Our Approach

“The child has a hundred languages, a hundred hands, a hundred thoughts, a hundred ways of thinking, of playing, of speaking“

– Loris Malaguzzi

 

Here at Blossoms, we adopt the Reggio Emilia approach into the way we provide our practice, we really love the ethos, as well as the power and freedom it gives the children.

The Reggio Emilia belief is that all children are capable, creative and intelligent. Allowing children to express themselves is key, and ‘The 100 Languages’ is a metaphor used to describe the many ways young children show their understanding, learning and thinking, which is why expressive arts is one of the most important elements of the Reggio Emilia approach.

​Early Years Educators are considered partners in the learning process and guide children through experiences and projects set out in the curriculum (Birth to 5 Matters). The teacher’s role in the Reggio Emilia approach is to learn alongside the child, to closely listen, observe and involve themselves in the child’s learning and play. The teacher looks for opportunities to guide the child to further explore their interests and to enable them to reach their potential.

The Reggio approach sees the environment as a ‘third teacher’ that influences the child daily. It provides children with a wealth of learning opportunities that encourages them to explore, discover and problem-solve on their own. Resources and materials are natural and arranged so children can see them at eye level, selecting what they would like to build or create. There is not too many resources and materials, but just enough of them to stimulate the imagination and inviting to inspire children to think outside the box.

Natural open-ended resource provides children great learning opportunities whilst also ensuring they are getting a better understanding of those objects. They allow children to be creative and express themselves freely through their play; they are not restricted by the pre-set limitations of objects or plastic representations of items. For example, a wooden figure can be a fireperson, a witch, a giraffe… the list is endless. Using the object to create and recreate with ease, moving along with the pace of their imagination.