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To find out more about the Reggio Emilia
approach to early years education go to
www.ericeece.org/reggio.html
If you would like to discuss organising a similar
project for Early Years teachers in your area,
email: nigelmeager@hotmail.com
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START
Teachers in Reggio Emilia in Italy have
pioneered approaches to early years
education that place creative control in the
hands of 3 to 5 year olds. Adults are crucial
support workers helping children achieve
their intentions and injecting necessary
skills and understanding.
The children talk a lot with the adults who
are part of their team but it is the children
who decide the detailed content of each
stage of a project. The adults suggest
rather than dictate ideas, but help with
practical support as the children move on
to attempt to realise their intentions.
As with any truly creative activity there is
a great deal of ebb and flow, changes of
direction, but gradually outcomes crystallise.
Drawings, paintings, photographs, movement,
music making, stories, sculptures, puppets,
fabrics, installations, prints, digital image
making and much else are all possible.
Along with many LEAs across the UK,
Cardiff educators have taken a strong
IDEAS FOR THE
CLASSROOM
Meeting the pigeon man and
meeting real birds
John, a racing pigeon enthusiast, bought
half a dozen sleek birds to show the
children. They could stroke and feed them.
They listened to the pigeons call to each
other. John answered questions and told
them stories about pigeon races and
caring for the birds.
Talking about John’s visit
What can you remember about the racing
pigeons John showed you?
“We stroked them, they were racers, they
had sharp claws, we had to stay quiet and
not shout, in case they fly away, the
pigeons won prizes, won races…”
Make sounds
If you were a bird, what would you sound
like? Use your voice to make the call of
your bird. Practice lots of different calls.
Why are the calls so different? What are
the birds saying?
Talk about the imaginary birds
What does your bird look like? What does
it do? Where does it go...?
Draw your imaginary birds
These are imaginary birds so they do not
need to look real or realistic! How strange
will your bird be? You could think about all
interest in the Reggio Emilia philosophy
and practice. Julie Ashfield, the Art Education
Development Officer, planned one day inservice
conferences for early years teachers
and support staff in the city to allow them
to experience the philosophy in practice.
Groups of teachers took the role of children
and helped direct the content, whilst the
course leaders providing the same kind of
structure, understanding and practical
support as the Early Years teachers offer
their children in Reggio Emilia.
Of course, Wales is not Italy and the
content of the activities as much reflected
the tradition of early years arts education in
Cardiff as the philosophy of their Italian
colleagues.
The theme for the first course was birds,
and for the second lorries. In each case the
approach was trailed with Cardiff nursery
children just a couple of days before the
adult course. The various outcomes from
the children were shared with the adults as
the different parts of your bird. Would you
add in beaks, bills, heads, eyes, mouths,
plumes, tails, bodies, wings, feathers, legs,
necks, claws, toes, ears…?
Draw an imaginary bird onto acetate –
change the scale!
Project it with the overhead projector onto
a very large sheet of paper. Trace over your
drawing with large marker pens. Why not
use paint? Make a bird that’s as big as you!
Find books about real birds. Make photocopies
of pictures of real birds. Make
photocopies of your imaginary birds. You
could photocopy your imaginary bird on to
the acetate and project your drawing!
What could your imaginary birds be doing?
What do you think real birds do?
“Flying south, or to the beach, or to the
sand, the pond, or the sea. Eating worms,
wheat, or bread. Looking after baby birds,
finding friends, sitting on a wall, hanging
on trees, having a rest, sleeping, making
nests, staying in a hole or a house or a box,
playing racing games, sliding games or
flying games”
But could imaginary birds do things that
real birds cannot do? “Yes!”
Work together to make a large collage
Cut or tear out the pictures of real and
imaginary birds. Glue the birds onto large
sheets of paper and add your own
drawings to show what the birds and
doing and where they are now, or where
they discovered for themselves how a
framework for creativity could be
constructed, and how as team members
they could work to forge their own content.
Each group developed and then went on to
express very different ideas, even though
the structure introduced by the course
providers, Nigel Meager and Chris Glynn,
was the same for everyone. A very similar
structure was developed for lorries. To
illustrate the importance underlying
structure rather than that of the simple
subject of the overlying theme, readers are
invited to substitute the idea of lorries as
you read the text. For example in the very
first paragraph, children could meet a lorry
driver who has driven to the nursery. In the
second paragraph try, “If you were a lorry
what would you sound like?”
On the inset days, participants constructed
their own content. Examples follow of
approaches that could be forged by any
team of adults and children.
they are going. Some birds will be flying,
some standing, some perching; some will
be doing the things we talked about earlier.
You could put your collage on the wall and
use the overhead projector to add real or
imaginary birds in a different scale.
Create movements for your birds
How do your birds move? Are they graceful,
slow, excited, jerky, clumsy, pecking, aloof,
proud, suspicious…?
Make up stories about the birds
Where do they live, what they are doing?
Make 3D environments for the birds that
could illustrate the story.
Use some of the photocopies of real or
your imaginary birds. Glue them on to
pieces of card to make them stronger.
Draw more ideas into the card if there is
room. How could you make the card stand
up, or could you fix it to a perch? Birds like
to perch, swing, fly, stand, feed etc. Make
constructions using cane, card, string,
wire, paper. Fix your cardboard birds to the
construction. Use your drawings, collages
and prints as a backdrop. Use the overhead
projector to project large birds into a setting.
You could make the environment first and
then decide on the story.
Plan a performance
Add sounds and movement and tell a story
to accompany the 3D environments. Why
not record the sounds, video the movements
and remember the story to tell again on
another day.
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