Blog

Graphing Willingness and Rain: A Personal Educator Perspective             I’m just going to go ahead and say it, I’ve never been very keen on graphs. In fact, memories of stumbling through high school homework requiring digital graphing on the futuristic TI-83 calculator still brings frustrated shivers (except, of course, for […]

Images on the Wall An Introduction to Our Light & Shadow Atelier The manipulation of light and the generation of shadows creates a new dimension for experience, discovery, and creativity.   What is it to discover a shadow? The lights are dim except for the radiance of a bright light projecting shapes on the wall. […]

The first small group in the light and shadow atelier included Royal, Elise, Hazel, Ian, Everett, and Jacob.  They saw the baby elephant getting a bath and Elise created baby elephant noises with a plastic funnel that she found on the shelf.    Children layered light and shadow over the projected videos of elephants, hot […]

 The interest in whales and underwater life began in the one year old room when we explored the overhead projector  and plastic whale toys.  Children were overcome by the additional whale sounds created in play, by the educators. They soon began joining in themselves, and adding key words like “whale” and “fish” to their conversations. […]

An Emergent Moment From Stick to Nest As a Reggio Emilia inspired school, our work centers on the interests and capabilities of the child. By basing our curriculum, projects, and provocations in our observations of the children’s actions, words, and expressions, we create a meaningful context for play and expression.   Emergent curriculum provides a […]

            In a post a few months back, the idea of “the hundred languages” was explored through a look into the evolution and emergence of letter writing. From Adelynne’s desire to be read to in the infant room to Harper’s creative spelling of words to accompany her clay sculptures, the steps throughout these early years […]

The Outdoor Classroom Provocations & Beautiful Materials Take a moment and picture this … Jake and Ian rush down the sidewalk racing yellow trucks. Elise relaxingly swings in the shady hammock. Emyrsen and Cassie talk beneath a tree, begin to laugh, and run off. Sloane uses all her might to roll a tire up the […]

Our Anniversary Auction is tomorrow!!! We are very, very excited!!!  The staff has generously donated their time to the auction and we want to give all families a chance to bid on these special priceless items! Not only will this be a very special experience for your child, but an added benefit is that parents get […]

Our Collaborative Art Pieces            If you were expecting handprint turkeys, I hope you are pleasantly surprised! We approached these art projects as a collaboration between the children and the teachers. Each project attempts to fuse the joyful creative experiences of the child artist, with the form and finishing touches of the adult artist. Each […]

The Emergence of Letter Writing in Play: A Whole-School Perspective By: Louis Amodio, Pedagogista                Behind each classroom door, learning moments fill the spaces with sounds, with buildings, with drawings, with conversations, with movements. When you step outside the classroom and pull back a degree, just far enough to see the school in […]