Our first presentation from board members, Kumiko Kato, Hope Petrozzi, and Evelyn Balestra, had a full house! We were pleasantly surprised and pleased to see so many new faces wanting to learn more about the work unfolding in Reggio Inspired classrooms throughout Orange County.
The work educators do in early childhood is vital to brain development. The “100 languages” lends itself to stimulating all areas of the brain including, but not limited to : the parietal lobe, the frontal lobe, the occipital lobe, the temporal lobe, and the cerebellum. Diving deeper and reflecting on our work with materials we created a web representing more specific skills supported by the use of multi medium materials.
https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/three-core-concepts-in-early-development/
Our first language of discussion was that of Clay. We presented clay experiences with children from a toddler and preschool perspective. Whole body clay experiences allow young children to make sense of clay in a style that suites them. From jumping, stomping, pinching and rubbing the parietal lobe is in full vibration. As the preschoolers refine their work with clay they use more advanced techniques to create objects and add realistic details to their work, engaging the cerebellum and frontal lobe.
As the presentation unfolded, we encouraged the participants to take a look at shadow work videos, block play, and water explorations. We invited them to use our web to reflect and discuss what areas of the brain the images and videos were supporting. The conversations and feedback provided with a rich dialogue on how to foster these experiences in the classroom. We followed up our dialogue with a hands on exploration with paper. We provided a variety of paper: drawing paper, tissue paper, cardboard, paper used for packaging, and many others. We prompted participants with the following question, what can we create with paper?
We ended our time together with the,100 Languages poem. www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/100-linguaggi-en/
Post created by Evelyn Balestra and Kumiko Kato