I would like to introduce to you: our DRAGON. Following our previous post on project work, I thought this month we could showcase and thoroughly explain what celebrating different cultures and certain dates really entails in the Reggio Emilia perspective, how we carry it out at Curiocity Childcare, what resources we present/offer to the children and how meaningful it can really become. As previously explained, project work can be a magnificent way of involving children’s interest and giving them enough time to truly explore a resource or an idea and see it flourish. This can take hours, days or even months.
For Lunar New Year, celebrated in February, the children worked tirelessly to accomplish their own vision of the animal that will reign the year: the dragon; it was put together over the course of a week and they did so not because they had to, but because with each addition of a loose part or another layer or paint, they saw their vision come to life. But where did it all start?
From the Reggio Emilia approach, and early years in general, when introducing a new topic, it is important for the children to have a reference to rely on and understand what it is we are talking about. Depending on their age or learning stage, this could come in the form of a word, an object or even an educational video.
Studies show that if a person speaks English, Spanish and Mandarin, they will be able to speak to vast majority of the world’s population. How invigorating is that? As such, both additional languages have been part of our weekly extracurricular activities for years. You may ask, ‘how do we know if it is in fact working?’ Adaptability and repetition are an important part of the process. Unlike adults, young children may need to see, hear or taste something several times before what they have been learning is reflected on their day-to-day. And as practitioners, hearing children sporadically counting in another language or getting feedback from the parents asking “they have been singing this tune at home, what is it?” is an indication that, at their own pace, children are taking information in and that learning is in fact happening.
So, to celebrate this Lunar New Year, we decided to explore different sides to the Chinese culture. We started the week by creating an Asian Market in the room. This generated opportunities for children to see items they wouldn’t normally have access to such as bamboo steamers and chopsticks, develop their mathematical skills by “purchasing” what they would like to buy and be embedded in different community. We also set up a variety of provocations throughout the week that incorporated children’s individual interests whilst enhancing and developing other skills. Aside from all the learning areas that are thought of during experiences, there is also cultural capital. Cultural capital is the ability to provide unique experiences that will build up children’s learning and understanding on a specific matter, that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to explore. Where some people think this requires a huge set up with lots of preparation, this learning could be implemented in the simplest ways; for example, a stroll down Chinatown. We gathered all children and went exploring all corners of the Chinese culture first hand. Once there, we used our knowledge on different words from our Mandarin lessons and applied it in practical life. At the shop: “Xiexie”- thanked one of the children after buying Rambutan, an Asian fruit. Amongst projects and trips, the children also participated in cooking dumplings from scratch and various mark-making provocations. Throughout the week there were learning opportunities at every corner, and the children made the most of every single one.
