Reggio Emilia Philosophy

Reggio Emilia is an educational philosophy that originated in Reggio Emilia, Italy, over 30 years ago. There, educators and parents worked together to develop full-day infant-toddler centers and schools for young children. They shared the basic premise that all children have a strong potential to enter and explore relationships with peers, teachers and the environment. It is through these relationships that children engage in meaningful learning. Incorporated in this premise is the belief that children are able to make discoveries, place meaning on them and relate them to events in their daily lives.

This inspired approach emphasizes:

• The image of the child: All children have potential, construct their own learning, and are capable. 

• Community and system: Children, family, teachers, parents, and community are interactive and working together. 

• Interest in environment and beauty: School and classrooms should be beautiful places. 

• Collaboration by teachers: Children and teachers are a team—partners working together, sharing information and projects. 

• Time not set by the clock: Respect for the children’s pace and time table; children stay with the same teachers for several years and the relationships remain constant. 

• Emergent curriculum/projects: Projects and curriculum are child-centered, following children’s interests, returning again and again to add new insights. 

• Environmental stimulation: This encourages activity, involvement and discovery, by using a variety of media. 

Documentation: Teachers are observing, recording, thinking and showing children’s learning. 

While many of these beliefs are firmly in place at Del Mar Hills Nursery School, we are making efforts to grow in each area. Our teachers are working together to create the most appropriate and stimulating school possible.