What children learn does not follow as an automatic result from what is taught, rather, it is in large part due to the children’s own doing, as a consequence of their activities and our resources.
—Loris Malaguzzi, The Hundred Languages of Children

When we talk about professional bucket lists with early childhood educators – visiting Reggio Emilia is undoubtedly on it. “The Reggio Emilia Approach® is an educational philosophy based on the image of a child with strong potentialities for development and a subject with rights, who learns through the hundred languages belonging to all human beings, and grows in relations with others.” (https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach) The approach has inspired many centres, is taught to students across the world and has informed our Nova Scotian Curriculum Framework.

Allegro has been a Reggio Inspired centre for many years. With relationships at the core, we love the philosophy of the three educators : the parent, the educator and the environment. The environment is not only to be functional, but beautiful, inspiring and reflective of the children in it. Visiting this centre was inspiring; we were reminded of our role as researchers and co-learners, to be curious along with children allowing them to construct their own knowledge through carefully/intentionally designed spaces that promote curiosity, creativity, discovery and invention.

We’re excited to start meeting with our staff to bring some of these visions to life. Watch for the “Third Place”, our new atelier (workshop). We’re excited to design flexible environments with exploration centres, learn more about the role of the educator as a researchers and co-learner and adopt new documentation strategies.

We are committed to the 100 Languages as rights of children and to make it visible in our every day work.

100 languages

NO WAY. THE HUNDRED IS THERE

The child

is made of one hundred.

The child has

a hundred languages

a hundred hands

a hundred thoughts

a hundred ways of thinking

of playing, of speaking.

A hundred always a hundred

ways of listening

of marveling of loving

a hundred joys

for singing and understanding

a hundred worlds

to discover

a hundred worlds

to invent

a hundred worlds

to dream.

The child has

a hundred languages

(and a hundred hundred hundred more)

but they steal ninety-nine.

The school and the culture

separate the head from the body.

They tell the child:

to think without hands

to do without head

to listen and not to speak

to understand without joy

to love and to marvel

only at Easter and Christmas.

They tell the child:

to discover the world already there

and of the hundred

they steal ninety-nine.

They tell the child:

that work and play

reality and fantasy

science and imagination

sky and earth

reason and dream

are things

that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the child

that the hundred is not there.

The child says:

No way. The hundred is there.

Loris Malaguzzi   (translated by Lella Gandini)