This is an interesting site, but does not seem to cater to non-theme based centres. I just started working at a centre that is Reggio based. This is a challege for me (and why I took the job) for I have spent 13 years doing theme based program and am no longer challenged by it. I enjoy the Reggio but would love more ideas and ways to teach Reggio.
Plus, a pet peeve of mine is child care being called daycare. As one friend says "we take care of children, not days." And I agree!
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I agree with your friend 100%!
We would love to have our members write articles about other child care philosophies. My entire career has been theme based, so any articles I write on other philosophies would be simply research from a book. I am sure everyone would appreciate a first hand look into how other centres do their programming. If anyone would like to write articles on Reggio, Highscope, Waldorf, Montessori or any topic of interest, please contact an Admin.
We love to hear from you.
So would I love articles about Reggio! Everything I am learning about it is coming from co-workers, books and trial and error.
I am very interested in hearing more about your experiences teaching Reggio. I am considering sending our DD to a Reggio based school when she is 3.
Any articles would also be welcomed.
laxchix...sorry, I need to correct you...as an old supervisor of mine said, we don't take care of children, we serve families.
As for Reggio, considering contacting the ECE program at George Brown College (Toronto). They were at the forefront in Reggio programming when I worked with them...they are probably full of resources.
You will also find that lately most centres are moving away from being totally theme based, or more particularly, having a theme but programming via and emergent curriculum. I like to think that no one program philosophy fits the bill. It must meet the needs of the children in your care. I would say that the philosophy of our centre is a mix of emergent, reggio, high scope, head start, themed, teacher directed, child directed. In summary, if you want strong programming, you need to know the children in your care (not just whether or not they like spaghetti). Where are they at developmentally...what stage is coming next. To do this effectively, your observation skills need to be biased free and razor sharp - may I suggest reading "The Art of Awareness - How Observation Can Transform Your Teaching" by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter
I just bought that book!!!!