Educational Philosophy and Approach to Early Childhood Development

Value lies not in what children build or make during play, but what play builds within the child.

Our approach seeks to provide children with the skills needed to navigate life, regardless of circumstance. Our role is to be stewards for their mental and emotional well-being.

As a play-based and Reggio Emilia–inspired school, we honor children’s rights to explore and acquire knowledge in a supportive and rich environment, where the pedagogy is shaped by the children’s interests. We believe that knowledge cannot simply be provided to children; rather, it must be discovered, with child and teacher working together to explore and build upon the child’s current knowledge through guided construction.

This type of emergent curriculum requires a high degree of flexibility, innovation, and creativity from teachers. Structured curriculum with predetermined outcomes leaves no room for spontaneous inquiry. In lieu of striving to replicate outcomes, we favor a flexible, relationship-driven learning environment, where the child is at the helm of their own learning, and teachers provide the gusts of wind that push the children’s sailboats in guided, conscious engagement.

What is Reggio Emilia?

Developed by educational psychologist Loris Malaguzzi after World War II, the Reggio Emilia philosophy emphasizes respect, responsibility, and community involvement. It’s an innovative approach to early childhood education, considered by the National Association for the Education of Young Children to be an integral element in developmentally appropriate practices.

The Reggio philosophy maintains that children are competent learners who build upon their knowledge through curious inquiry and interactions with others — including parents, educators, and peers — in a friendly, open environment.

The Child

Children are central to their own learning, not simply empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge. They have multiple ways of thinking, playing, exploring, speaking, and doing. The Reggio Emilia approach encourages children to use every tool they have to express themselves.

The arts, for instance, are one such symbolic language through which children might express comprehension of a given topic. The Reggio approach integrates graphic arts as tools for cognitive, linguistic, and social development, and children might present concepts and hypotheses in multiple art forms, such as print, construction, drama, music, puppetry, or shadow play.

The Environment

Known as “the third teacher,” a Reggio-inspired environment is open and free flowing, enabling uninterrupted exploration, play, and thus, learning. A great deal of attention is given to the look and feel of the classroom. Outdoor spaces are valued just as highly as formal classrooms, and the design of the space should allow children to move freely between the two. Teachers organize environments rich in possibilities and provocations that invite the children to undertake extended exploration and problem solving, often in small groups, where cooperation and debate co-mingle.

The Teacher

The teacher’s role within the Reggio Emilia approach is complex. Working as co-learners, teachers are researchers, resources, and guides, encouraged to engage children without directing them, ensuring that children have the space to experiment, make mistakes, and find solutions in their own way. Teachers gently move students toward areas of interest, executed via careful observation carried out over time. Within such a teacher-researcher role, educators listen, observe, and document children’s work and community growth in their classrooms. Classroom teachers collaborate, fostering children’s intrinsic motivation and working to provoke and stimulate thinking and nurture children’s innate curiosity.

Teachers avoid empty phrases — “That’s beautiful!” or “Good job! — in favor of prompting children with questions and statements that expand classroom inquiry or further explore a challenge (“Why do you think…?”, “What do you notice about…?”, “What is your goal?”).

The Value of Play

Learning occurs when we’re able to gain a mental or physical grasp of a subject, to make sense of a thing, event, or feeling by interpreting it in our own words or actions. That’s what makes play such an incredible learning resource: With play at the heart of education, children deepen their knowledge of the world and their place in it while practicing and developing empathy, compassion, kindness, and critical thinking — all while having fun!

Traditional academic-based schools can inadvertently (and, in some cases, unkindly) label children from a young age, making them feel inadequate, develop a preoccupation with perfection, or burn out as learners — before they even reach grade school. In building learning into play, children’s varied interests and capabilities are both recognized and celebrated, which helps develop self-esteem and confidence.

We view play as a powerful and important activity with a natural positive influence on children’s social, physical, emotional and cognitive development. Even tried-and-true favorites like hide-and-seek have hidden opportunities for development: For instance, a child who struggles with stillness in typical settings practices being quiet while hiding, unknowingly developing patience while having fun.