ABOUT REGGIO EMILIA

 

Magic Tree Childcare Center is inspired by the work of the children, parents, and teachers in the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Their approach to early learning is based on a fundamental view of the child as a competent citizen with full rights and the ability to share what they know. Relationships are central to this approach, with children, families, and teachers working collaboratively and learning together.

 

Other key values to this approach include project-based work, the environment as the third teacher, documentation, and the teacher as co-learner. Magic Tree embraces this approach and strives to build its programs based on these values.

 

Through play, children have the opportunity to explore and investigate their environment, build relationships with others and co-construct new knowledge and ideas. As the educators listen to children, observe their play, and work collaboratively with them, they discover children’s interests and ideas and thus the curriculum emerges as these discoveries are made.

 

Projects are a key part of this emergent curriculum. Essentially, they are more in-depth investigations of a particular topic that is of interest to the children, or a group of children. The educators and children work together to develop questions and theories, research ideas, and express and document their thinking in a variety of ways.

 

The environment is considered a third teacher which plays a vital role in children’s learning and discovery. A beautiful, welcoming and thoughtfully planned environment invites and supports children’s questions, theories, ideas, and discoveries.

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