Reggio Emilia: Curriculum and learning are not predefined. It is designed and co-constructed with children and educators.

Montessori: You usually see specific instructional materials and pre-prepared activities which are presented as the children’s “work”.

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Reggio Emilia: There is constant eager and joyful encouragement and listening from the educators to the children’s ideas and voices, allowing children’s imagination to unfold in many different and thought provoking directions.

Montessori: Children move through set activities at their own pace and based on their interests, but the materials are designed to be used in a specific way to follow a set progression in development.

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Reggio Emilia: Children ride on a pendulum going back and forth from solo thinking and experiences to small and large group dialogue/conversation. Learning takes place when a child has an intimate experience with an object, a tool, an element in the world around them, he/she is eager to hypothesize and share that experience and thinking with another peer or small group, and have the desire and confidence to be in exchange of dialogue with a large group of classroom or their teachers in order to scaffold their thinking and hypothesize together. There is no quest to get to the “right” answer or “specific” way of doing something, rather the desire to think and be boundless in possibilities.

Montessori: Materials are considered to be self-correcting (or to have a “control of error”) so that the children can use them independently and know if the task has been completed correctly without needing the educator to intervene. There is generally a specific expectation of how the children will respond to the materials. The curriculum is predetermined, but is presented in phases in response to the children.

When entering the seedlings class your child does not have to be potty trained. When educators or parents see signs of readiness we work together to create a plan for your child’s potty training journey. Signs of readiness:

• Child knows he/she has to go “potty”

• Child stays dry for a few hours or wakes from sleep dry

• Child can follow simple directions

• Child can communicate with you when she/ he is soiled

• Child understands pee, poo, potty

• Child wants to do things such as pulling pants down and up by themselves

• Initiates interest in using the potty and asks to wear underwear

Once we notice above signs of readiness, we will ask for you to have the child in underwear. Pull-ups are great for bedtime and naps; however, the child will soon know that pull-ups are just like diapers and that does not help the process. You can make this transition fun by going shopping for underwear with your child! This is a milestone and promotes sense of independence to help with the toilet training.

7:00am-9:00am: Open play during drop off

9:00am: Morning assembly. We ask all parents to have children dropped off by this time as this time is extremely important. Educators gather with children to review projects, connect and set the tone for the day.

9:15am: Snack is available for children family style

9:30am-10:30am: Outside time

10:30am-11:40 pm Indoor time where children work in both small and large groups in their classrooms

11:45pm Reflection meeting. Children gather again with educators to reflect on the morning

12:00pm Lunch

12:30pm: Nap time or quiet time (for children who no longer nap). Quiet time consist of books, puzzles, drawing and other individual activities

2:30pm: End of nap time

2:45pm Afternoon snack

3:00pm Outside open play (or indoor gym due to weather) until pick up

We do not provide lunch, however, we provide two healthy snacks during the day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon after nap. Part of our healthy body, healthy mind mission is our no-sugar policy which means we stay away from artificial sugars and treats! We also avoid artificial colors and prioritize providing organic seasonal options.

Yay! You have decided The Reggio Academy is a great fit for your family! What next? Contact The Reggio Academy to set up a tour (begining in June). After your tour, we will schedule a play date. A play date is where you and your child visit for an hour to get to know the educators and further explore if The Reggio Academy is the right learning environment for your child. After the play date you are able to officially enroll in our program.

After lunch every child will have an opportunity to rest their body for a nap. If a child does not nap they are invited to do a quiet activity like books, puzzles or drawing.