Caregiving and Teaching Philosophy
RIE and Reggio methods
From my education at SBCC and my experience in preschools, centers, as a nanny, and in family childcare homes, my caregiving and teaching style has become heavily influenced by the RIE and Reggio philosophies. RIE pertains more to infants and toddlers and Reggio pertains more to the preschool years.
Both approaches prioritize respecting children and families, following the child’s lead in their learning, and providing for the well-being and development of the “whole child” (or, all areas of development).
RIE Approach
RIE is an acronym for “Resources for Infant Educarers”. While I am not a certified RIE associate, I follow RIE principles to the best of my abilities from knowledge that I have gathered from ECE classes, working in a RIE infant center, and reading, reading, and reading more about RIE!
Following RIE principles is common to most quality children’s programs today and is taught as standard practice in most ECE classes. And, yet, if the caregiver doesn’t fully understand the reasoning behind these practices, the outcomes can be hit or miss.
For more about RIE, check out their official website here.
Reggio Approach
The Reggio Approach is named for a small town in Italy (Reggio Emilia) where these types of schools were first developed. The Reggio approach is to follow the lead of the child’s interests and developmental needs. In Reggio influenced programs, the curriculum is based on observation and community discussion rather than a pre-planned, teacher-created curriculum.
Projects and learning objectives carry on for days, weeks, or months and progress is documented by teachers. In Reggio programs, the environment plays an important role; it is carefully planned and specifically designed. It is expected to have an “atelier” or studio, where the children have full access to creative materials to do with as they please.
Another common characteristic of Reggio programs is the freedom of choice for children to come, go, and participate in various spaces as they choose. This is all indicative of the respect for children’s own learning and creative expression.
For more on the Reggio approach, see the Wikipedia entry here, or the official website here.
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Testimonials
We love Under the Orange Trees child care! Ildi is a loving child care provider who is extremely patient and creative with kids. She meets kids at their level and encourages child-directed play. She is experienced in early childhood care and education. She has taught my son how to be kind and inclusive of others, how to communicate better and be thoughtful, and she has encouraged his creativity and learning. At Under the Orange Trees my son loves playing with the fun toys in the playroom and yard, helping with cooking activities or snack prep, the games they play, the creative activities, playing with the other kids, and he loves Ildi! It is a perfect warm, caring home environment for him. We feel so lucky to be there!Anna Freedland
