Community School
Reggio Emilia and "a hundred languages"
Reggio Emilia is an approach towards early childhood education based on the teaching and philosophy of Loris Malaguzzi, and other educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy. After World War 2, they believed children and families deserved a new, holistic approach, based on the belief that every child is unique and deserves strong reciprocal relationships. Reggio Emilia practices emphasize environments where teachers explore and discover alongside children. The partnership between child and teacher is meant to encompass and expand the community around each child.
By valuing each child as a curious and capable individual, we foster a nurturing environment where children can explore, express, and discover their interests through hands-on experiences. Collaboration and communication are at the heart of our approach, encouraging children to engage with their peers and educators in meaningful ways. Our curriculum is flexible and child-centered, allowing for natural growth and development as children lead their own learning journeys
Through careful observation, our educators create areas of interest in our classrooms. Knowing that each child plays and learns in a unique way, a multitude of invitations are given to explore, create, and discover, and investigative project work is planned to set children up for a lifetime love of learning.
RIE "caregiving is the curriculum"
The teachings of RIE offer a framework and perspective on caring for the youngest children in our care. At the heart of its approach is a deep respect for each child as a unique person with a right to a secure, understanding, and responsive relationship with a caregiver.
This responsive relationship develops during caregiving moments, such as changing a diaper, offering a bottle, or soothing before a nap. Sweet Day's infant teachers are trained in this primary caregiving model and become experts in knowing each infant in their cohort. Teachers also know when to allow infants space to self-initiate activities, and remain intrinsically motivated by mastering challenges.
Our teachers carefully create a safe environment where children can move and explore, progressing through their stages of gross motor and sensory-motor development in their own time.