Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia Approach Reggio Emilia was a community in northern Italy that caught the attention of the world with their new method of teaching. The Reggio Emilia approach was founded in 1968 originally for ages 3 years to 6 years but then in 1971 it was expanded to children 4 months to 6 years. The Reggio Emilia approach is a philosophy for preschool and primary education, started by Loris Malaguzzi and the villages of Reggio Emilia in Italy. They believed that children have some control over the direction of their learning , they are able to learn through experiences of moving, listening, seeing, and hearing , they have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that they are allowed to explore, they also must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves. The Reggio Emilia approach put the natural development of children and the close relationships they share with the environment at the center. The parents are viewed as partners and advocates for the children and the teachers respect the parents as the child’s first teacher and involves them in every aspect of curriculum. Also most parents incorporate many of the principles of the curriculum into their home life. The teacher is considered a co-learner amongst the children by planning activities that are based on the interests of children and asking questions to further understand the child’s learning process. I think parts of this curriculum I would use. I agree that children do have a natural developmental path that teachers help them along. I also think that teachers can learn for their students about their interests and what they are interested in learning and how they learn. I think that it would be very difficult to involve parents as much as the community of Reggio Emilia does, our society is very fast pace and busy and parents don’t have the time or energy to set aside for school curriculum