Reggio Emilia Curriculum at Manhattan Preschool

1. What is the best curriculum to teach preschool-aged children/ What is Reggio Emilia Curriculum Approach? Are you looking for a new curriculum for your preschool or pre-k program? Choosing a new curriculum can be very overwhelming for teachers and administrators. It’s important to carefully evaluate the components of any curriculum you are considering using in your classroom so you can make an informed decision. The Reggio Emilia Approach is considered an ‘alternative’ educational approach to early childhood learning, but it delivers very mainstream outcomes. What is Reggio Emilia? Reggio Emilia is a unique approach to teach early childhood education. It has been named on the town of Italy where it has been originated. This approach has been initiated to boost the morale of children. Mr Loris Malaguzzi believed that every child is unique and will express their interests in many different ways. Unlike other preschool curriculum, Reggio Emilia Curriculum teach Resilience, responsibility, self- confidence, teamwork, problem-solving skills as well as creative and scientific thinking are just some of the benefits of this approach which, from its early beginnings in post-war Italy has grown to became a recognised global leader in innovative and highly effective childhood teaching. The single biggest point of difference of a Reggio Emilia school is that a toddler or a 3-year-old child has rights when it comes to their learning. They are recognised as active participants in constructing their own knowledge and they have substantial control over the direction that their learning takes. Here are the benefits toddlers will enjoy getting involved with: 1. Encouragement Children in Reggio settings are active constructors of knowledge, who are encouraged to be ‘researchers’. Most of the educational experiences within Reggio take the form of projects, where children have opportunities to actively participate, explore and question things. There is also a very strong emphasis on the social development of children as part of the community and their relationships to other children, their families and teachers. 2. Explorative The Reggio approach starts from the premise that children use many different ways to express their creativity, understanding and thoughts (the 100 languages). This perspective has been endorsed by many artists, who state that these different ways of thinking, exploring and learning are expressed through drawing, sculpting, music, dance and movement, painting and drama. 3. Problem solving techniques Children are given learning projects that provide extensive research opportunities, including real-life problem solving among peers, and opportunities for creative thinking and exploration. The children are placed in small group settings with projects that they work on are observed by teachers and the

2. children are allowed to question the topic of interest. Then they introduce materials, questions, and opportunities that provoke children to further explain the topic. All of these principles and beliefs combine to make Reggio Emilia classrooms an interesting and highly effective method of expanding children’s minds. More on Preschools in Manhattan Beach can be found here - https://www.growinggardenpreschool.com/. More on Reggio Emilia Curriculum of Growing Garden Preschool can be found here - https://www.growinggardenpreschool.com/curriculum/curriculum-reggio-emilia- inspired/. More on 3 Year Old Schedule at Manhattan Beach can be found here - https://www.growinggardenpreschool.com/classes/classes-3-year-old-class/. #hermosabeachpreschool, #manhattanbeachpreschool, #redondobeachpreschool, #reggioemiliacurriculum, #preschoolsinmanhattanbeach, #growinggardenpreschool