Blossoming Minds Learning Centre
...where children flourish

​The Reggio Emilia Method:

​​Reggio Emilia schools believe that there are three teachers of our children: the parent, the teacher and the environment.

Parent participation in the life of the school is an essential component of the educational experience. Families are actively involved in meetings, school activities and events, such as student-led conferences or education seminars that cover topics on early literacy, play and social skills.
 
Collaboration: children, teachers, families, and the community need to work together. Group work is essential in advancing cognitive development. Children are encouraged to dialogue, critique, compare, negotiate, hypothesize, and problem solve through group work. Collaboration among home, school and the community to support the learning of the child is highly emphasized.
 
The Concept of the Capable Child: each child is understood to be competent, inventive, and full of ideas and they deserve our respect as the unique individual they are.

Environment as Teacher: children should learn by interacting with the world around them.
 
Blossoming Minds Learning Centre is a friendly and inviting learning place. Classrooms reflect the natural environment. The walls are white or soft yellow to make the classroom a calm environment that allows the focus to be on the documentation of the children's learning processes. Both the indoors and the outdoors  are used as learning spaces.

Teachers have carefully arranged the room and materials so that the children can make thoughtful decisions when working and exploring. Children’s artwork and projects are displayed. Items found in nature are incorporated into classroom materials and are considered an important part of developing an appreciation for the world around us.

Blossoming Minds Learning Centre incorporates “centres” to offer a variety of learning experiences. For example, children can experiment with water at the science centre, play with blocks at the math centre and work with teachers at the literacy centre.

Relationships: it is important to build physical, social, and intellectual relationships with objects, the environment, and people.

Transparency: light, mirrors, and transparent objects should help illuminate every space. This works both to create a feel of openness and as a metaphor for the openness of the Reggio Emilia Method.

Documentation: it is important to ensure a verbal and visual trace of each child's work.

Provocation: the teacher should listen to children and strive to provoke further action and ideas.

Blossoming Minds' teachers:

•Help children see the connections in learning and experiences.
•Co-explore the learning experience with the children.
•Provoke ideas, problem solving, and conflict resolution.
•Take ideas from children and turn them into areas for further exploration.
•Help children express their knowledge through representational work (i.e. the graphic arts).
•Document children’s progress through blogs, journals, photographs, videos or portfolios.
•Have a dialogue about classroom projects with parents and co-teachers.
•Foster the connection between home, school and community.

Flexibility: all lessons and activities should be flexible so that children can shape them with their own ideas.

Sensual Learning: children should be encouraged to use all of their senses and to learn by touching, hearing and listening, seeing, tasting, smelling, and moving. Symbolism and making visual representations with different kinds of media is also promoted.

Reciprocity: interaction and the exchange of ideas is something to be valued. 

1530 Danforth Avenue | 416-546-9830 |  info@blossoming.ca