The Environment as a Third Teacher

Aesthetic Codes in Early Childhood Classrooms: What Art Educators Can Learn from Reggio Emilia *article

Discovering Regio Emilia, Building Connections Between Learning and Art *paper

Early Childhood Classroom Observation Tool

Thorough observation and documentation is essential to a high quality exceptional early childhood classroom. Some tips for making this process easier include:

- writing materials and clipboards scattered throughout the entire classroom for easy access

- wearing a watch for data collection

- an apron with pockets for a small pencil and notepad

- wear a few pieces of masking tap on your pants and carry a pen for observing a specific behavior and make tally marks for how often it occurs

- observe at planned times through out the day for 5 minutes each time, stick with it

Here is an informational powerpoint created by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, a division of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Early Childhood Classroom Observation Tool

NAEYC Accreditation

The National Association for the Education of Young Children

Since 1985, NAEYC has offered a national, voluntary accreditation system to set professional standards for early childhood education programs, and to help families identify high-quality programs. Today, NAEYC Accreditation represents the mark of quality in early childhood education.  Over 8,000 child care programs, preschools, early learning centers, and other center- or school-based early childhood education programs are currently NAEYC-Accredited.  These programs provide high quality care and education to nearly one million young children in the United States, its territories, and programs affiliated with the United States Department of Defense.

NAEYC accredited programs invest in early childhood education because they believe in the benefits to children and families.  Early childhood experiences—from birth to age 8—have an enormous impact on children’s lifelong learning and positively contribute to their health and development.  Early childhood education programs with the mark of quality benefit children with greater readiness for and success in school.

It is for this reason that parents and families are seeking out NAEYC-accredited programs.  Parents choosing an early childhood education program can be overwhelmed by trying to find the highest-quality program for their child. NAEYC Accreditation is the mark of quality that families are looking for. NAEYC Accreditation gives families the chance to make the Right Choice for Kids.

Benefits of being an NAEYC Accredited Program:

• Helps to build a stronger team of teachers, administrators, and families working together to improve quality for children.
• Improved standards for the overall program
• Recognition through NAEYC, including program listing on the NAEYC website in the Program Search section
• Announcement of program’s accreditation in the NAEYC Early Learning News weekly newsletter to programs, members, media, and others.
• Use of NAEYC Accredited logo for marketing purposes
• Attracts more families to enroll their children at program 

A Virtual Tour of Boulder Journey School - A Reggio Emilia Inspired School

Foundations of Reggio Emilia Philosophy

Only days following the end of World War II the people of a small town, Villa Cella outside of Reggio Emilia decided to take on the huge visionary task of creating a school from the sale of abandoned war tanks and trucks. Loris Malaguzzi played a central role in the schools development. Today these school are known worldwide and claimed to be some of, if not the best preschools in the world. 

The guiding principles of these schools are as follows:

Each child is viewed as strong, capable and filled with the resources and capacity to learn. This is the basis for how a teacher enters the classroom and guides each child throughout their learning. The role of the teacher is to be a guide, resource and support for each child. Each day they are learning alongside the child. All teachers of the Reggio Emilia schools take on different roles but still work collaboratively, as a community. Without one it would not be possible. 

Another incredibly important aspect of the Reggio Emilia schools is the role of the environment and the focus on aesthetics. The environment is seen as a third teacher and can be manipulated and set up in specific and purposeful ways to promote learning and gain particular outcomes. Incredible planning and thought is put into the appearance and arrangement of the daily classroom. 

Finally the role of observation and documentation are key components to understanding the Reggio schools. Work samples, documents, video, photographs and note taking are collected on a daily basis. This data is analyzed, discussed and used as the basis for how to proceed for each child as an individual and the classroom as a whole. An elaborate and beautiful portfolio is compiled for each child documenting their growth and learning over time.