Reggio Round TWO!

Today I returned to the school that embraces the Reggio Emelia style of teaching .  This time I had Randy in tow.   I knew the day would be full of adventure as we pulled in and I couldnt drag him away from the fence that the peacocks were strutting around in.    Other surprises met us  before we even got to the door.   There were two little guys sitting outside by the garden documenting " something" on their little clipboards.   As we went in we were told to " have fun" and that we did.  I took off to the purple room - my favorite.   The children were outside and one of the teachers was doing an assessment on a child.   I had taken all this in  ( the room ) when I visited last time, so this time , I was watching Randy, and his expressions- trying to read what he thought.   He barely made it in the room and was started as two little girls and one boy were in the bathroom ( two on the potty) and having a conversation.  He said " Does she know they are in here...?" - he whispered.  Yes.. I reply, she does.  Randy is still getting a grip on who comes to inspect us for what ... and he sometimes gets the standards a little confused.  The only clear cut inspector that comes for us now days is the water heater man, and well - it is the water heater man.  As Randy was taking it all in, he would ask me questions.  Mostly they were" We can't do that can we?"  And for the most part  he pointed out safety issues - It was hard to explain to him that they were NAEYC accredited ( not ECCRS ) and in another state

 ( which had different height requirements for equipment.)  

After we left and drove away we were reflecting on our observations.   Of course, he said where are their music instruments?  That is an important part of our life .  Each room had two or three instruments  but they usually were just mixed among the materials and you didnt hear singing.  Not the teacher. Not the kids... 

Then he asked, " Where were the books?"  We have books in almost every center... or maybe even every center.  Hmmm.. I didnt notice. Where were the books? I know they had some because I saw two of the teachers reading one during group time.  

Then was the kicker question. " Did you see any children smiling and having fun?"  What is so " sally stop the street car " about that one is- I asked the same question on my first trip.   I thought maybe I was being too critical or just not seeing it   the way I should.  I did ask a couple colleagues on the last trip what they thought and they said the children were more focused.  

So, at 3 , 4 , and 5 years old - do I want focus or happy?

Thinking....

The teachers were not mean at all.... they were encouraging.  

We are not mean and encouraging but you hear happy all over the place in our house.

Do our kids focus?

Can you focus and be happy?

Fast foward - we are headed back for the training tonight.  I am excited . Randy- reluctant but a team player.

The  Atelierista  who was there was supposed to be the only true one  in the states at this point.  The lady from Italy ( dont remember her name right now and too tired to google it!) came over here and  worked with her for a year.   An Atelierista is an artist that facilitates the curriculum development through different art mediums.  ( That was my own very weak definition.)  

 Here was the structure of the workshop.  She talked about materials and how you should think " outside the box " when offering materials to the children.   She challenged us to take 1 inch squares of paper to manipulate as many ways as we could.  We did.  

Then, she talked about making things out of found objects.  We each were to take something off the table and go through some questions from an artist ... like what was this originally?  Where did it come from?   What is it made of?  I had a piece of orange vinyl that was embossed.  I had no idea what it was.  I thought it looked a but like a reflector.  I took my scissors and cut slits and before I knew it I created a chinese lantern.  Now, as I think back, it is really cool the thought process that got me there.  Reflector, light, lantern.  I guess that is somewhat how kids think.   

Randy made something out of corrugated cardboard. It also had styrofoam packing peanuts. He broke the rule... she said one material; :)   He also made a small purse out of my leftover scraps.  Not only did he get in touch with his feminine side, but called it his stimulus package . It was about the size of a matchbox.  

As we finished Jennifer walked around and stopped to take a close up of my lantern and ask me about it  . Randy, I think was offended as she walked away, he moved his little cardboard creation a little closer to mine.  

When they asked for sharing I was a little nervous as I was the novice in the room but I did speak up. She asked for our reflections or thoughts.  I said , "  As an adult , I struggled with what I thought this was .. and where it came from.  I would imagine as a child, that thought process is a little more difficult as they dont have as many experiences to draw  on.  As the teacher in the room, I think this would create a great opportunity for language.  You could help GUIDE ( WRONG WORD) the children .  You could ask what they thought it was...? etc"  So, I got shot down.   She said she wants to caution us about " guiding the children"  in any way.   GREAT JOB DEBBIE, opening your mouth. You KNEW to sit there an listen.  As she talked , the rest of the time, these are the things that went through my head.

1.  Is it so wrong to talk to the kids and create a language rich classroom?

2.  If I dont teach them language , who will?

3.   Why did I use the work GUIDE, that wasnt really what I meant.

4.   It is hot in here?

5.  Did I really just pay 100.00 to tear paper, create a chinese lantern and be told that language isnt important?

6.  I would rather be listening to Natasha Crosby teach anything else right now.

So, I left discouraged.

I love the open ended materials. I love creating a sense of wonder. I love not " fixing everything" for the kids...

But.

I also love the sounds of giggles and games. I love the long conversations and exchanges I have with the kids each day. I love our music and the bands the kids create.  

I pretty much love the way I do what I do right now.  I have evolved so much in the past ten years.  Maybe ten years from now I will be ready for Reggio,

But

not

today.

I

Am I good enough to have a Reggio inspired classroom?

After getting home and unpacking from my trip to Riverfield Country Dayschool in Tulsa, I looked around my space. The space my kiddos have for learning is full of whimsy and wonder.  Can I let go of all this to have a Reggio inspired classroom?  Do I HAVE to let go of all of this to have a Reggio inspired classroom?  The only real way to describe my thoughts about this journey into a new way of teaching is by random thoughts. I know, for me, that isnt really too uncommon.

When we drove up, I knew I was in a different kind of world. There was a playground with peacocks manning the fence as though to welcome us.   There were little gardens outside the doors.  There were NO huge play structures or plastic climbers.   There was a barn with a pond and real animals, like goats.  Are we sure we are at a school?  Is this the right place?  

We were at the right place and this journey started with a lot of awe... and wows.... Riverfield made you want to be a kid again... or be a better teacher.  

                                                     Teachers

The teachers are merely facilitators in the room .  They are observers.  The teacher takes MUCH documentation  and that is how the conversation starts to lead to a big idea - what the kids want to learn.  The teachers  are not ring leaders and controllers.  They are in charge of provocations -  setting up conversations or adding elements to the room to " provoke " the children to think.   The teachers do not give the answer.  They  encourage the children to FIND the answer.  One teacher remarked  that she " loved her children enough to let them find the answer."  That really was profound to me.   I struggle with helping parents understand that preschool is a time to learn independence and to learn to put on their own coats and shoes.  Can they handle it if I take it a step further? The teacher helps the child learn all the key elements to be ready for kindergarten but it is a much more passive type of teaching.  It is not transmitional at all.   Pictures... videos...  In most classrooms the teacher is the main component. In Reggio classrooms, the children are.  One thing I heard the teachers say a lot is " I wonder if...."

                                               The Children

The children seemed very focused... much more focused than I am used to.  They had respect for themselves, each other and the teacher.   They played. I even saw one little boy running around in tap shoes.  He wore them both days I was there. I think they were his favorite.  The children were problem solvers.   The children were responsible.   If they walked past something and accidently knocked it over, they stopped to clean it up.  The wonderful thing was, almost always, a friend stopped to help.  The children loved school - it was evident.

                                             The Environment

The room was much different. The walls were white. The thing that stood out the most was the documentation of the children's work.  The rooms were mostly lit with lamp lighting and not overhead lighting.   There were beautiful chandeliers which I hope to make with my children.  They had the basic centers that we all have.

Construction - They had blocks.  In most classrooms there was a platform to build and save structures on.  The kids would make little STOP signs to let their friends know they were coming back.   They had "parts" instead of the normal lakeshore people and cars we have .They had pinecones and CD's, spools and ribbons....all kinds of things that are   different.

Housekeeping -  Was where I saw a lot of the cultural elements.  It was cool.. and homey much like mine minus the DIVA sign and the blue wall.

Science-  I have already replicated one thing I saw in my favorite class that I love. It was  a group of branches that hung on the wall with bottles attached. Each child had a bottle to put treasures in from a walk outside.  I cant wait for the kids to come in and see ours on Monday.   

Message Center - for writing.

Art Center. This is a very important part of the classroom. They use a lot of clay and natural objects to create with.   The children are encouraged to sketch something they see or to make a plan.   There are many real and wonderful items in the center for the children to explore.  It is so much more than an easel and some tempera.

Other things I saw in the classroom that I loved are things of beauty.  Very little.... to none... plastic. I saw a few plastic animals and in one classroom I saw a set of alphabet, but that is it.  They prefer natural materials. 

There were babies playing in mud.  There were babies playing in blue water and doing sign language for more.. wanting more BLUE....

Circle time was nothing like we are used to.  I thought I had evolved a LOT but this would take even more.   Circle time isnt singing a cutesy little song and learning a fingerplay or talking about the weather outside or counting how many days there are left in the month.  It is a conversation between the teacher and the children.  The teachers reflects on the day before and the  things they did and listens to what they might like to do that day.  Then starts the " I wonder if...." conversations.  I see you enjoyed the show that we had yesterday. I wonder if there is some way we can continue that fun today?  Oh, that is a great idea...  You are right, we dont have  super hero costumes... I wonder if  we can find things in our room to make them? ? It was amazing to listen to the teacher web her way through a days plan while putting the children and their wants and needs first.

My last thoughts:

I do believe in this concept - the child centered classroom.

I do believe that childrens ideas and questions should be respected .

I enjoyed the time I spent at Riverfield.

This experience has me hungry to learn more about the method.

I wonder if..... I can do it.

I wonder.