Curriculum

Reggio Emilia Approach

Another influence on the OECC curriculum is the Reggio Emilia approach, an internationally acclaimed practice that challenges American notions of appropriate early childhood education. Reggio Emilia is a city in northern Italy that for the past 25 years has committed 12% of its budget to the provision of high quality childcare for children six years and under. The Italian educators are very clear that the way they work with young children is not a curriculum, but a way of observing and knowing how young children learn. There are certain aspects of the Reggio approach that have attracted worldwide attention.
¨ First is the emphasis on children's multiple symbolic languages in relation to project-oriented curriculum;
¨ Second is the community support for families with young children that reflect the city's cultural view of children as their collective responsibility;
¨ Third is the importance of teachers' long-term commitment to continually revising and deepening their understanding of children;
¨ And fourth is the importance of the physical environment: it is valued as an additional teacher.

In the Reggio Emilia approach, creativity is not a process but rather a characteristic of how children think, know and make choices. Children are given a variety of experiences and freedom of choice that can be expressed through the cognitive, affective and imaginative processes. The most fertile ground for creativity appears to be the interpersonal exchanges with the opportunity to negotiate conflicts and compare ideas. In order for creativity to flourish, teachers must be attentive to the process rather than to the results or the product. Loris Malaguzzi, founder and director of the Department of Early Childhood Education in Reggio Emilia, stated the importance of the creative process for young children when he wrote, "Creativity requires that the school of knowing finds connections with the school of expressing, opening the doors to the hundred languages of children" (Edwards, Gandini, Forman, 1998).

Teachers work on long term projects with small groups of children while the rest are involved in a variety of activities typical of any preschool classroom. The project approach is driven by the children and supported by the teacher's observations and reflections. Successful projects are those that generate within children a sufficient amount of interest and uncertainty to provoke creative thinking and problem solving. As children proceed in the investigation and exploration of a concept, they are encouraged to show their understanding through many languages, including drawing, sculpture, dramatic play, and writing. They work cooperatively toward the resolution of problems, revise ideas, repeat activities and modify each other's work in understanding of the concept.

The KIDS smART art integration project has helped us establish a creative, expressive environment that allows children through multiple experiences to integrate learning concepts in meaningful ways. This is only possible through a parental partnership that supports child development concerns, curriculum, planning and evaluation; seeing teachers as learners who explore ways of expanding children's activities, and fostering the environment as a stimulating entity that supports learning.

With the KIDS smART project funded by the Nord Family Foundation that began in January 2000, OECC is putting definition to the vision of arts in our early childhood environment. The involvement with arts for young child offers them the intrinsic value of creating meaning, providing a way of expressing their ideas and feelings, and representing their life experiences. In addition, the creative art has "extrinsic value for children as it promotes perception, fine motor coordination, cognition, critical thinking, cooperation and communication. Opportunities for young children to explore visual materials appear to be a crucial component of early brain development, especially those that allow children to discover patterns and the development of creative problem-solving skills." (Epstein, A.S., 1999)

Our teachers are exploring the integration of the Reggio approach into our curriculum. Teachers have been visiting schools in Columbus, Moreland Hills, and Lakewood, Ohio as well as Pittsburgh to gain knowledge of methods other schools inspired by these ideas are using. They presented their journey at KIDS smART conferences in 2001 and 2002, and are preparing for the visit to Lorain County, in 2003, of the Reggio Emilia "100 Languages of Children" exhibit.

We welcome you to join us in this exciting adventure in learning.