PHILOSOPHY
100 Languages of Children
Children express themselves and explore their environment through many modes of expression known in the Reggio Emilia philosophy as the 100 languages of children.
We find a child’s creativity flowing out of them through the ‘languages’ of MOVEMENT, DRAWING, PAINTING, BUILDING, SCULPTURE, SHADOW PLAY, COLLAGE, WORDS, MUSIC, DRAMATIC PLAY. We encourage all of it! We use these ‘languages’ to further our exploration, to communicate with each other, to learn and to grow!
Outdoor Classroom
We are outside the majority of the time, weather permitting, so that your child can experience the wonders of nature. Our Austin weather allows for a lot of outdoor time! Our outdoor space is an extension of the classroom. Fresh air, digging in the dirt and sand, gardening, sunshine (w/sunscreen applied & reapplied of course!), playing in the water, scooping, pouring, nature, and movement are so very important for our children!!!
Documentation
We do a lot of documentation, taking photos and using them with children as tools in the learning & growing process, so that you and your child can engage in their fun and exciting days! Pictures of our day’s activities, projects, and the children’s classroom world will be posted on an app called StoryPark. Families can bring a bit of school home by visiting their child’s StoryPark page and reviewing and reflecting about our day with your child. Together we are the village raising these beautiful, creative, imaginative children!
Self Discovery + Social Interaction
At Bloom preschool, children are supported in feeling & understanding their own emotions, expressing their feelings, and learning how to communicate their needs with each other and with the adults in their lives.
We use communication tools from the book How to Talk so Kids will Listen & Listen so Kids will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. This allows your child the opportunity to learn valuable communication skills that will support them as they grow and develop!
We also use the ‘How does your engine run’ curriculum along with other tools to learn self-regulation. This is a fun way to help children learn to read their bodies through thinking of themselves as a car engine. Children learn tools to read their own feelings and figure out the best ways that work for them individually to calm down or rev-up and get their own personal engine to that ‘just right’ state.
These tools are so wonderful to add into a child’s educational day! Learning how to have great problem solving skills will carry throughout a child’s life.