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WHAT IS REGGIO-INSPIRED?
WHAT IS REGGIO-INSPIRED?
We are a constructivist program that is Reggio-inspired. Constructivism is a theory of cognitive development rooted in Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori and many more. We subscribe to the theory that children learn best when engaging in hands on, meaningful experiences, in social situations. Constructivists honor the children's process and understand that we cannot transmit information. Our greatest contribution to children's education is to create an environment where children are secure in their relationships, play is honored and their thinking is "provoked."
The preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy are also rooted in constructivism. Reggio Children and the Loris Malaguzzi International Center have spent a great deal of time educating and promoting this approach of early childhood education. When we look to Reggio, we deepen our own practice as educators. The Reggio Emilia Approach has shown us the value of documentation for curriculum development, reflection & planning with children, and family-community engagement.
ARE WE PLAY-BASED OR ACADEMIC?
ARE WE PLAY-BASED OR ACADEMIC?
We have a deep respect for play. It is crucial. And we definitely do not subscribe to an academic race to prepare 4 year olds for college. In fact, we agree that those methodologies are counter productive. However, we have seen that through project based, emergent curriculum, we can weave in appropriate academic experiences. More importantly, we can develop executive function skills critical to 21st century needs: flexible thinking, emotional controls, organization, planning and prioritizing, working memory, self-monitoring, task initiation, and impulse control.
HOW DO YOU DISCIPLINE?
HOW DO YOU DISCIPLINE?
Succinctly put, we believe these common occurrences are our opportunities to engage social-emotional learning! We believe in time-in, emotion coaching, restorative circles, agreements & community building.
WE SUPPORT CREATIVE, MESSY AND "RISKY" PLAY...
WE SUPPORT CREATIVE, MESSY AND "RISKY" PLAY...
...it's what the brain needs to develop well!
...it's what the brain needs to develop well!
CLOTHING (it’s philosophical!)
CLOTHING (it’s philosophical!)
Come dressed for play and mess. Please, NEVER ask your child to stay clean or dry at preschool. If you need to take him/her someplace special directly after preschool, bring a change of clothes at pick-up time. Provide simple clothing that your child can manage by him/herself in the bathroom (belts, zippers and snaps are often difficult for children to close).
Labeling items is the best way for us to help lost items find their way home.
We are an indoor outdoor program. Come rain or shine, be prepared for outdoor play.
We support bodily autonomy and natural consequences. We subscribe to the sensory developmental research that promotes barefoot play. Going barefoot is welcome at Bloom. Stubbed toes and splinters happen.
OUR APPROACH TO SEPARATION
OUR APPROACH TO SEPARATION
There are many ways to separate and they mostly work out well. We are currently using a structured separation plan.
Transition visits: Children come with parents and no pressure to say goodbye. They meet other children that will also be transitioning. We gradually build experiences so the children can become comfortable in our space. These may be on the weekend or afterschool when we can curate the space with new children in mind.
Social Story: We send your child home with a book about Bloom, the children they will be with, the types of activities they might do, and what could happen if they are sad or get a stubbed toe. Being able to anticipate the school day, goodbyes and routines from the safety of their home, helps them be ready when the time for separation comes.
Confident Goodbye: When the first day of school arrives, we will have had plenty of unrushed conversations and helped parents imagine their child ready for their first day. There will be joy and sadness. Such is life. But there will be support, hugs for the kids and texts for the grown ups.
POTTY TRAINING (it’s philosophical too!)
POTTY TRAINING (it’s philosophical too!)
Children are not required to be potty trained. As we learn more about how our philosophy of child-led, consent based learning and autonomy works with the physical layout of our school we have some practical policy needs. As it turns out, the most common challenges we have had with parents is around potty training. Specifically, early potty training.
Practically, we can’t take children to the bathroom every 20 minutes and support them being autonomous in dressing and hand washing without literally dedicating one teacher to spending all day in the bathroom. A toilet training 2 year old can easily take 10 minutes each trip to the bathroom because the children are taking lead and we are supporting. And philosophically, we are committed to supporting children’s autonomy and not doing it for them.
Children may not be potty training 3 months prior to or 3 months after starting Bloom (ish). It’s too hard to master potty training and learn how to be in a new environment with unfamiliar people.
We encourage
child led toilet learning
typically in the 3 year old year,
when the child is able to stay dry for an hour, consistently
when they recognizes their own body signals (rather than going every 20 minutes or some clock based system)
and can let an adult know
has predictable bowel movements
takes leadership in their own dressing and undressing (and may need some assistance)
Two year olds are probably not able to have this level of toileting skill. For this reason they will need to wear diapers while at Bloom, probably, maybe.
We want your child to focus on play: social play, sensory & gross motor. We want them to confidently engage with our curriculum. The younger a child is the more energy they need to put toward toilet learning which means they have less available to engage in school. While our curriculum is playful it is hard work for your children. They are challenged. They may look ready at home. They may be ready given the level of comfort and challenge at home. At Bloom they are busy and giving their all to be away from you, negotiating limited resources, and managing social conflicts. Until they have really settled in, they just don’t have the bandwidth to give to toileting. And as a program, we think what we are doing here is more important than early potty training.
We recognize that this may be different from many other programs. The truth is we don’t want to be rigid. There will be exceptions and we hope you talk with us.
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