Your Image of a Child

One of the powerful principles of the Reggio Emilia project is this idea that there are hundreds of different images of the child.  Not one child is alike and as we acknowledge this as the adults in the room we can see they beauty that each child beholds.  Children are a gift from God, chosen to be in the lives of those who care for them and love them unconditionally.  The image that we hold in our minds of a child will direct the way in which we interact and relate to and with them.  Each child of God is described and known as:    Beautiful (Psalm 139:14), Chosen (1 Peter 2:9), Made for a Purpose (Ephesians 2:10), Precious (John 1:12) and Loved Forever (Jeremiah 31:3).

At our Staff Team Meeting last night we spent some time sharing our observations about each of the children at Curiosity and some words that speak into who we see them as being.  Here are some of the words that were used to describe the children at Curiosity ELC.

Our Image of the Children at Curiosity

Active, accepting, artistic, brave, bold, creative, dancer, embracing, encouraging, energetic, excitable, expectant, forgiving, funny, generous, helper, intrigued, kind, leader, listener, loving, observant, optimistic, singer, welcoming............

As children interact with the environment and the people at Curiosity they want to be known, to be heard and experience what it is to be autonomous as they take the pleasure of being the authors of their own learning.   Each day we get the privilege of doing this with your children as they play together and share their thinking with us.

"Each one of us needs to be able to play with the things that are coming out of the world of children.  Each one of us need to have curiosity, and we need to be able to try something new based on the ideas that we collect from the children as they go along.  As life flows with the thoughts of the children, we need to be open, we need to change our ideas; we need to be comfortable with the restless nature of life."

Loris Malaguzzi

'Your Image of the Child:  Where Teaching Begins, June 1993'

How blessed we are as the Educators at Curiosity to be in the position where everyday we can see life flow from our children and their understandings and ideas reach new potentials.  I pray that as you play within the 'worlds' of your child that you to will celebrate the amazing qualities they possess.  

Blessings to you, 

Jacqui