Category: Important notices

In the following weeks, I will be planning creative, fun and interesting activities for your children which will be based on the Reggio Emilia Approach. The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education which values the child as strong, capable and resilient, rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it.

Children are capable of constructing their own learning as they are driven by their interest to understand and know more. There is a strong focus on social collaboration, working in groups, where each child is an equal participant, having their thoughts and questions valued. The adult is not the giver of knowledge. Children search out the knowledge through their own investigations.

This approach believes that children use different ways to show their understanding and express their thoughts and creativity. A hundred different ways of thinking, of discovering, of learning. Through drawing and sculpting, through dance and movement, through painting and pretend play, through modelling and music, and that each one of these ‘Hundred languages’ must be valued and nurtured. These languages, or ways of learning, are all a part of the child. Learning and play are not separated. The Reggio Emilia Approach emphasises hands-on discovery learning that allows the child to use all their senses and all their languages to learn.

Watch the video below to get to know more about the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Books are the gateway to building vocabulary, learning about print, and developing listening and early literacy skills. When you read, talk about the book. Discuss the characters and setting, make predictions, and create new endings. Point out letters and words in the text, and encourage them to recognize rhyming sounds and words and to identify beginning and ending sounds. 

The benefits of reading to children cannot be overemphasized.  You, as a parent, can form your children’s reading habit by starting them early.  The loving environment created by reading to your young children will help them associate reading with your warmth, and this conditions their minds to feel that reading is a positive, pleasurable activity.

Play is one of the main ways in which children learn and develop. It helps to build self-worth by giving a child a sense of his or her own abilities and to feel good about themselves. Because it’s fun, children often become very absorbed in what they are doing.

Play is very important to a child’s development, it is an integral part of a child’s Early Years Foundation Stage and supports their learning journey too. Young children can develop many skills through the power of play. They may develop their language skills, emotions, creativity, and social skills. Play helps to nurture imagination and give a child a sense of adventure. Through this, they can learn essential skills such as problem-solving, working with others, sharing, and much more.

It’s important that learning is fun at this age. It needs to be about doing things with them that they like. They might find unusual ways of doing things – for a toddler, building blocks aren’t just for making towers, and paint can be used without a brush! Show them how things work, but if they want to experiment, let them.

Children learn through all their senses through taste, touch, vision, hearing, and smelling. They will watch those around them and copy language and behaviour.

Don’t push your child too hard. Children develop in their own ways and in their own time. Try not to compare them to other children. You can also encourage reading, by reading to and with them. Look at the pictures together; this will help younger children make sense of the words.

It’s also good to talk to them a lot, about everyday things while you are cooking or cleaning. This will give you a chance to teach them how things work and they will be able to ask you questions. Get ready for lots of “why’s?”

I’m sorry that my uniform got dirty, but it shows you some of the things I’ll be learning throughout my time in school. Paint stains show that I am being artistic. I am trying so hard to develop my creativity, but sometimes it goes on my clothes. Mud and grass stains show that I have been outside developing my physical skills like running and jumping. This will help me to get better with small movements like writing. Marker marks show that I am developing my writing and drawing skills. Sometimes my uniform gets wet. I am trying hard to wash and dry my own hands. I also learn huge amounts of science and maths through water play.

Dear parents,

Thank you for entrusting your child to me for the coming scholastic year. I will do my best every day to be your child’s guide in learning and exploring this bright, new world they’ve just stepped into. I promise we’re going to have a wonderful time. We’ll draw and we’ll write, we’ll sing, and we’ll play. We’ll paint and we’ll build and learn new things each day! Remember that together you and I will encourage them to be the best they can be.

Regards,
Ms. Christabel
xxx