Our Educational Program
Integrated Reggio Emilia approach: The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education. It was started by the parents of the villages around the city of Reggio Emilia in Italy following World War II, and is recognized worldwide for its innovative approach to education. Its signature educational philosophy has become known as the Reggio Emilia Approach and many American preschool programs have adopted it.
The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles:
Children must have some control over the direction of their learning; children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing, and hearing; children have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that children must be allowed to explore; and children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves. Much importance is given to the environment , where displays of project work are interspersed with arrays of found objects and classroom materials. In each case, the environment informs and engages the viewer. Other supportive elements of the environment include ample space for supplies, frequently rearranged to draw attention to their aesthetic features. Throughout the school, there is an effort to create opportunities for children to interact. Thus, the single dress-up area is accessible to all groups; classrooms are connected with communication devices, passageways or windows; and lunchrooms and bathrooms are designed to encourage community.
The Acadèmie has integrated this philosophy in its daily activities by continuously encouraging interaction and communication among the different groups if children.
Freedom of Expression: The children will be exposed to the different representations of the notions and aptitudes they should be learning for their age. Letter, shapes and sounds are played out every day in different stimulating ways. The older children will also be stimulated through art, music, theatre, dance, dress-up, as well as workbooks and educational toys, much importance will be given to reading and books in general. Children will be assigned responsibilities by their educator and by giving them choices and performing different play roles they will build self-esteem and confidence in themselves.
Cognitive Development: Our educators will provide many opportunities for the child to experience different real-life situations with the aim of building a foundation for concept learning and language. Field trips will be used to reinforce concepts learned in the class room. The FIVE senses: seeing, doing, touching, tasting, listening will play a fundamental role in the daily life of each child, observation and discussion are key to all experimental activities in our daycare. The curriculum is characterized by many features advocated by contemporary research on young children, including real-life problem-solving among peers, with numerous opportunities for creative thinking and exploration.
Language Development: Albert Einstein once stated, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.” At the Academie Prescolaire Mont Royal we encourage children to create stories from colorful images; we provide them with the tools they need to begin and encourage the process of imagination and stimulate language skills.
Motor Development: Children are almost constantly working their gross and fine motor skills, whether it be trying to jump within the set hop-scotch lines and picking up a bean bag on one foot, or rather placing puzzle pieces in the appropriate spaces. The Academie stresses the importance of healthy eating and physical activity particularly at an early age, and teaches children to develop their motor skills through fun and play. Guaranteed tummy time and exercise for the little ones as well! We encourage group sports and teach each child that team work is not an option when it comes to achieving their goals….even if it is just soccer!
Special projects: The Acadèmie will embark on special projects with the aim of teaching children the importance of giving, and utilizes long-term projects as vehicles for learning. Project topics are also selected on the basis of an academic curiosity or social concern on the part of teachers or parents. According to the Reggio Emilia Approach, “regardless of their origins, successful projects are those that generate a sufficient amount of interest and uncertainty to provoke children's creative thinking and problem-solving and are open to different avenues of exploration,” www.reggioemilia.net.