Nadirchat

It seems that summer just began and yet here we are welcoming Autumn, the season of beautiful colors. It is always an exciting time at Reggio Kids as we clear the garden beds, pick the final vegetables and herbs, and watch as our pumpkins plump themselves up for carving. The light table provides a perfect canvas to create the setting from a favorite Autumn Tale.

The Road Ahead As Reggio Kids approaches its 14th birthday, I can't help but reflect on our remarkable journey. We have seen hundreds of children grow through our schools, shared extraordinary learning stories, forged authentic relationships and embedded ourselves in the community. We have helped to raise future generations. What will their calling be; lawyer, doctor, scientist, business owner, engineer, artist, dancer...  We know we have contributed in some small measure to their life journey. Our commitment was not to fill their cups with facts but to support habits of mind that would remain with them forever. We thank them all and bless them on their paths. We will continue our work seeking to better our understanding of the world of childhood, remaining the place where they can tinker, discover, marvel and wonder! What will the future bring Reggio Kids? It is in the unknown that new discoveries are made! We are currently in the process of designing a place where children can ti...

Several months ago I challenged the teachers to remove conventional toys from their classrooms in order to move the children to new levels of thinking and working with loose parts. There are not many toys in our classrooms to begin with and the ones that we do select are as open ended as possible. In any case I thought it would be a worthy exploration. It's important to note that this was not a new challenge just one that was revisited.

Children have a great capacity to form meaningful relationships.  What draws certain children together, some from the moment they meet? It can begin with a physical attraction and a sense of familiarity.  Over time the act of sharing common experience on a daily basis solidifies the bond. Although the memory of these friends fades with time, the lessons they learned continues: To trust in others. To be kind. To share. To be joyful. To be mindful. To do good for the betterment of everyone in the group. This year we bid farewell to many of our students and they bid farewell to many of the friends who shared their five year journey. This young girl left a tribute to two of her dearest friends. May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. And rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand. Irish Proverb

Children have ears on everything so be mindful of what you say when you are in a classroom. Although sometimes wonderful things may happen. Several weeks ago this group of girls waited for me to arrive at school to share this surprise with me. My cell phone rang,  "Come downstairs, the children have something to show you," the teacher said. These types of calls are frequent and never ignored or put on hold until later. "I'm on way!" Four little girls waited anxiously at the foot of the staircase for me. They pulled me into the room. "Look what we made. It's a wedding cake for Matthew and Mia!" Matthew is my son who is getting married next September. "How did you know he was getting married,"  I asked certain that I had not yet shared the news with the children. "I heard you talking about it when we were having lunch last time," replied Olivia. Needless to say I was moved by their thoughtfulness. The photos below speak to the amo...

A few weeks ago I stepped into one of my preschool classrooms and I happened upon a child working on an elaborate structure using loose parts. Not an uncommon sight in the school. However this particular one stopped me because it was not only beautiful to look at but it was precise in its execution and it led me to wonder, did the child actually do it on her own? Not that I didn't  think she was capable, I was just concerned that the teacher support may have been too heavy.  This would not have been acceptable as it would have limited the child's ability to solve the problems she may have encountered in the design process. I stopped and observed her work as she erected two additional structures. The results were the same-her level of thinking was extraordinary.  We should always have faith in the capabilities of young children especially when they live in a space where loose parts are ingrained in the school culture!

~Potential is lost in the absence of effort and passion. I'm not sure where I came across this powerful piece of insight, but it hits home in so many ways. Imagine the world without Michelangelo, Dante, Pasteur... What if they'd chosen to squander their talents because they couldn't be bothered to research, invent and create. How many of us attack each day with a desire to do our best and be our best?  I know, it's exhausting to exist in this state but so well worth it. It is here that greatness is born-most often not the greatness of the masters but the greatness found in the ordinary moments of living in a school that is filled with passion by all those who inhabit it. Children are born with this type of passion; the need to know all, be all and do all. It is when they encounter apathetic teachers and adults that they lose their potential. I speak of the teachers who arrive each day content with mediocrity. The teachers who forget to read, research, and investigate in...