preschool

The NAREA conference kicked off with Co-Chairs, Margie Cooper & Jennifer Strange welcoming educators. They announced that the next study group to Reggio, Italy will be May 1st-May 8th. Since 1990, Angela Ferrario has been organizing study groups to Reggio Emilia and has worked with Reggio Children as the U.S. Liaison since 1994, when the organization was established. Angela is a U.S. reference point for the Reggio Children International Network and a founding board member of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA).

Wow! The NAEYC conference was absolutely fantastic! By the time the closing session took place everyone was exhausted. However, the attendees that heard the presentation by Susan Zelman seemed happy they participated. Each teacher at the closing session was awarded free professional development for the PBS Raising Readers program.

•What problem is Ready to Learn trying to solve?
Mission: Use the power of public service media to help children ages 2-8, especially those from low income families learn to read.

•How has Read to Learn approached the problem?

Dr. Saab, from West Virginia University (WVU), didn’t waste any time initiating the session – which is good because she had a lot of information to share! The graduate program in Early Childhood Education at WVU includes study of international early childhood education programs from Reggio Emilia Preschools [Italy], Montessori Schools [Italy], Forest Kindergartens [Germany & Austria], Head Start Programs [USA], and a wide variety of program models used across the United States and the world.

Italy
•1980 Exhibit “The Hundred Languages of Children”
•1994 Reggio Children and Friends

This session was presented by the amazing educators and editors of Insights and Inspirations from Reggio Emilia: Stories of Teachers and Children from North America. I found it challenging to take notes while Lella Gandini spoke. She has a soft, calming voice and such powerful insights to share. She, and the other presenters, were truly inspirational!

The above mentioned book is organized by the following themes:
1. Child image
2. Teacher image
3. Children and being respectful
4. The hundred languages of children
5. Power of communication

Kelly Lenihan is a lead teacher at the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC). Mrs. Lenihan’s session focused on a Growing Project that was inspired when she realized that eight of her families were expecting babies and that this was on the minds of many of her students and their families. Through a project-based approach a variety of preschool standards were met.

Mrs. Lenihan described to attendees the ECEC environment:
-Reggio inspired program
-6 Classrooms – each classroom was in a cottage and children could visit rooms/centers as they wished

Being among preschool educators and having the opportunity to attend NAEYC at our nation’s capitol was an amazing experience! During the opening session we danced and played air guitars alongside Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. In the evenings I found myself trying to map out which sessions to attend the following day -- a challenging task given the variety of interesting topics and large number of sessions from which to choose. Friendships were quickly forged as I found myself sharing, laughing, and crying with other educators.