An informative briefing on private preschools. We'll provide information on early childhood education approaches from Montessori to Reggio Emilia, testing and assessments for preschool admission and advice on finding the right school for your child.
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Reggio Emilia is an approach to early childhood education which has gained popularity throughout the western world. What is Reggio Emilia? Here are five facts about it. There's much more to Reggio Emilia, of course, but this will give you an idea of what it is all about.

It is strictly an early childhood education approach.
Reggio Emilia values "the potential of all children to think, learn, and construct knowledge." Like Montessori Reggio Emilia is a progressive, child-centered approach to education. The idea is that the child must be free to discover and to learn for himself.

It is not a formal, doctrinaire approach.
Unlike the Waldorf and Montessori schools there is no formal teacher training, credentialing and authorization process for Reggio Emilia. The idea is that teachers and parents take the concepts learned by observation and interaction with Reggio Emilia and incorporate them into their classrooms. There is no such thing as a Reggio school. The only Reggio schools are those in the municipality of Reggio Emilia. All other schools which embrace the Reggio philosophy are considered to be "Reggio inspired".

It grew out of the aftermath of World War II.
Much of Italy lay in ruins after World War II. In Reggio Emilia a young teacher by the name of Loris Malaguzzi developed an approach which valued the ability of children to learn spontaneously. The relationship of child, parent and teacher is integral to Malaguzzi approach. The Reggio and Steiner (Waldorf) schools both arose . . .read more
Dr. Maria Montessori founded her Casa de Bambini in a poor neighborhood of Rome, Italy in 1906. She blazed new trails in early education by believing in the innate goodness of children, by encouraging children to be curious and to explore and by creating a teaching environment which followed the child.
Dr. Montessori's experiments and research ultimately produced a worldwide movement. Over 100 years later her findings and research have stood the test of time and have been validated by modern analysis and investigation. In the United States Montessori schools multiplied like rabbits from the 1960's and onwards. Unlike Dr. Montessori's schools which served poor children, most Montessori schools in North America educate children from the middle classes. Indeed the Montessori approach has been used with children in all kinds of situations. It is very adaptable to the needs of a wide range of children.

Dr. Montessori never trademarked the name Montessori nor did she claim any patents on her methodology. The result is that there are many Montessori schools out there claiming to be the real thing.  Some schools may include elements of Dr. Montessori's methods and philosophy in their teaching.  Other schools quietly sublimate the parts of Dr. Montessori's thinking which aren't perhaps appropriate in their setting. In short, there almost as many flavors of Montessori as there are schools. Not a bad thing in itself, but as always, do your due diligence. Caveat emptor!

Here are five things you should look for when vetting a school which purports to . . .read more
Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner were trail blazers in early education. Froebel 'invented' kindergarten, though few people with the exception of  educators or trivia buffs know who he is. Dr. Montessori dared to take on the enormous challenge of educating the poor, inner-city children. Montessori schools are her lasting monument, though not every school which bears the Montessori name is the genuine article. Steiner was a humanist who created a philosophy named anthrosophy that very few people have even heard of.

What did these educators have in common? They believed that children deserved to be children and have fun learning. The Froebel gifts are all about childish fun and play. At the root of these wholesome activities are a basic child-rearing concept: encourage a child's creativity, stimulate his imagination and allow him to explore. Long before Fisher-Price toys appeared on the market, Maria Montessori used natural wooden toys to teach shapes and geometric concepts. Steiner kept academics out of the early childhood education experience preferring instead to have children engage in activities appropriate to their tender years.
In a time and society where many parents fret about the kind of start their children are receiving as they begin school, it is important to realize that basics are important. Let your child progress at his own pace within the warm, cheerful environment of a well-run primary school. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten build on those first years spent under your watchful, loving eye.They . . .read more
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