Montessori and Reggio Emilia
Montessori
At Woven Nursery, we are inspired by the Montessori philosophy of education.
The Montessori philosophy places its emphasis on educating the whole being of the child.
Dr Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952), an Italian physician, formulated this method.
This method allows the child to learn in total free play using special materials and equipment through the medium of a carefully prepared environment.
The child is allowed to develop at their own pace, thus gaining independence and self-confidence as their day to day skills improves.
The Montessori classroom is unique as every area is planned and prepared to meet the needs of the developing child. The classroom is a child-sized world, with chairs, tables and shelves in appropriate proportion.
All equipment and materials in the classroom have a specific place and purpose.
- The classroom environment offers three kinds of materials:
Materials through which the children can develop their skills for
independence and academic knowledge - Art materials (including writing tools) for their expression of self
- Materials for the maintenance of the room so that they can develop pride in and responsibility for their environment
Each of these materials is organised down to the smallest detail so that children can use them independently.
Reggio
At Woven Nursery, we understand that not all children will resonate with the Montessori approach to learning, so we are weaving in a little Reggio Emilia.
The Reggio Emilia approach to education was developed after the second world war in the northern Italian town with the same name.
It was founded by a teacher named Loris Malaguzzi with the help of local parents and citizens (mainly women) living in the town and the surrounding villages.
The child-centred approach was based on Malaguzzi’s belief that a child has 100 languages to express themselves, and he wanted to use these languages to support children’s learning and understanding of the world.
The Reggio Emilia approach is based around fundamental principles that each individual setting draws from and adapt according to their unique environment and community.
Children are seen as strong and capable protagonists in their own learning and the approach supports the opinion of each child.
The belief is that every child understands how to construct learning on their own and have the ability to express their knowledge and understanding.