Hellobee Boards

Yes! My son is in one! I'm on my phone but will be back later to write more!

We visited our local Reggio emelia, and liked it, but ultimately liked our Montessori better.

I work as an occupational therapist in a preschool for children with special needs (delayed speech, developmental delays, ASD, behavioural challneges, etc.). While the Reggio curriculum is really interesting and can benefit a lot of students, it isn't a great fit for many of the kids I work with. We don't need to follow Reggio with therapy though. One complaint I have heard from the teachers I work with is that it is difficult to incorporate an academic curriculum while being true to Reggio.

@mole: We enrolled my son in a Reggio-inspired preschool just last month and we absolutely 100% love it. We toured almost every preschool in our area (around 12 I think) and even interviewed most of the teachers. We came to the conclusion that the type of preschool you choose REALLY depends on each individual child and their needs.

With that said, what we liked the most about the preschool is exactly what @mossyslane said.... "very respectful of the child's curiosity and really works to empower children." We found this to be 100% true. The teachers are very much in tune with every child's developmental needs. They respect every child and don't push any of them to meet any sort of developmental milestone. They strongly believe that each child has his/her own timetable and that gently guiding them will help them master it in their own time. They use tons of natural resources to teach. They don't do worksheets or use tons of manipulatives. They learn to count by (for example) picking up acorns that fell from the tree. And in the meantime, they learn about trees and nuts and squirrels! They don't have set a curriculum that is repeated year after year. They observe the children and see what interests them as a group. Then the teachers will create materials that are centered around that theme. The teachers act as facilitators for learning (which is key). It's definitely not an academic focused school, nor is it teacher-led. It's completely children-led. There's no right or wrong way to complete task. They are free to use their imagination and creativity to complete it as they wish.

When they hit pre-K, they will move a little more towards structured play to prepare them to Kinder. I do hear that some of these children have a bit of a rough time entering Kinder at first. But that they adjust fine after a short period of time. I can see why this type of program wouldn't be a good fit for special needs kids who need a lot of structure. But it's a great program if you want your child to learn through imagination, curiosity and respect. I called several moms who had children go through this program and they all agreed that what their children learned from the program wasn't strong academics. But what their children did learn was self-confidence. And to me, that's the ultimate lesson we want to teach our son because we truly believe it'll be a good foundation for him when he enters an academic setting.

I was going to write more but didn't want to bombard you with too information! You can always wall me if you have any specific questions!

@Mrs. Jacks: Great write up! This has been what I have noticed, too. Like I had mentioned, it really does depend on each individual child and also what the parent feels comfortable with. And it's funny because that bug incident totally happened last week. They saw a beetle in the garden and didn't know what it was. There were several parents there and none of us knew. So the next day, the teacher brought out some insect books and had the children look at all of the insects and try to ID it. Did they get it right? I'm not sure. But the process of researching and finding out and tuning into their curiosity was what really appealed to me, rather than the final outcome (correctly IDing the bug).

My daughter is a lot more self-directed than my son and her personality would suit a Montessori program better. So we may be sending one to Reggio and one to Montessori! I think both programs are excellent for different reasons!

@Mrs. Jacks: Oh, not at all! I don't take things like this personally (I don't really take a lot of things that personally). Just wanted to give Mole some perspective as she makes her decision. I love both programs equally. My son has some needs (speech in particular) so this drove our ultimate decision to enroll him in Reggio. He needed a lot more engagement with his environment because he's definitely an outdoorsy type. When he gets excited, he talks and talks and talks. And boy does he talk at his new preschool!

My daughter is a lot more focused and NEEDS STRUCTURE! I'm actually excited to see both programs at work! I went to Montessori for 3 years and I think I turned out pretty alright.

ETA: You must have an amazing memory to know so much about a bug! Do you have some sort of photographic memory?

@mole: I would definitely tour other programs, including Montessori, to see which fits your child's needs the best! I was 100% sure I was going to send my son to a Montessori school but when I walked into the Reggio school, I just "felt" that it was the right one for him. Our school is very nature-focused as well. They spend most of their time outdoors (70% of the time?), even when it rains! It helps that we're in California though! They'll bundle the kids up, have them put on rainboots and splash in mud puddles and learn about worms and other creepy crawlies. There's a vegetable and fruit garden, which the parents and teachers help upkeep. And there's a tire swing and treehouse in the middle of the courtyard. There's a bridge which the children love to ride their bikes on and tons and tons of trees everywhere.

I think the main takeaway is that these children learn a lot of soft skills, like cooperation, respect for the environment and other people, sharing and taking turns. What I've seen is a lot of love and care for these children in a warm, nurturing and natural environment. I'm sure they teach these things at other schools. I think the difference is in the context in which they learn these skills, if that makes sense.

Good luck in your search! I'm sure you will find the right one for your child. Your research and diligence will certainly pay off!