Reggio approach
Reggio approach
At Little Saints, we honour the belief of Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. Little Saints is a Reggio-inspired preschool, where all our children are viewed as intelligent, competent and resourceful.
Relationships are integral in the learning process. The teacher’s role is that of a listener and researcher; they provoke occasions of discovery through inspired listening, and join the children in their excitement and curiosity in creating, exploring and learning.
The Reggio philosophy promotes a child-centred curriculum, driven by their interests. Long-term projects give children the chance to hypothesise, collaborate, and reflect on their ideas and theories.
Documentation is the recording of the children’s learning and can take the form of writing, film, photographs and drawings. The teachers then use documentation as a tool to drive the curriculum forward.
In implementing this wonderful philosophy of education at Little Saints, we strive to attain Malaguzzi’s ideal of "nothing without joy".
The hundred languages
A key principle of the Reggio approach, the hundred languages refers to the vast potential children have and each child’s unique view of the world. At Little Saints we give the children as many opportunities as possible to express themselves creatively.
The Atelier is one of the spaces where the children come to express themselves, and they are given time to explore and interact with a variety of materials and media: clay, chalk, pastels, tempura, watercolour, ink and charcoal, to name a few. Their canvas to work on could be anything from a mirror to cardboard, to fabric. The children’s confidence grows with their familiarity with the materials.
In the Atelier we also value process art, open-ended activities designed to celebrate the process of creating something and not the final product itself. This is an essential part of fostering a child's creativity, while developing their fine motor skills and executive functioning. Cognitively, children can compare, predict, plan and problem-solve when in the Atelier. While investigating a wide range of materials, tools and techniques, the children learn how to express their thoughts, feelings and ideas.
Music is also one of the 100 languages. All the children have Music lessons during the week. During Music, they learn basic musical theory through movement and experience. They have fun singing, playing Orff instruments and using their bodies to accompany music.
The Little Saints Sings production at the end of the year showcases the children’s musical knowledge and skills. They discover music in the world all around them hidden in seashells, in the rain and the rustling of trees, and contemplate how to construct their own musical instruments and plan their own performances. The overall aim is to give each child a deeper appreciation of the meaning and applications of music.
Grade 00s have the opportunity to further develop their gross motor skills with the support of the Sports department. Fun activities are designed to promote age-appropriate gross motor development. The children hop, jump, run, climb, throw, catch, do wheelbarrow walks, splash in the pool and engage in myriad other exercises.
Throughout the year the children watch a variety of shows, ranging from musical theatre to science experiments and even a fire safety show.
The children have a well-rounded year full of experiences and learning, nurtured by all the wonderful staff at Little Saints.