Ontario Reggio Association’s professional learning – In Dialogue with Indications – begins its series with listening. How can we tune in to hear children’s deep wonderings about their world? Four-year-old Aubrey teaches me to listen for her big questions imbedded in simple comments and the question ‘why?’
Without the influence of the Reggio Emilia Approach, educators can be tempted to use drawing experiences to slot children’s thinking into check boxes compatible with child development theorists or emergent literacy goals. But is this way of making children’s thinking visible to adults usurping children’s meaning-making?
Who is dressing up for Halloween?” the teacher began.She wanted to create a class book with each child illustrating one of their ideas to offer the children an experience that included each child’s contribution – to create a sense of belonging. But did it?
Racism. Since George Floyd’s death, we are looking into its face with new eyes. In this article, Susan Ramsay explores the challenge in early childhood education of teaching young children in the context of racism and white privilege.
The power of story is in the words and silences. ‘Once upon a time,’ the storyteller begins. Words – four words – capture attention and frame the listeners’ expectations. In this Reflection Susan explores the power of stories in the practice of early learning.
Two-and-a-half-year-old River stands looking upward, open-mouthed, delight shining in her eyes. This is River’s first visit to Ripley’s Aquarium. This underwater ecosystem is a world that, to River, is brand new. Inside her glassed-in viewing area River stays dry. She breathes. She watches. Tropical fish, jellyfish, and marine life surround her.
I almost missed it. I expect I may have been the only one in the park that morning who did see it, who did hear it. It was one of those moments in time that was barely there – just a few minutes long – and yet it keeps coming back to me like an uncomfortable movie scene that causes me to squirm but also look more closely. Watching his 18-month old granddaughter playing in the sand he warned: “If you put that shovel down, someone is going to take it.”
I sat in the theatre-style auditorium of a Toronto school, listening. It seemed the logical thing to do at a conference called “The Value of Listening,” with Ameila Gambetti and Lella Gandini. Here is my reflection on the value of listening to children.