A dynamic forum focused on the experience of childhood and the process of learning


Connecting With The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota

Join us in the Twin Cities area for our Monthly Gatherings and Book Study groups.  All of our public events can be found on our Calendar.  Join our Mailing List to receive our quarterly e-mail newsletter. 


Past Newsletters

Volume 10, Issue 3 | Summer 2023
-Professional Development Calendar 2023 - 2024: Monthly Gatherings | Loose Parts Lab | Documentation Lab | Book Study | “Let’s Talk”
-Book Review: Accorpamenti - Resonances between dance and music
-Loose Parts Lab Update
-Sponsorship Opportunity
-Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota Scholarships
-Calls for Participation
-NAREA
-Public Library Resources
-Job Opportunities

Download PDF - Summer 2023 Newsletter

Volume 10, Issue 2 | Spring 2023
-Editor’s Introduction
-Fundamentals: Image of the Child
-Getting to Belonging
-The Values and Virtues of Clay
-Reflection: Winter 2023 Conference with Amelia Gambetti at MacDonald Montessori
-Hello from Minnesota’s Early Childhood Library!
-Thoughts on Attracting High Schoolers to the Profession of Early Childhood Education
-Sponsorship Opportunity
-Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota Scholarships
-Calls for Participation
-North American Reggio Emilia Alliance
-Job Opportunities

Download PDF - Spring 2023 Newsletter

Volume 10, Issue 1 | Winter 2023

-Editor's Introduction

-There are Loose Parts, ...and Then There Are Loose Parts

-Playing with Loose Parts in the Atelier
-“Enter Encounter Engage” Reflection
-Loose Parts Lab
-Sponsorship Opportunity
-Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota Scholarships
-Calls for Participation
-North American Reggio Emilia Alliance
-Network of Networks
-Public Library Resources
-Job Opportunities

Download PDF - Winter 2023 Newsletter

Volume 9, Issue 4 | Fall 2022

-Editor’s Introduction

-From Innovations: Open Book Study

-Loose Parts Lab Update

-Organizational Sponsorship Opportunity

-Profile of Heidi Wolf

-Scholarship Reflection

-Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota Scholarships

-Calls for Participation

-North American Reggio Emilia Alliance

-Public Library Resources

-Job Opportunities

-Shop and Support

Download PDF - Fall 2022 Newsletter

 Volume 9, Issue 3 | Summer 2022

-Professional Development Calendar 2022 - 2023: Monthly Gatherings | Book Study | Documentation Lab | "Let's Talk" | Loose Parts Lab Open Shop/Workshops
-Loose Parts Lab Update
-End-of-Year Celebration
-Reflection of an Experience
-Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota Scholarships
-Calls for Participation
-NAREA
-Public Library Resources
-Job Opportunities
-Shop and Support

Download PDF - Summer 2022 Newsletter

Volume 9, Issue 2 | Spring 2022

-Announcement - Celebration and Annual Meeting
-Latest News on Loose Parts Laboratory
-Teachers and the Atelier
-Unpacking Democracy, Part II
-Democracy in Action
-Scholarship Opportunities
-Call for Participation
-NAREA
-Public Library Resources
-Job Opportunities
-Amazon Shop & Support

Download PDF - Spring 2022 Newsletter
Volume 9, Issue 1 | Winter 2022
-Editor's Introduction

-So What’s Up with “Let’s Talk”?
-Moving the Dream Toward Reality
-Unpacking Democracy and Education
-Tending the Gardens of Community, Democracy and Citizenship
-Children’s Right to be Free from Prejudice
-A Framework for Talking About Race
-Scholarship Update
-Scholarship Opportunities
-Call for Participation
-NAREA
-Public Library Resources
-Job Opportunities
-Amazon Shop & Support

Download PDF - Winter 2022 Newsletter
Volume 8, Issue 4 | Fall 2021

-Editor's Introduction
-Chasing a Dream – A Remida-Inspired Materials Resource
-Monthly Gatherings Scholarship Timetable Change
-Scholarship Reflections
-NAREA
-Volunteer Opportunities
-Call for Participation
-Public Library Resources
-Scholarship Opportunities
-Job Opportunities
-Amazon Shop & Support

Download PDF - Fall 2021 Newsletter

Volume 8, Issue 3 | Summer 2021

-Participation Survey
-Professional Development Calendar 2021-2022
-Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose
-Reflections on Teaching
-Staying in Hope
-Scholarships
-Library Resources

Download PDF - Summer 2021 Newsletter

Volume 8, Issue 2 | Spring 2021

-Voices from the Network: Save the Date
-Reflecting on our Work
-Gatherings
-Doc Labs
-Incubating New Ideas:
-Let’s Talk
-Remida
-Call for Participation
-A Bonus Year
-Book Review: Remida Day
-Scholarships
-Library Resources

Download PDF - Spring 2021Newsletter

 Volume 8, Issue 1 | Winter 2021
-Professional Development: February 21, 2021 Authentic and Intentional Collage
-Continuing Professional Development: 
-Open Book Study
-Doc Lab: Looking Back with Reflection; Looking Forward with Intention 
-Reflection: Light and Shadow 
-Reflection: Doc Lab 
-Book Review: Everything Has a Shadow 
-Reflection: Enter Encounter Engage 
-Distance Learning
-Scholarships
-A Teacher’s Perspective: Covid
-A Parent’s Perspective on Zoom School
-Call for Participation
-Library Resources

Download PDF - Winter 2021 Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 4 | Fall 2020
-Professional Development: The Possibilities of Light and Shadow
-Continuing Professional Development: Open Book Study
-Reflections: Enter Encounter Engage
-Reflections: Open Book Study
-Distance Learning
-Learning at Home
-Lesson Plans
-Webinars from Reggio Children
-Virtual Conference from Sightlines, UK Reggio Reference Point
-Scholarship Information
-Trees in the Forest
-Unexpected COVID Opportunities
-Library Resources

Download PDF - Fall 2020 Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 3 | Summer 2020
-2020-2021 Professional Development Calendar
-Ongoing Professional Development Opportunities
-Hidden Discovery
-Distance Learning
-Learning at Home
-Lesson Plans
-Webinars from Reggio Children
-Scholarship Information
-Belonging and Nurturing Relationships at a Distance
-Reflection on Retirement: "Nostalgia for the Future"
-Library Resource

Download PDF - Summer 2020 Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 2 | Winter 2020

-Upcoming Events and Continuing Professional Development
-The First Year at St. Paul School of Northern Lights: Reflections on the Journey
-Young Children and Seniors Develop Relationships at All Seasons Preschool
-The Evolving Ateliers of Reggio Emilia
-
RINM Gathering Reflection: Collage and Printmaking

Download PDF - Winter 2020 Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 1 | Fall 2019

-Upcoming Events
-Enter, Encounter Engage: Reflections
-Year-End Giving
-Professional Development Scholarship Recipient
-
Reflections on a Journey with the Reggio Approach
-In Gratitude: Marty Watson
-Employment Opportunities

Download PDF - Fall 2019 Newsletter

Volume 6, Issue 4 | Summer 2019

-Professional Development Calendar for 2019-2020
-Additional Professional Development Opportunities: Documentation Labs and Book Study
-Membership Survey
-Elementary Dialogues with Reggio
-Travel to Reggio Emilia with a Book
-Scholarship Information
-In Gratitude: Barb Murphy

Download PDF - Summer 2019 Newsletter

Volume 6, Issue 3 | Spring 2019
-Remembering to Marvel
-Network Annual Meeting
-How Far Can Your Experiences with Young Children Go Without Collaboration and Reflection?
-St. Paul School of Northern Lights Update
-Documentation Lab
-Creativity, Collaboration and the Arts: Collaboration is Essential for Both Children and Teachers
-Scholarship Information and Reflections
-Upcoming Events
-In Memory: Marilyn Stahlheim

Download PDF - Spring 2019 Newsletter
 Volume 6, Issue 2 | Winter 2019
-Wonder of Learning
-Shared Vision, Collaborative Leadership, Advocacy: New Opportunities for Change and Growth
-Teaching: A Delicate Balancing Act
-Reflections
-Enter Encounter Engage
-Our Documentation Journey
-Open Book Study
-A New School Update
-Upcoming Events: Gatherings, Documentation Labs and Open Book Study
-Scholarship Information
-Job Posting Information

Download PDF - Winter 2019 Newsletter

Volume 6, Issue 1 | Fall 2018
-Enter, Encounter, Engage: 
The Wonder of Learning – Challenging Our View of the Educational Relationship – Rethinking the Role of Children, Parents and Teachers
-“The Wonder Of Learning”: A Professional Development Opportunity
-Open Book Study
-Documentation Lab
-Geography of Childhood: Venturing into the Possible
-The Geography of Childhood Project: A Personal Response and Reflection
-Reflections On Starting A New Program
-An Invitation from the Resource Committee

Volume 5, Issue 3 | Summer 2018
-2018-2019 Professional Development Calendar
-Research and Documentation Center, Reggio Emilia
-RINM Documentation Lab
-Documentation Lab Reflection: An Administrator’s Point of View
-End-of-Year Celebration: When Joy Visits Us
-Open Book Study
-Building a New School
-Shop and Support

Download PDF - Summer 2018 Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 2 | Spring 2018
-Celebrating Our Year
-Documentation Lab: Going Deeper with Documentation
-Participation, Documentation, and Place: Reflection and Evolution of the “Geography of Childhood” Collaborative Conversation
-NAREA Reflection: Ideas in Motion
-Give + Grow 2018
-Scholarship Reflection
-School-Based Book Study: It’s Not a Bird Yet
-Open Book Study
-Upcoming Events
-Plan Ahead: Wonder of Learning

Download PDF - Spring 2018 Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 1 | Winter 2018
- Geography of Childhood Project: The Back Story
- A Project Emerges
- Reflecting on Childhood, Shaping Preschool Today: Documentation Reflection
- Reflecting Collectively, Some Possibilities
- Garbage and Treasure
- Documentation as a Way to Support Learning and Understanding
- Book Study
- Sunday Monthly Book Study Continues
- Library Resources
- A New Opportunity: The RINM Education Scholarship
- Upcoming Events
- Shop and Support

Download PDF - Winter 2018 Newsletter
Volume 4, Issue 2 | Fall 2017
-Introduction to the Documentation Lab
-A Preview of the RINM Gatherings Calendar
-An Invitation to Participate in the Geography of Childhood
-Book Study Kits
-Scholarship Winner
-Big Body Podcast

Download PDF - Fall 2017 Newsletter

Volume 4, Issue 1 | Spring 2017

-It's All in the Details
-From Novice to Researcher--An Interview with Kelsey Lepa
-Avoiding Burnout--the Importance of Self-Care
-Events, Book Study and Job Opportunities

Download PDF - Spring 2017 Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 4 |Summer 2015
- The Power of Reflection
- Our Image of the Child as Capable
- The Network - How You Can Get Involved


RINM.Newsletter 8.7.2015
Volume 3, Issue 3 | Winter 2014
- Scholarship Winner
- Reflection Seeing Everyday Places: Connecting Children and Their Communities
- Sometimes The Questions Are The Answers
- Questioning Protocol That Might Be Useful
- An Invitation - How Have You Explored Community?

RINM Newsletter 12.2014
Volume 3, Issue 2 | Summer 2014 

- Reflection on Self-Portraits
- Reflection on Leaving Traces and Environmental Tours
- Scholarship Application Deadline
- Next Year's Calendar of Events

RINM Newsletter 8.2014
Volume 3, Issue 1 | Spring 2014
- Reflections on Enter, Encounter, Engage
- How Does One Become a Teacher
- Expansion, A Reflection
- Thinking About Reflection In A
Reggio-inspired Context
- The Network - How To Get Involved

RINM Newsletter 4.2014
 Volume 2, Issue 4 | Winter 2013
- Reflection on Saturday Gatherings
- Feature Reflection - Art 25
- Seeing Everyday Places
- Environmental Tours
- Carolyn Edwards

RINM Newsletter 12.2013
Volume 2, Issue 3 | Fall 2013
- Calendar of Events
- Community Conversation Reflection
- Local Voices - Marshall's Bees
- Professional Development Reflection
- Books Added To Library

RINM Newsletter 9.2013










Reggio Resources Available Through The Minnesota Library System
The Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota is thrilled to partner with the Debra S. Fish Early Childhood Resource Library to provide local access to literature about the Reggio Approach. Click on the below link for a list of Reggio-inspired resources available at the Debra S. Fish Library.

debra fish 2018.pdf

The resources available  at the Saint Paul Debra S. Fish Library are accessible through your local public library and MELSA system via interlibrary loan. This collection is part of the Saint Paul Public Library system’s catalog http://www.sppl.org/ and is available through the statewide virtual library, MnLINK at https://www.mnlinkgateway.org.

Resources - Organizations, ideas, and materials inspired by and in collaboration with the municipal preschools and infant toddler centers of Reggio Emilia

The links to professional resources below are avenues for connecting with organizations, ideas, and materials inspired by and in collaboration with the municipal preschools and infant toddler centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy. You will find resources that are significant, topical, and current in the Reggio-inspired community.

Reggio Children
North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA) 
Reggio Emilia Aotearoa New Zealand
Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting

Organizations offering Reggio-inspired conferences, institutes, coursework or research:
Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education Making Learning Visible
Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education Children Are Citizens
Boulder Journey School
Lesley College, Cambridge
MAReggio Children Foundation
Malaguzzi Center YouTube videos

Books
Learning Materials Workshop Routledge Education

Arts
Art Scraps
Ax-Man
Continental Clay
Leonardo’s Basement
Minnesota Clay

“Found” materials
“Found” and recycled materials surround us. These often-discarded and overlooked objects offer rich shapes, colors and textures that can stimulate active learning. Below are some lists of “found materials” compiled by experienced teachers. Feel free to use the lists with families and colleagues to collect materials that will inspire you and your children. Materials List 1 (from the Blake School)
Materials List 2 (from Sandy Burwell)

One way to rediscover our own creative impulses is to see possibilities in materials. Children possess a natural openness to the potential of materials. When adults become aware of this process, they find ways to watch and listen to children. Children and adults become collaborators as they discover, collect, sort, arrange, experiment, create, construct and think with materials.” 

 Lella Gandini and Cathy Weisman Topal in "Beautiful Stuff!"

Monthly Gatherings Annual Scholarship

The Monthly Gatherings Scholarship sponsors an individual to participate in the Saturday Gatherings for one calendar year.  Anyone with a deep curiosity about Reggio Emilia is encouraged to apply. If you are awarded the scholarship, you will be asked to write reflections on some of the Saturday Gatherings. This scholarship, established by the Network's Board, is in honor of Sandy Burwell, a founding member of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota. Sandy has been particularly devoted to the Saturday Gatherings.

The dates for the Monthly Gatherings Scholarship cover a full calendar year, from January to December each year. Apply now!

Download Application

The RINM Education Scholarship
The RINM Education Scholarship is a new opportunity available to those interested in learning more about the Reggio Approach. Network members are invited to apply at any time of the year (a minimum of 6 weeks before an event you plan to attend). This scholarship may be used for registration costs to local, national or international Reggio-inspired workshops and conferences. Preference will be given to professional development opportunities where educators from the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy are presenting. Funds are limited and awards are made at the discretion of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota Board. 

Download Application

Essential Readings
Here is a list of books that members of the Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota have found to be useful, instructive and/or inspiring resources as we refine our own practices. Below the list, you will find annotated bibliographies of several books written by Network members who especially recommend them.

About the Reggio Emilia Approach (by Italian authors from Reggio Emilia, in English)

  • Art and Creativity in Reggio Emilia by Vea Vecchi, published by Routledge (Contesting Early Childhood series)
  • Brick by Brick, published by Reggio Children
  • Children, Art and Artists, published by Reggio Children
  • Children, Spaces and Relations, published by Reggio Children
  • Dialogues with Places, published by Reggio Children
  • Everything Has a Shadow Except Ants: an exploration of a project about shadows, published by Reggio Children
  • In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning, by Carlina Rinaldi, published by Routledge (Contesting Early Childhood series)
  • Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners, a joint volume produced by Project Zero of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Reggio Children
  • Reggio Tutta: A Guide to the City by the Children, published by Reggio Children
  • The Grammar of Fantasy, by Gianni Rodari
  • The Hundred Languages of Children, edited by Carolyn Edwards, Lella Gandini and George Forman
  • The Languages Of Food: Recipes, Experiences, Thoughts, published by Reggio Children (Read Annotated Bibliography)

Reflections on the Reggio Experience by Others

  • Authentic Childhood, by Susan Fraser and Carol Gestwicki
  • Beyond Quality in Early Childhood, by Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Moss and Alan Pence
  • Bringing Learning to Life, by Louise Boyd Cadwell
  • Bringing Reggio Emilia Home, by Louise Boyd Cadwell
  • Ethics and Politics in Early Childhood Education, by Gunilla Dahlberg and Peter Moss
  • First Steps Toward Teaching the Reggio Way, by Joanne Hendrick.
  • The Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching, by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter (Read Annotated Bibliography)
  • The Hundred Languages of Children, edited by Carolyn Edwards, Lella Gandini and George Forman

Environment and Materials

  • Beautiful Stuff! Learning With Found Materials by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini (Read Annotated Bibliography)
  • In the Spirit of the Studio, by Lella Gandini, Lynn Hill, Louise Cadwell, and Charles Schwall
  • Rapunzel’s Supermarket: All About Young Children and Their Art, by Ursula Kolbe (Read Annotated Bibliography)
  • It’s Not a Bird Yet, by Ursula Kolbe

Annotated Bibliography

The Languages of Food: Recipes, Experiences, Thoughts. Edited by Ilaria Cavalinni and Maddalena Tedeschi. © 2008. Reggio Children srl, Via Bligny 1/a – C.P. 91 Succursale 2 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy: Reggio Children. 111 pgs. ISBN 978-88-87960-48-8.
Much more than an Italian recipe and cookbook, The Languages of Food brings us into the culture and history of the culinary arts of Italy as well as the classrooms of the Infant-Toddler Centers and Pre-schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. While giving menus, recipes and nutrition information, it also offers the flavor of the children’s dining experiences. It is filled with images of children arranging flowers, smelling herbs, setting tables and helping in the kitchen. There are drawings by the children of table setting and garden arrangements. Beginning with an introduction by Sergio Spaggiari and ending with “A Fragrant Future,” this book will inspire all who wish to enjoy food with children. (by Sandy Burwell)

Beautiful Stuff! Learning with Found Materials. Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini. 1999. Davis Publications, Inc. Worchester, Massachusetts. 107 pgs. ISBN: 0-87192-388-2
Beautiful Stuff is a wonderful hands-on book for teachers and those interested in working with young children using aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach. Focusing on observation and recordings of children’s and teachers’ processes, this book offers a variety of ideas and uses for “found materials.” Beginning with collecting, discovering and organizing common materials found at home, the teachers and students go on to show us ideas for setting up a studio, creating collage, self-portraits, puppets and wood sculptures. This book is full of pictures showing children involved in their discovery and exploration. Each chapter includes a chapter summary called “What We Learned” that gives insights about what the teachers and children figured out along the way as they used their “found materials.” (by Terry Schroeder)

Rapunzel’s Supermarket: All About Young Children and their Art. Kolbe, Ursula. ©2001. PO Box 280, Paddington NSW 2021 Australia: Peppinot Press. 128 pgs. ISBN 0646416553.
Rapunzel’s Supermarket celebrates the magic of looking at the world through the eyes of children. It offers inspiration, advice and examples of ways to look at everyday things such as textures, patterns, marks, and lines. It also explains kinds of image making—for example, bookmaking, clay work, collage, and construction—that are useful in helping children explore, communicate, and represent their ideas. Suggestions for materials, tools, strategies, and stories assist adults in challenging children. There are pointers for creating special spaces and for documenting and displaying children’s work. Color illustrations of displays and materials and reprints of art masters inspire exploration and discovery. (by Ethel Beuch)


The Art of Awareness: How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching. Curtis, Deb and Carter, Margie. c. 2000. St. Paul, Minnesota: Redleaf Press. 173 pgs. ISBN 1-884834-84-1.
One of the most important skills an early childhood teacher must have is being a good observer. In the preschools of Reggio Emilia, observation of children that is thorough, detailed, descriptive and reflective, is the basis of the teachers’ planning and curriculum. This workbook-style book takes readers through activities and questions designed to heighten teachers’ awareness and improve their observation skills. Each of the “study sessions” emphasizes an aspect of observation, asking teachers to focus on, for example, children’s perspectives, how children use their senses, how they explore, invent and construct or how they connect with the natural world. It includes plenty of photographs and specific examples of children’s interactions for reflection. The book would be ideal for use with a team of colleagues or at staff trainings to improve teachers’ observation skills step-by-step. (by Joanne Esser)

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Reggio-Inspired Network of Minnesota is a 501(c)3 non-profit located at 525 Pelham Blvd. N., Saint Paul, MN 55104 

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