Nadirchat

This week I found myself redesiging the JK-Sk classroom. While I was in the room, I kept my ears on the children's conversations and my eyes on their experiences. As I often do, I was listening for possiblities to move in new directions. I glanced over at few children who were erecting a structure in front of the projection screen. There was no conversation between them as they were focused on their task. I couldn't help but marvel at the shadows that were being cast. In fact, even Oliver's glasses were distinguishable on the screen. I made my way over to them. "Your shadows are amazing!" The children looked at me as if to say, "Would they be anything short of amazing?" Then, I posed a question. "Do your shadows do the same work as you?" They did not respond to my question. Instead they turned to the screen to reflect on their shadows. They moved their arms up and down and jumped. Oliver turned to me and said, "They do the same as we do!...

It�s been a busy and exciting summer at Reggio Kids.  We hosted educators from abroad and home and supported schools in their journey toward being Reggio inspired! We thank them for placing their faith in our abilities to assist them along the way as they transform their thinking around working with children and their environments. Change, is both a daunting and rewarding process that takes time and commitment to begin and sustain. As I answer questions about our work, I am constantly led back to my most important piece of advice.   There will be a great divide between your expectations and reality. Defined expectations will leave you disappointed. Instead think of it as path that appears to have an end yet when you get there it veers right and then left, it goes upward toward a mountain peak and then down toward the river bank. This is a Reggio inspired journey. There is no end that you are working toward. Instead, it as a great adventure with no final destination. It is all ...

The Outdoor Classroom There is much to be considered when we look at the possibilities of what can happen when the classroom is brought outside and loose parts are provided. Beyond the traditional structures that limit children to climbing and sliding, loose parts can spur children to new levels of thinking and engaging. Instead of accepting what is being offered by stagnant structures, children are prompted to create their own structures, contraptions, and expressions of creativity. Given the span of a child�s imagination the possibilities are endless. The teacher�s role is to facilitate and lend support when materials are offered. Preparing provocations is always a good idea. The outdoor classroom is directly linked to continued experiences and projects that take place indoors. In the hands of young children, a set of tubes become a vehicle, tree cookies transform into a train, while another child uses them to make her family. Combined materials transform into school buses, cars ...

I�m often conflicted about finding the best way to �train� teachers or at best to inspire them. I use the word train loosely because after all can someone be trained to think in a Reggio inspired mindset?  When teachers are surrounded by rich environments full of loose parts, endless art supplies, STEM materials, ramping equipment and past work for reflection, yet still find nothing to do, then I concede that the cause is lost! At the end of the day, inspiration, motivation and a desire to leave your students and school the best part of yourself has to be intrinsic. No one can inspire an unmotivated person, no matter how much they are prodded or pushed. This is not a teacher skill but a life skill; to push to new levels, to maximise talents and dispositons, to want to be the best version of who you can be. The teachers who master this are the ones that are remembered by their students long after the facts fade: the teachers who make everyday worthwhile, who are as much learners as ...

A few months ago I was in Indigo looking for a few new books to read and I happened upon Walter Isaacson's book,   Leonardo DaVinci. Since I love history, I decided to add it to my cart. I was curious to learn about his life. Little did I know that I was about to be inspired by a man who lived over 500 years ago. Leonardo left mankind richer, not only because of his famous Mona Lisa but because he was history's greatest creative genius. His life journey was to know everything there was to know about the world and how humans fit into it. So what does this have to do with a blog on Reggio inspired work. Here's the thing.   Leonardo was not a university graduate. He was the illegitimate son of a notary. He was self taught. Most people know him as a painter but the truth is he didn't really like to paint at all. He was an engineer, scientist, mathematician, builder of flying machines, designer of theatre props, hydraulics systems, and war machinery, he dissected cadavers...

 The Italian word, Attraversiamo, crossing over, pacts quite a punch when it is applied to the art of teaching. The time has come for educators to consider crossing the bridge that holds, on one side, the traditional practices of educating and on other the new world of engaging in a learning journey with children. The walk across may be challenging. Let us consider that as you cross you will encounter wind, rain and slippery conditions. These forces impede your crossing. Similarly the conventional mindsets of teaching will press on you to keep your traditional roles as the rulers of your classrooms. Relinquishing what is familiar is difficult.  Most people don't like change especially when everything seems to be working fine. So why do it? We do it because children deserve the best of us. If this is not why you chose to be a teacher then you are in the wrong profession. A teacher is foremost a learner, even after she earns her degree. Read the Hundred Languages of Children to ...

The Next Step Let's discuss the "So What" It is here that teacher's must think deeply about "what" will make the topic choice a rich and meaningful project. So many ideas float around in a day and its impossible to pursue them all. We must look for ones that will leave the children enriched. We look at what we hope the children will gain on the journey. If we can validate the choice then the topic is worth exploring. That is the so what.  Like the children, each time we encounter a topic we expand our knowledge base. The So What of the community project In order to thrive everyone must feel connected to other people.  Communities are part of life. More that just a place to live it is a place of people, voices, shared space, rituals and customs. Coming form the Latin term  meaning "with gifts" the term suggests a general sense of humanity, reciprocity and a shared practice of doing good for others that comes from working together for a joint purpose...

Over the course of the last few months, I've received many emails asking me to post the evolution of a class project. I'm sharing this one in hopes that it helps those who are struggling with finding their path. I must stress that this is only our way of working and it should be used as a guideline if it fits your practice. Most school years, project topics present themselves quite readily. However this year, there hasn't been much buzz about one particular area of interest. There are many smaller experiences floating about as well as our work on the changes in the season and all that it presents. We decided that a provocation was needed so we decided to see if we could somehow expand our inquiry into what makes each of us unique. The children had already made their portraits and addressed what makes them special.  We considered the possibility of inviting the children to consider how each of them fit into their community. Communities are made up of individuals all working ...

People, especially teachers, should wake up each day charged with the desire to learn or experience new things. This keeps life interesting and helps us to become the best version of ourselves. When we stop seeking, inquiring, researching and reinventing our perspectives, we grow old, dull and complacent. Complacency is a teacher's downfall. Days, months and years of repeating the same experiences, rolling aimlessly from one day to the next and never finding joy in the moment makes a dreary classroom. We see this in the teachers who flutter from one job to the next. They are the lifeless, the disengaged, seeking environmental change to motivate them. The truth is that these grasshoppers lack internal commitment to their craft. Children are children and the work is the work  no matter where you hang your hat. It's astonishing to see how many "teachers" lack the ability to form meaningful relationships. This is a core flaw, not in teaching skills, but in a person's ...

I often wonder when I look at Instagram, Facebook and blog posts how much is authentic and how much is smoke and mirrors. I know firsthand that teachers face many challenges in working in a Reggio Inspired context. The smoke and mirror happens when the fundamentals are missing. Not only is the understanding of the guiding principles and processes involved falling short but the ability to BE a teacher is falling short. The question is, is it happening at the college and university level? Why aren't graduates ready to delve into their work? Let us consider that to know a practice, trade or skill you must live it. Only a surgeon who has performed open heart surgery can teach another how to do it.  This must also be the case with teachers of teachers, not only those who educate us in colleges and universities, but also those who seek to support teachers through workshops, courses and mentoring. They should have been or be practitioners of what they are seeking to teach. Only ...

Are you riding the wave of conformity or going against the grain? Conformity is so easy. No hurtles, no obstacles, just riding the wave of what is common and easy.  Imagine what it would feel like to be a teacher who sets new standards, someone who dares to challenge the norm and gives rise to a new reality of working with children. Taking the challenge to change will bring about an infinite amount of experiences like the one you see below. Ultimately, the change has to happen for the right reasons. As teachers and people we have to be true to what we believe. We cannot jump on the wagon because everyone else is doing so.  I was never one to conform to practices that did not work in unison with my vision of what an educational system for young children should be. For me shattering the bonds of conformity was liberating!

USB standardi hayatimizi �ok kolaylastirdi. �zellikle USB 2.0 standardinin yayginlasmasiyla onlarca degisik kablo tasimaktan, telefonumuza uygun sarj aleti aramaktan kurtulduk. Fakat standart gelismeye devam etti. �zellikle USB 3.0 standardinin ve Type-C (C-Tipi) konnekt�r�n ortaya �ikisindan sonra kafamiz biraz karismaya basladi. Burada amacimiz bu kafa karisikliginin giderilmesine katkida

Over the course of the last year, I've been listening carefully to the discourses that transpire between children and teachers.  My observations have led me to question the process of questioning young children while they work. Many times the teacher's chattering, about much of nothing, overshadowed the children's work. Other times the silence could be sliced like a piece of cake. Then I wondered, do we question other adults incessantly like we question young children or do we observe them to discern what they are doing and thinking? After all aren't our actions conveyors of messages? Perhaps meaningful observations are what we should focus more of our time on.  Of all the scenarios I observed,  few had thoughtful   context, common sense and respect for the intelligence of the child. Not because the teachers didn't care but more because they didn't  know how. Meaningless questions and empty discourse does more harm than silence. Questions such as what colou...