The Reggio Emilia Approach and How it Influences our Pedagogy

Reggio’s philosophy is centred upon the image of the child, the hundred languages of children, the role of the teacher, reciprocal relationships, a pedagogy of listening, and the environment as the third teacher.

At HWCCCC we have imbedded the Reggio Approach into our Pedagogical Principals, which include:

Collaborative Partnerships with Families - Families are their children’s first and best teacher. We believe genuine partnerships with families are essential to each child’s learning and development. These partnerships help to build a child’s sense of trust and security. We value and respect the uniqueness of our families and invite them to be active participants in the life of the school community.

Rich Learning Environments - Children are born researchers with a natural desire to explore and learn about the world around them. As capable and competent human beings, we believe children deserve rich learning environments, that challenge them and invite them to explore, create, construct and collaborate with others or independently. Our indoor and outdoor classrooms offer children open-ended materials, art experiences, books, dramatic play materials, sensory experiences and more. These experiences allow for children’s natural explorations of literacy, numeracy, scientific discovery, and imaginative play.

Emergent Curriculum - We believe that children’s natural curiosity is nurtured when they have opportunities to explore their own ideas, interests and passions. Educators observe children as they play, paying close attention to recurring themes, children’s understandings and underlying questions. Our observations guide our curriculum planning as we create opportunities for children to deepen their thinking, represent their understandings, and encounter new perspectives. I believe this...therefore my practice is this... My personal reflection...

Documenting Children’s Learning - Educators collect evidence of children’s thinking by taking photos, making audiotapes and videotapes, and taking notes about children’s conversations and play. This documentation helps children revisit and reflect on their play and thinking. It also helps make the daily life of the classroom visible to children’s families. I believe this...therefore my practice is this... My personal reflection...

Life Long Learning - We believe children deserve educators who are committed to life-long learning. We hold a strong commitment to professional learning that allows us to reflect on our own practices and engages us in understanding the latest research and best practices that emerge in our field. We grow a culture of reflective practice through opportunities to engage in collaborative learning. Our ongoing reflection of our work I believe this...therefore my practice is this... My personal reflection... allows us to provide an intentional curriculum that is responsive to our children, families and community.

Fostering Health and Wellbeing - The foundations of lifelong health and wellbeing are established in the first years of a child’s life. We believe in nurturing children’s emotional and physical health through opportunities to engage both mind and body in daily experiences. We treat all children with respect and dignity and celebrate the uniqueness of each child in our program. We provide nutritious and delicious foods that meet the needs of every child and family and follow the, “Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide and Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants”.

Reggio Emilia Loris Malaguzzi 2025 Study Tour

North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA) Conference 2025