falling in love with Reggio

Discovering the Reggio Approach to learning unlocked my heart and soul's purpose. It is in this space that I wish to share with you everything that I've learned through my education and my experience.

When I was getting my degree in elementary education, I fell in love with whole language.

Whole language was this idea that children were born with the innate ability to learn language, not just speaking it but reading and writing it. All we needed to do was immerse them in language and celebrate their small milestones along the way just as we would when our children learned to talk.

This idea of a child's innate ability was the red thread that guided my further studies.

I believed in children.

I believed in their innate desire to learn.

I believed that they were capable of doing 'hard' things.

When I had my own children I decided to go for my Montessori certification.

Maria Montessori's books were unlike anything I had ever read before about children.

Her perspective. Her beliefs. Her view of the child.

It was oh-so beautiful.

I remember devouring her words. Underlining all the sentences hoping they would somehow stick in my memory forever.

My mind was blown and new questions and desires arose within me.

I wanted to know more.

I dabbled in Waldorf Education and loved reading blogs about rhythms and the world of Waldorf.

And then I discovered the Reggio Approach.

That was it for me.

Everything I read and learned about Reggio resonated with every ounce of my being.

I loved the loose parts. The project work. The inquiry. The invitations. The aesthetic. The simplicity.

I loved it so much that when my youngest daughter was three years old I opened up a Reggio Inspired Play School for ages 3-6. Everything I share with you here is a direct experience of that time in my life.

The red thread that weaved itself in and out of my education and experience was this belief in children.

It started out with seeing children as readers and writers to learning all about Maria Montessori and her profound view of the child to dabbling in Waldorf philosophy to falling in love with the Reggio Approach - which encompassed them all.

I can't wait to share with you everything that I've learned.

I absolutely love it and I hope you will too.

With Much Love,

Maria