Do Things with Passion!

On Friday, I traveled to Windsor to celebrate my future daughter in laws graduation from law.

As we sat through the proceeding, a number of prestigious professionals took to the podium to offer their words of wisdom. 

One of them spoke of passion; the driving force behind success and happiness.

 If we live what we love then we find great satisfaction in our pursuits. 

I listened and reflected on my life all the things that bring me joy; career, family, friends.

There is never a day when I do not find great joy in our work with the children and the relationships that we have forged over the last thirty years.

Even a simple beautiful bouquet of flowers leaves us feeling excited.

A Reggio Inspired Teacher Is....

In recent years, many teachers have come to visit our preschools. The most asked question,

 “What do I need to do to be a Reggio Inspired Teacher?”

I could probably go on for days and never fully answer this question. Even after 20 years, I am still evolving in this pursuit.

First and foremost, you must be mindful! Mindful in the manner in which you pay attention to the children in your classroom. Mindful of the experiences you share so they challenge theories, test limits, honor the thoughts of the children. You must be mindful of how you treat children and colleagues; be respectful, and honestly engaged. You must know the materials and their potentials before you engage the children. However know that the children will give new meaning to them as they work.  Be mindful of your environment, for it is your third teacher.  It is a living entity and will evolve, change and need modifications. Most of all do not be hurried and remember that your intent should be to support children’s dispositions. Teaching too much too soon can harm a child’s development.

Remember that your documentation is not only a visual trace of what the child does it is an evolving testament to the development of each child in collaboration with his peers teachers, families and the community.

Be a relationship builder, with children, their families, your colleagues and the global community. It is in relationship that we flourish. It is here that I discovered how my work has inspired many educators. No man is an island!

You will wear many hats; photographer, researcher, teacher, co learner, facilitator, scavenger, philanthropist, nurturer, nature lover……

Give yourself over to the journey and relinquish your fear of failure. There is no perfect formula. It is in the journey that you will discover the true meaning of being Reggio Inspired.

The children make their representation of what they would see on a drive through the country.

My Wish For Spring!

Yesterday, as I drove home form the school I rolled down my windows to enjoy the breeze. I stopped at the a red light and was drawn to the conversation taking place in the car next to mine.

"Did you do this all by yourself?" a father asked his young son.

"Yes I did it," he replied with great pride.

"That's amazing. You must work hard in kindergarten!"

"All the day,'he answered. (that made me laugh)

My eyes turned to them. I wondered what I might see.

There in full view was a booklet of photocopied work sheets. Some of trees, other of bugs. The title page,

Spring has Sprung.

I felt such disappointment. Is this all a parent and child should expect for Kindergarten?

I offer these beautiful treasures as an alternate to glorifying Spring, the season of birth.

Bugbots, Reggiobots, Girlbots and so Many More!

 Why are children so fascinated by robots? If we use the blockbuster series Transformers as our launch pad then its obvious why they attract children and adults alike. To create these unique bots we turned to our loose parts collections. As you will see we made good use of many odds and ends. Again, as with all of our work , the children created adventures for each of their robots. A perfect way to engage literacy in the classroom. 

An Old Favorite

Every so often I get a request to re post an old experience or I'm asked to post additional experiences related to an ongoing project. This particular post belonged to the City in Motion Project which I shared in a blog called City in Motion. After I closed the blog,  I received hundreds of requests to put it back up. So here it is, one of the many ways in which we shared our thoughts on the nature of a city.

In this experience the children we asked to represent their thinking on what a drive to the city might look like.

Along the road to the city you will find lots of cars and that's called traffic. My dad hates traffic!
In the city that's called Toronto you will see the CN Tower, we went all the way to the top floor with Reggio Kids.
A city has houses and skyscrapers. There is a lot of noise in the city. That's all I have to say about that! ~Justin

When Theory Meets Practice

I would consider myself vested in educating myself in my profession as an Early Childhood Educator, the owner of Reggio Kids and as a teacher of teachers. Over the last thirty years, I've met some wonderful professionals who have inspired me to new levels of thinking and practicing; most notable Dr. George Forman whom I consider not only a mentor but a friend from afar.

I  know for certain that no amount of theory can serve a teacher without the practice of the theory. It is in practice that we find ourselves Reggio Inspired.

It is only when theory meets practice that true "work" can happen between a teacher and her students, between a teacher her students and the environment, between a teacher, her students, the environment and the parents, between a teacher, her students, the environment, the parents and the global community. 

And then to master the practice of theory we must have supportive environments that are rich in the materials needed to practice our craft.

It is an intricate system, a fine balance, an exquisite journey!

Here the children recreate the characters and the castle from our own authored book
The Pancake Princess.

Flowers are Red

Let us be mindful of the messages we give children. As teachers our words and actions leave lasting impressions. So let's ensure that we guide children to see the wonderful colors of life in their own unique way. It is our calling to walk along side children, to light the flame of learning. 

Flowers are Red
by Harry Chapin
The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. What you doin' young man
I'm paintin' flowers he said
She said... It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one
And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen
But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
Well the teacher said.. You're sassy
There's ways that things should be
And you'll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me.....
And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen
But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
The teacher put him in a corner
She said.. It's for your own good..
And you won't come out 'til you get it right
And are responding like you should
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen
Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin'
She said...Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let's use every one
But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen.

Insieme-The Importance of Being Together

In the autumn of 2013, I accepted a part time teaching position at Centennial College. The subject, the Project Approach. Having worked with projects for over a decade, I considered this to be an easy undertaking.

Working with perspective teachers is a great responsibility and as such I delved into the process of research (more so than usual).

As teachers we are always students. We can never turn away from the need to seek new information, to find, discover and uncover new knowledge.

The introduction of the Reggio Approach in North America has caused a great deal of upheaval in the traditional thinking around the education of young children. There is no shortage of books, articles, polices, documents to support this. 

Each article is rich in providing the reader with the underlying guidelines and the how to that are needed to support this type of pedagogy. 

The question is, how are educators making the transition and are they truly prepared?

Are the environments ready?

Just as a surgeon requires instruments to perform his surgery, so to must the classrooms be equipped with the tools needed to support the children's theories, to help them seek answers, to pursue the hundred languages.

Beyond this, the greatest shift must come in our investment in relationships; with children, parents, each other and our community. Our need to be insieme!

In being together we must invest in knowing each other.

How well do you know the children in your class? What experiences have helped to shape each child's foundation; family, culture, illnesses, previous settings, do they travel, do they sleep well at night, how did they develop as infants, did they talk later than expected? The list is endless.

Knowing all these things, how then do you use them to support the child in his/her daily experiences?

How well do you know the parents? How do you cultivate the relationship? How do you involve them in your classroom community?

What community support or involvement do you engage in your class?

Do you seek to be connected to a global community? If so how and why?

When children begin in your preschool or classroom, is there a period of inserimento; a time when the child and parents are oriented to school life through visits and encounter scheduled well ahead of the anticipated start date.It is a period for everyone to become familiar so when the child finally starts, transition to school life is comfortable.

In an ideal world, a community should be a place where families grow together; where extended families are just around the corner, where we meet at the piazza for an evening chat while the children chase pigeons. Such is the life of many Italian communities; the reason why I so love visiting the place of my birth. They honor the ritual of insieme!

In most instances, our communities are massive, we are fragmented, during the winter months many climates are harsh driving people indoors, we barely greet people who pass by us, we are hurried. 

As such we are challenged to address the importance of being together and getting to know each other.

However nothing is impossible.

Nothing changes without commitment.

The tides of change are upon us.......

So I hold great hope for the next generation of teachers who truly embrace this new way of thinking.

There will be many moments of doubt and challenges.

In moments of deep frustration (which are shared by many), when you ask yourself why you should invest so much, when you  feel isolated, think of these words of encouragement,

"You are like a pebble that has been tossed into still water. It ripples and eventually causes a mighty wave."