The Importance Of Teaching Reggio And Montessori

On the opposite side of the continuum, the Reggio Emilia approach is a programme that is centred on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community. It is based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum with no early learning goals or inspections.

Karen, I agree, preschool is a fun age. I have the privilege of working with 20 preschool children in a school setting and observing those children soak up new information is both exciting and rewarding. The Reggio Emilia is an interesting approach because the goal is to help children develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills as well as helps children to develop long-term relationships with their teachers and fellow classmates (Martorell et al., 2014). Children also participate in activities such as music and movement as well as dramatic play, which I believe is very important in child development. However, I believe a combination of both Reggio Emilia and the Montessori method would work well together. In my opinion, children

While there is no fixed curriculum or one specific model to emulate, the Reggio Emilia approach does have some essential components, some fundamental ideas about how children learn most effectively. The utmost is the idea that the young child is inherently competent not only as a learner but as an initiator. The child has preferences and opinions that have value and should be listened to with respect and care, knowing that they have much to offer their classroom community and community at large. This pedagogy plays a large role in shaping the Reggio classroom. It allows the children to pursue projects which are interesting and meaningful and then allowing adequate time to follow those projects with passion.

I have had a lifetime goal to attend college, it just didn’t happen early in life. When I first came to CCU, there was no doubt that getting my bachelors in early childhood would be my major. My passion has always been young children. It started when I babysat as a young teenager and has continued in my life as a preschool teacher. Education is constantly changing: therefore, I feel I need to have more knowledge and wisdom to be the best teacher possible. Education is by far one of the most important tools to have a successful life. With diligence, I want to be a leading educator and to be a gateway for my students to learn. It’s exhilarating how many lives a teacher will touch each day. A teacher has the power to reach out and make learning a positive and memorable experience for every child. Furthermore, teachers are one of the first caregivers for young children. Although I am not at the beginning of my career, while at CCU, I will grow in faith, help and learn from others, and strive to graduate with honors.

Upon first entering college, I struggled deciding at such a young age what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Through babysitting and volunteering with pre-school aged children at my church and through a school program called STARS, it became evident to me I had a love for helping children. It fascinated me to see how they viewed the world around them and how quickly they learned new truths everyday. Nevertheless, I knew I would not get the full enjoyment interacting with children as a schoolteacher because the teacher to student ratio is so large. Classroom demands would make it much more difficult to devot individualized attention to each student, and I did not like that concept. So

Although the framework is slightly different for every nation, the development of early years curricula has been significantly influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach, the Montessori

Reggio Emilia is a child driven methodology where children are enriched within their environment as well as communication from their peers. Reggio Emilia schooling is an innovative approach for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Teachers are considered co learners with the children. The classroom environment is considered a “third teacher” while the children are seen as obtaining a “hundred languages”. Reggio Emilia schooling can be viewed as an out of the box and unorganized approach to learning due to excluding a written curriculum. Reggio Emilia has been viewed as highly unstructured with a high chance of bullying to develop. Reggio Emilia is an unconventional way of providing students with a manipulative environment including co-learners

I always thought I would be a teacher and I would make differences in lives and it would be the greatest experience in the world for me, yet being a teacher wasn’t enough, I had a need to expand my education. I decided that perhaps I needed a new career, however, I felt certain education remained my passion. I began to explore new areas of education and I realized I still want to be a member of a classroom, a school and curriculum. I aspire to guide those leading our classrooms.

Inspired by the work of Itard and Seguin, two almost forgotten French doctors, Maria Montessori took the idea of scientific approach to develop her theories, principles and beliefs in early childhood education, which through observation and experimentation. All the learning activities and teaching materials are purposeful and aimed to stimulate senses, mind, and provide self-esteem and achievement.

The Montessori method began in the early 1900's by the first female doctor in Italy, Dr. Mary Montessori, as a way of educating mentally disabled children. Her ideas were so successful with these children that she began to apply her understanding of learning to study the potential of normally functioning children (Oalf, 2001). Dr. Montessori's approach to education stresses the importance of learning styles, independence and responsibility.

Maria Montessori was a philosopher that influenced early childhood education. Her beliefs and ideas align with my personal beliefs on early childhood education. Maria Montessori was an Italian physician, educator, and inventor. She used new educational methods that brought a new aspect and perspective to early childhood learning. Her methods proved successful as she continued to developed these ideas and became a well-known and highly acclaimed philosopher. Maria Montessori believed that the environment influences how children learn. The “prepared environment” she created was colorful and implemented the five senses to facilitate learning. She believed each child should be motivated to learn new things. She encouraged these ideas through new materials, classrooms, and teaching procedures. The materials she created were didactic, meaning that they were self-teaching. Lastly, Maria Montessori believed that while teachers should be observers, they should also be demonstrators and work with every child. Each child was encouraged to let their natural instincts take the lead and explore, trying new things on their own rather than being forced. By observing the child's instincts and behaviors the teacher can tell what the child needs and how to provide them with the materials. I believe implementing the beliefs of Maria Montessori in my own future classroom will be the best way for each child to learn.

The big question teachers ask me throughout my life is “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I never had an answer to that. Going into college I didn’t have a set plan as to what career I would like to pursue. However, I knew that I wanted to work with kids; I originally wanted to be a pediatrician. That career choice was based on my family wanting me to be successful, so I put my passion for working with kids and their passion together. As I began to focus on what I want instead of what others want, I changed my major to Early Childhood Education and chose the path of teaching as my career choice. I have high hopes for this career because teachers are always needed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), the employment rate for my career choice will increase by six percent from 2014 to 2024. In this world, education is valued and will help put people many steps ahead. The reason why I chose to be an elementary teacher is because I want to be able to motivate and inspire my younger generations.

Dr. Maria Montessori is the creator for the Montessori Education Method for a new world who devoted her life to improve children’s education excellence. Her educational method is widely used in schools or at home for children 3 t0 6 years old. Maria Montessori lived through one of the traumatic time eras of the world history, which changed everybody’s lives including children. It was the time of anxiety, cruelty, death, family separation and children facing starvation. Maria Montessori felt the best solution to overcome endless, war, violence and poverty is education. Therefore, Maria Montessori believed educating the next generation will improve children’s live and future of the

Montessori Curriculum is an educational approach that had been around for over a century. Maria Montessori started her theory of education in 1907, with the opening of Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House). (Follari, 2007) She was presented with the task of creating a program for impoverished children in Italy. Although her methods didn’t become really popular until after her death, as time went on more and more schools have adopted the Montessori approach, now there are over 4,000 schools using this approach. (Follari, 2007)

Dr. Maria Montessori was a keen observer of children. She used her observational and experimental proclivities from her medical background to develop, what we might today call, a Constructivist understanding of the process of learning. She studied them scientifically. If she saw some unusual behavior in a child, she would say,”I won’t believe it now, I shall if it happens again”. She studied the conditions in which the children would perform those actions.