Curriculum Committee Purpose and Goal
1. Goal of committee is to evaluate corporate Kids ‘R’ Kids direction on curriculum and make recommendations to ensure a high quality product offing for the franchise owners.
a. This product offering must be….
i. Based on current child development research. The creators must actually know how children learn best and incorporate that into their model.
ii. Practical to implement. It should have guidelines for not only how to structure the learning activities themselves, but also on how to set up the learning environment, how to interact with parents (if you are a classroom teacher), and how to adapt lessons to meet individuals' needs.
iii. Provide support and training. This is critical to the success of the curriculum. How will teachers and support staff learn the material and implement in classroom?
iv. Appealing to children. The activities that the children participate in should be engaging, as well as be instructional.
v. NAEYC approved
vi. Have an assessment approach/ tool
vii. Cost Effective
2. Strategy
a. Our work group would understand the direction of corporate (Reggio) and partner in making the decision.
i. Educate ourselves on the Reggio Emilia approach to understand if this is something we would like to transition to and how.
ii. Investigate additional product offerings and how they would be used within this approach.
1. Phonics, Brain Waves, Handwriting without tears, Positive Discipline, STEAM…
3. Objectives
a. 12/03/2018
1. Corporate is interested in using Reggio Emilia. They have partnered with Lynn University in Boca Raton and have paid them $50,000 to look at current curriculum and give us an analysis to rewrite and take us to Reggio.
2. Time Frame for this project has not been determined.
3. Cost and training are being evaluated
i. Reggio
1. How we will educate ourselves and report to the group.
2. Begin to see how and if we could make this transition within our schools.
3. Discuss the changes needed in classroom materials
4. Discuss how to train
c. Julie and Sasha will attend a Reggio Based conference in North Carolina on Feb. 23.
See Below Key Reggio Principles
There are 7 guiding principles of the Reggio Emilia approach that are critical in distinguishing Reggio Emilia from similar or competing child-centered approaches to education. These guiding principles are below:
In Reggio Emilia, children are the main initiators of the learning process. They are inspired by their own interest to know and learn. In other words, children should be treated as active collaborators in their education, as opposed to passive observers.
Learning is based on interrelationships – not just within Reggio Emilia but also across all spectrums of learning; however, in Reggio Emilia there is a close interaction between teachers, parents, and children. As indicated by the first principle, children are collaborators and work best when included in a community as opposed to working independently. Therefore, Reggio Emilia places an emphasis on working in small groups, which is based on the idea that we form ourselves through interaction with peers, adults, and the world around us.
One of the most profound aspects of Reggio Emilia is known as The Hundred Languages of Children, written by the founder of the philosophy Loris Malaguzzi. The concept of The Hundred Languages is that children are natural communicators, and thus should be encouraged to communicate through whatever means they can. This may include words, movement, drawings, paintings, buildings, sculptures, and more. Because of the many ways that children express, discover, and learn, children should be encouraged to use many materials for discovery, communication, and even demonstration of what they understand, wonder, question, feel, or imagine. It is then, conversely, the teacher’s responsibility to facilitate the exploration of a child’s surroundings.
One of the most powerful and important components of incorporating a Reggio-style philosophy into a classroom environment is to ensure that the classroom acts as a “living organism, a place of shared relationships among the children, the teachers, the parents, and a feeling of belonging in a world that is alive, welcoming, and authentic.” Because the classroom acts as a living organism, it is one of the more critical components in the Reggio philosophy. Classrooms and common spaces are carefully integrated with one another, as well as with the outside community. Classrooms also use natural furnishing to encourage real-life interactions.
In the Reggio Emilia philosophy, teachers are partners in the learning process. They are expected to be the ones who guide experiences, open-ended discovery, and problem solving. The main goal for the teacher is to listen and observe the children, as well as question and listen for opportunities to encourage further exploration of a child’s interests. Children and teachers are expected to collaborate, but it’s the responsibility of the teacher to identify when a concept can be used to further discovery and learning. As a mentor, it also means that teachers are not planning projects or learning points in advance – they’re allowing projects to emerge based on the interests of the children.
Teachers, in addition to playing the role of a guide, are also responsible for documenting the learning process within the classroom and transcribing the verbal language used by children. Teachers may take photos and even videos to better understand the children and assist parents in becoming more aware of what their child is doing. Documentation also provides teachers an opportunity to evaluate their own work and exchange ideas with others. Moreover, documentation demonstrates to children that their work is of value. Through documentation, a child may finish their preschool experience at a Reggio Emilia child care center with a portfolio of projects, pictures, photos, scripts, and quotes that they make take great pride in, as it represents the steps they’ve made throughout their education.
Reggio Emilia sees parental participation in their child’s education as a critical component of the learning philosophy. It may take form in many ways, but parents should always be invited to play an active role in their child’s learning experiences as well as help to ensure the welfare of the children in the community around them. Parents, both their skills and ideas, are very valuable in every Reggio community.