Welcome Back!
Term Two
What a fabulous start to Term 2 we had! After two weeks of holidays it has been nice to have the Centre full of children's voices, laughter and questions as they join together in playful learning. We have welcomed four new families with Raven, Madeline and Hudson joining our Green Team and Udaybir who has joined our Blue Team of learners. It is always exciting to meet new friends, and these children have been met with many smiley and friendly faces.
Our Educator team created a wonderful two weeks of investigations and adventures over the holidays, which was a delight to see from my vista in Italy as I checked in each day to see what they were exploring. I wish to commend this passionate team of Educator's who creatively designed such wonderful days for our children.
The photo above is of the delegates for the 2024 International Study Tour to Reggio Emilia that I was very grateful to be part of. With 420 delegates, we represented 58 countries (the most diverse group of nations ever in one room at the Conference Centre) from around the world with some coming from countries that are currently not experiencing peace - yet they came with hope in their hearts for a changed future for the children they work with.
Having participated in this tour in 2019, I was able to return this year more as a 'local' than a 'tourist' and spend time looking into some specific research questions that I have around how the Reggio Emilia approach translates to our context in Australia and to reflect on our practice at Curiosity.
My three main lines of thinking as I return:
- Building strong links within community, creates greater understanding around the values of education and creates a political stance that makes promotes the importance of early childhood education and care, to make it visible as a place of learning rich in potential and endless possibilities.
- Creating space for childhood to be met with beautiful and meaningful contexts where invitations are awaiting a child everyday to learn in connection with others is a determining factor in a child's well being.
- The 'mind' is amazed at unveiling the hidden structures of the world. We (families, educators, community) are to find places to fine tune children's eyes to the possibilities before them.
Main Piazza in Reggio Emilia
Famous bookstore in Venice
Lots and lots of pasta!
Ateliers (places of research) that embraced digital expressions.
My daily commute to the Loris Malaguzzi Research Centre
6 fabulous Aussie Directors and Lead Educators I had the privilege of researching alongside.
Nightlife - like no other!
Evidence of children's participation within the community.
Tables of invitations to think creatively.
New international connections.
Returning to my favourite bakery. The reason for the bike.
Main Piazza in Reggio Emilia
Famous bookstore in Venice
Lots and lots of pasta!
Ateliers (places of research) that embraced digital expressions.
My daily commute to the Loris Malaguzzi Research Centre
6 fabulous Aussie Directors and Lead Educators I had the privilege of researching alongside.
Nightlife - like no other!
Evidence of children's participation within the community.
Tables of invitations to think creatively.
New international connections.
Returning to my favourite bakery. The reason for the bike.
I have come away very proud of our team of Educators who are stretched daily to think of new ways to think about children's learning, seek out new possibilities and to extend themselves beyond the current knowledge and skill sets they possess.
Quality education and care can not lean on our initial training, instead requires us to walk hand in hand with the children as we enter into rich learning contexts, listen deeply to one another and are courageous in creatively expressing ourselves.
I look forward to seeing this learning inspire continued quality improvement within our community at Curiosity. We have lots to look forward to!
Blessings to you all,
Jacqui