. While the Reggiani share their stories through publications and conferences, they resist marketing their approach as a curriculum. They do not promote their approach as the only way to work with children, instead they invite visitors to enter into a dialogue about values, theory and practice, a conversation that is now over 70 years old.

The existence of this newsletter and the twenty-six-year-old Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota (RINM) is evidence of the impact of Reggio in and around Minnesota. For years, numerous Minnesotans, and others who identify with the Network, have been encountering Reggio ideas primarily through local experiences, not study tours.

Responses and Perspectives
The first exposure to Reggio ideas for the people I contacted for this article included:

hearing about Reggio from a colleague;
happening upon a magazine article;
wandering into a session at a national conference;
visiting the classroom of a Reggio-inspired teacher;
hearing Loris Malaguzzi’s classic poem “The Hundred Languages;”
visiting one of Reggio Children’s traveling exhibits;
reading a book from Reggio;
being the parent of a child in a Reggio-inspired program;
participating in a parenting class with a Reggio-inspired teacher;
viewing documentation of children’s work;
seeing photographs of the environments or of children working with materials.

There were many on-ramps.

When I asked folks about their first responses to Reggio ideas, they easily recalled the occasion–“amazed,” “gobsmacked,” “overwhelmed,” “struck,” “wonder and delight.” It’s not surprising that first reactions are to what’s visible–the layout of the schools, the aesthetic environments, the unique materials and experiences presented to the children and the documented work of the children that makes their thinking visible. Some people noticed aspects that lie below the surface, for example, how key principles intertwine to connect and support thinking processes. “The level of deep and serious thinking that I encountered from the Italian educators about how to create schools that truly respect and support young children was like nothing I had ever experienced before.”

Those who participated in a study tour looked for and posed questions that emerged from their frames of reference: a musician looked for evidence of music in the schools; a tech specialist noticed their technology equipment and the ways in which it was being used; a teacher observed the multicultural nature of the population and wondered how the schools respond in culturally responsive ways; an art specialist responded with some relief that they do some skill instruction in Reggio, for example in teaching children how to attach pieces of clay. (This refuted the notion she’d had that everything in Reggio involved unhindered exploration of materials.) Another participant reflected, “I was most struck by its beginnings as a female-led anti-fascist movement and its commitment to equity and democratic advocacy.”

Each of us approach Reggio ideas with personal and particular curiosities. We come from varied contexts and, whether we’re aware of it or not, have frames of reference that affect what we notice and remember. Even when we acknowledge those perspectives, this awareness can be fleeting. If priorities in our teaching practice involve, for instance, behavior management or assessment, we may not realize the ways these preoccupations influence what we notice about Reggio and, without intention, what we may miss. Again, in Malaguzzi’s words: “To be able to go over the wall means you can topple cultural paradigms that seem fixed. It means you can turn things on their head. It means you can start with fresh eyes.”

Peter Moss writes about the larger educational concerns that are typical of leaders in the U.S. and U.K.: Does it work? Is it evidence-based? How much will it cost? How can we take it to scale? Moss notes that Reggio educators ask: Where does this lead? How can we build on this? What does this experience tell us about the children and their thinking? How does this connect with our stated values? What other perspectives might be helpful?

What Followed
Following their initial experiences with Reggio, folks consistently expressed their desire to talk with colleagues, to experiment with new materials and approaches, re-think their practice and examine the values behind that practice. They talked about incorporating Reggio ideas in their relationships with parents and the larger community.

As they reflected on their encounters with Reggio, they asked:

What are our (school’s) values for education?
How does the environment reflect those values?
What are the fundamental ideas and how can I use these ideas?
What can we do, what can we change?
How can we slow down to do richer work?
What is the central nature of the role of the atelierista?
What languages are we allowing children to communicate in?
What is the role of documentation for my school? What does it look like every day and who is doing it? What’s the objective in documentation – for the teachers? parents? broader audience?

In contrast to the notion that one must change their internal beliefs before their teaching practice will change, the opposite is also possible. Making a small change in teaching and then reflecting on it may lead to a significant shift in thinking.

The Network as a support
All of the participants who shared their first encounters with Reggio acknowledged that the Reggio schools are only in Reggio Emilia. They realized that creating beautiful spaces and open-ended materials for children to explore can be a starting point for becoming a Reggio-inspired teacher or program. Experiences like conferences, study tours and workshops built around Reggio ideas end, and then participants return to their contexts. What happens when the eye jumps over the wall but the body remains on the other side?

The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota doesn’t provide answers but is a flexible community composed of a wide variety of people with an interest in exploring and deepening their understandings of the Reggio approach. The Network provides resources and convenes opportunities for listening and talking with others about ideas, possibilities and practice. Deep insights are possible through reflection, particularly when in dialogue with others.

The Network, a 501 c3 for which there is no membership fee, is a hub of resources available to all. Throughout the year, the Network sponsors in-person and virtual events, most of which are free:

Monthly Gatherings – hosted in various community locations
Monthly Book Study – meets virtually and studies Reggio-inspired publications, each over many months
Let’s Talk – virtual or in-person, open discussion
Documentation Lab – participants share and discuss traces of their work, some virtual, some in-person
Loose Parts Lab – which collects, curates and makes recycled materials available, housed in the Toolbox Collective in Mpls.
RINM website – contains a wealth of information and links
Quarterly newsletter – free to everyone on the mailing list, also available through the RINM website

The Network makes available books published by Reggio Children and other books about the Reggio approach through the Debra Fish Library, a collection of the Saint Paul Public Library. Books can be checked out through any metro library. www.mnlinkgateway.org/

In addition, there are two annual educational scholarships available. More information can be found here.

First encounters with Reggio ideas are, for many, the catalyst to learn more about the approach and find ways to incorporate those ideas in their work with children and parents. Because the educational project in Reggio is complex and so different from U.S. educational paradigms, it requires ongoing awareness and effort to experiment, reflect, dialogue and experiment again. There are plenty of fellow travelers available as companions on that journey. The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota is one place to find them.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Tom Bedard, Joe Druskin, Joanne Esser, Jen Kalika, Kim Lane, Melanie Lowin, Taylor Rose, Lisa Small, Jeanne Vergeront, Mary Watson and others for responding to my questions and to Lani Shapiro for thinking with me.

Resources

Cameron, C. and Moss, P. (Eds.), (2020). Transforming Early Childhood in England: Towards a Democratic Education. UCL Press https://doi.org/10.14324/111.9781787357167

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., Forman, G. (Eds.), (2012). The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experiences in Transformation (3rd ed., p. 35). Praeger.

Giamminuti, S., Cagliari, P., Giudici, C., Strozzi, P. (Eds.), (2024). The Role of the Pedagogista in Reggio Emilia:Voices and Ideas for a Dialectic Educational Experience. Routledge.

Landi, L. and Pintus, A. (2022). “A Critical Approach to the Reggio Emilia Approach.” Open Access. https://iris.unimore.it/retrieve/1861203e-e021-42ee-b42a-d20195c206c9/216-713-1-PB.pdf

Spaggiari, S. (2004). “The path toward knowledge: The social, political and cultural context of the Reggio municipal infant-toddler center and preschool experience.” Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Exchange. https://www.reggioalliance.org/downloads/path:spaggiari.pdf

Fundamentals: Teachers as Researchers

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 21:40:39 GMT

“We are well aware of what is meant by ‘scientific research’ and of the debate surrounding the so-called ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sciences. But in Reggio we feel that the concept of research, or perhaps better, a new concept of research, more contemporary and alive, can emerge if we legitimate the use of this term to describe the cognitive tension that is created whenever authentic learning and knowledge-building processes take place. ‘Research’ used to describe the individual and common paths leading in the direction of new universes of possibility.”

-Carlina Rinaldi

We have learned from Reggio Emilia that the notion of research is a more approachable process than typically comes to mind when the word is used. Research is both a noun and a verb that often involves a compelling question or point of curiosity followed by studying closely. It involves gathering data, digging deeply, hypothesizing, testing and observing followed by reflection and dialogue to develop new understandings. Research, even when begun by a single individual, is rarely a solo endeavor, but involves multiple points of view in dialogue with each other.

Reggio-inspired teachers view research as an essential part of their work.

They ask questions that serve to focus observations.
They imagine possibilities and invite children to materials and experiences, with the intention of provoking responses and thinking.
They gather traces of experiences and study them for insights and potential next steps.
They invite the points of view of others.

“…Topics emerge, teachers document and wonder and provoke, children respond, and so on in an exquisite, often non-linear dance with layer upon layer of meaning. It cannot be planned, but it can be planned for through the teacher’s disposition to observe, document, provoke, and think, through the preparation of the environment to invite the interactions and encounters through which children’s ideas emerge, and through the development of a culture of conversation and construction of theory.”

-Pam Oken-Wright
https://www.mnreggio.org/page-18152

In a Reggio-inspired context, research takes place as children and teachers alike make sense of daily life. Teachers ask the children, What do you notice? How does that feel? What does this remind you of? Teachers ask themselves, Why? What happened? What does it mean? What else could happen if…? Drawing on their deep listening made visible through documentation, they invite each other into dialogue, What do you see? How do you understand…?

This research is, at the same time, a way of thinking, an attitude and a strategy. The children’s and teachers’ research sustain each other. This co-constructed (re-)search, characterized by curiosity, exchange, uncertainty and unpredictability, creates space for innovation through the pleasure of thinking together.

“Research is a habit of mind, an attitude that can be developed or neglected. It is a response to curiosity and doubt. It constructs new knowledge, makes for critical thinking and is part of citizenship and democracy. Like everything else about Reggio, research is not a solitary activity, but a process of relationships and dialogue.”

-Rinaldi, C. and Moss, P.

Fundamentals: Image of the Child

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 21:30:42 GMT

The Reggio Approach is a complex system of thought and practice with many dynamic entry points that interact; it is not a method, program or curriculum.
Key Principles of the Educational Project of Reggio Emilia, Italy

In this issue, we will begin to unpack the image of the child, introduced by Loris Malaguzzi and others who elaborate on this foundational idea.

There are hundreds of different images of the child. Each one of you has inside yourself an image of the child that directs you as you begin to relate to a child. This theory within you pushes you to behave in certain ways; it orients 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. For example, if your image is that boys and girls are very different from one another, you will behave differently in your interactions with each of them (Malaguzzi, 1994).

The educational project of Reggio Emilia offers an image of a child, each child and all children, as curious, competent learners who desire to be in relationship with others and the world. In this way, the Reggio Emilia Approach constructs a ‘rich’ child, with enormous unknown potential. This ‘rich’ child calls for comparably ‘rich’ parents and teachers, similarly disposed.

When we engage in dialogue with Reggio Emilia, we are asked to become aware of and think critically about the image of the child that we hold. This image resides mostly outside of our awareness and is challenging to make visible, even to ourselves. It is, however, revealed through action: the words we use; the nature of our expectations and how we convey them; how we organize time, space and materials; and how we prepare and use documentation.

The idea of the child that Malaguzzi introduced, and which the Reggio Emilia project has elaborated over decades, contests customary understandings. These children are not innocent, naive or cute. Nor are they passive, ‘at risk’ or constrained by standards.

The child is called the ‘rich’ child. But not ‘rich’ materially. Rather ‘rich’ in potential, strong, powerful, competent and, most of all, connected to adults and other children …The ‘rich’ child is an active learner, seeking the meaning of the world from birth, a co-creator of knowledge, identity, culture, and values. (Moss, 2010).

The children that Malaguzzi described discuss and represent their thinking about identity, love, war, peace and liberty as well as light, shadow and color. We come to know these strong children through educators’ collaborative work of pedagogical documentation. “This is a gifted child, for whom we need a gifted teacher.”

One of the focal points of the Reggio Emilia philosophy… is the image of a child who, right from the moment of birth, is so engaged in developing a relationship with the world and intent on experiencing the world that he develops a complex system of abilities, learning strategies and ways of organizing relationships. This is:

A child who is fully able to create personal maps for his own social, cognitive, affective and symbolic orientation.

A competent, active, critical child; a child who is therefore ‘challenging’, because he produces change and dynamic movement in the systems in which he is involved, including the family, the society and the school. A producer of culture, values and rights, competent in living and learning.

A child who is able to assemble and disassemble possible realities, to construct metaphors and creative paradoxes, to construct his own symbols and codes while learning to decode the established symbols and codes.

A child who, very early on, is able to attribute meanings to events and who attempts to share meanings and stories of meaning. (Loris Malaguzzi, as revisited by Rinaldi, 2006).

“...and most of all connected to adults and other children,” (Malaguzzi, 1993).

References
Malaguzzi, L. (1994). Your image of the child: Where teaching begins. Exchange, 3, 52–56. Retrieved from http://www.reggioalliance.org/downloads/malaguzzi:ccie:1994.pdf

Barsotti, C. (2004, March). Walking on Threads of Silk: Interview with Loris Malaguzzi. Children in Europe, (Issue 6), 10 - 15.

Moss, P. (2004). Dedicated to Loris Malaguzzi: The town of Reggio and its schools. Retrieved from https://www.sightlines-initiative.com/images/Library/reggio/townofrepmoss.pdf

Rinaldi, C. 2006. In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. New York: Routledge

Getting to Belonging, Part 2 - Reimagining Mindsets and Practices

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 02:12:12 GMT

by Rie Gilsdorf and Christy Spencer

Rie Algeo Gilsdorf, MS, MA, has broad experience as a principal, arts administrator, instructional coach, teacher of science and dance and parent in many settings, including the Reggio-inspired programs of Portland’s Opal School and The Blake School in Minneapolis. Rie is a past Board Co-Chair and Civic Engagement Committee Chair of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota and current member of its Resource Development Committee. She now provides racial equity seminars, coaching and consulting through Embody Equity (https://www.embodyequity.com).

Christy Spencer, MA is inspired by children’s curiosities and perspectives, and roots her practices in relationships, deep listening, designing dynamic learning environments, observation and pedagogical documentation. Christy has worked in various Reggio-inspired contexts, including The Blake School, Boulder Journey School and the Minnesota Children’s Museum. She has been a RINM Board and committee member. Current professional interests encompass exploring the intersection of design thinking and the Educational Project of Reggio Emilia, mindfulness practices, anti-racist theory, neuroscience around empathy and humanitarian projects focusing on children’s rights.

In Part One of “Getting to Belonging,” (in the Spring 2023 issue) we acknowledged that conversations about differences, especially differences across race and culture, are apt to fall into well-worn patterns. We also noted that, unless all stakeholders have agency, entrenched habits of thought and practice inhibit the development of greater consciousness around curriculum, conflict and the role of the teacher. In Part One we also began to uncover ways in which a Reggio-inspired design process invites adults to reframe ambiguity as an opportunity to question the status quo, including the concept of developmental appropriateness. In this article we examine how we might reimagine mindsets and practices, specifically curriculum, communication and the image of the teacher.

Embracing Negotiated Learning

In Reggio Emilia, progettazione refers to a key principle: negotiated, co-constructed curriculum. This negotiated curriculum typically emerges in cycles of inquiry, as each investigation generates many new questions. The progettazione design process is a way to manage ambiguities that arise when there is no predetermined curriculum or fixed destination. In order for there to be negotiation, the teacher holds space for discourse by maintaining an attitude of listening and valuing broad participation. “This discourse mindset carries over into teachers talking to parents, to the public, and all possible relations [between children, teachers, parents, and the public],” (Foreman and Fyfe, 2012).

Foreman and Fyfe further define discourse: “Discourse connotes a deep desire to understand each others’ words. Discourse is more than talking. Discourse connotes a more reflective study of what is being said, a struggle to understand, in which speakers constructively confront each other, experience conflict, and seek footing in a constant shift of perspectives,” (2012).

Appreciating Constructive Confrontation and Conflict

In our experience in American early education contexts, the ideas of “confrontation” and “conflict” are typically viewed as problematic. In response to individualistic cultural norms, educators often look for and emphasize commonalities in an attempt to create communities of belonging – fearing the repercussions of constructive confrontation (Hofstede, 2023). This reduces the richness and vibrancy of a diverse group to a generic uniformity.

If we truly “desire to understand each others’ words,” we need to listen not only for commonalities but also for differences. Activating Open Mind, the first step in the design process we outlined in Part One, requires listening to the experiences of all stakeholders, specifically listening for “disconfirming facts,” those ideas and experiences that do not align with the experiences of the listener (Scharmer, 2018). Listening this way grants everyone agency. Counter-intuitively, leaning into understanding differences allows us to move from contrived uniformity to valuing the vibrancy of the collective.

A conversation with the goal of winning an argument is a debate; a conversation that embraces the give and take of dynamic tension is discourse. An argumentative stance can produce the feelings of a fight: cheeks flushed, heart racing, muscles tensed. When conversations are approached with curiosity rather than defensiveness, there is potential for change. To have space for curiosity, there needs to be space for pause–whether it’s a momentary pause to get your bearings when something unexpected or jarring transpires or a longer reflective pause to consider the context. Embracing dynamic tension means embracing ambiguity. Stepping into this way of being, we lay the foundation for civil discourse, civic participation and advocacy, and belonging. In the words of Susie Wise, “No community can thrive without understanding how to work with conflict and disagreement,” (2022).

Supporting Teachers as Protagonists

Reggio-inspired practice holds an image of the child as curious, competent and desiring to be in relationship. In order to enact this view of the child as a competent protagonist, we need to reconsider the image of the teacher. A persistent traditional view of the teacher holds that teachers’ main role is to deliver predetermined curriculum in engaging ways. In this deficit model, children are empty vessels whose heads are to be filled by teachers.

The deficit model denies agency of both teachers and children and undermines negotiated learning. This can lead to a culture of cynicism and exhaustion as the promise of each formerly shiny new curriculum gives way to the next. Shallow levels of understanding and practice, change fatigue and defeat may result in teachers maintaining a tight grasp of familiar mindsets and practices. Inquiry, by contrast, is iterative by nature as each question generates more questions. This is the mindset of a researcher. There is limitless potential for deep understanding and practice.

Indeed, Professor Carolyn Edwards proposes that alongside children, “teachers are likewise protagonists,” (2012). Tiziana Filipini has characterized the role of the teacher in Reggio as “provoker of occasions, on the one hand, and co-actor in discoveries on the other,” (Edwards, 2012). This combination of teacher as protagonist, provoker and co-actor is encapsulated in the term “teacher as researcher.”

This brings us to the second and third design steps, Embracing Open Heart and Cultivating Open Will (Scharmer, 2018). Embracing Open Heart requires redirecting the voice of cynicism by quieting the paralyzing inner critic. To do this, we must come back to a sense of curiosity that activates empathy. Cultivating Open Will necessitates the letting go of being an expert and allowing new possibilities to arise, including talking to children about race.

When we embrace negotiated learning with its ambiguity and dynamic tensions, we can focus on nurturing a group construction of understanding, rooted in a pedagogy of listening. By doing so, we increase the possibility of designing equitable learning environments. In the next article we will examine how these practices engender multiple perspectives that broaden the community’s racial and cultural consciousness.

Resources

Edwards, Carolyn. (2012) “Teacher and Learner, Partner and Guide: The role of the Teacher.” In The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, 3rd ed. C. Edwards, L. Gandini and George Forman, Editors. Praeger.

Foreman, George, and Brenda Fyfe. (2012) “Negotiated Learning through Design, Documentation, and Discourse.” In The Hundred Languages of Children:The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, 3rd ed. C. Edwards, L. Gandini and George Forman, Editors. Praeger.

Hofstede, Geert. “Country Comparison Tool.” Hofstede Insights, https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison-tool?countries=united+states . Accessed 8/17/2023

Scharmer, Otto. (2018) The Essentials of Theory U: Core Principles and Applications. BK, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., a BK Business Book.

Wise, Susie. (2022). Design for Belonging: How to Build Inclusion and Collaboration in Your Communities, A Stanford d.school guide. Ten Speed Press.

Accorpamenti - Resonances between dance and music, Review by Rie Gilsdorf

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 02:22:57 GMT

Accorpamenti - Resonances between dance and music Reggio Children, 2022

Rie Gilsdorf
Rie Algeo Gilsdorf, MS, MA, has broad experience as a principal, arts administrator, instructional coach, teacher of science and dance, and parent in many settings, including the Reggio-inspired programs of Portland’s Opal School and The Blake School in Minneapolis. Rie is a past Board Co-Chair and Civic Engagement Committee Chair of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota and current member of its Resource Development Committee. She now provides racial equity seminars, coaching and consulting through Embody Equity, www.EmbodyEquity.com.

As a former dance teacher and atelierista, I was excited to read this book that focuses on two of the 100 languages that I’m passionate about and have spent time studying. Its title, “Accorpamenti,” is a play on words. The word means “amalgamation” in Italian, and it contains “corpo,” meaning body, and “menti,” meaning mind. So, it’s a book that looks at amalgamations of body and mind as well as of dance and music. The volume itself is an amalgamation of documentation of various music and dance experiences with scholarly articles from the viewpoints of neurobiology, music and dance history, linguistics and culture. It physically represents theory and practice by alternating academic articles with links to video “Counterpoints” from the schools of Reggio Emilia. There’s even a video of a music and dance workshop presented to staff of several of the schools so that they could reconnect with their own ability to explore these artistic expressions. Ultimately, the goal of the book is to improve the ability of adults to develop and observe provocations using music and dance–even, or especially, for those who don’t have much experience in them.

There are moments of insight in the book, for instance this description of how children’s artistic experience is not in need of what adults think of as academic disciplines:

. . . [Children] explore the world in a way that is very similar to how an artist works, first of all in an immediate (before mediated), presentative (before representative) and sensitive (before symbolic) manner.

I wish I had had this language to help other adults understand that a dance about, for instance, teeth wiggling and falling out arose from the children’s immediate experience and was a far richer experience for them than copying some more symbolic, abstract adult ballet!

As usual, the video documentation of Reggio environments is stunning and inspirational. From babies exploring the distinct sounds of pounding hands on a wooden box and brass discs on a copper pan, to 3- and 4-year olds sculpting themselves across a nature playground, there are plenty of ideas to be had. As a dance teacher, the latter is remarkably beautiful as children play and dance freely in a bamboo forest on the grounds of the Allende Municipal Infant-toddler Centre. I admit I had a moment of envy, never having had access to a bamboo forest for my children. But, on second look, the freedom of their movement is engendered by their local environment as well as their teachers willingness to let them explore.

What is in my environment? Have I unnecessarily limited children’s exploration of it?

Much of the book’s text is written in a dense, academic style that made it challenging to read–even as a person with degrees in both biology and dance. Compounding this are instances of what seems to be poor translation, for instance, using the word “withhold” where “hold” clearly makes more sense. Other sentences never did make sense to me. And yet, there are sections, such as the discussion of the origins of rhythm, that provide insight into the body-mind connection and the ways that children use these body-based languages that can open doors to their use in early childhood programs.

Who should read this book/watch these videos?

Dance and music teachers and teaching artists who want to deepen the Reggio-inspired aspects of their practice or to broaden their approach past a strictly disciplinary one.
Classroom practitioners who want a better understanding of music and dance as languages of learning.
Early childhood educators who are looking for inspiration on ways to incorporate sound and movement into their provocations.

Getting to Belonging: Embracing Ambiguity and Rethinking What is Developmentally Appropriate

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 17:35:14 GMT

by Rie Gilsdorf and Christy Spencer

Christy Spencer, MA revels in playing with possibility. She is inspired by children’s curiosities and perspectives, and thus roots her practices in relationships, deep listening, designing dynamic learning environments, observation and pedagogical documentation. Christy has had an array of experiences in various Reggio-inspired contexts, including being a part of the kindergarten faculty at The Blake School and serving on the teacher education program advisory council, as well as being a mentor teacher at Boulder Journey School, a member of the RINM communications committee and board, the Learning and Impact Specialist at the Minnesota Children’s Museum and an educational consultant in a variety of settings. Current professional interests encompass exploring the intersection of design thinking and the Educational Project of Reggio Emilia, mindfulness practices, anti-racist theory, neuroscience around empathy and humanitarian projects focusing on children’s rights.

Belonging is a common theme across websites and pamphlets about early childhood programs. And who wouldn’t want to send their children to a place where the family feels a sense of belonging? Programs intend to create inclusive and equitable educational systems, yet often get stuck in the realm of intention. Efforts to propose positive systemic change generally rely on well-crafted but superficial diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) statements, which can result in a display of aspiration without implementation. In a rush to action, these DEIB statements are often developed internally without taking the time to engage with the invaluable perspectives and insights of key stakeholders, including children. Without a road map, people may feel left uncomfortably floating on a cloud of ambiguous possibilities. Discomfort with ambiguity frequently leads to these statements being rooted in a “one and done” lesson or in a packaged curriculum that is delivered as a quick fix. What if we considered a different approach that embraces ambiguity as an asset?

Reggio-inspired educators structure children’s choices by creating finite holding spaces for their encounters. They provide provocations which open a multitude of possibilities, yet focus children’s work. We’re proposing a Reggio-inspired design process for adults to animate substantive change and actualize early childhood communities that are dialogic and democratic. Contrary to a “one and done” mindset, this learning process is iterative and generative.

What is a Reggio-inspired design process and how can it apply to antiracist practice?

In Reggio Emilia, “progettazione” describes the process of design and the development of educational projects. This is a “process of thought and action that takes into account the multiple viewpoints of children and adults and allows for doubt, uncertainty and errors as part of the rich context of learning,” (Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota, 2010). Reggio educators firmly state that every context is different, which necessitates a process that can respond to the uniqueness of each community. Neither the process nor the outcome can be standardized; this can be daunting, as is true for anti-racist practice. Reggio-inspired practice “requires a deep awareness and a suspension of our judgments and prejudices. It requires openness to change. It demands that we value the unknown and overcome the feelings of emptiness and precariousness that we experience when our certainties are questioned,” (Rinalidi, 2012).

The design thinking resources we encountered also offer steps that, like progettazione, invite multiple perspectives and reframe uncertainty and error as a necessary part of learning. These steps are so generative; there is always the probability that stakeholders will be surprised by the outcomes.

The broad strokes of the design process are:

Activating Open Mind - Listen to the experiences of all stakeholders. This requires suspending the voice of judgment.

Embracing Open Heart - Quiet the paralyzing inner critic that says “why bother?” or “it’ll never work,” and instead engage children’s sense of “Why not?” This requires redirecting the voice of cynicism.

Cultivating Open Will- Detach from the old ways of doing and let new possibilities arise. This requires letting go of the voice of fear. ·

Co-creating - Explore the future by doing, while remaining open to feedback about what’s working and not. The smallest practical idea will produce the clearest insights to inform next steps. This requires letting go of the voice of grandiosity.·

Co-evolving - Create flexible infrastructure that adapts to an ever-evolving context. This requires letting go of the voice of certainty (Scharmer, 2018).

These five design thinking steps parallel what we ask of children: express and listen to ideas across multiple languages, embrace multiple perspectives with a sense of “why not,” disrupt habits and try new things, learn by doing and cope with variable circumstances.

With these steps in mind, we wonder how anti-racist practices might evolve if we trust the competencies of young children to understand difference and fairness in the United States? When afforded this trust, children might develop a deeper disposition to enact their rights and ultimately create a more equitable future. When trust is withheld, we inadvertently position children to perpetuate the status quo. Instead, we need to redesign environments of belonging for the future.

“Developmental appropriateness” perpetuates an antiquated, dominant narrative

In early childhood communities, there are competing narratives about what is developmentally appropriate with respect to race. The dominant narrative suggests that discussing race challenges young children’s innocence. A counter-narrative, that young children must engage in these conversations, is frequently asserted by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) families. They share concern for young children’s innocence, yet feel obligated to initiate conversations about race, framed in ways that honor children’s sense of agency. This reflects parents’ views of their children as competent. Although an increasing number of White families and educators are beginning to acknowledge race with children, the dominant narrative is still that it’s not developmentally appropriate. This perpetuates a view of White children as not competent to have these conversations. When we embrace ambiguities as assets we can begin to dismantle the dominant narrative and trouble the discourse of what is deemed “developmentally appropriate.”

Dominant discourses are powerful because they operate outside of awareness. They make “assumptions and values invisible, turn subjective perspectives and understandings into apparently objective truths and determine that some things are self-evident and realistic,” (Moss, 2018). Most White parents are not accustomed to talking to their children about differences, perpetuating the dominant narrative that conversations about race are developmentally inappropriate. By contrast, BIPOC children’s experiences often include ongoing conversations about race, beginning at an early age, which may lead to greater social awareness and intercultural competence.

We revealed a nest of ambiguities: are children competent or aren’t they? Which children are competent in which circumstances? How can we leverage the strengths of each group to see the possibilities of competence for all children? Are we willing to acknowledge both children’s innocence and competence? Taking note of this ambiguity, we can begin to imagine a broader understanding of what “developmentally appropriate” could mean, leading to an expanded image of the child.

Conversations about difference fall into well-worn ruts unless we actively course-correct to be sure that people of all ages, races, genders and lived experiences have agency. For those who have lived many years within a dominant narrative, careful listening offers insight into the world in which children are growing up, which is not the same environment that today’s adults did; projecting adult understandings onto children’s experiences is futile. We can’t afford to wait until we or the children are “ready” to initiate and build upon this conversation. If we design conversations to connect with children’s awareness and lived experiences of race before they cement the dominant narrative, then they are able to play an active role in co-constructing a new narrative and co-creating equitable communities.

In a future issue, we’ll take up working with the uncertainty of emergent curriculum.

References:

Goel, Ashish (2022). Drawing on Courage: Risks Worth Taking and Stands Worth Making, A Stanford d.school guide. Ten Speed Press.

Moss, Peter (2018). Alternative Narratives in Early Childhood: An Introduction for Students and Practitioners, Contesting Early Childhood series. Routledge.

Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota (2010) “Key Principles of the Educational Project of Reggio Emilia, Italy.” Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota. Adapted from Indications: Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centres of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Reggio Children.

Rinaldi, Carlina. (2012) “The Pedagogy of Listening: The Listening Perspective from Reggio Emilia.” In The Hundred Languages of Children:The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, 3rd ed. C. Edwards, L. Gandini and George Forman, Editors. Praeger.

Scharmer, Otto. (2018) The Essentials of Theory U: Core Principles and Applications. BK, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., a BK Business Book.

Small, Andrea, and Kelly Schmutte. (2022) Navigating Ambiguity: Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns, Stanford d.school guide. Ten Speed Press.

Wise, Susie. (2022). Design for Belonging: How to Build Inclusion and Collaboration in Your Communities, A Stanford d.school guide. Ten Speed Press.

There are Loose Parts . . . and Then There are Loose Parts by Jeanne Vergeront

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 16:59:21 GMT

Originally Posted in “Museum Notes” June 2018

Jeanne Vergeront is a museum planner interested in helping to move museums forward as they start up, expand, reinvent themselves, or deepen their impact. Museum planning intersects with professional practices, organizational processes, and planning approaches to engage visitors, make museums stronger, and increase community vitality. Jeanne has been an advisor and friend of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota since its inception and is director at Vergeront Museum Planning in Minneapolis.

Loose parts, or at least the term, has captured attention and imaginations in museums, early childhood centers, libraries, nature centers, parks, and playgrounds. The assorted, moveable, and found materials and objects that spark, enrich, and extend children’s play and imaginations can be almost anything: feathers, pinecones, corks, bricks, shells, spools, or sticks.

In a world where increasingly little is left to chance in childhood and play, loose parts are wonderfully unscripted. These uncategorizable pieces and parts come with no specific directions for what they are or what children might do with them. Tucked into pockets, resting as a sedimentary layer in the bottoms of backpacks, clutched in small hands, or reverentially collected at the shore, children find, pick up, and carry treasured objects. They combine, line up, take apart, exchange, and rearrange loose parts in countless ways. In their play, children are writing the operations manual for shells, a cache of pinecones, bottle caps, or buttons with their play and imagination.

Loose parts, however, are not just stuff, junk, or a jumble of pieces and parts no one else wants or can use. To be sure, there are treasures in discards and by-products of households, industry, and nature. But since children explore the rich possibilities of these objects, meaningful exploration relies on thoughtful selection of materials. Thinking with their hands, bodies, minds, and imaginations, they observe, ask questions, and have ideas. They arrange and change objects, their settings, or even themselves. These explorations and creations are beautiful, but they're not necessarily art.

When children build, collage, or trade objects, they are comparing, sequencing, and seriating. They are exploring and valuing color, size, shape, and materials. As they lift, move, and occasionally drop glass pebbles, marker caps, or paper clips, they are discovering the properties of glass, plastic, and metal. In building with tubes and discs, they deal with balance and stability, use spatial reasoning, and solve problems three-dimensionally. New words about shapes, texture, designs, and structures are essential to describing how the fabric feels, the certain flat blue disc that is needed, or the delight a child is feeling.

The value, however, is not in working with specific concepts, but in the curiosity, agency, imagination, and knowing the world that these materials afford.

We might think that only young children are inclined to explore possibilities and make discoveries with loose parts. In fact, regardless of age, exploring materials not only changes the material, but changes the way we see materials. Anyone with limited experience to freely follow their curiosity and ideas about interesting materials and loose parts–and to do so often–will engage in similar ways. As children of every background have fewer experiences of messing around with “stuff” from the basement workbench, sewing drawer, or the town dump, they have less fluency with materials, objects, and their own vocabulary of materiality.

What Makes Good Loose Parts? There are many objects that can be gathered for exploring in a classroom, an exhibit, home, under the bushes, or at the playground. Are all loose parts equal? What makes the difference between materials that foster meaningful, extended engagement and ones that fail or minimally engage children’s delight, imaginations, and experience?

As Without Windows blogger Misha asks, why not just shop at the dollar store? Cheaper materials do save money. But, he argues, their low cost is at the expense of child labor somewhere else. Why not make loose parts from scrap lumber? The measuring, cutting, and sanding are time consuming. Keva Planks/Kapla Blocks probably do it better with greater precision. Besides, loose parts are more than blocks.

Why not use toys or commercial play objects as loose parts? Usually these are single purpose play objects. Once a child has mastered the key function—pushing the button to make a pinwheel spin—the child is ready for more. Due to their cost, these objects are seldom in great enough quantities to combine in novel ways. Ultimately, however, when children use designed toys, even very well designed ones, they become consumers of someone else’s creativity. With loose parts, children exercise their own. Loose parts, especially natural loose parts, change with time and use. They acquire a patina, reveal something new about their nature; they decay.

Rich in Possibilities

While dollar store items and commercial toys may be loose and moveable, they lack other vital qualities that imbue loose parts with powers of attraction, fascination, exploration, and discovery. They are open-ended, beautiful, and plentiful.

As Antoinette Portis’ book, Not a Stick assures us, a stick is no single thing in children’s play. It is not scripted; it can be a wand, a baton, a fishing rod, or a snake—or combinations. Like other open-ended materials, it is responsive to children's questions, interests, and ideas and capable of changing use or meaning in a flash. Often an object’s very simplicity or its ambiguity lend versatility and provoke new ideas. Small tree cookies, for instance, are variously stacked into a tower, used for money, become stepping stones, or are incorporated into a design–all in quick succession.

Features like shape, color, texture, and smell make loose parts even more interesting, suggesting new paths to explore. A child may gather all the red objects or all those that sparkle; arrange keys in a radial pattern and then end-to-end in a train; set pine cones on end to create a forest and arrange them in a spiral. Loose parts sized for small hands allow children to pick up easily, bring close for careful visual inspection, and arrange in many ways. Adding paper and markers to the mix can further extend the exploration and thinking.

Beauty

While saying that beautiful loose parts are more engaging than “ugly” ones may seem obvious, deciding what makes some beautiful is not. In the eye of the beholder will always be at work, but some qualities tend to make loose parts intriguing, attractive, and promising, if not, in fact, beautiful.

When all of an object’s qualities are not immediately apparent, an object can become more extraordinary. Up close, tiny sparkles in the stones are apparent, as is the fringe of the Burr Oak acorn caps. The crack in the stone looks like a bird. Objects that are similar but not identical are intriguing; natural variations in color, pattern, shape, carry information, reveal the diversity in nature and invite new language.

Ordinary objects and materials also become more fascinating when combined, mixed, and set in different contexts. Light interacting with objects shines through, reflects off of them, and casts shadows. Adding mirrors multiplies objects. Water splashed on objects intensifies colors and makes them shiny. Combining ordinary objects points to new possibilities: shells arranged on an oval mat creating a mandala; sticks alternating with stones in a giant running pattern; a giant star defined by sticks filled with colored leaves; or multi-colored glass beads pressed into a large disk of clay.

Ideas about what is beautiful may be particular to the context. In a nature preschool, for instance, natural and local materials might be a high priority. Without Windows blogger, Misha, is particularly interested in “loose parts from the earth” that “can be disposed of in the earth.” Tree cookies, sand, rocks, and acorns might be valued over cardboard and buttons.

At the same time, manufactured discards and by-products can be compelling when carefully selected. Clear plastic colored shapes, especially when placed on a light table, or multi-colored plastic caps in great quantities can inspire designs, patterns, narratives, and self-portraits. Discarded objects like tubes, reels, and gaskets in similar shapes and sizes, and deliberately selected in only black and white invite exploration of shape without the distraction of other colors.

Abundance

As important as open-ended and beautiful materials are, seeing objects in great abundance jolts us out of our usual mindset. Perceptions of the object itself and what it can do change. Seemingly ordinary objects like buttons, brushes, cardboard tubes, or rubber bands suddenly seem remarkable. The abundance of objects feels contagious, infecting us with a sense of expanding possibilities. Vast quantities seem to confer permission to explore freely, take risks, make mistakes, and start again.

When time is also in abundance–when there is time to look closely at each pebble, feel and compare them, arrange them just so, and rearrange them again–then the possibilities for thinking and creating that loose parts offer also expand.

Reprinted from: https://museumnotes.blogspot.com/2022/07/there-are-loose-parts-and-then-there.html

Playing with Loose Parts in the Atelier by Roberta Pucci

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 21:25:36 GMT

From the early 2000s, Roberta has held workshops and courses about the creative use of artistic, natural and recycled materials, especially for educators and teachers, collaborating with social cooperatives. She then spent seven years working as an atelierista in a Reggio-inspired preschool, in addition to one year at the Loris Malaguzzi Center of Reggio Emilia, with study groups from all over the world. Currently, she works primarily as a consultant for personal and professional growth.

How does one find the right balance between rules and freedom, in order to support the creative process?

The image above is part of a 100 x 70 cm composition made by three five-year-old children with some loose parts. How do you think the creation process developed? What was the proposal (if any) and the role of the adult? First of all, consider it was the last of a series of atelier sessions dedicated to these materials.

This is quite significant, since the first time children meet a new material, they like to freely explore it for a long enough time, to know its potential and limits. So it’s better to postpone more specific proposals. But let’s start from the beginning.

I would have liked to offer an experience with loose parts – small pieces of plastic, metal, wood, cardboard, buttons, stoppers, scraps from industrial and artisan processing – all collected in various containers. But how to present them? As a completely free exploration? I could imagine how inebriating the wealth and multiplicity could become, a confusing jumble in a few seconds... So how to “contain” children’s activity and stimulate a rich personal research at the same time?

My solution was a kind of game with a few simple rules: a small group of children at a time, the materials neatly arranged on a table. Every child had a small container which they could use to “shop” for their chosen materials. On other tables, there were white cardboard bases, where children “played” with their materials.

Once the game (and the composition on the cardboard) was finished, the children could optionally take a picture of the final composition and give it a title. Then they put all the used materials back into their personal container and divided them in the different respective containers. At this point, children could start the process again and again.

Another solution I tried is putting all the containers in the center of a large table, where the children could take the materials they needed from time to time. Maybe it was my need of order... Anyway, it worked. The rules were gladly accepted as part of a game and allowed children to manage themselves independently, respecting individual times. Even the final step of “destruction” of the work was “naturally” welcomed by children, immersed in a fast and intense research, without needing to “hold” a result. A demonstration of how the “attachment” to the product is more frequent in adults than children.

As the children liked it very much, we repeated the same activity several times and I gradually introduced some variants, for example cardboard bases of different formats or a selection of a certain range of materials (according to tactile, chromatic or other criteria). Some variations were stimulating for children, others were not. So I chose the next variant observing children’s responses. It was also interesting to observe how different materials influenced the composition and, at the same time, how the personal style of each child was recognizable through the diversity of materials: personal style and material characteristics are elements that are always intertwined in every work.

As a last step, I proposed a group work: three children at a time, on a large format of 100 X 70 cm. Of course I knew that the format was too big to be “controlled” and organized with a shared project a priority. So I invited the children to start individually, from the side they preferred. Then each group followed a process that organically unfolded, bringing the various contributions together. Inspired by the forms that were gradually created and by some questions of mine, children gradually connected the three parts, both aesthetically and narratively. In this case, I proposed to fix the final composition on the sheet with glue, as a tangible conclusion of a long process and enhancement of a collective work. Product and process are both important: it’s up to us to understand when it’s time to focus on one rather than the other.

Every game has its own rules, which are willingly accepted by those who freely choose to play. Sometimes the rules “allow,” sometimes they “limit,” as well as total freedom can be an obstacle or an impetus for the creative process. There are no solutions that are always good. Each time we have to look for the right balance, taking into account the context and the objectives. It is a flexible dance between two necessary opposites. Listening empathically to children can help us be attuned to their rhythm.

Reprinted from: https://www.robertapuccilab.com/the-grammar-of-matter/playing-with-unstructured-materials/ Look here for more articles from the Roberta Pucci Lab:http://www.robertapuccilab.com

The Wonder of Learning; A Review by Lani Shapiro

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 03:34:32 GMT

The North America Reggio Emilia Alliance publication, Innovations, asked Lani Shapiro to write about the Network’s Open Book Study, in particular The Wonder of Learning. The piece that follows was first published in the Summer 2022 issue of Innovations. Lani Shapiro serves on the Network’s Board, Communications Committee and is the editor of this quarterly newsletter.

The Wonder of Learning – The Hundred Languages of Children

By Vea Vecchi, Ilaria Cavallini, Tiziana Filippini, and Lorella Trancossi, Eds. Translation by Jane McCall

The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota’s (RINM) “Open Book Study” participants have gathered on the third Sunday of every month for 15 years to engage in an ongoing conversation about Reggio-inspired publications. A flexible and ever-changing group, we arrive as individuals with diverse perspectives—parents, students, teachers, administrators, and citizens—who work or learn in varying contexts, in homes, preschools and childcare centers, schools, graduate schools, clinics, and civic institutions. We have met at coffee shops, and we have convened more recently via Zoom and consequently assembled participants from both near and far with numbers ranging from two to 15. Each meeting we form a flexible learning collaborative without a fixed destination with the intention of cultivating a context that can welcome uncertainty, diversity, and complexity. We have become a learning group. This learning together in groups is highlighted in the following quote from Wonder of Learning: The Hundred Languages of Children exhibition catalog:

Learning in groups which provide a space for argumentation – for sharing interpretations, emotions and reflection - creates favourable conditions for subjective learning; acquisition of content; and awareness of ways of learning: a capacity for understanding that “viewpoint” has a pluralist nature. Learning in groups gives rise to social forms of knowing and knowledge which are essential to an idea of citizenship for the world today and the world tomorrow. (Pedagogical Co-coordination of Preschool and Infant-toddler Centres – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, 2011, p. 15)

Our goal has never been to “finish” our texts. Instead, our intention has been to practice working with Reggio values and dispositions. We listen carefully to one another, examine content, read closely, formulate questions, wonder, and speculate about what is included or excluded while

examining the structural details of the text. We read methodically, never more than one chapter per month. Sometimes we repeat a chapter if we don't feel finished. This has afforded us an opportunity to grow our capacity to listen generously and practice building knowledge together in an environment that welcomes “roomy ideas.”

We have explicitly discussed ways we approach a text: How will we work with each other? Where do we start? What do we notice about the structure of the text (table of contents, bibliography, graphical details)? We ask each other: What stood out for you? What questions are you holding? We probe: What do you want to understand better? What is it about this selection that is salient for you? We bring our attention to the specific page, passage, or image of interest. Then we can explore: How does this inform our work? How do you consider these provocations in light of your own context? In a discussion with Carolyn Edwards (2015), John Nimmo, Loris Malaguzzi, and Vea Vecchi, Tiziana Filippini illustrates the importance of educators thinking and asking questions together:

Yes, the important thing is not just to hear diverse points of view, but instead to go so far with the discussion that it is clear that each person has taken something in and moved in his or her thinking, as a result of what has been heard. (p. 19)

Book study participants have asked and noted:
“What does the text mean? How does it relate to our own context?”
“How do we put these ideas into practice?”
“The pedagogues of Reggio Emilia think about how children think and think about their own thinking.”
“Book study transformed how I read and how I view my practice as an educator. I find myself reflecting even more deeply about my practice. I changed from thinking how I can make an activity better to how I can create conditions that will help me see children’s thinking processes.”

Over the last 2 1⁄2 years, following a RINM-organized trip to Madison, Wisconsin to visit The Wonder of Learning – The Hundred Languages of Children exhibit, the RINM’s book study immersed itself in the exhibit’s catalog, The Wonder of Learning: The Hundred Languages of Children. This volume, published in 2011 by Reggio Children, is a lively synthesis and distillation of experiences, representations, interpretations, and re-interpretations from the infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia. This book, like other Reggio Children publications that derive from an exhibit, is characterized by captivating glossy images and poetic narratives of the children and their theories. The publication speaks in the languages of graphics, images, photography, and text. The chapters are brief, generously illustrated excerpts that highlight children’s thinking, drawings, and constructions that represent a distillation of previous work, re-considered and re-written. The delightful work of the children is bookended by essays that introduce the exhibit, the catalog, the principles of the work, the collaborative working journey, and the historical context.

Readers may be tempted to leap into the visual story of the children’s experiences in volumes laden with imagery. However, to overlook the essays and narrative is to read only half the book. Our book study tradition is to read and discuss the book cover to cover, mining the insights and perspectives of various contributors beginning with the introductions. The voices that precede the visual narrative in The Wonder of Learning catalog include Graziano Delrio, the mayor of Reggio Emilia from 2004–2014, Jerome Bruner, and Howard Gardner. As noted, we go slowly, considering and mulling over each point of view. In subsequent meetings, we delved into the stories of the children’s work. We were surprised and curious about the children’s observations and their use of metaphors and creative interpretations. We were both impressed and intimidated, asking, “How does this work happen?” We find the answers to our wonderings within the text, images, narrative and especially the reflections of the educators.

A deceptively straightforward declaration by the pedagogical team highlights principles that underpin the Reggio Emilia educational project and are reflected in the exhibit and essential to the text. Each section is introduced with a brief narrative that identifies the rationale for the “big idea” of the section and the specific projects selected to represent children’s nuanced relationship to place, materials, light, and mark-making. This way of working highlights educators’ decision-making nodes and illuminates their thinking, resulting in a map of the unfolding project. This provides a privileged window into the thinking of the Reggio educators as they initiated a project, maintained momentum, and searched for clues to relaunch the work. It’s all there!

For example, in the section of the book titled “Dialogues with Places,” the educators declare their assumptions and rationale. They wanted to better understand how children approach a place and the processes children use to build relationships with that space. Introducing the section, educators make their ways of working visible. They chose a place, the yet-to-be completed Loris Malaguzzi International Center, placed themselves (as adults) in dialogue with its sensory aspects and, after that, invited the children “to think of a gift which would please them and please the place” (Vecchi et al., 2011, p. 19).Then they identify their process, summarized in the following steps:

Educators visit the building (to experience the context).
Invite children’s thinking about “listening” to a place (What does it mean to listen?).
Take small groups to visit the center and suggest the children look, draw, photograph, and then choose a particular detail they find interesting that could receive a “gift.”
Children’s work proceeds. Each group has a unique encounter with the unfinished space and creates a gift through their work.
Educators meet, consider the work generated, and relaunch.
Educators reflect and refine their documentation tools, interweaving visual and written traces.
Educators select projects that highlight children’s recurring strategies: physical movement, sensory input, attention to detail, creating stories, and games.

Through dialogue, we grappled with this behind-the-curtain view of the structures and processes that support project work in Reggio Emilia. Examining these details together gave us a map or a compass to make sense of the results.

We began to contest the common understanding that Reggio-inspired work always follows the child’s lead. The educators explicitly made proposals to the children. They identified possibilities worth pursuing, listened generously to the children’s responses, and then supported their thinking. With these insights, we inquired about our own processes: What essential understanding informs our proposed projects? What do we need to understand to be useful to the children’s investigation? What essential knowledge, understanding, or experience precedes our work with the children? What are we, as educators, interested in understanding? We noticed that the children’s questions and the educators’ inquiry are not always the same.

The animating force and foundation for everything we have read is daily documentation, without which there would be no small traces to reflect upon, no projects to share with families, no exhibits to share with the community, and no books for international readers. The reflective process of the educators, as authors, invites us, as readers, to revisit, rethink, and reconsider. This results in a refractory reading with angles that reveal many possibilities, not just one. This reminds each book study participant to capture small traces and use them to reflect, not to prove a single story but to make space for many perspectives.

As I write this, we are nearing the end of The Wonder of Learning catalog, a journey that pre-dated Covid-19. Some of the other books we have studied to date include Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners; The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation; Beyond Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care: Postmodern Perspectives; Dialogues with Places; Art and Creativity in Reggio Emilia: Exploring the Role and Potential of Ateliers in Early Childhood Education; The Diary of Laura; Children, Art, Artists: The Expressive Languages of Children, The Artistic Language of Alberto Burri; and In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. We have decided our next text will be the Digital Educational Toolbox, which includes readings and videos from Reggio Children.

At first glance, a book study is a modest undertaking. However, within this small time and space, we continue to learn together and practice skills and dispositions fundamental to the Reggio Emilia Approach: deep listening, reflection, and collaboration. In “Open Book Study,” we transform ourselves into a learning community as we engage in the pleasure of dialogue, debate, and inquiry.

Now retired, Lani Shapiro was an early childhood educator teaching both typical and special rights children and their adults (parents and teachers) in public settings for more than 40 years. She is a founding member of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota (RINM), a current RINM board member, editor of its quarterly newsletter, and facilitator of the “Open Book Study” since the inception of this initiative in 2007. Lani is particularly interested in the democratic aspects of the Reggio Emilia educational project.

References
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (1999). Beyond quality in early childhood education and

care: Postmodern perspectives. Falmer Press.
Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (Eds.). (2012). The hundred languages of children: The

Reggio Emilia experience in transformation (3rd ed.). Praeger.

Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Nimmo, J. (Eds.). (2015). Loris Malaguzzi and the teachers: Dialogues on collaboration and conflict among children, Reggio Emilia 1990. Zea Books.

Edwards, C., & Rinaldi, C. (Eds.). 2009. The diary of Laura: Perspectives on a Reggio Emilia diary. Redleaf Press.

Filippini, T., Giudici, C., & Vecchi, V. (Eds.). Dialogues with places. Reggio Children. Giudici, C., Rinaldi, C., & Krechevsky, M. (Eds.). (2001). Making learning visible: Children as individual and group learners. Project Zero; Reggio Children.

Pedagogical Co-coordination of Preschool and Infant-toddler Centres – Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. (2011). The theses of the exhibition: The wonder of learning. In V. Vecchi, I. Cavallini, T. Filippini, & L. Trancossi (Eds.), The wonder of learning: The hundred languages of children, pp. 14–15. Reggio Children.

Rinaldi, C. (2006). In dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, researching and learning. Routledge.

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

Vecchi, V., Cavallini, I., Filippini, T., & Trancossi, L. (Eds.). (2011). The wonder of learning: The hundred languages of children. Reggio Children.

Vecchi, V., & Giudici, C. (Eds.). (2004). Children, art, artists: The expressive languages of children, The artistic language of Alberto Burri. Reggio Children.

The Grammar of Matter by Roberta Pucci

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 19:02:03 GMT

Every material has got a set of specific characteristics and qualities resulting from its nature, that defines its limits and potential as well as its range of possible transformations, reversible or not. It is what I call a kind of “natural grammar”, meaning some inner rules that can be empirically investigated. How? Observing and transforming the material with a friendly approach, remaining attuned to its nature, with the curiosity and discretion of a guest. If we do not want to impose a shape but are in a respectful interaction, the material itself will suggest us what to do. Take for example a sheet of paper.

Just taking it in your hands, you immediately understand it can can be rolled or folded. But how many ways? The exploration of this simple action opens up a world of variations: different dimensions, inclinations, proportions, forms of the starting sheet, and so on. Could we have imagined all these possibilities without a thorough investigation? Likewise, many other actions can develop (rubbing, piercing, cutting, rolling, wetting …) and be combined. The richer this inventory will become, the more possibilities you will have available to creatively transform the material.

continue reading Roberta's piece on The Grammar of Matter

3-D Mapping with the Network

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 20 Aug 2022 19:35:30 GMT

Reflection of an Experience
Rie Gisldorf
Rie Algeo Gilsdorf, MS, MA, has broad experience as a principal, arts administrator, instructional coach, teacher of science and dance, and parent in many settings, including the Reggio-inspired programs of Portland’s Opal School and The Blake School in Minneapolis. Rie is a past Board Co-Chair and Civic Engagement Committee Chair of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota and current member of its Resource Development Committee. She now provides racial equity seminars, coaching and consulting through Embody Equity, www.EmbodyEquity.com.

During the Network’s End-of-Year Celebration/Annual Meeting, I led a social arts activity called 3-D Mapping. This is a methodology for adults that is deeply aligned with Reggio-inspired practice in its collaborative, emergent practice, its inclusion of the community as researchers and its use of multiple languages of thought and learning. Over the course of the evening, a dozen people stopped by to consider how to represent the current state of Early Childhood Education in Minnesota as seen from their unique perspective. We are interested not only in perceptions of the system as a whole, but also in how the Reggio-Inspired Network specifically fits into it.

3-D Mapping comes out of the systems thinking lineage of Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer and others at the MIT Center for Organizational Change, now a separate organization called the Presencing Institute. Senge’s work, in turn, comes out of Kurt Lewin’s writings on Action Research. Interestingly, our consciousness of a system and our ability to change it are interrelated. Here’s the evolution of the ideas:

You cannot understand a system unless you try to change it - Kurt Lewin
You cannot change a system unless you transform consciousness - Peter Senge
You cannot transform consciousness unless you make a system see and sense itself - Otto Scharmer
You cannot make a system see and sense itself until you see and sense yourself as part of the system - Ubiraci Pataxó

3-D Mapping is a process for increasing our awareness of our system, part of an “Awareness-Based Systems Change” approach.. Notice that in addition to thinking about a system, 3-D Mapping invites members of the system to sense into it by using the aesthetic language of found objects placed into a collage. The meeting venue of Belle’s ToolBox, which houses the Network’s Loose Parts Laboratory Materials Center, provided a rich source of small objects to use. I collected a basket of items and placed them around the edges of a card table, then invited people to place them on a sheet of paper representing our system. As they placed their objects, I jotted down their words on post-its and placed them in a corresponding spot on a sign that invited people to participate.

Participants were curious but a bit shy at first – how could their experience in one corner of the system inform the whole? Interestingly, as more objects and quotes were placed, people resonated with others’ experiences and were stimulated to add their own ideas. Also, the languages of the process, both visual and tactile, added to the play of the ideas. For example, the first pair of people approached the table and talked about how their program, a center housed in a larger organization, experienced both synergies and misunderstandings with the wider community. They noticed a couple of puzzle pieces, first placing them near each other, then trying to fit them together. They giggled at their first attempt, which seemed to fit, but on closer inspection, the words didn’t line up correctly. “Exactly! The communication is off!” they said.

Then one of them said, “Wait, or do they actually fit? Like this?” She turned the pieces and, voila, the words, “Thank You” appeared.

But, after considering it for a moment, they eventually decided to place the two pieces in proximity to each other, but not touching. It was important for them to have seen that the pieces could fit, but weren’t currently connected. The process itself had not simply allowed them to express their thoughts, but had in fact furthered their thinking. Starting from an initial complaint, they had come up with a more nuanced understanding. Their final quote: “Community Relationships (puzzle pieces): They do fit, but they’re misaligned.”

That first pair started with an idea and looked for an object to represent it. Others were strongly drawn to an object and then let a meaning emerge. For instance, one person kept coming back to an old compact disk.

Eventually she placed it in the center and then said, “Oh! It would spin, and it’s reflective and shiny!” Her final quote: “Creativity (CD): Keep spinning out those ideas!”

Some had no trouble choosing at all. “Outdoors!” said one woman, immediately reaching for a pinecone and plopping it down. That was her full quote: “Outdoors (pinecone)!” An important dynamic of the map is not just what objects are picked, but where they are placed in relationship to other objects. In this case, it’s significant that the outdoors pinecone is in close proximity to the CD of creativity and spinning out ideas. Others who came by later commented on the truth of that, that we, and children, are stimulated by time in nature and emerge with more ideas spinning out of us. It’s a small and simple truth; it’s also profound and needed to be captured in our map.

Several other items were similarly clear to everyone that saw them: the “Tinker Toy of Play,” the Bird of “Launching kids so they can fly” and the worn Elastic Circle of “Hoops we have to jump through.” Although these are clear representations of elements that most observers would agree are features of our system, it is important to place them in the map.

In any efforts to co-create a future evolution of the system, we wouldn’t want to leave out play or launching kids, and we would want to deal with those nagging hoops.

We can really see the co-construction going on in a conversation about a corn cob. Someone had picked it for its color and texture but was feeling bad that all its kernels were gone. It certainly had been a nourishing thing. . . but what was it now? At that point, another participant chimed in to suggest the empty cob being “the wise woman who has given away all her kernels.”

The corn cob is now standing for the wise elders of our network whose kernels of wisdom nourished generations. Interestingly, this is the only item in the map that represents an individual human role in the system. In a system that depends so heavily on human beings – children, caregivers, educators, family members – it’s interesting that most of the elements of our map were abstract concepts. What does that say about how we perceive the system with its conflicts, agreements and sources of power. Would adding more human elements help us to reframe our challenges? And where does the Reggio-Inspired Network fit into Minnesota’s early childhood system?

Another item reveals a desire to synthesize and operationalize an abstraction – a lump of concrete. Concrete is both a mixture that includes gravel and cement and also a durable material that forms foundations. It’s human-made, mixed by trial and error. Concrete is a common metaphor for things that have substance and aren’t only abstract. The quote for this item: “(Concrete): Mixing it up; Starting with something concrete in all the change; try the best and leave behind the baggage.”

This unique object also generated multiple ideas – a small wheel with an S-hook on it. The original idea for it was “Spinning our wheels…” Then in the ensuing conversation another idea built on this: “Training wheels.” As the back-and-forth continued a unifying theme emerged: “Looking for connection and support.” It’s an idea that connects to and shows motivation for our Community Relationships puzzle pieces above. Of course we’re yearning for those puzzle pieces to snap together, in a way that gives connection and support.

As I was getting ready to pack up someone came by and grabbed this rubber stopper, plopped it at the top of the map and said, “Put a cork in it!” She turned out to be expressing the desire for oversight organizations to “Trust our love for children.” And, I experienced her expressing the sense of humor that is also a feature of early childhood education – I personally couldn’t have survived without it!

Looking at the full map of our Early Childhood System, it seems a bit random and disconnected to me. There are parts with hooks, slots, claws or holes to offer connections, but they aren’t relating to each other. Verbalizing these kinds of descriptions is the next step in the 3-D Mapping process, all a part of becoming more conscious of the details, relationships, obstacles and opportunities in our system. The process asks the participants to look at the map from different perspectives, physically walking around the table to get a fresh view. Since we’re no longer gathered in one spot, I’ve included four different rotations of the map, along with questions to think about as your eyes wash over the image.

What emotions arise when you look at this picture? What about it ignites your best energies? What makes you feel curious? What are the relationships (connections, separations or proportions) between the parts? What do you sense? Is your intuition telling you anything important about what is happening?

What are some key agreements in the system that determine how it works? What are key conflicts or hard truths that you have to face in order to move forward? Where do the different sources of power lie in this system?

Is there a way to reframe the challenges or see them from a different perspective? Where is the hidden leverage? What are the most important barriers that, if removed, could help the current system to evolve?

What is ending in this situation? What’s the old skin that needs to be shed? What is seeking to emerge or wanting to be born? What’s the highest future potential that’s being called for in this situation? What will a better system look and feel like in 50 - 100 years?

Just as our documentation of children’s ideas, work and conversations is meant to be revisited collectively as we ponder what is emerging, what might come next and what provocations could open new doors, the 3-D process also doesn’t stop with creation of the map. The set of questions connected to each view are meant to inform a second round of mapping where we would modify the objects’ placements to represent the future we want to co-create. This simple activity is so rich in surprising ways – often people that have been quiet bring ideas forward visually or people find their limiting concepts dissolving as they move pieces into new relationships. In the schools of Reggio Emilia, this documentation-based design process would be called, “progettazione.” I invite you to think about these questions, perhaps in dialogue with your team or community, and see what insights bubble up.

News on the Loose Parts Laboratory by Sandy Burwell

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 18:48:29 GMT

“We are at our best when we serve others. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

This quote speaks to me about the Reggio-Inspired Network in general and the Loose Parts Laboratory in particular. Our initiative is making small changes in our own small context. For many years, members of the Network have talked and dreamed and attempted to create a resource center where donated materials could be purchased for a very low cost in order to recycle, re-purpose and reduce waste in order to re-imagine experiences for children. Through the work of our thoughtful committed members we have created an instrument for change.

Our soft opening on March 26 was a joy-filled occasion - to actually have shoppers visiting our venue and purchasing “beautiful stuff.” A Grand Opening celebration is planned for Friday evening, May 20th, 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Please come for our annual end-of-the-year social gathering. There will be refreshments. a short presentation, information about the work of the Network, visiting, shopping and an auction. Look for prizes to be announced soon on our Facebook page.

Mission: The Loose Parts Laboratory is a space curated with a variety of materials donated to distribute for low or no cost.

Vision: The Loose Parts Laboratory aims to provide a growing initiative of increasing materials, patronage and volunteers.

Updates and Particulars
E-mail: loosepartslabmn@gmail.com

Facebook page: Loose Parts Laboratory: Materials Center Project Minnesota Be sure to check out the video on our Facebook Page.

Instagram: @loose_parts_laboratory
Address: 3400 42nd Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55406

Visit us: June 14, 16 and 18 July 12, 14 and 16 August 16, 18, and 20

Sandra Burwell's professional career includes over 50 years in education as a teacher, director, supervisor, mentor and educational coordinator for children birth through high school but primarily early childhood. Presently, she is a consultant and presenter for professional development inspired by the philosophies of Reggio Emilia and Maria Montessori in the areas of authentic experiences, material exploration and the environment.

Unpacking Democracy Part 2 by Lani Shapiro

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 20 May 2022 12:59:40 GMT

"Education is an opportunity for the growth and emancipation of the individual and collective; it 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." -Reggio Children

An often overlooked aspect of the Reggio Approach is that it animates a democratic society through its values, structures and practices. This is evident at every level – within the schools, with families, in the management of the schools and in relationship with the city, the country and international partners, but it all starts with the youngest citizens, the children in the infant-toddler centers and preschools. This is where habits, dispositions and principles, essential for democratic life are rooted, introduced and practiced.

Some of those habits and dispositions were introduced in Part I of Unpacking Democracy. They include deep listening, a capacity for dialogue, the ability to think critically and a desire to work collaboratively for the common good as the foundation for democratic life.

Value Difference

Valuing difference is both acknowledging and seeking multiple identities, practices and points of view. This represents both a disposition and a constellation of pedagogical decisions.

“Accepting, respecting and valuing the differences in others is a great ethical choice, which is possible for every modern person. Differences are not a problem that we annul or eliminate. They are a resource and an opportunity.”
Sergio Spaggiari, 2004

Since diversity is an asset, it makes sense to plan for different group structures and composition – large group, small group and individual – and notice the range of perspectives that emerge. Consider how diverse abilities, age groups and home languages add richness to your setting. Select tools that will enhance exploration and provoke surprise. Provide a range of expressive media: clay, wire, digital, marker, pencil, paint, etc. to explore ideas. Reflect on how each medium impacts and challenges understanding. Offer contrasting media to deepen a common theme. In addition to the voices of the children, seek input from families, community and colleagues. Each decision can support democratic life.

Be Curious

To focus your curiosity, ask yourself, “what do I wonder”...about the learners, their approaches to learning, the work of teaching and learning, particular areas of learning, learners at different ages or stages of life or particular interests of individuals?

Deep listening invites both speakers and listeners into unexpected terrain. Consider uncertainty, doubt and error as resources in education.

Use Language With Care

Dialogue is enriched when you are genuinely curious about others’ beliefs, assumptions, or theories and when peers share group work. Language is intertwined with deep listening, a capacity for dialogue and the ability to think critically.

Consider all the possible “think about questions” you might pose, rather than “do you know questions.” For the ‘think about’ questions to be effective, you must listen (with all your senses) and build upon what follows.

I would like to know more... Some aspect that interests me.... This is very interesting....
You started to say....
I am wondering....
And then...?

Maybe...
Does this remind you of anything? What do you think about this?
I wonder...?
Do you mind if I ask...?
What do you think about...?

Would you mind sharing more...? I’m curious...?
In which way does...?
What might happen if...?

I wanted to know...
What do you suppose happens when...? So it is...?
Why do you suppose this happens?
So what aspect impresses...?
How do you think this happens?

I see, so... ?
What are the possible consequences?
Is it...?
Do you see any patterns? Has this happened before?
Why... ?
What did you notice when...?
Can I say something?
What was it like when...?

Offer language that children can borrow to support peer exchange and genuine listening:

I think...
My idea is...
In my opinion...
Thanks for sharing your opinion. I have a different one. Here’s mine...
It’s ok that you don’t agree with my opinion. We can have different points of view. I respect your opinion. I have a different one that I’d like to share with you.

Think about the way your decisions about space, materials, tools and time affect conversation.

Use Documentation as an Invitation for Exchange

Pedagogical documentation is a process which makes this listening, thinking, learning and teaching visible and consequently subject to reflection, interpretation, dialogue and exchange. The point of pedagogical documentation is not to establish what the learner can do, but how the learner is thinking about what he/she is doing. As an iterative and recursive process, documentation continuously generates new questions and challenges. As educators listen, observe, inquire and relaunch, learners experience different perspectives and uncertainties, growing in their capacity to construct knowledge and appreciate complexity.

When you collect traces, you are simultaneously documenting the learner’s process, your work as a teacher and communicating what you deem important. Documentation is an interpretation of what you see; it defines, refines and reveals your values. Documentation takes many forms: daily traces, photos and transcription, video, sketches; project narratives; class/school/public exhibits; publications; presentations for study.

These elements are useful as they are shared and contested, allowing new points of view to enter and inviting others to propose avenues to extend this process. Share traces with an individual, with a small group or large group, families or other educators. Find a venue to make your ongoing work public, such as a library.

“Sharing the documentation means participation in a true act of democracy, sustaining the culture and visibility of childhood ... a product of exchange and visibility.”
Carla Rinaldi

In participation with others, documentation becomes a democratic tool.

"Participation, in fact, is based on the idea that reality is not objective, that culture is a constantly evolving product of society, that individual knowledge is only partial; and that in order to construct a project, especially an educational project, everyone’s point of view is relevant in dialogue with those of others, within a framework of shared values. The idea of participation is found on these concepts: and in our opinion, so, too, is democracy itself." Paola Cagliari, Angela Barozzi and Claudia Giudici

Watch Video Here

Foundations for democratic life ARE BUILT upon being curious, using language carefully to promote exchange and practicing pedagogical documentation to promote transparency and participation. Since how children are treated when they are very young profoundly affects how they will live the rest of their lives, historian Timothy Snyder points out that a “free country thrives over generations.” A free society is strengthened when its citizens think critically, compare diverse points of view, vet sources and consider the common good. These values, structures and practices are central to the Reggio Emilia project.

Now retired, Lani was an early childhood educator teaching both typical and special rights children and their adults (parents and teachers) for more than 40 years. She is a founding member of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota, is a current Board member, works on the Network’s Communication Committee and facilitates its Book Study. She is particularly interested in the infrastructural aspects of the Reggio project.

Unpacking Democracy and Education: The Reggio Emilia Approach

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 20:27:31 GMT

Unpacking Democracy and Education

The Reggio Emilia Approach

Last December, Lani Shapiro hosted the monthly gathering, titled “Unpacking Democracy and Education.” In the piece that follows, Lani was asked to expand on ideas she presented during that meeting.

Education is “always a political discourse whether we know it or not. It is about working with cultural choices, but it clearly also means working with political choices.”

Lori Malaguzzi

Education is always political. Education for democracy, however, is not inevitable; it is a possibility and choice. Democracy can be understood as a way of thinking, being, acting and living together, as Dewey described, “a democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience.” (Dewey, 1916).

Throughout the evolving educational project that is called the Reggio Approach, there are constant references to democracy, democratic life and democratic participation.

Historical Notes:

The Reggio Emilia approach is not just a way of working with preschools; it is a pathway to create a more democratic society. The Reggio project had an explicitly political birth as World War II ended: it responded to fascism, asserted women’s rights and called for greater social equality through collective civic action.

With proceeds from selling debris left behind by the retreating German army (a tank, six horses and three trucks) citizens from Villa Cella, a small community outside of Reggio Emilia, set about constructing a school for their youngest children because, according to the mayor, their wartime experience had ‘taught them that people who conformed and obeyed were dangerous, and that in building a new society it was imperative to safeguard and communicate that lesson, and maintain a vision of children who can think and act for themselves.’

“We didn’t want our children to be duped by fascism, as we were.”

Over seven decades, the Reggio Approach has become an international project of social, cultural, political and economic significance that balances the value of individual difference and understands that individual freedom must be connected to a social demand for justice and solidarity.

“Education is an opportunity for the growth and emancipation of the individual and collective; it 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.”

Reggio Children: Indications

Dispositions that Cultivate Democratic Living

For Reggio Emilia educators, the goal is not to teach about democracy but to nurture habits, dispositions and values like deep listening, a capacity for dialogue, the ability to think critically and a desire to work collaboratively for the common good, which lay the foundation for democratic living experienced through daily life in school.

A disposition is a characteristic attitude, an inclination or habit. Listening

Carla Rinaldi insists that in order to truly listen, you have to give up the idea that you control the outcome. Listening requires genuine curiosity about what you will encounter. This kind of listening invites all parties into new terrain. When we are open-minded, we can listen with empathy, see each person’s unique perspective and learn from each other. Bruner wrote that “open-mindedness is the keystone of what we call a democratic culture.” (Bruner, 1990).

Capacity for Dialogue:

The disposition for dialogue is characterized by an inclination to reflect and compare points of view through exchange.

Four rules for a good discussion

The children soon learn four things:

● That it is indispensable to have one’s own personal feeling and words about things
● That understanding things often means changing our words and thoughts
● That these changes often come about by communicating with your peers and with adults
● That when this process takes place, it is often perceived as a sort of subtle shift that involves the body as well as feelings, the mind and relationships with things and with others.

-Reggio Children, Commune di Reggio Emilia – Nidi e Scuole dell’Infanzia

Valuing Difference

The Reggio Approach seeks, welcomes and includes a wide array of perspectives on issues, recognizing that multiple perspectives and diverse paradigms are central to democratic living. Each human being is unique, with a wide range of individual and cultural identities: gender, age, race, class, language, ability, temperament, personal history, etc. yielding more than one answer to most questions. These varied perspectives can promote insight and creativity.

In addition to human differences, there are many ways of viewing and understanding the world, such as through the perspectives of academic disciplines, arts, industry or agriculture.

Beyond individual differences and interdisciplinary perspectives, a new question arises: whose voices are not here?

Critical Thought

Democratic life understands that people (including children) have theories and expectations (whether they are aware of them or not) and an inclination to seek evidence: How do we know what we know? Where do we get our information? How do we vet our sources? What is the evidence? Could there be another point of view? This kind of inquiry is nurtured by the disposition to question and challenge, rather than to accept and obey, especially those things that seem as if they were timeless, natural, unquestionable or inevitable.

Social Construction of Knowledge and Participation

The individual constructs their own knowledge, always in relationship with others. Since individual knowledge is always partial and provisional, it is essential to be open to different perspectives. Since learning is the construction of meaning, always in relationship with others, group learning and individual learning cannot be divided.

Participation is based on the idea that reality is not objective, that culture is a constantly evolving product of society, that individual knowledge is only partial; and that in order to construct a project, everyone’s point of view is relevant in dialogue with those of others, within a framework of shared values. The idea of participation is founded on these concepts: and in our opinion, so, too, is democracy itself. (Cagliari et al., 2004).

Collaboration and Compromise for the Common Good

The habit of collaboration draws on an inclination to address questions together, through interaction and discussion. It propels participants to seek input from others, especially people different from themselves, and genuinely listen.

The dispositions and values of listening, dialogue, difference, critical thinking, socially constructed knowledge and participation for the common good do not exist separately; they intertwine, spiral, complicate and deepen each other.

In the next issue, Unpacking Democracy, Part Two will offer examples drawn from local work as well as from Reggio, to highlight practical strategies that support these values.

Inspiration Coming to Life by Sandy Burwell and Tamara Weiss Rhodes

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 13:56:35 GMT

For many years, the possibility of having a materials gathering space has been a dream of many people in our Network. This dream is inspired by the Remida center in Reggio Emilia, Italy in which the city collects, curates and makes materials available to its citizens for creative endeavors. We want to create such a space in the Greater Twin Cities area.

We now have some definite positive movement toward this goal. Heidi Wolf, Lisa Small, Sandra Burwell, Deborah Schein and Nancy Nakaoka have formed an ad hoc committee to spearhead, explore and pursue the dream and all it involves.

There is a unique space in the heart of the Longfellow neighborhood called Belle’s ToolBox where Tamara Weiss Rhodes, a member of the Resource Committee, has been a long-time, regular visitor. This site of joyful learning inspires us, and we see an opportunity for collaboration. Belle’s ToolBox offers a free and welcoming family and caregiver opportunity to join children as they explore a wide variety of engaging, hands-on materials. Areas of exploration are well-stocked and organized to promote children’s autonomy and independence as they do their work, transforming them into eager and focused scientists, book makers, engineers, artists and musicians. There is an outdoor space that offers a winding pathway through native plants, a rain garden and even a special investigation area for budding geologists. The indoor space serves about 10-12 comfortably. They currently require masks indoors as COVID protocol.

Belle’s ToolBox founder, Lucy Elliott, pours her extraordinary heart into creating a space that connects multigenerational and multicultural populations through the experience of exchanging ideas. She designs all of it through the lens of environmental responsibility, sustainability and stewardship.

The committee met with Lucy at the ToolBox and she is excited to work with us. We set some short term goals. Many small and large tasks are needed to make this dream possible. We are using two documentation tools to make our process visible. One is a web of possibilities that we have generated so far:

An online collaborative platform called Miro will also help us document our work and make it visible, so anyone can become involved and be kept up-to-date. Those interested in being actively involved with this work can reach out to Heidi by email: hwolf@bsmschool.org.

To learn more about Belle’s ToolBox, here’s the link: http://www.belles-toolbox.org

Staying in Hope by Dawn Lees

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 14:43:04 GMT

In our program, transition into early care is supported by predictable daily routines, beginning with each family’s orientation.

Prior to the arrival of the Coronavirus, our families came into our classroom, we greeted each other and had a daily health check with the child. Parents put prepared bottles away and placed car seats by their child’s crib, then completed information on our large whiteboard in the classroom. Daily, parents were asked about their child’s wake-up time, last feeding and mood. They were also asked to identify who to contact first on a given day, whether the child was given any medications and approximate pick-up time. Families were oriented to how these routines helped us function together for their child’s well-being. At the end of the day, families came back into our classroom and saw how we built their child’s day around the information parents had given us. Each child had their own schedule.

As the shutdown began in March of 2020, our precious routines were disrupted. Our child care remained open but parents could not enter the school. Instead, parents remained at the front door to complete information on a clipboard while we conducted a wellness check. In April 2020, we were required to wear masks and staff were offered furlough. There were additional challenges. We lost our communication app and came up with a way to email parents about their child’s day. We recognized we were living in a pandemic, a state of emergency. Many families began working from their homes, keeping their children with them. We made a few phone calls and received some photo emails as a way to stay in touch with families. These were important to our sanity. In May, we welcomed a few families back. We watched for signs of stress. Together, we encouraged a new normal, trying our best to stay afloat and hold each other up.

In June, I was overwhelmed by the new tension brought on by civic protests and nearby property damage, knowing we had staff traveling through town and by bus. One day Metro Transit gave notice that they were closing down and we sent one of our teachers home early. Some teachers quit or did not return to the classroom. Our families and staff were additionally stressed.

Social distancing, disinfectant wipe downs, hand washing, gloves, masks, face shields and gowns were made available and used as needed to ensure safety for staff and families. Classroom staff welcomed and brought in each child from the entry. At the end of the day, one staff person was available to watch for each parent arriving. This continues to be a new dance as we respond to changing CDC guidelines. We are cross training. In the beginning, adjusting schedules helped us get used to wearing masks and working in a new way. Staff are continually needed, days off are less. We grieve for the way it was, while we adjust to the way it is. The children hesitate as we hesitate. The children embrace the situation much like we do. Trust is huge. We can’t do what we do without trust. We are grateful every day.

Still, connections persevere. One cold day during the winter of 2021 as I was masked, wearing my down coat and trudging through the parking lot on my way to be tested, a weekly part of our routine, a dad and daughter pulled up nearby. I heard the one-year-old call out my name. She recognized me. I couldn’t believe it. I turned and squatted down as my friend ran and gave me a big hug. We wore masks in the infant room while she was growing and learning, listening closely and assimilating language. Our connection and trust is strong, even in this new world.

Still, so many people are hurting in this new and complicated reality. Recently, I was looking forward to welcoming a new family. I left a voicemail and waited patiently, anticipating the arrival of a family of four. I was asked specifically if the older sister could come and play in our large muscle room while we went over the infant’s routines and how everything was going for the family. We planned to review policy and procedures in the process and welcome the family by creating a family panel with photos.

But on this very sad day, no one came. The director came into the room. She stood in front of me as I fed an infant and said, “I have very sad news. The worst possible news.” She sat down on the cushion in front of me and told me she received word that the new infant, who was to be oriented today, had lost his mother. His mom was suffering from postpartum depression, had a psychotic episode, and ended her life. Dad, in his grief, had no plans to return to work. There would be a memorial service later as he gathered her distant family.

I am sad. I grieve for this family. I grieve for the way it was and all of the rich opportunities we had for family connection and support. What next? I’m not sure. How do we keep on? Sometimes circumstances keep us from having opportunities to be with families. But still, I think of the smiling faces of the children and look at what we do have. We can still be a part of someone’s day, and maintaining these bonds is important. Caring is our connection and we must look for the opportunities to care for families whenever we can.

Remida Dreaming: Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose by Heidi Wolf

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 19:27:55 GMT

Re (3) Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose

Thank you all who responded and expressed interest in the Minnesota Remida Dreaming Project. Here is an update in three areas: survey results, our work thus far and an invitation to think together.

Survey results:
We had 30 responses to the survey sent in the Winter 2021 Newsletter. Of those thirty, nineteen people replied with a yes or maybe, with interest in the committee and thinking group. Thank you to all those who responded!

Our work so far:
We met over Zoom with two people who were instrumental in developing the Inventing Remida Project Portland (IRPP), Will Parnell, a Portland State University professor and Angela Molloy Murphy, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne education center. They shared their experience with IRPP and we shared our hopes for moving forward on this project as a collective. We are grateful for their willingness to think with us.

From our perspective, this Remida - recycle, repurpose center - will be a place to hold materials that can:

be reused
be offered to children to honor and support their thinking
offer education opportunities to educators, parents and community at large
invite people to look at the impact of materials on our environment
be an equitable resource that is offered to all at little to no cost

The heart of our hope will be establishing a creative recycling center with a civic focus. We are on a mission to identify a local name as we find our definition! Maybe you have some ideas.

Do you or know of someone in your circle with grant writing skills?
Do you have an idea of space for a first home for the project?
Do you have a connection to a small business with possible materials to donate?
Do you patronize a small business or local artist that could be involved?

A few committee members are investigating two nonprofits in Minneapolis in the coming weeks: Belle’s ToolBox and Twin Cities Makers to see if there are possibilities for collaboration.

We have planned a virtual brainstorming session via Zoom on September 26, 2021. We will discuss, question, dream and envision possibilities! If you are interested in joining the conversation or have ideas, email Heidi Wolf (hwolf@bsmschool.org). It is not necessary to be local to the Minneapolis area to be involved - all are welcome!

Lani Shapiro recently reminded me that the "thinking with" process we hope to offer the children in our care is often left out of our adult experience and practice. In order to work this way with children, we need to have such experiences ourselves. We hope growing this recycle/repurpose center will be a process of true collaboration where we look at the task and move forward together.

Heidi Wolf
Teacher and Director
Little Knights Early Childhood Program
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School
Minneapolis

A Bonus Year by Emily Benz

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 20:20:55 GMT

My first child is growing up, up, up and away, faster with each passing day. He is in the last few months of his fifth grade year, just four months shy of turning twelve and five months or so from his first day of middle school. I’m not sure how it is possible, but my son is now a tween, and I can see the hints of it in the ways he is beginning to pull away; he is well on his way to becoming a teenager.

Much of this was evident in the winter of 2020, when he was ten, and in the fourth grade. He was more interested in playing basketball than building creations with LEGOs, more intrigued by his Nintendo Switch than the games of make believe he’d played for so many years with his younger sister. School took much of his time, sports practice and games ate up some of our precious evenings, and the weekends flew by in a blur of socializing and activities. I felt that it was too hectic, but that was just the way life was for most all of the families we knew.

But something happened when the world shut down last March. With the influence of fourth grade and peers removed, time didn’t just slow down. In our home, time actually reversed course. My son had the time to be bored, to imagine and to play again. My son had a little more time to be little.

This didn’t happen on its own. We had the amazing good fortune of friends of ours moving into a home behind ours the first weekend of March of 2020. They have three children, and since we were all staying at home from everything by mid-March, we decided to band together to weather the storm as a sort of two house commune. There were so many gifts that came along with this decision. We cooked meals for one another, gave each other a social outlet and watched over each other’s children to alleviate the stress of remote learning. But the most special gifts of all were the relationships that developed between the five children and the imaginative play that followed for all of them together.

The youngest of the group was four, the oldest was my son, then ten. But they never separated by gender lines or into age groups. They just spent time as a group, three boys and two girls, grateful to have each other. They played in the woods and captured a snake, and many little frogs and toads, creating habitats and then releasing after observing. They made an art studio and painted water colors and held a gallery show, and the grownups were instructed to dress up in order to attend. They built elaborate LEGO houses and then a LEGO world where they hosted each other for holidays and birthdays – bountiful LEGO social lives where birthday parties could actually be attended and holidays could be celebrated with others, unlike the actual world they were living in. They wrote and filmed a stop motion LEGO film, choreographed a dance recital and rehearsed and performed a couple of choral concerts - all for only four lucky adult attendees - their parents. They played endless games outside: four square, freeze tag and cherry bomb, and my personal favorite, “Shipwreck,” where they pretended they were shipwrecked children that had to survive on their own in a new and different world without adults. Shipwreck made me wonder about how much their new Covid world influenced this imaginary world. Their Covid world was without teachers, coaches, or grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles. It was a world with only their parents - and even then, their parents were not the same parents - they were frazzled by the responsibilities of remote learning, navigating an often stressful and heartbreaking world that changed each day, and some with jobs that had demands like never before. Shipwreck gave them agency, and didn’t saddle them with the baggage of parents who often seemed either distracted or on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

His time with his neighbor crew changed with the seasons. When the two families went back in person to different schools in the fall, the children preferred to play outside, even when chilly, and play inside included masks. They still had plenty of time to create together, as no one was socializing or rushing off to any kind of practice. With hybrid and pod models and distancing all around, school peers had less influence. The lure of imaginary play remained for him all through the fall and winter, though I can finally see it losing some of its lustre this spring. He recently rearranged his bedroom and made a huge give away pile of toys and treasures of a younger era, and the pile included some LEGOS.

Did my son lose some things during all of this? Yes, of course. We all lost things, and as we know, some lost much more than others. His losses are minor compared to so many, but in his world, they loom large. He lost precious time with his grandparents and other dear family members that live far and wide, he lost three months of his education, as remote learning was a struggle for him. He lost time playing basketball, a sport he loves, and he lost time with his friends from school - friends he has known for years and years. But I saw him gain so much, too, in our tiny world. As he played in the woods, spun stories and got lost in the possibilities of LEGO parts with his band of friends, I saw the pressure of growing up slide away. I saw him letting go of the real world, and instead, choosing the pretend world, where anything could happen with the right storyline and willing partners. And so, even though this last year was painful in so many ways, I can look back at it with gratitude for the magical gift it gave our family. As I see him today, back in school and growing up and away at an alarming clip, I look back at the chaos and confusion and can see clearly what our time at home gave to him - a bonus year of being a child.

A Parent Perspective on Remote Learning by Reba Batalden

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 14:57:13 GMT

As I write this my children are back in virtual school after two weeks of winter break. During the break, my four children (two grade school-aged, a preschooler and a toddler) engaged in deep imaginative play. They wrote, designed costumes and sets, and performed plays; built a freeform Lego Hogwarts (all the while constructing a series of cars for the 2-year old to keep him occupied); and busied themselves making endless little trinkets for one another as gifts. Outdoors, they developed an elaborate imaginary game of warring kingdoms. Each child constructed a fort in one corner of the yard and met in the middle for swordplay and council meetings. As a parent, I make a practice of observing them with a critical eye, noticing all they are learning and working through in play. As I watched them over break, I was struck that this play seemed both so familiar and typical for them, but also that it had been a long time since I had seen them play in this way.

What started as a small nugget in the back of my mind during break, became obvious when school resumed. Now my older children spend their mornings on zoom, and the afternoon is mostly taken up with reading quietly in their beds or maybe playing in their room. This was what I became accustomed to seeing since school started and why their play over break had struck me. After a morning online, there are no sweeping imaginative games that engross all four kids for hours.

The tenor of my childrens’ play changes on distance learning days. They seem lethargic, tired and spent from their morning online, while simultaneously vibrating with pent up energy. I push them outside, but they struggle to get into the same wonderful play groove they previously enjoyed. There is more fighting as siblings struggle to remain on the same page or some will want to play while others do not. They do not seem able to problem-solve their differences in play ideas. Rather than being motivated to work it out simply to ensure play continues, they give up and retreat to read alone in their room. Meanwhile, my little two happily play with one another, but they also yearn for the bigger ones and do not understand their absence.

I deeply appreciate and marvel that my children can self-regulate in this way. I know that after a stimulating morning online perhaps an afternoon of quiet reading is just what they need. Also, I want to provide the caveat that I am thrilled with how their teachers structured distance learning and know that my kids are primarily happy, engaged and learning. Still, I wonder what these play changes signify and watch my children for clues as to their mental health and how they are weathering these times. We are all walking through this global crisis together for the first time, and no one knows how to navigate past every hurdle. I am finding value in this Reggio-inspired practice of curious observation and allowing my noticings to affect how I respond to my children’s changing needs.

-Reba Batalden

Reba Batalden co-founded and currently serves as Board Chair of St. Paul School of Northern Lights, a Reggio-inspired K-8 school. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and during her graduate tenure developed and taught inquiry-based, interdisciplinary science curriculum for St. Paul Public Schools and professional development courses for middle and high school science teachers. In a pandemic, she is mama, teacher, chef and playmate to 4 children, ages 10, 8, 5 and 2.

Reflections on the Language of Light and Shadow: Thinking about Beauty, Agency and Time

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 19:38:40 GMT

by Meredith Dodd

As lead teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, Meredith’s teaching is structured to build young children’s democratic dispositions through social emotional learning, mathematics, symbolism and ecological systems approaches. Meredith loves to help people understand the power of documenting children’s learning in ways that reveal children’s growth in comprehension and understanding - and inform teachers’ decision-making.

The goal (of educators) is to better understand and reflect on the capacity and skills and way of thinking of children.
Magdalena Tedeschi, Pedagogista

The Reggio Emilia Approach views interactive, kinesthetic mediums as languages children use to express their knowledge. At the November Network Gathering, Sandy Burwell presented a rich tableau for how light and shadow are such languages. Her examples of children enthusiastically engaged in playful, creative ways demonstrates a natural and yet intentional approach to learning.

Burwell’s presentation reminded me of the 2020 Reggio-Children E-Learning Webinar, Children and the Digital. Teachers in Reggio Emilia are intentional in the integration of materials into classroom learning spaces. In fact, they view their spaces as living environments. Their classrooms grow and change to reflect children’s developing interests and acquired knowledge. The webinar presenters, Magdalena Tedeschi and Simona Spaggiari, described three important concepts that guide the Reggiani educators thinking, decision-making and planning: agency, beauty, and time. They use these concepts to thread together images, anecdotes and the idea that digital is a place for expanding upon languages to interact with each other.

The language of light and shadow naturally lends itself to support children’s agency. Burwell’s examples for exploring light and shadow invite children to independently construct their learning about the world around them. Children enter into a magical world of light and shadow intentionally constructed by teachers to create deep, feelings-based relationships with the language. Children have space to actively explore the language and begin to use it with their own intentions.

The Italians believe beauty is a necessary condition for learning. Beauty, in our interpretation, is not a characteristic to just be added. It is a crucial condition. It’s part of our DNA in the construction of the environment so that children and adults can feel at ease and can support each other. Tedeschi

The images shared in Burwell’s presentation and the Reggio webinar were environments of simplicity. Children’s use of open-ended materials with the languages of light and shadow emerged due to an absence of distraction. The beauty of the spaces appeared because the children could clearly read and interact with the materials presented by the teachers. There is not too much, not too little. Burwell states, “What matters is the intention you have for the materials. What are you thinking or focusing on with a few materials? What are you and the children excited about? Keep it simple.”

In their webinar the Italians describe that time is experienced differently as an adult and as a child. “We found a sort of oxymoron in the construction of the culture of the adults around technology…As adults, we speak about time as a dimension that passes by very fast.” Thus, the adult’s intention for a language may be at odds with how children desire to explore and utilize the language. “Children can really just lift up the dimension of time by unzipping their mental steps and by slowing down their reflections.” Tedeschi’s statement focuses on the dichotomy between a child’s use of technology and an adult’s understanding of the purpose of technology. The adult views technology as a tool to accomplish tasks faster. The Italians found that children’s use of technology can be a tool for slowing down time. Children use technology to look closely at an object, an idea, or to bring together many languages to express their understanding of the world around them.

This idea of using a language for different purposes as a result of one’s experience of time resonated with me in one particular example in Burwell’s presentation. Like Burwell, I love the overhead projector as a material to explore the language of light and shadow. The projector provides so many possibilities for individual and group discoveries. Burwell shared an image of a child’s assembly of mixed objects illuminated on a white wall: transparent, colored plastic alongside and on top of opaque letters and necklaces. I have seen images such as this in my classroom. There are moments when I question my purpose for offering this exploration of an overhead projector and loose parts. Why do children seemingly always create a mound of materials onto the projector? Am I not listening to the children correctly? Have I provided too many loose parts? Is this language of light being lost? What happens next? The following quote from Burwell brought me comfort, gave further insight into this “oxymoron,” of time’s purpose, and reminded me of why I love what I do. She states,

There is a tendency of children to keep intentionally and carefully placing objects on the overhead until the whole thing is a pile and you can’t see the light. I wonder what problem they want to solve? What wonder!

Agency, beauty and time are all found in this image of a child’s first experiences with an overhead projector. Burwell’s presentation challenges us to explore languages alongside children. In doing so, the adult needs to model patience and curiosity. It is the responsibility of adults to reflect on their assumptions of children’s purpose. We need to consider the meaning of a child’s use of a language as a part of their relationship with time. Burwell ends with a gift for early childhood educators during this time of separation due to COVID-19. She reminds us of the power we have to influence generations of human beings. We have a commitment to play with children in the ever-growing environments we co-construct.

We need stories of hope. These stories can nurture our spirits for a future of joy. We get to be a part of it!

Reflection: Enter Encounter Engage The Reggio-InspiredNetwork of Minnesota 9th Annual Conference by Tom Dodd

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 19:42:14 GMT

“Children build knowledge of the world with their bodies. Their actions precede and follow one another in an unfolding process in which children continually create new actions. So many of those actions are non-verbal. Because mind andbody are one, those actions are imprinted in the brain kinesthetically and lay thegroundwork for later thought.” -Tom Bedard

I did not grow up with plans to be an early childhood educator. The thought never even crossed my mind until I was 30, so anything I have learned has not come from a master’s degree or even a bachelor’s. All my knowledge has come from the three-, four-, and five-year-olds that I am lucky enough to spend my days with as well as information I have acquired from books and blogs by play-based educators and any others who share my pure joy and passion for the field.

One of the magical aspects of our senses is that they are universal, they cross language barriers and completely disregard race or gender. The conference featured Tom Bedard, who creates wonderful and thought-provoking experiences in sensory tables for his students. He does not hold preconceived notions. The installations are there for children (and adults) to learn, problem-solve, socialize and have fun! As I watched the videos in his presentation I could imagine the learning taking place as his students explored the oobleck dripping down through the pegboard and the sense of wonder when things disappeared into the hidden compartments.

3,000 sense receptors in each fingertip!

As we observe our students’ learning we often think about what they are seeing, what they are hearing or even what they are tasting or smelling. When reflecting on myself I know that more often than not I forget about touch! And when I say that, I am saying that I am forgetting the experience of 3,000 sense receptors in each finger, that’s 30,000 sense receptors at the very tips of our hands. As adults, we have lived with these receptors for decades and have grown to take them for granted, whereas the children we are teaching have only lived with this experience for a few short years or some only months. Take a moment and imagine how it would feel to experience thousands of grains of sand cascading over your hands for the first time or if the feeling of water flowing between your fingers was a complete unknown. Better still, collect a cup of sand and a cup of water, close your eyes, hold your hands out and ask someone to surprise you by pouring one of them over your hands. That feeling is the beginning of fluid dynamics and solid mechanics, something which, when studied, can take you into what I think is one of the most interesting areas of science.

Tom Bedard explained that building varied sensory table apparatus is his creative outlet. I would love to invite children from my class to help brainstorm, collaborate, design and build with their peers, teachers and even parents, to come up with their very own sensory experiences that we could all explore together. We miss details when we become too involved, instead of quietly observing and noticing clues such as - the interest in gravity from crashing down blocks or curiosity about water that appears from the student who waters the plants each day. From moments like these we can elaborate our sensory tables, in collaboration with our children, to ensure that we can all explore together, growing the many languages of children.

Tom Dodd grew up in the North of England and after studying sustainable engineering and working for eight years ineconomic development as an architectural, planning, and design consultant, he moved to Grand Rapids, Michiganwhere his career changed paths completely. He has spent the last three years at Grand Rapids Early DiscoveryCenter, a Reggio Emilia inspired early childhood school, as a teacher, and a few months ago took on the role of pedagogista.

Trees in the Woods by Kristenza Nelson

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 19:54:25 GMT

Kristenza Nelson is a lead teacher at Dodge Nature Center Preschool. She earned a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is working on her Master Degree in Environmental Education from Hamline University. Working with children in nature combines both of her passions. She considers it an honor to foster these connections.

In early March of 2020, the children at Dodge Nature Center Preschool were tapping maple trees in the woods. Together we stretched our trunks and reached our fingers toward the blue sky. Children gave thanks to the Pancake Tree as they whispered, “Wake up!” Spring is a magical time together. The children were relaxed and comfortable in the March thaw. Hope returned with the light and the earth began to squish beneath our feet.

Then, news of Minnesota’s first COVID case came. Within days our joyful preschool fell silent. Our school doors closed as COVID arrived. It was heartbreaking on so many levels.

How were our young children and families coping in isolation? How could we continue to cultivate the many relationships we’d fostered? Could we engage three, four and five-year old children in ZOOM meetings? These were trying times, a far cry from being together on the trail. How could we bring children’s voices back to the center? The project that follows emerged from those days of isolation.

During the closure we invited families to stay connected to our classroom community by offering twice weekly ZOOM meetings that included songs, stories, and time to share. We reached deep to find ways to stay connected. I knew that screens were not ideal and wanted to continue to support their connections to the natural world. I encouraged the children to choose a nearby tree that spoke to them. I asked them to create drawings to share in our virtual spaces and newsletter. We created our own forest, as amazing and unique as each child. How would we continue to grow in place? Perhaps like trees. This was my proposal to families:

Hello Beautiful Spruce Families,

The last time we were together at Dodge we were learning all about Maple trees. Tasting the sweet sap and noticing the buds emerge on the branches.

We are proposing a long term project that begins with choosing a tree to observe over an extended period of time. You don't have to be experts to learn together. There is magic in discovery.

Begin by having your child make a drawing or take a photo of a tree.

Write down one observation a week to share with the Sprucies.

What does your child notice?

Remember to ask open ended questions.

Who lives in a tree?
What do you think is happening?
Where are the leaves?
Do trees eat?
There are never any wrong answers!

With my whole heart I believe that nature is the best medicine for whatever ails us. Encouraging families and children to go outdoors to observe their trees brought them outside and brought us together. We came together through art, nature and observation. We came together while staying apart, just like trees in the forest.

This fall we are grateful to be welcoming children back to Dodge Nature Center Preschool. COVID is still present in Minnesota, but we have learned spending time outside is the safest way to be together. For that we are grateful. It is beautiful to see children back on the trail enjoying the autumn glow beneath the beautiful pancake trees.

Reflections on Retirement "Nostalgia for the Future"

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 19:44:18 GMT

Reflections on Retirement: "Nostalgia for the Future"

by Patti Loftus

"gestures and dialogues of peace are still possible"

As friends and colleagues gear up for a new school year, the shape of which, because of Covid, is still being determined, I am happily unhinged from the contingency planning and restructuring. Since the end of May, when my final eight weeks of distant teaching ended and my retirement commenced, my brainspace has been entirely taken up with how to live in response to the death of George Floyd (and many others) and the seismic opportunity for awareness and change that seems to have emerged.

Although the following piece by Loris Malaguzzi to parents and children in Reggio Emilia is over 25 years old, it’s remarkably relevant this summer of 2020.

"To the parents and children of the infant-toddler centres and preschools.

It has been a difficult summer for the world, for Europe, for Italy. Because of wars, sometimes invisible and often "forgotten", because of terrorist attacks, because of earthquakes – "attacks" by nature of enormous proportions – tragedies added to tragedies. In our Countries we are witnessing a human exodus. The rights of many are betrayed... starting with children... starting with the right to life and to safety.

Those who work and live with children have a duty to renew hope in their daily action: a message of trust we must embed within us, educators and parents, in order for changes to be generated. In fact, we would like to hope, believe and communicate to the children that gestures of dialogue and peace are still possible, always possible, and that these are the foundation of human relations.

Education to respect for a life and ideas different from one's own, the determination and capacity to dialogue with differences, compassion, and solidarity, are the conditions for a stable peace, capable of halting appalling "holocausts" and giving voice to human reason again.

At the start of this new school year, what we ask of each one of us, we who are parents, educators and citizens in educational institutions, is a daily commitment to reaffirming the right of every person and every society to life and to a future, to education, to safety, to beauty, to play and to relations; continuing "to give a human and civilized meaning to existence... to feel nostalgia for the future, and for humankind".

(Loris Malaguzzi). Infant-Toddler Centres and Preschool of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia - Reggio Children - Reggio Children Foundation" found at Sightines-Initiative.com – “Change is Everyday”

We in the U.S. are in similarly troubled times this summer with the losses and uncertainties that Covid-19 has brought and we are in a time of social earthquakes with renewed calls that “Black Lives Matter,” that racism be named and rooted out. Will this moment of heightened awareness move a critical mass of us to new ways of living so that next generations will no longer replay the same injustices that are still deeply established?

I believe that educators and parents have the potential of leading the way. Malaguzzi wrote that “gestures of peace and dialogue are still possible” and calls them the “foundation of human relations.” He named educators and parents as having a duty to “renew hope.”

So what are “gestures of peace and dialogue?”

Here is one example.... In our Pre-K classroom, we engaged 4 and 5-year olds in conversations about fairness, skin color, who makes the rules and the big idea that “everyone counts.” I am convinced that if we begin when children are young, we can teach them to “dialogue with differences.” In the book, Nurture Shock, in the chapter titled, “Why White Parents Don’t Talk About Race,” deeply held but false assumptions about young children are described – that children are color blind and that it’s better not to talk about race but, instead, simply expose children to diverse environments. Both of these have been found to be myths.

“The same way we remind our daughters, ‘Mommies can be doctors just like daddies,’ we ought to be telling all children that doctors can be any skin color. It’s not complicated what to say, it’s only a matter of how often we reinforce it...Explicitness works.”

Pre-K teachers at Blake let parents know in advance that, as part of our social studies curriculum, we would be talking with the children about differences and similarities, fairness, inclusion (“welcome” in Pre-K terms) and that no one is inherently better or worse than another because of their skin color. Each year the teachers drew from a lengthy list of book titles and selected those that best led to conversations. We believed it was as important for the white children to engage in conversations about skin color, fairness and civil rights as it was for the children of color. Each year’s work varied and unfolded in ways unique to that particular group and in dialogue with the parents. We shared conversations with the parents in our daily journals, encouraged them to look at the books we read to their children and provided additional titles for parents, particularly those who identified as white, to expand and deepen their knowledge about identity development and U.S. history.

Malaguzzi’s hope (and mine) for children’s “right to life and to safety” and the “capacity to dialogue with differences” will require of teachers (and parents) the determination to be and remain open and curious, to learn more about the difficult racial history of the U.S. (that we adults did not learn in school,) to introduce books, experiences and conversations into classrooms and homes so that children can grow up to be comfortable talking about differences, race, fairness and inclusion. Malaguzzi described a “nostalgia for the future,” a yearning for a world better than today’s, which holds the possibility of “reaffirming the right of every person and every society to life and to a future, to education, to safety, to beauty, to play and to relations.” With a renewed focus on justice and change building in our country, I feel hopeful that a better world is indeed possible for all, if teachers, parents, and children make a priority of having these vital conversations together.

Books for Children, including books about “change makers”

One by Kathryn Otoshi

We Are All Alike We Are All Different by Cheltenham Elementary School

Kindergarten

The Colors of Us by Karen Katz

All The Colors We Are by Katie Kissinger

Skin Again by bell hooks and Chris Raschka

Whoosh by Chris Barton

Mae Among The Stars by Roda Ahmed and Stasia Burrington

Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden Wilma

Unlimited by Kathleen Krull and David Diaz

Queen of the Track by Heather Lang

Dolores Huerta by Sarah Warren

A Splash of Red by Jen Bryant

Wonder Horse by Emily Arnold McCully

My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris

Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds and Floyd Cooper

Fly Bessie Fly by Lynn Joseph and Yvonne Buchanan

Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges and Grace Maccarone

In The Garden with Dr. Carver by Susan Grigsby and Nicole Tadgell

Resources for Adults

Waking Up White Debby Irving

White Fragility by Robin D’Angelo

Stamped From The Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

Note: May, 2020 marked the end of Patti's 36-year career in early childhood education - 28 years as a Pre-K teacher at Blake School in the Twin Cities area and eight as a Montessori and ECFE teacher. Patti’s status is “retired” but she is available (at no charge) to share resources and ideas with anyone interested.pattiroseloftus@gmail.com

Distance Learning: Resources from Reggio Emilia

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 19:52:48 GMT

The changes that have come with the Corona virus have disrupted everyone’s lives, relationships, routines and expectations. President of Reggio Children, Claudia Guidici said (regarding COVID), “This completely unknown and unforeseen situation obliges us to rethink our daily way of life, our work and our relations, our way of seeing others and everything that surrounds us.” Uneasiness increases when we add inequality and civic unrest.The structure of care and education for the coming year is uncertain, and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.

While there is a plethora of sources for parents and teachers to access to support relationships and learning for both children and adults, we have been moved by the civic generosity of Reggio Children in making their current work freely available and translated into English. There are several kinds of offerings.

The first, via Reggio Children, offers a collection of small proposals “to develop ideas and initiatives, for us to stay together, play together, and make school together.” The accessible provocations are loosely organized: stories, sounds, drawing, number, digital, etc.

https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/athomewiththereggioapproach/

For many years we have wanted to better understand the work of the teachers in Reggio. While inspirations from Reggio Emilia are not intended to be copied, educators from Reggio Emilia are regularly making distance learning experiences visible, which serve as powerful examples. The Reggio Children – Loris Malaguzzi Centre Foundation (Fondazione Reggio Children Centro Loris Malaguzzi) promotes the Reggio Approach around the world.

"These are proposals that, despite the difficulty of not being able to attend school, going out, meeting friends or playing outdoors, allow children to investigate, think from different points of view, graphically represent, explore with the imagination to support their curiosity and desire to know."

These online documents give us a glimpse into teachers’ thinking and planning which deepen experience, not only in the context of the digital environment. They provide intriguing starting points for distance learning.

https://reggiochildrenfoundation.org/onlineactivities/?lang=en

Please regard these online provocations as a framework and consider how they might affect your planning. The breadth, depth and accessibility in the workshop design are remarkable.

Reggio Children is also offering, for the first time, live webinars at relatively modest tuition, presented by teachers, pedagogistas and atelieristas sharing narratives, images and videos of projects from their educational project. The webinars are structured very much as presentations during Study Tours. Webinars are in Italian with simultaneous translation voiceover in English. There will be a new schedule of events for the fall.

https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/e-learning/webinar/

We would like to encourage everyone to document and reflect on your experiences as we adapt to our current circumstances and would love to gather traces and reflections inspired by Reggio Emilia. We are interested in working via any of the distance platforms with you, at any step along the way. It’s a fresh opportunity for collaboration. Contact Lani Shapiro at lani.shapiro@gmail.com and/or send an email to reggioinspiredmn@gmail.com

-Lani Shapiro

Belonging and Nurturing Relationships at a Distance

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 18:54:32 GMT

At St. Paul School of Northern Lights, relationships are fundamental to our work. By developing respectful relationships, our teachers facilitate a deep sense of belonging amongst their class and the entire school community.

Because children’s sense of connection derives from feeling welcomed and valued, much time is invested in establishing and nurturing safe and positive classroom environments, which contribute to meaningful learning.

How might this deep sense of belonging be actively nurtured while students are learning from home?

With schools closed, our school community needed to see the potential in learning from a distance and develop necessary skills and understandings. Our faculty researched different online platforms to find ones they felt would best reflect the values of our school, support our students staying in relationship with one another, and provide possibilities for children to think together. Just as teachers organize learning environments at school to invite interactions, connection and learning among children, we wanted similar possibilities for offsite learning.

In addition to continued access to academic content, our teachers promoted connection by creating Distance Learning Bags. All SPSNL students received materials to enable them to participate in two community projects – The Bean Growing Project and The Loose Part Project.

As with the Finnish Education System, our teachers were driven by the desire to “do whatever it would take” to provide authentic experiences. Continuing the values of SPSNL, teachers identified ample opportunities for play and exploration both indoors and out, and sought to incorporate time for student reflection both independently and with their peers.

Since the launch of distance learning, our teachers have integrated elements from their existing practices that support the value of belonging. Every morning, video messages are posted that include rituals and routines to provide familiarity, connection and belonging, which is especially important during this challenging time. Students can see their teacher’s face, hear how classmates are being genuinely missed, and are warmly invited to explore the learning invitations for the day.

But how could opportunities be created for students to feel like they are thinking together, something that is deeply valued by our school?

Teachers schedule Zoom calls with their students, sometimes as whole class experiences to listen to a read-a-loud or to introduce much loved pets to classmates. Sometimes video calls are set up for smaller group chats where students are able to think together about a particular project or how they are navigating distance learning. Flipgrid is serving as our school-wide community platform where students across classes can think together and hear others’ points of view.

At SPSNL we also strive to build community through kindness. Even at a distance, students continue to leave birthday wishes, sing songs and create drawings for classmates on Seesaw. They record comments in response to something a peer may have posted. Some students have written letters to each other and to their teacher, sending them through the mail. Others have written poems about kindness. SPSNL children have also shown ways they are extending kindness to others beyond their class community, by putting messages and bears in their windows to warm the hearts of people passing by. Some children have created thank you cards and paper hearts for their parents, recognizing that even their parents appreciate support during this time.

In addition to nurturing the relationships between children and teachers, and among the children, our teachers continue to think about how to help parents feel supported and valued during this unprecedented time. As parents and teachers are experiencing distance learning for the first time, we seek ways to be active partners in this new endeavor. Together with each child’s family, our teachers are striving to create learning opportunities to support each child’s growth and well-being while learning from home.

As we hope this time of social distancing will soon pass and that those whom we know and love will remain safe and well, we are reminded of the significant value of being part of a caring community and the joy of being able to think together. Forming and nurturing relationships with others contributes to one’s sense of belonging. May we all look forward to being in the physical presence of one another again with renewed appreciation.

- Kate Arbon

Learn more about School of Northern Lights here: https://www.schoolofnorthernlights.org

January's Collage and Printmaking with Young Children Gathering

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 21:02:14 GMT

Collage and Printmaking with Young Children Gathering

by Emily Benz

This January’s Collage and Printmaking with Young Children gathering was a hands-on textural feast in the art studio at The Blake School. Kim Lane, Blake’s lower school art teacher at the Hopkins Campus, led the group through a joyful exploration of collage and printmaking techniques for three hours. As an adult often busy with the responsibilities of life, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be a student in the studio for the morning and became so thoroughly immersed in the process, I could have happily gone on for a couple of hours more.

We began the morning with tempera paint soaked in felt and simple tools; a textured wheel from a toy, ridged cardboard triangle, a wooden block with string tied around the middle were some examples, and we used these simple tools to create patterns on brightly colored sheets of paper. Some made simple and clean patterns, others made highly complex prints with layered colors. Colors and tools moved from table to table, and people did, too, when they felt moved to try another hue. The process was simple and the results were bright and surprising. I felt bathed in color and light as I saw our prints on the drying rack. It was easy to see how very young children could delight in this kind of printmaking

Then it was time to cut out shapes to create printing plates. We used white card stock and cut it up and glued it onto cardboard plates to create our plates. Some were experts with the scissors and created intricate patterns inspired from nature, others made bold and abstract work with thicker pieces. I myself cut many different small lines and then let my image show itself to me as I played with the tactile lines on the cardboard. It turned out to be a stick house, inspired by the many similar structures my children built and played in at Dodge Nature Center and Blake.

Kim then offered trays full of colorful piles of paper individually painted to use for collage. In her studio, children mix these complex colors and paint them onto paper first during one class period. Then, the next session, these same painted papers are offered for collage, giving the work a different depth. Again, scissors in hand, we quietly snipped the satisfyingly textured paper and ideas emerged both abstract and realistic as we lost ourselves in the process. After finishing our own collages, we took the time to see some of the Kindergarten collages in the hall; my favorite was an elaborate collage of an exploding ice cream shop, with many tiny red and orange pieces intricately arranged to fashion the explosion dramatically on black paper. Ms. Lane pointed out, pieces don’t even have to be cut to make collages like this, they can be torn instead.

We ended the morning seeing some examples of cardboard collage puppet animals, (a lemur in a beret was a standout) and then creating our final print plates by drawing firmly into Styrofoam plates and then rolling them with black ink and pressing them into bright sheets of paper. The process was crisp and satisfying.

I was struck again and again by the simple materials offered and the visually arresting results that came out of our guided exploration with them. As a parent at Blake of a fourth grader and a first grader, I’ve long admired the projects that my children bring home from Ms. Lane’s studio. But to be a student in the studio myself opened up a whole new appreciation for all of the subtle magic that happens for the children there. To go through that process as as adult, whether as a parent or an educator, is invaluable. It allows us to see the potential for making art with ordinary objects, to savor the gift of slowing down time, and to experience the knowledge through exploration of materials. The time and space and materials to make art – whether in a dedicated studio, a spot in a classroom or on a kitchen table – encourages quiet meditation, critical thinking, collaboration, and playfulness. And as Ms. Lane reminded us very importantly, we don’t need much in the way of materials to create these rich and empowering opportunities for the children in our care.

The Beauty of Loose Parts: A Reflection after The Enter, Encounter, Engage 2019 Conference

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 19:06:43 GMT

The beauty of presenting loose parts to young children is that they invite the child’s powers of destruction and construction in almost equal measure.

In moving, joining, poking, sorting, naming, stacking, painting, and tinkering with loose parts, the child continually makes and ‘unmakes’ configurations. By adding, subtracting, pausing, persevering, evaluating, revising, concluding, and revisiting, the child increasingly and exponentially expands her/his powers of cognition and personal agency while simultaneously delighting in the fun of open-ended play.

The surprise inherent to using loose parts in early childhood classrooms is tucked into every individual and collaborative venture: the gift of witnessing the unfolding of a perfectly unique offering.

- Judy Hodder

Enter, Encounter, Engage: The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota 8th Annual Conference

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 19:30:38 GMT

Wandering and Wondering: Connecting the Joy of Loose Parts To the Early Childhood Setting

Featuring Carla Gull, nationally renowned speaker on the whys and hows of using "Loose Parts" with children of all ages to support creativity and inquiry.

How can we respond to children's interests and needs by offering them open-ended materials?
How can we use "loose parts" to make our classroom environments enticing, stimulating and appropriately challenging for children?
How can we support children's inventiveness through our intentional, thoughtful presence and planning?

8:00 AM - Registration
8:30 - Welcome and introductions
9:00 - Keynote Speaker, Carla Gull
10:45 - Break-Out Sessions: Choice of smaller group workshops including:

Using loose parts outdoors in nature
Materials in the classroom: A conversation on getting started
Rethinking Nicholson’s 10 Principles

12:00 - Lunch and networking; Book vendors: Red Leaf Press, Oleanna Books and Debra Fish Library1:00 PM - Group Reflection, Door Prizes and closing

Location:
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School
2501 Highway 100 S.
St. Louis Park, MN 55416

Remembering to Marvel: How to “See” and Amplify the Moment

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 02:14:05 GMT

By Tam Weiss Rhodes and Heidi Wolf

Marvel: to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity, to feel astonishment or perplexity at or about, intense surprise or interest

I. Learning in context

The Exhibit:
The “Wonder of Learning” exhibit brought a multi-media display to the Madison, Wisconsin Public Library sharing the work of educators and children from Reggio Emilia, Italy with educators, parents and child advocates. The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota coordinated a study visit to the Exhibit April 12 – 13, 2019. An event on Friday evening framed our experience and helped us start thinking of moments in our lives with children that were moments of wonder. In small groups, we shared a photo or described a moment when we witnessed a moment of wonder in learning.

Through the exhibit we were offered a deeper look at potential ways teachers can implement and support child-centered learning, and teachers and children can co-construct knowledge around projects.

Heidi: Many of the exhibit panels had sentences or paragraphs that I had to read and reread and even write them down to ponder later. One that stood out was:

“Environments can multiply these marvelings – singling out certain phenomena and ‘amplifying’ them, making them more spectacular.”

Tam: The exhibit triggered reflections and questions on our interactions with children, heightened our awareness of patterns of adult thinking that can hinder us from seeing children and gave guideposts, generated ideas and posed new questions.

Where are my “aha” moments, and why?
What happens when I see this learning in the children around me? How do I respond now and what can I change?
How can I bring about this change?

Heidi: Since seeing the “Wonder of Learning” exhibit, I am making a renewed effort to REALLY observe the youngest in my classroom, to set up the environment with simple materials that engage children and to slow down and let them take in the magic and be in the moment with them.

I am still learning to observe the toddlers in my care and join in their delight and surprise, and to remember what magic each of these experiences might be for them.

II. The photograph

We are standing together at the “Wonder of Learning” exhibit; independently stopping in silence for a long time in front of one particular panel.

Tam: I turn to Heidi and launch into an exchange that seems to continue a conversation begun the night before, during the Network welcome, to launch our work. We are looking together at an image in which children are walking, there are vines tangling their feet, and the teacher appears to realize that something magical is happening.

What grabs my attention is this moment here. Much of the other work is beautiful, but it seems familiar to me because it is situated within the context of the school and classroom. (I point to the photograph.) But here - here’s what I can’t stop thinking about.

Heidi: I was struck with how closely the teachers watched the children for evidence of learning, especially reading body language since these children are just beginning talkers. This reminded me how important observation is, especially with the youngest learners.

Tam: As an adult, attuning to the emotional lives of children distorts time. I have to slow down to value the child’s frustration simply feeling a vine tangling tiny feet – feet that have just mastered walking. At the same time, I have to speed up to act quickly enough to snap the mental image (or photograph), listen to the child, envision the possible trajectories of this learning opportunity, and ensure the child is safely able to negotiate space once more.

And so, I’m here. I get stopped right here.

Heidi: When I was looking at the panel and that photo of feet, entangled in a vine, I too get stuck, but in a way that makes me speculate how often I miss moments of opportunity with children when I rush them along, especially the toddlers, in my effort to keep up with the group of older children in our multi-aged classroom. How often have I robbed the toddlers in the group of a moment of wonder or missed a chance to notice a discovery? I stop myself here, asking, how can I remember to SLOW down, and join the moment of discovery and to see it?

It occurs to me that as adults, as we gain knowledge in life, the routine of daily life becomes mundane. I wonder if we have lost touch with the feeling of what it is like to marvel. Maybe it’s a version of childhood amnesia. With children, especially toddlers, everything is new, everything is magical – a true MARVEL. I think adults forget that the joy and struggle of discovery is more important than the final skill acquired.

Creativity, Collaboration and the Arts--Collaboration is Essential for Both Children and Teachers

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 01:11:31 GMT

by Eileen Galvin, Friends School of Minnesota Communications Director

This March, Marshall Anderson, Kindergarten teacher; Laura Pereira, Art Specialist; and Karen Salter, Music Specialist presented at a RINM Saturday Gathering.

Their presentation titled Creativity, Collaboration, and The Arts explored how their collaboration deepens their children’s learning, and how their collaboration deepens and energizes their practice as teachers.

What language embodies the spirit of collaboration?
What does collaboration feel, sound and look like in your setting?

"We know from research that the brain’s weakest function is the retention of isolated bits of data. Its strongest function is the retention of pattern, narrative, story and system. The brain is a patterning organ, and it thrives on making connections."

– Parker Palmer

The Arts and Insects

Each year, Laura collaborates with teachers from first and second grade to focus on the natural world, and on insects in particular. Through collaboration, this project evolves each year depending on the children’s responses.

The children explore insects from many different perspectives and using multiple media:

observing insects outside
looking at pinned insects in a science lab
writing about how they have interacted with insects in their lives
painting watercolors of insects
making 3-D insects out of found materials
sharing their knowledge with their older buddy

The children reflect on these questions:

“What do artists and scientists have in common?”
“How can viewing an object from the perspective of an artist help scientific understanding?”

“Artists and scientists both observe, experiment, and discover things,”
Lola, 1st grade

“What did you discover? How can you use these discoveries in your paintings?”

“What parts exist on real insects?”
“Can you create an imaginary insect that uses real insect parts?”
“How can you use found materials to imitate nature?”

Children make deeper meaning when they examine a subject from many different perspectives, in many different ways. The arts provide space for deeper thought, creativity and engagement throughout a curriculum.

“The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences. We must widen the range of topics and goals, the types of situations we offer and their degree of structure, the kinds and combinations of resources and materials, and the possible interactions with things, peers, and adults.”

– Loris Malaguzi

Join Us Tonight to Celebrate the Year

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 10 May 2019 14:18:44 GMT

Join the Reggio Inspired Network of Minnesota this evening, at Dodge Nature Preschool, at 6:30 pm, to celebrate the year with wine and conversation, and to learn more about our exploration of The Wonder of Learning exhibit in Madison, Wisconsin. It's free!

Teaching: A Delicate Balancing Act

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 21:11:32 GMT

Teaching: A Delicate Balancing Act
Sandra Burwell

As teachers working with children, how do we decide when and how to offer support that honors the power of children’s own discovery and learning? My journey with the Reggio Approach is changing the value I place on the children’s own process of learning. I don’t want my perceptions, viewpoint or knowledge to interrupt the children’s thinking. Despite additional intellectual insight from my Montessori study of the child’s competence in self-direction, I am still tempted to “instruct.”

I have always enjoyed exploring a new topic with children. If I know nothing or very little about it, then I am sure we will learn together, as happened when children began exploring “sewers.” From the very first day, it was evident that this had the makings of a long-term exploration and deep investigation.

How many times have you walked past the metal grill in the street next to the curb? Did you stop when you heard water rushing through? Did you look down, even get on your knees to look further? I have not. Neither had the teachers with whom I was working. But a group of children in their class were engrossed and delighted!

At the newly formed South Metro Documentation Lab, our group collaborated on this exploration of sewers, sharing photos, conversations and drawings. During our discussion, we recognized how very little we knew about sewers. Our follow-up research made our lack of knowledge obvious. It is humbling to think that because the children were calling them “sewers” we did too. We realized these were not sewers, but storm drains. We made a plan to offer pictures of different views and types of what the children had seen, to discover more about the children’s knowledge.

“In order to meet students where they are… you have to know the individual and collective zone of proximal development (ZPD) of your learners. ‘The ZPD is the distance between what children can do by themselves and the next learning that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance.'"

-Eileen Raymond

We did not share graphs showing both sewers and rain run-off drains with the children, but saved them for possible use later. We discussed how we did not want to influence or discount the knowledge they were formulating, nor should we introduce our research and terminology until they were further on in their investigation.

We continued to observe, listen and think. One particular incident gave us a clue.

There was a depression near the drain that would fill up during periods of heavy rain and allow the water to seep slowly into the ground. The children talked about this phenomenon:

Al: We have two sewers in back. We heard water. I keep hearing water going.

An: There’s water underground in the dirt. It’s brown under there. It goes under the train. Now there’s leaves, not water. Garbage gets stuck and mixed up like a tornado. Sometimes there’s water by the railroad tracks and we can hear it coming down.

We realized that the children had made the connection between the drains and the water run off in the lowlands and something “under” the train tracks.

We offered materials: loose parts of tubes, small grates, boxes and fabric so the children could express

and develop their ideas by building different versions of “sewers.” They drew map-diagrams and built constructions with blocks and other loose parts. Increasingly, their focus was on what was underground, what they could NOT see.

After the teachers thought the children had advanced their work and thinking, we introduced a detailed and uniquely formatted book about all that goes on underground.The Street Beneath My Feetby Yuval Zommer seemed to us to be a resource that could further the children’s knowledge. They became more interested in possibilities other than just rain run-off.

We gathered the four most interested children to the art studio where we offered tubes, cardboard and other loose parts. We invited the children to represent their concept of what happens underground. There were several discussions and disagreements. At one point the children divided themselves into two groups and created an ‘’upper sewer” and “lower sewer.” Several times when they got stuck, they referred back to the map diagram that A. had drawn, paying special attention to clean water and dirty water and how it is kept separate.

When considering the teachers’ thinking and choices, one can see these are very new steps in our journey. We see a lot we could have done differently, but we are gratifiedin our realization that we were all learning together step by step. The children’s exploration continues.

“Observe and listen to children because when they ask ‘why?’ they are not simply asking for the answer from you. They are requesting the courage to find a collection of possible answers. This attitude of the child means that the child is a real researcher . . . Yet it is possible to destroy this attitude of the child with our quick answers and our certainty. How can we support and sustain this attitude of children to construct explanations?”

-Carlina Rinaldi

References

Raymond, Eileen as cited in “6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students” Rebecca Alber, TEACHER LEADERSHIP at edutopia.org 1/24/2014

Rinaldi, Carlina, “Relationship Between Documentation and Assessment” INNOVATIONS Vol. 11, No. 1, Winter 2004

Zommer, Yuval, The Street Beneath My Feet QED Publishing 2017

Join Us in Madison in April--Registration Information in This Blog Post--Engage with the Wonder of Learning Exhibit

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 01:59:33 GMT

Reggio-Inspired Network of MN

Trip to Madison, WI to see

“The Wonder of Learning” Exhibit from Reggio Emilia, Italy

Friday, April 12 - Sunday, April 14, 2019

Join area colleagues for this unique travel opportunity that includes:

the “Wonder of Learning” Exhibit
a visit to the Pre-School of the Arts, a Reggio-inspired school in Madison
time with colleagues to reflect

The “Wonder of Learning” Exhibit will be housed primarily in the Central Madison Library and at the Overture Center, right across the street from the library. http://wonderoflearningwisconsin.org/

Register for the Trip

Click here to register for any part of the trip

Transportation

Transportation to Madison is on your own. The Network will gather and share information from participants to help with arranging carpools.

Where You Can Stay

The Reggio-Inspired Network has reserved a block of 15 Standard Double Queen rooms at the Hampton Inn.

Address: 440 W. Johnson St., Madison, WI 53703.

Phone: 608-255-0360.

Cost: $169 a night for Friday 4/12 and Saturday 4/13 and includes breakfast.

How to book the rooms: The rooms will be held until 3/15/19, then released for public sale. You can book rooms for one night or both nights by phoning the Hampton Inn directly, or book online:

https://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/wisconsin/hampton-inn-and-suites-madison-downtown-MSNBJHX/index.html

Friday, April 12 1pm--4pm

Preschool of the Arts, Madison, Tour and Workshop

“The Role of Art and Music Studios in Reggio-Inspired Practice”

Preschool of the Arts, a Reggio-inspired early childhood program in Madison, Wisconsin, serves more than 200 children and employs a team of full-time art and music specialists.

Come learn about how these teaching artists and musicians collaborate with the classroom teachers to create vibrant, responsive, child-centered studio experiences. In this workshop, we will explore the Reggio Emilia concept of “the hundred languages of children” through conversation, demonstration, participation, and reflection.

Address: 11 Science Court, Madison, WI 53711

Cost: $35. Advance registration required (Note: we need to have at least 10 people register to hold this workshop). See registration above.

https://preschoolofthearts.com/

Friday, April 12--Late Afternoon

The “Wonder of Learning” Exhibit is open until 6pm at the Central Madison Library and at the Overture Center, right across the street from the library if you want to see it on Friday. 201 Mifflin St. Madison, WI 53703

Dinner on your own. We will provide restaurant suggestions

Friday, April 12--7:30 – 9 PM

Reception and Orientation to the Exhibit: “Setting the Stage” in the Hampton Inn meeting room.

Wine and cheese reception to informally meet with others from the Network who will be touring the Exhibit. Prepare to visit the Exhibit and explore introductory questions together.

Address: 440 W. Johnson St., Madison, WI 53703.

Phone: 608-255-0360

Cost: There is no cost for this event.

Saturday, April 13--9am to Noon

Self-guided visit to the “Wonder of Learning” Exhibit

We will spend the whole morning experiencing the Exhibit at our own pace, viewing, listening, reading, thinking, conversing and interacting about “The Wonder of Learning.”

Cost: There is no cost for this event.

Lunch is on your own. We will suggest places to eat within walking distance; we can have lunch together in small groups for further conversation.

Saturday, April 13--1:30 to 4pm

Post-Visit Discussion – Meet in the Program Room at the Central Madison Library. We’ll gather to think and talk together about what we’ve experienced.

Cost: There is no cost for this event.

Sunday, April 14

The exhibit is open 1 to 5pm. You are welcome to explore on your own or in self-forming groups.

The Geography of Childhood Project: A Personal Response and Reflection

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 03:30:38 GMT

By Barb Murphy

Over the course of the last year, the Network has spent considerable time engaging with early childhood professionals, parents, and community members-at-large exploring how our childhood experiences shape our values and worldview as adults, and influence the way we view and work with children. In particular, we asked participants to reflect on questions about where they had grown up; the sights, sounds, and other visceral qualities they remembered from important “places” from their childhood. How did these “spaces” of our childhoods, in which we existed, and our experiences within those spaces, impact the construction of our adult identities? How did our own childhood contexts shape our expectations for the current generation of children? We were invited to create a tangible response using a variety of media and materials, which amplified the effect of these exercises and reflections and created a vehicle for sharing our memories with others.

As a board member, I have had the opportunity to participate in this exercise several times. My initial response, which echoed the responses of almost all participants, were memories of being outside, being able to make choices about what to do, and having connections to trustworthy adults and peers. The predominant themes were of unstructured time vs. structured time; adult-centric constraints vs. personal freedom; in-school time vs. out-of-school time; positive social connections with peers vs. negative; and adults who “saw” children and valued them vs. adults who didn’t pay attention. As I pondered the important places of my childhood for a third time at our January gathering, I tried to go beyond the happy, cherished memories of time spent in my favorite tree reading a book, playing “horses” in the field behind our house with a group of neighborhood children, packing a bag lunch and heading to the small neighborhood “woods” with my best friends to go exploring and have a picnic, etc., all memories that make me smile and feel a warm, nostalgic glow of “happy.” These times of freedom to play outside after school and in the summer helped to shape who I am as an adult and an early childhood professional who values relationship-based teaching, play and time spent in nature for all children. However, I was struck by the overall lack of memories and responses from the group that identified adverse or negative experiences. Surely, it is not only our happy childhood experiences that influence our worldview, our values and help to shape us in positive ways. I have always “known” that those eight years in Catholic school were the catalyst for my desire to find a “better way” to educate children than I had personally experienced. Not only were most of my classes overcrowded, with 50 – 60 children and one nun to keep order and see that we were “learning” by diligently taking us through our workbooks, but also the primary behavior guidance methods were smacking hands with pointers, standing children in the corner, and berating children who struggled to read or finish their workbooks problems. We sat at our desks all day; our only respite from workbooks and worksheets or tests was group instruction and oral recitation.

As I thought about these things I felt a clear sense of urgency to craft my response with a focus on my elementary in-school experience. Those eight years of elementary school were extremely adult constrained with little to no recognition of individual children within the class or adult concern or caring for children as individuals. There were no opportunities to play or think creatively. The spaces of my classrooms were all identically dull and uninspiring.

As I chose the materials to represent my thoughts, I began to construct a 3-dimensional portrayal of the restriction and monotony that filled our days; the uneasiness that we felt at the lack of compassion for children with any type of exceptionality; and the pent-up angst that we kept under control until the bell rang.

As disturbing as this “childhood experience” may seem, it was clearly the foundation and catalyst for my lifelong passion to work with children. I saw how the school operated, doing harm to individuals by demeaning them and controlling signs of individuality and sparks of creativity. I know that this experience shaped my worldview and my values regarding children, parents and teachers as equal partners in the educational dialogue. It fueled my passion for playful learning and immersion in creative pursuits. It inspired me to carefully get to know the children in my care and “see” who they are. I want to know them, honor and respect them, and help them become their best selves. I want to assist parents to do the same.

In the weeks following this gathering, I kept my piece of responsive art on the table in my Director’s office at our school. As parents, teachers and children came in to the office, their responses upon seeing the piece were immediate and enthusiastic. I was asked repeatedly to explain what it was; who made it; what did it represent? The children wanted the detailed story behind the mad faces. They knew it was a story that was not happy. But I could share myhappy ending. The parents’ responses were unexpectedly emotional. Several teared-up and thanked me for being here to make a difference for their children and for all children. Their response to my depiction of my early school years was remarkable. I could clearly see and appreciate the power of sharing our stories to bring about a feeling of connection and the possibility of opening up to new viewpoints. There is impetus to share the story of The Geography of Childhood Projectwith our families and reflect together on our shared values for our children. When we truly listen to one another’s stories, we can become aware of how similar we all are, no matter where or how we spent our childhood years. And this can bring about positive change on many levels.

Documentation Lab Reflection: An Administrator's Point of View

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 01:14:59 GMT

By Jeannette Lutter-Gardella

I was able to attend a Documentation Lab in the early spring with Marshall Anderson, kindergarten teacher at Friends School of Minnesota. As the assistant head of school, my role is to support teachers and provide the resources they need to do their jobs as an aspect of ensuring the strength and vitality of the overall educational program.

For many years, Marshall and I have been in dialogue about the Reggio-inspired concept of seeing children as capable. We have explored how to provide sustenance and guidance on children’s journey of discovery about themselves and the world around them. We have supported each other to increase and deepen the practice of listening to children, following children's interests and identifying ways to document what the children are learning, in order to inform what might come next.

Yet, for twelve years we have struggled to maintain an intentional and focused practice of reflecting on children's learning as it is happening. School is a busy place packed with the unexpected and fluid nature of many small bodies moving in time and space. The urgent can crowd out the important and, before we know it, we are on the downhill side of the school year and summer is fast approaching.

At the Documentation Lab I somehow experienced time being stretched out in a thoughtful and deliberate process using a protocol (Documentation Lab Protocol) through which to view and think about children's learning. The protocol promoted a lively and robust dialogue as we explored and mused over a series of pictures documenting the dramatic play of a group of preschool children. It was fascinating to hear others’ thoughts and questions and, equally intriguing, the silence the protocol required of the presenting teacher. It created such a deep curiosity and openness for seeing possibilities. It brought to mind a reoccurring mantra... All teachers deserve this time, all children deserve this reflective "gaze"

“A gaze which...sees the resources and potential of each.”

(referenced multiple times in the reflection from the NAREA Conference:
Ideas in Motion, by both Cagliari and Soncini: https://www.mnreggio.org/Blog/6111777).

Most profound to me was the realization that I, the administrator, need this time with teachers. I need to see what teachers notice, what they hold and what they wonder. The Documentation Lab has fortified my role in ensuring there is collaboration time for teachers during school, to embed the seeing and wondering into our weekly schedule. I want to elevate the learning journey between the teachers and the children, to commit more fully and deeply to the power and promise of what comes from observing, collaborating and documenting. Part of my responsibility is to provide an administrative "gaze" of understanding and honoring the reciprocal nature of teaching and learning.

The Documentation Lab was a wonderful experience and reminder of the power of collaborating and thinking together about the capacity of children to learn and to teach each of us everyday.

I encourage teachers and administrators to come to any one of the Documentation Lab gatherings that will be coming up, resuming in the fall. The meetings are free, held in various locations around the cities and you can participate fully, whether or not you bring student work. Joanne Esser can provide further information (jesser@blakeschool.org). The dates will be announced on the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota website.

Visions for the future - A documentation by Sabine Lingenauber

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 04:01:09 GMT

Professor Dr. Sabine Lingenauber has pulled together her research on the women of Reggio Emilia and collected it all in this website, Visions for the future - A documentation by Sabine Lingenauber.

This website reconstructs the rich contributions of women to the history of the Reggio Emilia Approach (1943-1973).

Visions for the future - A documentation

The narrations of Ione Bartoli, Eletta Bertani, Giacomina Castagnetti, Loretta Giaroni, Lidia Greci, Marta Lusuardi and Carla Maria Nironi bear witness to events that should be remembered.

They show how female partisans, citizens, councillors, politicians and municipal councillors influence the development of a new form of education (Reggio Emilia Approach) in Reggio Emilia from the Resistenza (1943–1945), to the women’s movement and up until today.

NAREA Conference: Ideas in Motion

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:08:16 GMT

Reflections on a Professional Development Experience
Patti Loftus and Lani Shapiro

What prompts any of us to attend conferences and what expectations do we bring to them? We recently attended the NAREA Winter Conference (held in Seattle in March), titled “Constructing a Culture of Shared Values for Children and Childhood: Honoring Diversity, Differences and Democracy.” The conference presenters, Paola Cagliari and Ivana Soncini, are both from Reggio Emilia with long and deep experience in the municipality’s early childhood education system. The title and speakers immediately drew our interest, and we anticipated a depth of thinking that is typical from the Italians. Paola Cagliari has a background as a teacher and pedagogista and now is director of the municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia, while Ivana Soncini, a psychologist, brought an eye toward children with special rights. We found ourselves intellectually challenged and emotionally moved beyond our expectations by the ideas and diverse modes of documentation shared by Cagliari and Soncini. They focused on the many aspects of participation and the value of difference as a way of promoting and realizing democracy.

Over three conference days, the speakers wove together values and concepts including the “centrality of participation”, the “power of documentation” and the “importance of place” as they shared the evolution of particular layers of the Reggio-Emilia educational project. They described how teachers engaged families through a narrative of the children’s ideas about and representation of “place,” in this case, the “piazza” both in the town and inside school. Their presentations were punctuated with stories of particular children with special rights which affirmed the enduring participation of allchildren in school life. Click for an example of documentation of this project.

The concepts highlighted at NAREA closely mirror three areas of focus for the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota. We see the “centrality of participation” reflected at the Network Gatherings, the “power of documentation” made visible by the ongoing work of the Documentation Lab and the “importance of place” illuminated through the Geography of Childhood project. The conference speakers’ portrayals conveyed the coherence of Reggio practice, where:

“the actions of instruction, assessment, documentation and research come to contain each other. They cannot be pulled apart in any practical sense; they are a piece. No dichotomy between teaching and research remains.” (Seidel, 2001, p.333).

A conference, like all teaching/learning contexts, offers participants the opportunity to experience insight and construct understandings in ways that cannot be predicted or controlled by the presenters. This opportunity is enhanced when colleagues spend much of the time between sessions debriefing and considering together the questions that arise from the presentations. There is always, as Cagliari noted,

“a plurality of different possible journeys.”

A particular reflection that we want to privilege for the duration of this article focuses on the notion of “the gaze,” referenced multiple times by both Cagliari and Soncini:

“Each one of us is asking to be looked at with an optimistic gaze.”

“A gaze which...sees the resources and potential of each.”

“… being more aware (as adults) of the gaze that we have. That means knowing about the beliefs we look at children with, the expectations of our adult gaze.”

“A strong gaze toward the future…”

We were struck by the repetition of the concept of the gaze, particularly since our broader society is examining this idea when discussing social justice (the white gaze, the male gaze). In those contexts, the gaze has involved a power differential that objectifies and marginalizes the “other,” the person being gazed upon.

There is an inextricable, reciprocal, complex connection between how we are seen by others and how we view ourselves, both as individuals and in the context of a collective identity or category; as members of a particular gender, race, faith tradition, social class or (dis)ability. The gaze can be an expression of power and surveillance: objectifying, intimidating, disapproving, or anxiety producing. The gaze, as suggested by Cagliari and Soncini, however, can be loving, reciprocal, affirming, respectful, or empowering.

Here was the gaze in the context of Reggio Emilia. The speakers called multiple times for awareness of the adult gaze: the gaze of the teacher on the children, a gaze that sees and respects differences in children, that does not limit children, that gives them space to be who they are and hopeful expectations for what’s to come, without over-manipulating the present moment by pushing toward where their potential might take them.

Patti Loftus currently works in a classroom with young children and found this consideration of gaze gripping, which was a testimony to the power of the presenters. The conference led her back to herself, to thinking about her gaze as a teacher and her view of the children in her classroom. The idea of the gaze particularly prompted her to speculate about the children’s view of her as one who observes them.

This happens as I make notes, (“Ms. Loftus, what are you writing?”) or take photos as they work and play. How do the children perceive me as they are being observed? Do they sense judgment?

My hope is that the children sense the affection and appreciation I feel for them, but what evidence do I have that this is true? Do they sense when the gaze is intended to influence behavior (for example when I ask, “Who looks ready?” expecting each in the group to get ready.) What message is the child sending me when she uses her hand to cover the drawing she is doing as I pass by? Alternately, do they “feel the love” when I marvel at what I observe in their work or interactions?

Questions I’m pondering:

Do children interpret my gaze differently by my posture, position or expression?
How do the tools I use in observing affect my gaze and the children’s perception of my observations?
What gazes do the children offer each other? In what ways do I create a culture of optimism and empathy that imbues a spirit that can be shared?
Do children in school have ways to avoid the gaze of teachers?
What gaze (or gazes) do I have of the parents? How are they perceived by the receivers?

Soncini noted that children aren’t always kind, but in Reggio Emilia, the schools construct a community of shared values, one of which is dialogue that doesn’t assume or require agreement, but dialogue that is built around difference.

“…that positive trusting gaze is trusting attention…”

“adults must be aware of the gaze that they have of children. These are adults, in schools . . . who recognize the different ways children have of giving a shape or form to the world around them."

"We're trying, in our meetings, to build together the gaze of empathy, of proximity, welcoming of all children. It's about permanent, ongoing education for us, participation, building education together."

"Schools promote the value of diversity when they are capable of stimulating gazes that are divergent.”

“Gaze of empathy,” “positive trusting gaze” and “optimistic gaze” – these, referred to by Paola and Ivana, are all favorable gazes, reminiscent of the “image of the child” so often talked about in Reggio Emilia, the view that children are competent, powerful and unique protagonists in their own growth and development.

Ivana and Paola referenced the 20th century French philosopher, Foucault, who explored “the gaze”, and its relationship to power and knowledge in institutions, including schools.

Foucault's argument is that discipline creates "docile bodies", ideal for the new economics, politics and warfare of the modern industrial age - bodies that function in factories, ordered military regiments, and school classrooms. But, to construct docile bodies the disciplinary institutions must be able to (a) constantly observe and record the bodies they control and (b) ensure the internalization of the disciplinary individuality within the bodies being controlled. That is, discipline must come about without excessive force through careful observation, and molding of the bodies into the correct form through this observation. (Discipline and Punishment, 2012)

The idea of gaze as control, gaze as an invasion of another’s being is troubling, but it’s a wake-up call, suggesting that our gaze might be perceived negatively by the children in our care, even a source of distress. It’s important for us to remember the power that we have over children and be thoughtful of how we wield it. It’s not just that the gaze might be perceived as negative. Relentless surveillance hasactual unintended negative consequences, affecting the delicate balance between attention in the name of “safety” or “control,” and the essential role of trial and error in the development of agency, autonomy and problem-solving skill of a growing child (Rooney, T., 2010 p. 344-345).

The challenging presentations and compelling documentation Paola Cagliari and Ivana Soncini suggested a possible gaze that teachers and families might direct toward each other and, further, how we might be more intentional as we create a community of learners, families and educators with this awareness. They described the “sideways gaze,” which reminds us there are other angles from which we can view things that might otherwise go unnoticed. The sideways gaze is connected to diversity, with learning anew, and with avoiding certainty and rigid mental constructs. Soncini elaborated,

“As Foucault often said, complexity requires looking at things slightly side-on. It’s too easy to look straight forwards, from one frontal point of view, but if we can see side-on, then we can see different points of view on the same subject. In today’s world, in the culture, it is becoming more and more difficult to practice the ability to look at things side-on vs. frontally with one gaze.”

We activate a sideways gaze when we engage a community context or a parent’s narrative that helps us see children’s unique experience and expression. We exercise the sideways gaze when we create opportunities for all children to express their different perspectives and when we offer multiple avenues for representation. Pedagogical documentation animates this work.

“If you want to give voice to the multi-dimensional aspects of human learning, then we have to be capable of creating contexts in which children can leave traces of themselves.”

Respect for diversity, recognition of multiple perspectives, welcoming curiosity, uncertainty, and subjectivity, and participation are conditions necessary for democratic practice to flourish (Moss, P.). Reggio Emilia demonstrates exceptionally cohesive theory-and-practice that is not limited to the education of young children. The “diversity, difference and democracy” highlighted at this conference made visible multiple perspectives of children, families and pedagogical teams in Reggio Emilia, and their relationship of observation, reflection, interpretation, and decision-making through documentation and dialogue. As adults who attended this conference, we were among those who experienced the “multi-dimensional aspects of human learning” that Ivana and Paola noted. We were struck side-on by concepts we encountered anew and took pleasure in opportunities to discuss particularly salient ideas proposed by the speakers and illustrated by the documentation they shared. The conference constructed a context that enhanced our desire to listen and exchange views, and to contest our thinking.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_and_Punish. Wikipedia. Discipline and Punish Published July, 2012 Accessed April 08, 2018

Moss P. Democracy as First Practice in Early Childhood Education and Care. In: Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDeV, eds. Bennett J, topic ed. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development [online].http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/child-care-early-childhood-education-and-care/according-experts/democracy-first-practice-early. Published February 2011. Accessed April 8, 2018.

Rooney, T. (2010). Trusting children: How do surveillance technologies alter a child’s experience of trust, risk and responsibility? Surveillance & Society 7(3/4): 344-355.

Seidel, S. (2001). The question cannot be satisfied with waiting, In Project Zero & Reggio Children, Making learning visible: children as individual and group learners. Reggio Emilia, Italy: Reggio Children.

Patti Loftus is an early childhood teacher at Blake School in Wayzata, MN.
ploftus@blakeschool.org

Lani Shapiro is a consultant and early childhood, early childhood special education, and parent educator (retired), St. Paul, MN. lani.shapiro@gmail.com

The Power of a Little Word and What It Says About Relationships

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 01:36:05 GMT

by Eileen Galvin

What does it mean when you are trying to get someone to do something? What kind of relationship do you have? How does the language we use shape our relationships or reveal how we see our relationships?

Last November, I attended the Saturday Gathering titled "Whose Agenda Is It? Mapping the Terrain of Parent Engagement from Multiple Perspectives," facilitated by Lani Shapiro. With a good mix of parents, teachers and administrators in the room,we explored the relationship between these three roles as co-constructors of a school community and as citizens. What do we, as educators, mean when we promote ‘parent involvement’? What do families have in mind when we seek to be ‘engaged’ in our children’s education? How do school communities understand ‘being involved’?

There was one word that kept surfacing. At times we discussed the word, its meaning, and context. Other times it was used without further comment. The word was get.

“How do we get parents to participate?”

“How do we get different people with differing perspectives to come together with openness and curiosity?”

And the question that resonated with me the most, “how do we get parents to be interested in documentation that isn’t focused on just their child?”

I have never minded the word get. It is small, efficient, and implies action. This gathering made me think of the word differently. It inspired me to reflect on the power of this tiny little word. Now, I think the word implies manipulation. It implies a power dynamic that is out of balance. It implies superiority. It implies a “right way.”

...if we want to have a school based on participation, we must create spaces, contexts, and times when all subjects—children, teachers, and parents—can find opportunities to speak and be listened to.”

--Paola Cagliari, Angela Barozzi and Claudia Giudici

If you are trying to get others to do something you are not listening, you are not considering their truth, their perspective. When we use that word, what do we communicate about how we see our relationships? What does it say about how we define the democracy within our educational systems? How can documentation draw parents in and inspire them to think differently about the important work of all children?

In a shared partnership, we value differing perspectives, we are open to possibilities, we inspire, and we are inspired. For me, this simple shift, moving away from this efficient little word, is a concrete way to remind myself of the kinds of relationships I want to build in this world.

Documentation as a Way to Support Learning and Understanding

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 00:47:00 GMT

By Joanne Esser

This autumn, the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota created our newest initiative, the Documentation Lab, as a way for educators to share our documentation practices with each other and to practice critically analyzing the documentation we study.

Documentation is one of the most essential practices that the educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy developed and modeled, a way of looking at children’s thinking that has inspired authentic child-centered practices in schools around the world. One definition of documentation in the Reggio sense is: “a process for making pedagogical (or other) work visible and subject to dialogue, interpretation, contestation and transformation,” (Gunilla Dahlberg, in The Hundred Languages of Children). It is only through sharing with other thoughtful educators the visible traces of our work with children that we can more deeply understand and support the children’s work. The Documentation Lab creates a forum for comparing interpretations, providing multiple perspectives to inform our practice, whether we are presenting documentation or we are participants studying another’s work.

The Documentation Lab met three times so far, once a month. Each time we gather, one participant offers visible (or auditory) observations from their own work with children. These could be photographs, video clips, transcripts of conversations, anecdotal notes, work samples done by the children or any other tangible recordings of their thinking and play. Then the group follows a specific step-by-step discussion protocol that we are adapting from a process used by Steve Seidel and colleagues at Project Zero. We spend time in turn to observe, describe, raise questions and speculate about the work we see children doing in the traces offered. Then the group hears more from the presenting teacher, who has been listening all along to what was said about the children’s work. Finally, together we discuss implications for learning that have arisen from the conversation.

Perhaps the place in the structured conversation where the deepest learning happens is discussing the implications for teaching, learning and understanding children’s strategies. Everyone is invited to share thoughts stimulated by examining the work. One of the big questions we consider is, What could we do next or differently to move this learning forward? For example, in October, Bridget Keefe, a teacher from St. David’s Center, brought a series of photographs she had taken of toddlers interacting with one another. After studying the photos of the toddlers, the group considered ways that the teachers at St. David’s might share their insights with the children’s parents and gather the parents’ perspectives. We wondered whether revisiting the photos with the children themselves would result in language that could further illuminate what they were doing, and whether adding some of the teachers’ own questions to the display of photos might highlight for families what they were noticing.

At the end of each evening of studying documentation, we reflect on the process itself. After looking at the toddler photos, these were some of the participants’ comments: “Using the protocol treats the documentation like primary sources. We look at the primary sources first, not simply the secondary retelling of what happened.” “I found that our questions and observations got better as we went along, richer and not as predictable, and we got better at our critical thinking. This takes practice.” “It gave me a broader understanding of the deliberate, purposeful choices we make as teachers.”

Because we are studying real traces from real children in our own Minnesota teaching practices, rather than hypothetical examples or experiences retold from Italy, the Documentation Lab process allows us to directly examine our work in practical ways. We hone our skills at observing, critical thinking and planning in collaboration with supportive colleagues. Then we can return to our own settings and apply to our work with children what we have discovered. This is the essence of Reggio-inspired practice.

For example, in October, Bridget Keefe, a teacher from St. David’s Center, brought to the Documentation Lab a series of photographs she had taken of toddlers interacting with one another. She laid out the photos on the big table and the group of fourteen educators silently observed the photos. Then we took some intentional time to describe what we noticed in the photos – withholding any assumptions or judgments, not evaluating the photos or mentioning any personal preferences– simply answering the question “What do you notice?” Bridget took notes on what she was hearing. Sometimes people noticed details she had not previously recognized, even though she had taken the photos herself.

We went on to raise questions about what was happening in the photos. Bridget did not answer the questions at that point, but a note-taker recorded them, since the questions the documentation raises are important in themselves. A few of our questions about the toddler photos included: How much are the children verbally communicating? Are they playing together with each other, or is the play more about the objects they are using (like a ball, a paintbrush, a toy)? How well do these children know each other? What instigated the action? What was the provocation? How have these photos been shared with parents? What were the parents’ perspectives? Does this represent toddlers in general, or is this a unique group? We went on developing questions until we had approached the photos from every possible direction.

Next we speculated about the photos, guessing what the children were working on, their skills, their theories and motivations. For example, perhaps their game of playing “catch” with a ball was a way to practice give-and-take, to make social connections with another child. We saw examples of toddlers seeming to solve problems and communicate nonverbally through the use of materials. We speculated as well about the point of view and values of the educator who had taken the photos, how she seemed to want to highlight the children’s interactions with each other and their confidence.

When it was the presenting teacher’s turn to speak about the process, Bridget answered some of the group’s questions, such as how long the children in the photos had known each other and what her intentions were in taking and displaying these particular photographs. She shared how her toddlers are seeking each other and how she observes them moving from parallel play to cooperative play. Our hypothesis was that toddlers working together in this way over time grow more in language, communication and social skills.

Bridget, who was applauded for her willingness to take the risk of being the first educator to share her documentation, said at the end, “I learned so much. Your perspectives were great. I looked at it (the children and their work) differently after hearing from all of you.”

Each month, we have new material to study. In November, Joey Schoen, a teacher from Dodge Nature Preschool, offered a transcript and audio recording of an active dramatic play scenario her children enacted, involving “dangers” like a tornado, “bad guys” and a fire. It led to a rich conversation about how the role of adults can foster – or interrupt – children’s imaginary play. In December, Stephanie Ponticas brought many photo scrapbooks she has put together over a number of years to show the wide variety of activities the children at her home childcare engaged in. The discussion centered on the format of the documentation itself, the difference between “memories” and “learning stories,” and ways we can most effectively communicate children’s experiences and thinking.

Documentation Lab Protocol

Garbage and Treasure

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 21:12:18 GMT

by Damian Johnson

“When do we stop noticing the little things?” This question came up while discussing the network’s Geography of Childhood project and I immediately thought of my friend Sarah and her child, Owen, and his somewhat epic treasure collection. The Geography of Childhood is in part an investigation of the children in our communities and what childhood is lived like today. My interview with Sarah tells a story about a 5 year-old who constantly takes home little things that he has noticed. It’s a reminder that people of all ages need time and space to make connections between all the little things that our larger ideas are built from. It’s a story about how one parent provides for that, when she could easily choose to make things more convenient for herself.

Have I myself stopped noticing the little things? I see tiny treasures and sense little mysteries just as much as Owen, but there’s no time to dig in. Now, I have to collect and save little pieces of my schedule, scraps of evenings and weekends, to use for reflection and connection, the way that Owen tries to hold on to every bubble gum wrapper for his mini-comics.

And that’s not the way I want it. At home and at school, I’d happily trade away every educational device, every light table, every tree cookie, magna-tile and mirror, I’d give up so much of the stuff if it meant more time to just be present with the people. Owen’s play ends up having a significant impact in the world of adults. Could this be more common if there was more space for children in the "real world"? Ultimately, this story is intriguing to me because of the way Owen relates to people; his grandfather, his teacher, his mother and more- through his collecting and creativity with his treasures.

Sarah: Since Owen was an infant everyone is like don’t put anything in his hands that he can choke on. And that’s all he wanted to do was hold on to, like, acorns or little bowls or anything. He just always wants a little something in his hands. I think it’s just that tactile… partially tactile, but he likes the little things.

Damian: Is it also kind of the magic of finding something?

S: A little bit. He’s also very good at that. I don’t know. He’s just always done it.

D: Do you often catch him crawling underneath stuff, or moving furniture in order to see what’s behind it?

S: More crawling than moving I think. The sandy playgrounds are his favorite, I think, because people drop stuff in them all the time, and it’s the treasures he finds in those that I think are like the most exciting. And then he kind of hoards them away.

D: Where does he usually put his treasures?

S: Usually in that little container or the shelf by his bed. That yogurt container. . .That’s all my dad’s doing. It originated at my parents farm, because when we go there usually it’s usually like my brother in law and my sister and he kids, so it’s all cousins, and he always brings home a metal detector. Which reminds me of finding stuff on the ground. Because it’s a 100 year old plus farm house. People just dumped stuff wherever. And we find crazy… like, most of it’s junk, but it’s like horseshoes and old pocket knives and old money and just you know like parts of cars and who knows, you know? So you find all this stuff and then… and there’s rocks in the driveway, cause it’s a big ‘ole gravel driveway, so owen holds a lot of that, so my dad pulled out that big container. He’s the one that wrote “owen’s stuff” on the lid. That’s all him, my dad. So that’s where it came from. He had all these rocks and bits from digging in the dirt.

D: And then what does he do with the stuff, like, after he collects it is that it? He just holds onto it like a dragon?

S: They will spark ideas I would say. Like, he says “Oh! I gotta go do something and then he’ll go rummage through his pile of… you know.

D: I can hear your opinion of it. Pile of garbage.

S: (laughs) I mean it doesn’t bother me but it’s pretty much literally garbage. . .

D: But it’s not. It’s not to him. It’s treasures of little…

S: Exactly. So he’s like, Oh, I just gotta go do something.” And then once he gets that idea he can’t stop it. He won’t go to bed. He won’t do anything until he finishes what that little thing he’s doing. And he’ll often times go pull out something that he found who knows how long ago. It’s like he has an inventory.

D: That’s interesting. He knows everything he’s ever found.

S: He has a memory for that stuff that I never had.

D: Because it’s important to him. Can you remember a specific time when times when he wouldn’t go to bed?

S: It’s usually some sort of craft. Or like putting them together. Like “Oh, gosh I just remembered that this would fit with this.” One thing that I can remember, he put inside two milk caps was a pom pom and that became a creature. Right? So that was Fuzzy. Fuzzy lived between the milk caps. Stuff like that. Or he’ll be like “I need to put this eraser on this popsicle stick, like, right now.”

D: Like he gets home and…

S: . . . A lot of time it’s at night time when you’re really frustrated and you’re like “Just go to bed” and he’s like “No. Wait. Where’s the glue . . .

D: And you’ve had to make sure he doesn’t steal stuff that he finds interesting.

S: Yeah, that’s a problem. It still is. And sometimes he’s at that age where he’s pushing the limits on what he can kind of get away with. So it’s like I think there are like prizes in his classroom for whatever, good behavior or they read the ten books a month and they get to choose a prize… sometimes they’ll come home with him and are not given to him. And it’s seven different versions of the story. . .If I know for sure I usually make them go explain to the teacher what he did. And she’s really good at making it a positive thing that he brings it back. Like the cross that he found?”

D: What’s that story?

S: Once I was cleaning out his backpack and there’s this gold cross on a pendant.

D: Real gold?

S: Right? Something with actual value. But I think for him, it has the same value as a milk cap. He doesn’t see that and say “That’s a gold necklace.” He says “That’s a little treasure.” He’s not there yet. So I find it in his backpack, and he’s like “ooooh… someone put that in my backpack…” And he’s got this look when he lies. He tries not to smile. . . so we went to bed. I went in with him (to school) and his teacher was like “Oh, my gosh this is mine. I lost it last year in May.” So it was probably October, the next school year, when he found it. She was like “I thought this was gone forever. My dad gave it to me in eighth grade for my confirmation. And I tried to replace it but some things just aren’t replaceable. I thought I’d never see it again. Owen… You are the best little treasure finder I’ve ever seen. You just need to show me what you find, so we make sure it’s not important to somebody.” And she wrote him a thank you note. It was really sweet what she did. She loved that quality in him and set expectations of how he should deal with it in the future.”

For more reading about loose parts, available through the public library:

Cathy Weisman & Lella Gandini, Beautiful Stuff
Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky ; Loose parts : inspiring play in young children /
Lisa Daily and Miriam Beloglovsky, Loose parts 2, inspiring play in infants and toddlers

Whose Agenda Is It? Mapping the Terrain of Parent Engagement from Multiple Perspectives

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 01:11:45 GMT

At our most recent Saturday Gathering, parents, educators, administrators, and citizens gathered to collaborate around the topic of Parent Engagement, facilitated by Lani Shapiro, in a session titled "Whose Agenda Is It? Mapping the Terrain of Parent Engagement from Multiple Perspectives."

We framed our discussion around the following questions . . .

What do we, as educators, mean when we promote 'parent involvement'?
What do families have in mind when we seek to be 'engaged' in our children's education?
How do communities understand 'being involved'?

We will discuss these questions, as parents, educators, administrators and citizens, framed by ideas from Reggio Emilia.

What are the possibilities?
Where are the boundaries?
How do we construct shared agendas?

“Participation, in fact, is based on the idea that reality is not objective, that culture is a constantly evolving product of society, that individual knowledge is only partial; and that in order to construct a project, especially an educational project, everyone’s point of view is relevant in dialogue with those of others, within a framework of shared values. The idea of participation is founded on these concepts; and in our opinion, so, too, is democracy itself. Therefore, if we want to have a school based on participation, we must create spaces, contexts, and times when all subjects—children, teachers, and parents—can find opportunities to speak and be listened to.”

Paola Cagliari, Angela Barozzi and Claudia Giudici

We discussed Loris Malaguzzi's "A Bill of Three Rights," expressing Reggio Emilia's view of the essential participation of each of the protaganists in their educational project; children, teachers and parents.

Here is the link: A Bill of Three Rights

Our discussion generated a spirited dialogue which raised new questions and considerations . . .

· There is a difference between “getting parents involved” and “inviting families to participate." Which way leads to a feeling of “belonging”?

· Sometimes we have to persist in our efforts to encourage families to participate. One way to approach families that do not respond to our initial invitation to participate might be, "I know you have something to offer, and I’m genuinely interested in that.” How can we let families know that we genuinely value them and see them as equal participants?

· We have to remember that not all families have positive memories or associations with school. How can we reframe parents’ perceptions about school by developing positive relationships with both children and parents and persisting in our invitations to partnership?

· “I cannot assume the way I bring myself into a community is the same for everyone else.” How can we clearly communicate that we value everyone’s unique qualities? How do I check myself to ensure that I AM valuing everyone’s unique qualities?

· Do we offer a variety of opportunities for families to participate in the life of a school in ways that work for them? How can parents share the responsibility for educating their children once they arrive at our schools? How can schools make room for them?

· Some ideas that may work: Invite parents to stay and eat breakfast with their child at drop off time, come in and eat lunch with them, or have “brown bag dinners” at pick up time. Invite parents to co-teach with you. Read a story or tell a story, sing a song, bring in a CD for us to listen to, lead an activity, play a game, share a talent or skill with us. The possibilities are endless. How can we include everyone in ways that make them feel valued and competent?

What are your ideas for creating schools of participation, schools that include spaces, contexts and times so that all children, parents and teachers can speak and be listened to?

Documentation Lab: A New Network Initiative

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 19:25:26 GMT

by Joanne Esser

For many of us educators, learning about the early childhood centers in Reggio Emilia, Italy was immediately inspiring. What they were doing with children made sense and fit with our ideals about how we wanted to teach and learn. We wanted to dive in, adapt and embed their practices into our own classrooms right away.

Each of us then had to choose a place to begin incorporating Reggio-inspired practices into our own work. It is often hard to know where to start, since even an initial study of those beautiful Italian classrooms and the deeply considered philosophy that undergirds them reveals how incredibly complex it is.

Some people begin by redesigning their environments. They evaluate and make changes to their physical spaces, room layout, the materials available to children and even the colors and containers in the room. Other people begin by introducing project work, building children’s interests into some deeper, bigger study of a topic, stimulating children’s thinking in a way that recognizes their strong capabilities.

But one of the most basic and essential places we can begin to emulate the effective practices we see in Reggio Emilia is with documentation.

Documentation is a term that is becoming common and almost jargon-y in early childhood education. When that happens, the word can begin to lose its true meaning, becoming over-simplified or interpreted in a shallow way. There are even companies promoting products and systems to help teachers “document,” often for the purpose of accountability, gathering data to prove that the children are meeting some set of predetermined standards. But in Reggio Emilia, documentation has a much deeper meaning.

At its heart, pedagogical documentation in the Reggio-inspired sense is the practice of paying close attention to what children say and do. It is a stance, a way of seeing with intention and curiosity. The practice of documenting is based on the belief that young children are innately driven to learn, that their actions and words are powerful and purposeful, and that they are actively engaged in making meaning all the time from their daily lives.

Documentation does not mean simply taking lots of photographs, writing down quotes from children or posting panels on the walls – although those activities are often part of the documentation process. The artifacts alone are not the essence of the concept. Authentic documentation in the Reggio sense involves making intentional choices about what data to collect, reflecting on the data, interpreting and analyzing it with colleagues, communicating what you’ve observed with families and with the children themselves, listening to their interpretations and using what you’ve learned to plan for new experiences. It’s a very complex cycle!

In the words of Reggio educator Lella Gandini, “When we document, we make the deliberate choice to observe and record what happens in our environment in order to reflect and communicate the surprising discoveries in children’s everyday lives…Documentation is not…the collecting of data in a detached, objective, distant way. Rather, it is seen as the interpretation of close, keen observation and attentive listening, gathered with a variety of tools by educators aware of contributing their different points of view. In fact, our views about childhood and our personal theories influence what each of us sees and hears; that is why we need to compare interpretations among colleagues.”

Many of us in the Network have felt the need for more reflection and collaboration with colleagues about our documentation efforts. When we closely observe a group of toddlers playing together at the water table, or a five-year-old making an original “invention” out of recycled scrap materials, we are naturally excited. We want to share our questions and our observations of what our children are doing with others who can help us understand more deeply what is really happening. Having other sets of eyes and ears to look at our assorted photos, notes and snippets of collected dialogue often brings new perspectives to our work – even when those colleagues might not know our children or be part of our program.

To meet this need, the Network is creating a new initiative: the Documentation Lab. We want to offer educators an on-going way to share traces of their work with each other, get and give feedback about documentation and generate ideas for next steps in learning based on what children have been doing. We envision the Documentation Lab as a co-facilitated, collaborative working group where participants can bring work-in-progress, critically analyze it and learn from each other, at whatever stages we are in our practice.

A core group of interested Network members started tossing around ideas for the Documentation Lab this summer. But we also invite input from potential participants to help decide when, where and how often we’ll meet – probably one evening a month or every other month, meeting at a public site such as a library – and what our format should be. The Lab gatherings will be free and open to anyone who wants to learn more, whether you are experienced in using documentation or whether you are brand new to the idea.

The official “kick-off” of the Documentation Lab initiative will be on September 23, as part of the regular monthly Network gathering. Join us for a workshop focused on documentation: “Set Your Intention to Pay Attention,” 9:30 a.m. to noon in the Lakeview Room in the Hyland Lake Park Reserve in Bloomington, Minnesota. Then add your voice to give direction to this new opportunity. More information about the Documentation Lab will be widely shared within the Network as it takes shape.

Reflections About Boulder Journey School's Visit to Westwood

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 23:33:09 GMT

Victoria Snyder is a teacher of 2 year olds at Westwood Lutheran Early Childhood Center in St. Louis Park, MN. Westwood teachers collaborated with Boulder Journey School (Boulder, Colorado) consultants Alison Maher and Andrea Sisbarro in July, 2016.

I experienced a real game-changing moment while collaborating with consultants from the Boulder Journey School. From the moment my teaching team sat down with Alison Maher and Andrea Sisbarro, I knew that my practice would be forever changed. They invited me to think about my written observations of my students. What they shared was not new information to me, however, it was about the way in which they delivered the advice, so specific and relevant to my work, that helped me understand on a deeper level. The conversation was not only inspiring, it prompted me to put into motion some plans that I had been thinking about for a long time.

For example, my toddlers are currently very interested in Matchbox cars. Now, when I write an observation about their interactions with the cars, I write exactly what they are doing with the cars. I ask myself, are they making noises as they roll the cars? Are they lining them up in a row? Who is involved in this scheme? My next action is to consider an abundance of ideas and ways for the children to use the cars in different ways. Alison and Andrea challenged us to generate a list of 50 different things children could do with the cars. In addition they challenged us to think about why the children are so attracted to these cars. Is it because they are new? Could it be the variety in shape and color or is it because there are a lot of them? These observations help me be more intentional and deepen the children’s experiences.

I was inspired and motivated by the conversation and have begun to rethink my classroom environment, especially the materials. Alison and Andrea commented that they see the same materials in classrooms worldwide. They also challenged us to think about “everyday” materials paired with unique items. What can we as educators offer children that they don’t already have? This insight helped me open my mind and classroom for more “outside the box” ideas and materials that might afford children new and diverse experiences, for instance, pairing the beloved Matchbox cars with different colored and textured ribbon. Generating ideas this way helped me to explore multiple possibilities for deepening children’s interests.

This rich dialogue amongst educators opened up many questions for me. For example, how can we create more opportunities for inspiring dialogue such as this? How would professional development change if administrators offered opportunities to educators that meet them wherever they are along their journey? How can we put all the amazing things that we learn into motion? And, how can we always remain open to others’ advice? The wish for myself and for fellow educators is to find a way to manifest these interactions that are so powerful that they help create the highest quality of care, for which we as Reggio-inspired educators strive.

-Victoria Snyder

A Glimpse from Robinson School, Reggio Emilia: Translation

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 01:45:02 GMT

Here is a translation of the video linked below, from an unnamed participant on another reggiolist.

http://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/TGR/multimedia/ContentItem-ad9bfa5c-2f2a-48d4-a295-bed005a6bb1f.html

FROM:

January 14, 2017 episode of TGR "Officina Italia" on RAI 3 Italian Television

Time code 13:36 to 17:08

PRESENTER: "Stimulating children's curiosity and searching together for new experiences, this is the philosophy of the early childhood centers of Reggio Emilia, which have and are really fascinating the whole world.

TITLE: Researchers in preschool

VOICEOVER: "We follow this painted branch (on the pavement) which leads us to the Robinson (Crusoe) Preschool in Reggio Emilia, named after the protagonist of the novel, because on his island he invented/discovered many things and most of all was courageous/brave. Every school in RE is an ideal city with a piazza (central town square) and spaces that are circular/in the round and Ateliers where everyone can work, see each other and work together, and if they wish even on their own - even without shoes as the floors are heated."

REPORTER: "In the preschools there are always many big windows, and here we can see a tree, a big tree, and these are its roots (he points to the graphic representation on vellum that hangs in the window.) Here we can see (he points to artefacts on the table) various interpretations of roots and those over there are the layers of the soil. In the room next door, we find the "Rooty Room," and here the children are listening to the sounds that roots listen to, from the those of the children's steps to those of the ants (moving above them.) And these are the sounds that the children believe roots hear and that they created with a wide range of objects (brush being scraped on a surface.) Among the many activities (time code 15:03) that the children engage in is the creation of video, this one is dedicated to the "Dancing Grasses." The Reggio Children approach to education, last year, sent over 5000 delegates to Reggio from all over the world. However the Reggiani's approach is not intended as a model."

PAOLA CAGLIARI (Director of Reggio Children's schools): (time code 15:27) "Adults here, teachers in particular, are researchers of experiences alongside the children. They are side-by-side with the children so that the children may be able to give shape to the best of their ideas and are, therefore, in circular relationship in which the adult-child and child-child dialogue constructs/gives shape to knowledge."

REPORTER: (time code 15:50) Kitchens are inside each of the schools, and products used in them are from a short distance away, organic and chosen giving particular attention to the raw ingredients that go into them. Robinson preschool has flexible hours, with arrival between 7:30 AM and 9 AM and dismissals at 12:30 PM, 4 PM and for those who require it even 6:30 PM. Parents are pleased on many levels.

FRANCESCA ROVANI (current parent): (time code 16:10) "This is the school that I attended as well, so I made a choice with my heart as well. We could have made a choice to go to a school closer to home, but this was a special choice."

REPORTER: "In your experience, what are children left with after they leave these schools?"

PARENT: "Curiosity and the passion of exploring/understanding and facing the world and knowing things."

REPORTER: (time code 16:31) "In Reggio Emilia, 41% of children attend one of the city's infant-toddler centers, while 90% are enrolled in the preschools. We are talking about one of the highest enrolment levels in this age group in the whole of Europe. This is one that requires a fiscal commitment on the part of the municipality of Reggio of over 21 million Euros a year."

LUCA VECCHI (Mayor of Reggio Emilia): "It is a model that has involved the entire community ever since it's inception. A model that has involved the central role of parents and educators. That is the remarkable aspect of this city, to feel a strong sense of belonging that is built around a set of values and principles in which education, and in particular the education of children, has always been one of our noteworthy capacities."

Children's Literature and Creative Expression - Sandy Burwell Class

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 02:52:27 GMT

Sandy Burwell is offering a children's literature and creative expression class on Saturday, January 14. This class is not hosted by the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota.

To Register - Email Sandy at smburwell@gmail.com. Go to the Facebook page titled Learning Together for more information.

The class explores the question - "how can we integrate children's literature and creative expression?

Participants will explore the wealth of books that could inspire writing, storytelling, painting, collage, mixed media, photography, imagination, weaving, dance, color mixing, 3-D construction.

Location:

South Metro Montessori School (located in Family Christ Luthern Church)

10970-185th st. W. Lakeville, MN

9am to noon - $30.

Avoiding Burnout: The Importance of Self-Care

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 15:21:43 GMT

Q&A with Jen Johnson as told to Eileen Galvin

Jen Johnson is the Director of Willow & Sprout in Saint Anthony Minnesota. Last spring they hosted a Saturday Gathering at their center. During that Gathering, Jen talked about the importance of self-care which resonated with those attending. We followed up with her about the importance of self-care in a teaching practice that requires observation and reflection. We separated the conversation into three posts. This is the first of three.

How do you define self-care for yourself and your teachers?

For me, it is about being mindful and intentional to nurture and love one’s whole self - your mind, your body and your spirit. We, the staff, sit down and create personal goals for each of those areas and it is the same thing that we do with the children. We have leading questions – how do you love yourself? How do you notice yourself – your whole self, your mind, spirit and physical body? And then, how do you nurture yourself? How do you love yourself? We separate those because nurturing can be different than loving. I tried to make it as simple as possible. This could be a new topic for some of us and I didn’t want to make it too complicated.

One of the things I think about is how do you rest? How do you replenish? How do you find those quiet spaces in your day so you can replenish and get a break from daily rhythms?

How do the goals work? Weekly? Yearly?

We have yearly goals and then every month I do a check-in and then if they need something different in between we can talk about it and change it. Up until now the check-ins have been via email because that was what we all wanted. This year we are going to go deeper into the work with a physical check in vs email only. We need to figure out if email needs to be bi-weekly. With email it is easy to let the work go; with a physical check in there is a different level of accountability. It is vulnerable work.

Why is it important for a practice that requires teachers to be present and reflective, to have self-care as a priority?

When I looked at the profession I really saw high turnover. At my first teaching job there was turnover after turnover after turnover. We know from research and best practice that young children need consistency. There are many factors that go into consistency, but one of the things I noticed across the profession was that the teachers are really not looked at as professionals.

They need to be treated with respect as professionals and as a whole person... with hobbies, interests and families outside of work as well.

We have a huge disparity in how the teachers are valued and seen, not only in their organization, but as a culture. We have some work to do, we need to consider all of the parts that create a caring environment in our early childhood communities. It has to be about holistic living. It has to be about connection. It has to be about the four parts - children, environment, parents and teachers. We need to consider all of those entities. Also, in order to be present and reflective you have to be able to do that for yourself. If you don’t take that time, there is often a huge disparity between what you say you want and desire and what you can actually do. I do like the airplane analogy. Put on your oxygen mask first; then you are stable and you can go and nurture others. Then that becomes the ripple effect and they become as regulated as they can be.

In the next blog post, Jen will give examples of strategies for self-care the teaching team at Willow & Sprout sees as essential.

The Best Laid Plans

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 17:32:24 GMT

In another blog post we talked to Kelsey. She is a new teacher grappling with how to balance the desire to plan and live in the now and follow the lead of the children.

For another interesting perspective on planning, read this piece from veteran preschool teacher, Tom Hobson from Seattle, Washington, on why rigid planning isn't necessarily in the best interest of the children or the teacher.

He writes, "What I was attempting to guard against back then was a failure of everything running off the rails, but how? After over a decade of playing with children, I've learned that is exactly the "surprise" that lets me know we've been successful. It's not the plan I've put together, whether on paper or in my head, but rather the "new possibilities" that emerge from us that makes it all worthwhile." Read more here:

Blog: Teacher Tom - Teaching and Learning from Preschoolers.

The Women and the Schools of Reggio Emilia - Video

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 17:13:00 GMT

The following is a "teaser" of a film by Professor Dr. Sabine Lingenauber. The film explores the role of women in the development of Reggio pedagogy as a pedagogical approach.

From Novice to Researcher: An Interview with Kelsey Lepa

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 23:21:58 GMT

“I am a perfectionist, but I don’t want to be one,” says Kelsey Lepa, a recent graduate whose first teaching position is at Willow & Sprout in St. Anthony, Minnesota. “I like to plan and I like to know outcomes. I was taught in school that that is what you are supposed to do when you are educating children. That is what teachers do. We write lesson plans. We know where our lessons are going. We know what the children will get out of it by the end of the lesson.” Willow & Sprout is different; their work with children centers on project-based learning opportunities. They believe in the inherent curiosity of children and they give the children the space and time to follow their own curiosity.

Kelsey knew she didn’t want to teach within a traditional American educational environment. From the moment of her interview she knew she wanted to be at Willow & Sprout, but being there meant being very uncomfortable as a teacher who was taught to plan. “It was overwhelming, very overwhelming, especially as a new teacher in my first job. You want to do well and doing well to me was writing perfect lesson plans and knowing exactly what was going to happen.” The time spent reflecting on her work and the collaboration with the other teachers helped her get past being overwhelmed.

Jen Johnson is the school’s director and Kelsey’s teaching partner. “Jen and the other teachers were very supportive. I kept wanting to go back to lesson plans and Jen would say that I could use lesson plans if I wanted to, but she would challenge me to go without. During the day or during our weekly meeting, my fellow teachers would ask me, how did that go? Or how did that feel? What did you notice? What did you learn?”

Kelsey discovered the importance of really listening to children. She also discovered how to be more comfortable with being vulnerable, listening to and trusting herself. “Teaching is such a giving job. You need to take care of yourself. It is so important to know what you are bringing into the equation on any given day so that you can be ready to listen and learn alongside the children. In the beginning I had a lot of self-doubt. This way of teaching seemed hard and not clear. Checking in with myself and knowing how I feel and where I am coming from helped with the self-doubt and allowed me to become a better teacher.”

Kelsey doesn’t feel overwhelmed anymore. She does still feel vulnerable, but knows that that is an important part of teaching. She said that support from her fellow teachers, self-reflection and collaborative reflection help her use that feeling. Kelsey has learned to trust herself and the children.

She has also embraced being a researcher – and research is never about perfection. “If an exploration doesn’t work, that is ok, maybe try it again on another day or explore it in a different way if the children are interested.” Now, she feels lucky. “This way of teaching has taught me to be knowledgeable and curious about the whole child. I am so grateful that I get to know each child as the unique and curious person that they are."

The Language of Mud - A Reflection

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Sat, 24 Sep 2016 20:26:08 GMT

Reggio-inspired classrooms are often resplendent with open ended materials, inspiration from the natural world and thoughtfully offered provocations. These are some of the reasons they are so well loved, and yet these environments can at times feel daunting when considering one's own context. By contrast, mud is a plentiful, free and rich natural material available to almost anyone. In the case of mud, we have the soil under our feet and the rain above our heads and suddenly a sensory rich experience awaits the children who dare to get messy. The beauty is around us, on a walk outside with the children when the snow melts or after a good rain. What happens next is up to the children and the teachers as they experience this abundant and rewarding material.

Read these two pieces from the Nature Action Children's Collaborative about two groups of children in different parts of the world (Nepal and Australia), with very different contexts, playing and expressing themselves with the language of mud.

http://ccie-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wfwp/mudday2011/downloads/Wonder_Mar10-Mud-Article.pdf

The children in Nepal live in an orphanage, and face physical challenges. They did not have extra clothes and were given new "game clothes" to wear for their mud play. One can understand why they may have hesitated before they plunged into the muck! Still, they dared and were delighted. The children at Bold Park in Australia heard about their playing with mud, but also about how the children in Nepal had no extra clothes for this kind of messy fun. This became the inspiration for Bold Park's own Mud Day celebration, both as a way for the children to raise money to help the children from Nepal and as a way for the Bold Park children to experience the joy and wonder of mud themselves. And though these two groups of children come from different backgrounds, one group from an orphanage, the other group privileged and raising money to help the they had the same kinds of reactions to the mud; nervous trepidation, followed by cautious exploration and then fully immersive and messy play!

As disconnected as we often feel with some having so much, and many more having so very little, there is beauty, too, in the idea of children all over the world playing in the mud on the same day, all connected to the earth together. With many of the children at first hesitating when they go near the mud, it also reminds us of how cultivating each and every child's relationship with the natural world is important as our lives take us farther away from nature. What kinds of play would the children at our schools in Minnesota envision if we invited them to a Mud Day? What have the children in our environments done with dirt and mud? And what could we do to help them envision and create a fantastically messy mud playground of their own?

Seeing Possibility

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 02:19:55 GMT

In this documentation from Westwood Early Learning Center one sees observations, possibilities, and actualities. In the observations, the reader sees the children’s ideas as they work together. The possibilities are listed simply; a cluster of post-it notes of some possible outcomes with an invitation to add one’s own idea. The actualities show the reader what actually happened with the project. The layout of this documentation makes manifest the middle step, the step of possibility.

The consideration of possibilities creates a pause. This pause creates space to consider what the teacher saw, and to reflect on what he or she might offer next.

Too often, the current discourse in American education says one must know the ending before one begins and the only question is, “How well did you get there?” This documentation from Westwood shows another possibility in the classroom; teachers and students begin a project without a preordained ending, then question, reflect, and look for the answers together.

Peace Is A Thought - Video

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 00:57:11 GMT

To Make Peace You Have To Talk

Giorgio, 6.1 years

The video is meant to be an invitation and a self-invitation to resist war, wars, to always take the side of peace, solidarity, justice, freedom at a planetary level.

The Reggio educational experience has been trying for 50 years to move in this direction.

Raising America - Streaming For Free Until 2/15/16

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 00:37:40 GMT

Raising America is a provocative documentary on the history of early childhood education in this country. It asks the questions, "why do we as a nation, make it so hard for our children to thrive? What can we do better?"

All of the episodes of the documentary series are streaming for free until 2/15. Click here to go the website.

If you watch the documentary, what were your impressions of the movie? What made the strongest impression? We would love to know, you can post a comment below, or on our facebook page.

Learning Together Material Explorations

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 03:09:21 GMT

Sandy Burwell is offering material exploration classes. These explorations are not hosted by the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota. See registration information below or go to the Facebook page titled Learning Together to get registration information.

The explorations are on the following dates.

Saturday, December 5
EXPLORING THE LANGUAGES OF PAINTING AND DRAWING
South Metro Montessori School
10970 - 185th ST. W. Farmington, MN
9 to 12am -- $40.

Wednesday, January 27
EXPLORING THE LANGUAGES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW
Dodge Nature Pre-school
1715 Charlton St
West St. Paul, MN
5:30 to 7:30 -- $30.

Both classes for $60.
Register: smburwell@gmail.com
Pay with a check to
Sandra Burwell
5560 Pillsbury Ave So
Mpls, MN 55419
or use
Paypal

Guiding Questions When Considering Environments

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 08:00:00 GMT

In our Saturday Gathering on 10/24, we will be exploring the environment of the Westwood Early Childhood Center.

Here are some guiding questions to consider when exploring environments:

On what values do you base the design of your environment?
What do you see in the environment as potential for beauty, integration, fluidity?
What struggles do you have? What issues in your context cannot be changed?
How do you strategize to deal with them?
How can infant/toddler environments integrate beauty, experiences, materials and safety?
How can we make the most of the unique aspects of our context?

By Sandy Burwell (questions originally posted on 3.20.14)

An Introduction - Loris Malaguzzi International Centre Video

Reggio Inspired Network of MN — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 06:00:00 GMT

This 6 minute video gives an introduction to the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre and an overview of the international work of Reggio Children: Loris Malaguzzi Centre Video