Early Childhood Educator Essay

The uptake for the Reggio genus Emilia burn down came from Reggio Emilia, Italy. In Italy, all the preschools ar subject mattered on this approach. It is a city run program for kidren from birth to the age of sextette (Cyert Center, 2004). The philosophy is that, tykerens interactions and relationships with other tikeren and adults are a vital share of their acquirement (Schiller, 1995). Reggio Emilia schools in the United States, Italy, and other countries around the adult male differ greatly from standard preschools here in the United States. any(prenominal) of the key differences and comp cardinalnts of the Reggio Emilia program is its role in the friendship, attention to the environment, and its emerging class which functions as a p trick of the t individuallyers and the children. Role of the Community The community is a big part of the Reggio Emilia schools. There are on a regular basis scheduled meetings for parents to take part in. These meetings are scheduled in the eve so that defecateing parents are able to attend. The parents and teachers discuss issues regarding school policies, child development concerns, and curriculum intend and evaluations (Wikipedia, 2007).The parents are involved in the unscathed process of the education of their children. Teachers send home journals of childrens thoughts and ideas expressed in class. This kind of cooperation among teachers and parents make learning on the childrens part very much easier and complete. Attention to the Environment According to Lilian G. Katz, The physiologic environment of a preschool center is considered a teacher in and of itself (Katz, 1990). This holds true in a Reggio Emilia school. The environment is considered the third teacher to the students attending this kind of program.The building itself and classrooms are filled with in accession plants, vines, and lots of natural light. Natural light enters the classrooms through wall-sized windows letting the children conne ct with the outside world. All of the classrooms have a door to the outside and open to a center piazza. Each classroom flows healthy with each other and the surrounding community. The lunch rooms, courtyards and bathrooms are designed in a way to encourage community among all the students (Wikipedia, 2007). Incorporated into each school is a common space available to all children in the school that includes dramatic play and gain tables (Cyert Center, 2004).Each classroom is connected with a phone, passageway or a window. The classrooms are equipped with art centers called atelier (Gandini, 1993). In the atelier are easels, watercolors, crayons, markers, paper, and any art materials children read to be creative. Another part of the classroom has books most artists and a situate where children can read comfortably (Schiller, 1995). Displayed around the classroom, among all the photographs of the children and carefully move mirrors in the school, are flora completed by the ch ildren with transcriptions of their discussions about the locomote.The physical environment of a preschool center is considered a teacher in and of itself (Katz, 1990). emergent Curriculum There is no time schedule where at nearly part of the day the students are learning about science, hence speech arts, and then math. The kind of schedule the students comprise is that there is a multitude meeting when the students arrive in the morning. Then there is a work period, play period, lunch time, play time, nap time, and then another work period or play period (Hertzog, 2001). For their work period, there is no set curriculum that the teachers mustiness follow.The curriculum is an emergent curriculum which is child centered. Emergent means that is builds upon the interests of the child. The teachers have broad goals but can follow the lead and interests of the children (Schiller, 1995). During the work periods, a teacher will work with one small group on their project while the other students are engaged in self selected activities. The projects are teacher directed and child initiated and begins with the teacher observing the children and asking the children questions on a topic that interests the child.The students then do in depth studies of the content that interests the children of that group (Wikipedia, 2007). The project moves in unanticipated heraldic bearings. To avoid confusion the teachers help children make decisions about direction of study, how to research the topic, and how to represent the topic (Cyert Center, 2004). The projects can range in length from one week to the whole school year. When the students are content to be complete with their project they depict their knowledge through drawing, sculpting, dramatic play, or writing.At every school, there is a visual art specialist, an atelierista, who works closely with the other teachers and children (Gandini, 1993). The atelierista guides the children into appropriate media choices to c omplete their ideas and projects. Because art is such an integral part of all activities, the students old works, endinged and unfinished, are available to them to finish or add on. While they work on their art projects, the teachers jaw to the children and write down any thoughts or ideas the students have.They display the students discussions with their art work around the classroom and school (Schiller, 1995). In order for this curriculum to work, the teachers must also learn with the students. The teachers take turns with the following roles observing, note taking, and recording observations among children. After all observations are recorded, they are shared with other teachers and parents in the planning of the students projects. It is crucial that teachers become skillful observers of the children. Their observations guide the curriculum planning and implementation (Wikipedia, 2007).Conclusion The Reggio Emilia approach to learning is a constructivist approach where the s tudents learn at their own pace and guide the curriculum. It is all about the children. The childrens interests lead them into a project that is researched in depth at a level that they can understand. The childrens thoughts and ideas are implemented into the curriculum and planning and are shared with the community. Reggio Emilia works because the children are learning what they want to learn with the help of their parents, teachers, and the community.