How Powerful!
It is so powerful to see 40 Jewish early childhood educators sitting together in one room, speaking 4 different languages, all buzzing with excitement and eager to learn. We were warmly welcomed ...
Tag: Early Childhood Morim Team Admin EC Morim Team
Connections
We started the day at Gan Balagan, meeting up with Beti and Niya, as well as our friends who came from Lauder Javne Ovode in Budapest, with their director Szonja. Beti and Niya took us on a tour of ...
What’s next
Tuesday and Wednesday we observed, along with Szonja, classrooms and then met with educators focusing on next steps for each individual team. Our closing faculty meetings, with two different groups, were passionate and exciting. Discussions were lively and intense as we reviewed the learning of the week of the Reggio Approach and 
connecting our Jewish values to the everyday lives of children, parents and community. We leave feeling our time together was productive and are so excited and encouraged by the enthusiastic and open attitude of Szonja and her educators. We also leave with newfound friends who share meaningful Jewish connections. We say l’hitraot to Budapest – until we meet again.
Mara and Shelley
Working with a child is a passion
A great two days at a conference organized by SOS International Early Childhood Morim Program. The beginning of September I started with the new knowledge and motivation, which awesome
...
Our Journey Continues
Today along, with Szonja, we observed classrooms and meet with class teams. Our discussion focused on next steps for each individual team. Tomorrow will observe the second half of the school and also meet with teams. We also have a scheduled meeting with the faculty at the end of the day. We are so encouraged by the potential and possibilities.
Mara and Shelley
Ritual Items coming home
As your school year is about to begin, I wanted to send you my best wishes for a great year from all of us at SOS. I also wanted you to know about a very special pair of candlesticks that Mara will be bringing to you when you meet in Budapest.
My husband and I recently cleaned out the home that his parents lived in for about 60 years. His mother is no longer alive and his 99 year old father has moved to an assisted living facility. When we were going through some cupboards, we found the candlesticks that were used by my husband’s grandmother. The family decided that we would like them to go to you, our friends at the Krakow JCC, and the children of Frajda.
It is so significant that you will be using a pair of candlesticks that were brought to the United States many years ago and are now on their way back to Europe. It fills us with joy to know that you are educating, supporting and helping families with the rebirth of Jewish life.
Thank you for all you are doing for the families in Krakow. The picture below is of me handing Mara the candlesticks. ~ Fran Pfeffer
Fran giving the candlesticks to Mara for Frajda, Early Childhood Center in Krakow
Gosia, Director of Frajda, Krakow receiving the candlesticks from Mara
Intra European Early Childhood Conference
So exciting to start our first day of the SOS Early Childhood Morim conference. We began the Conference welcoming everyone with a special welcome to our friends from Krakow. Our meeting started with a beautiful D’var Torah ending with the reciting of the shehecheyanu together in Hebrew. English, Hungarian and Polish. Mara’s session on The Image of the Child/The Image of the Teacher was well received. Special thanks to Szonja for organizing lunch which provided opportunities to discuss the morning’s learning. Afternoon sessions were on leadership presented by Shelley and Learning In-Depth Approaches to Reggio Emilia project work by Mara. Although there were many highlights, the one that stands out was the distribution of the Jewish ritual items donated by families in the Washington DC area. Educators were overwhelmed with the generosity of the families and were touched by the meaning gifts. We look forward to learning together tomorrow as we continue to deepen our knowledge and strengthen our relationships.
School Begins
What a wonderful first day! We received an extremely warm welcome from Szonja and all of the educators at the Lauder Ovoda School. It was a productive day as we discussed logistics for the upcoming and first SOS Early Childhood Morim Conference. We observed the environment, both the spacious, bright and airy classrooms, and the incredibly large outdoor play spaces. It was especially lovely watching the children prepare for Shabbat. We are anticipating two wonderful days of learning together! ~ Shelley, EC Morim Steering Committee Member
Wrapping up and wrapping my head around it
Old cobblestones of the city and me with half a leg out already. We have left Reggio Emilia but as we left our shadows there, so did the ideas leave an effect on us that we took on the train, bus, plane.
So many ideas and no recipe, no one way to do it. It’s not an easy package to have gotten. We return and place ourselves back to our environment but we are ourselves changed!
But these Italians have some recipes! The ones they use at the Pegaso, our daily frequented restaurant. This was the place that fed our bodies after a days worth of mind and soul food. And at that it was amazing! We tried many times to break from it but it kept pulling us in, and thus we were bringing more and more people there!
The gnocchi with truffle mushroom sauce was my personal favorite. Not to mention the prosecco that bubbled it all down. Some of us couldn’t break away from the pizza quatro fromagi! It was cozy inside and out and the waiter felt like an old friend by the end of the week. So Mara, we took your advice and took good care of our bodies! Thanks for all! ~ Vera Marton, Early Childhood Educator, Lauder Javne Ovoda, Budapest, Hungary
Reflecting
Wednesday was the peak and fill point of our visit. I felt like a cup of water filled over the rim, when only the surface tension allows the water not to spill, the tension ...
Where to now?
That’s it! It is finished! I packed my bags, I said goodbye to old friends ( my Europe support group Sonya and Vera from the Lauder kindergarten in Budapest, Beti and Vanessa from Gan Balagan in Sofi), to mentors ( Mara and Nama who made this approach not only doable but also so well fitted with our Jewish heritage), to rediscovered friends (like Kate and Erin from Temple Emanuel that shared not only the room) but also their views on this process, their hopes and dreams and plans, to new friends (70 teachers from USA and Israel ready to share their experience on this journey), to pedagogistas and atelieristas and teachers that took time to share their excitement, curiosity, knowledge, ways of working and looking at kids with us.
And now what? Where do I go from here? In one of the workshops, they told us over and over: theory and practice go hand in hand all the time.
So the next step is practice. Here is my to-do list for home:
– define a workgroup. A workgroup is a bunch of people working together with a common goal.
– take the I out of the conversation and of the process of thought. They said we weren’t on a professional training program but in a process of ” transformazione”. Because we change the basics of how you deal with a world, you transform yourself, you evolve. And one of the concepts is acknowledging multiple ways of looking at the world. And you can not do that if everything is around me: I think, I want, my opinion is;
– documentation, observation, questions, and repeat the process with the new input.
So children, here I come! It is our Gan so it has to be no longer what I think is good and important but what WE think. Parents, members of the community lets be a functioning working group!
Does this mean that in x amount of time everything will be perfect? For sure not! But at least we will evolve together aware of our reality, history, traditions, culture, and dreams! ~ Dalia Golda, Director Gradinita Ganeden, Bucharest, Romania
Opportunities
Life serves us so many opportunities on a daily basis – obvious and hidden, big and small, the ones we miss and the ones we seize. In the end, it’s all about having the eyes to see them, the strength and courage to grab them and the heart to live them.
The opportunity to continue my professional development and personal growth in the city Reggio Emilia, side by side with experienced and inspiring educators from different parts of the world is one of those opportunities that is rare and valuable, and it is often life-changing.
The past days of this educational and spiritual journey have been intense, rich in content and experiences, and challenging in many ways. I feel all kinds of emotions – excitement, frustration, inspiration, curiosity, confusion, amusement and gratitude. My mind and heart are rushing and my thoughts are all over the place, but it all feels good and right – I call it euphoria.
Everything in Reggio Emilia feels like an opportunity – to stroll around the beautiful streets, to enjoy self made pasta and pizza in local restaurants, to hear the music of the city, to feel the spirit of optimism, to learn more about and experience the complex educational approach of Reggio Emilia and to debate and discuss with people who have common values and beliefs. It is a multi-sensory experience that enriches you on many different levels.
The days start early and finish late. The intensity of the lectures is sometimes overwhelming but mostly eye opening and valuable. The opportunity to visit schools that are in alliance with parents in the fight for better education and that value curiosity, creativity, research, and deep learning, is one that you don’t just grab, you seize it. Listening to lectures led by educators devoted their life to excellence in education and building meaningful relationships with children and families is another opportunity for personal and professional enrichment.
The Reggio Emilia Conference so far has been an outstanding journey, an opportunity to further shape my identity, and a chance for us to give back to our community by strengthening early childhood education. Here comes the most challenging and beautiful part of the journey – once going home it will be all about the opportunities we create for ourselves.
The colors of the rainbow
It’s been 5 days since I am here in Reggio Emilia, looking at projects that children and teachers are developing together, but more importantly discover the magic that is behind this projects – the documentation, the questions – always there is a Why strongly connected to a How, the attention for details, but also the importance of everyone’s voice and the values of working in a group.
I look at the society we are living in and I am thinking of what kind of a world we want our children to inhabit. I look around and I am surrounded by people always complaining, not satisfied whit what they have, with how the world goes, how decisions are taken. But are we doing something about it? No, because often we answer: who am I to say something different? Do you want people to look different at me? I am nobody, no one cares about what I have to say? We do so many things we strongly disagree with only because it is easier than trying to find a reason, an explanation, or even a solution – not necessarily a better one, but to show a different perspective on things.
We say we want our kids to be different but we tell them from the beginning: you are not capable of anything, you are a baby – so the child will learn: what’s the point of trying if I am not going to get it right, or on time like the adults. We tell them exactly how the world is – and we make it black and white, without options, without possibilities, with only one truth – the one of the adult, everything in order in a precise box.
One of the ideas that struck me here is that we have to truly believe that kids have a voice, they are capable and equal citizens of the world. If you are true to this belief we can have the world painted in the colors of the rainbow. Let’s give our kids the gift of wonder, of curiosity, of time to analyze and reflect, of responsibility, let’s be their partners in this journey because we too deserve a world painted in colors!
Thank you SOS for taking me on this journey! You heard our sos and you answered with all your energy, and power, and knowledge and care and I am extremely grateful! ~Dalia Golda, Director Gradinita Ganeden, Bucharest, Romania
An impressive visit
Today was a really special day. We visited one great preschool – Freire. The first thing I was impressed was the 
formidable yard that belongs to the preschool – it is like you are in the park. And the kids are really involved with the development of this park – they made a pond, they playing there, they observe the animals. The second great thing was the architecture of the building – the classrooms have a second floor and it’s made like this especially to develop again the way of children’s thinking – to give them the opportunity to see from different levels the same things. Also, they have a lot of internal windows to have more light and because the transparency is a value of this approach. They have transparent doors because of the visual communication. They keep on being open for the entire and the city, the community. The building of preschool Freire have an ecological vision and is created as a result of the collaborative work of bio architects, pedagogista, and ateliarista. They wanted to create welcoming place for the autonomy of the kids. And another special thing is that each classroom has its own atelier.
After I became a mother, for me the food that I give to my daughter has to be really special, homemade, bio, clean, for sure without white sugar and salt. So in this preschool, they almost are a mirror of my requirements. They do homemade food, it’s healthy and when we was there it’s smelled so good… And the next good thing was that the kitchen staff is really important part of the whole staff. The kitchen is the atelier of tastes, of smells, of seasons, of colors, of materials.
Also, we saw gorgeous classrooms, very clean, well organized, full of kids each of them doing something. And they were so autonomous. They have the freedom for so many choices – they played, they worked with clay, they read books, they arranged numbers and letters, they danced and they delivered and served the food.
And this preschool was so welcoming that we didn’t understand where passed the time for our visit.
I can’t wait for the toddler-infant center visit! ~ Beti Gershom, Early Childhood Director, Gan Balagan Sofia, Bulgaria
HINENI
How do you put into words something that transcends your whole body, it affects your senses and your mind is overwhelmed.
It’s been a year and half since I first discovered these words: the Reggio Emilia approach, and since then, all I’ve heard is: you have to be there, to really grasp it. And so, since December 2017, I’ve been dreaming about my Mecca, 
my promised land – Reggio Emilia.
And guess what: for the past 4 days, I am walking on the streets of Reggio Emilia, breathing the air of Reggio Emilia and talking to teachers and pedagogistas and atelieristas from Reggio Emilia.
Are you jealous yet? You should be!! It is all they have promised and much more!!!
We started the week with a beautiful havdala ceremony because we had to wake up all our senses – our eyes, our brains, our ears and our hearts to this experience.
I could talk to you about the 100 languages of the child – and how it all started, how people saw a need to educate kids for a reality that had to be totally emersed in the educational process, or I could talk to you about a city that values education and displays the works of the children, I could go on and on about confident and creative and independent children that create magic with their hands, working in groups, helping each other and going deeper than I ever gave them credit for, but at the end of the day I think I have to look at this experience through my Jewish lances and tell you: HINENI!
It is our responsibility to change first, to be the best we can be, and be there for the child – because when we are REALLY there, the child never forgets. We really and truly have to be there for the child, learn to listen to children in order to understand them, to see how they think and what they are saying, how they look at the world and how they interpret it, what are their dreams and struggles.
We have to be true to our beliefs and commit to providing our kids with the best we can be, and then we will give them the best education – and it is possible, I am looking at it, and I am seeing the results and it is the right of our kids to get it! ~ Dalia Golda, Early Childhood Director, Gradinita Gan Eden, Bucharest, Romania
A Fairytale
At the beginning of an amazing Shabbat in an amazing place, there was a sacred place. This Shabbat we pause, we disconnect to connect, we move from action to reflection and back from reflection to action. Talking about storytelling we create a good fairytale:
“Once upon a time there was a kingdom. There lived an unknown family. And one day this family which was a group of great educators realize that they are really lonely. So they decided to go walking around the kingdom Reggio Emilia. They saw so many beautiful places and families and smiling kids. They went home and it was time for Havdala. They embraced themselves, they started singing and became aware that they are the amazing family with a perfect mission and that in the name of their kids they will do everything to have a good future!”
So this good family started their journey in the kingdom wisdom understanding that “When the adult is there – the child never forget”. They started organizing different places for their kids, they started to listen to the kids, they started to teach the kids to have a dialogue. They talked about the essence of childhood and taught that it’s the nature, play, songs, smile and freedom of being.
And then the amazing family went to the most special place in the kingdom – The Malaguzzi International Center and have one long, educational, understanding and at the same time a confusing day, full of strong sessions that gave them a lot of information how to work with kids. And the family became more united because they have a nice dinner talking about what they learned and what are their worries. Gelato was good ending of this long day. Have a good night, sweet family! ~ Beti Gershon, Director Gan Balagan, Sofia, Bulgaria
Dreams do come true
On Monday we could see what we have been dreaming of for months. The Malaguzzi Centre opened its gates to us. The study continued through presentations and conversations. We could hear about the principles of the Reggio approach. The presenters spoke about the projects, the values, the working method, the emergent curriculum, the joyful learning…One of the most important and core values is that children construct their own knowledge. We visited the preschool and the primary school at the Malaguzzi Centre. It seems like a museum or an exhibition. Huge spaces, special and natural materials. It was very inspiring, but I am very envious of the place.
On Tuesday we met with a few atelieristas. They introduced us to the culture of the atelier through some 
powerpoints. After this, we could try how it works in practice. We explored different kinds of paper, we tried to create freely, without restraints. We could share our thinking and researching of our creations with each other. In the afternoon we visited the Documentation and Educational Research Center. We spoke about its works and mission. We saw exhibitions about metaphors as a tool for learning and about the shapes, that interact with things. Mara always helps us to interpret the things heard and seen. She gives us opportunities for asking questions. It was also a very exciting and useful day for all of us.
~ Szonja Merenji, Director Lauder Javne Ovada, Budapest, Hungary
Beresheet
Feelings ranged from overwhelmed to awe, thoughtless to whizzing with ideas, energized to dead tired. It was an intense first day and it seemed super long. The visit to the school seemed surreal in so many ways. The amazing and well thought out architecture created a bounty of possibilities. It’s just so hard to imagine it in action! It is a place
impossible to be in without learning and experiencing. The spaces are open and visibility is everywhere. I loved this, the overlapping of ages and time and spaces and lives! How spaces change and transform depending on their inhabitants.
The lectures were thought-provoking and connected on many levels. People were friendly and inviting!
I can’t wait to go on!
Vera
My journey to the fantastic world of Reggio Emilia
My experiences started with the discovery of the city. In this fairy small town there are so many little streets, squares, coffee shops and restaurants. The squares are very special, they always show different faces. On Friday we welcomed the Shabbat with the American and European members of our study group. It was very unique, we wrote our own Shabbat prayer. We finished this day with a very special Shabbat dinner. On the weekend we had a story based Shabbat experience, we went on a short meaningful walking tour around the hotel and had a nice Havdalah. We could travel to the nearby city of Parma. Naama and Mara spoke about the connection of Jewish values and the Reggio approach. We shared our stories about our objects of the essence of the child. It was very interesting and helpful in getting to know each other. On the weekend we could spend some time with our east European friends from Bucharest and Sofia. ~ Szonja Merenji, Director Lauder Javne Ovada, Budapest, Hungary
Continuing across the ocean
Since today was Grandparents Day at the preschool and it was going to be very chaotic, we decided to have our final meeting away from the school. We treated Magda and Marika to a big American breakfast of pancakes. We talked
about the changes that can happen at Frajda with the help and encouragement of SOS International. Marika and Magda are ready to begin the transformation at 7:30am on Monday morning!
After a short stop overlooking the San Francisco Bay for the last time and collecting seeds from Eucalyptus trees, it was time to head to the airport. We all had an emotional goodbye as we parted. Even though we will be apart physically, we are bound together. We look forward to much collaboration and to being together again soon. ~ Fran
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Admin EC Morim Team
Connections
We started the day at Gan Balagan, meeting up with Beti and Niya, as well as our friends who came from Lauder Javne Ovode in Budapest, with their director Szonja. Beti and Niya took us on a tour of ...
What’s next
Tuesday and Wednesday we observed, along with Szonja, classrooms and then met with educators focusing on next steps for each individual team. Our closing faculty meetings, with two different groups, were passionate and exciting. Discussions were lively and intense as we reviewed the learning of the week of the Reggio Approach and connecting our Jewish values to the everyday lives of children, parents and community. We leave feeling our time together was productive and are so excited and encouraged by the enthusiastic and open attitude of Szonja and her educators. We also leave with newfound friends who share meaningful Jewish connections. We say l’hitraot to Budapest – until we meet again.
connecting our Jewish values to the everyday lives of children, parents and community. We leave feeling our time together was productive and are so excited and encouraged by the enthusiastic and open attitude of Szonja and her educators. We also leave with newfound friends who share meaningful Jewish connections. We say l’hitraot to Budapest – until we meet again.
Mara and Shelley
Working with a child is a passion
A great two days at a conference organized by SOS International Early Childhood Morim Program. The beginning of September I started with the new knowledge and motivation, which awesome
...
Our Journey Continues
Today along, with Szonja, we observed classrooms and meet with class teams. Our discussion focused on next steps for each individual team. Tomorrow will observe the second half of the school and also meet with teams. We also have a scheduled meeting with the faculty at the end of the day. We are so encouraged by the potential and possibilities.
Mara and Shelley
Ritual Items coming home
As your school year is about to begin, I wanted to send you my best wishes for a great year from all of us at SOS. I also wanted you to know about a very special pair of candlesticks that Mara will be bringing to you when you meet in Budapest.
My husband and I recently cleaned out the home that his parents lived in for about 60 years. His mother is no longer alive and his 99 year old father has moved to an assisted living facility. When we were going through some cupboards, we found the candlesticks that were used by my husband’s grandmother. The family decided that we would like them to go to you, our friends at the Krakow JCC, and the children of Frajda.
It is so significant that you will be using a pair of candlesticks that were brought to the United States many years ago and are now on their way back to Europe. It fills us with joy to know that you are educating, supporting and helping families with the rebirth of Jewish life.
Thank you for all you are doing for the families in Krakow. The picture below is of me handing Mara the candlesticks. ~ Fran Pfeffer
Fran giving the candlesticks to Mara for Frajda, Early Childhood Center in Krakow
Gosia, Director of Frajda, Krakow receiving the candlesticks from Mara
Intra European Early Childhood Conference
So exciting to start our first day of the SOS Early Childhood Morim conference. We began the Conference welcoming everyone with a special welcome to our friends from Krakow. Our meeting started with a beautiful D’var Torah ending with the reciting of the shehecheyanu together in Hebrew. English, Hungarian and Polish. Mara’s session on The Image of the Child/The Image of the Teacher was well received. Special thanks to Szonja for organizing lunch which provided opportunities to discuss the morning’s learning. Afternoon sessions were on leadership presented by Shelley and Learning In-Depth Approaches to Reggio Emilia project work by Mara. Although there were many highlights, the one that stands out was the distribution of the Jewish ritual items donated by families in the Washington DC area. Educators were overwhelmed with the generosity of the families and were touched by the meaning gifts. We look forward to learning together tomorrow as we continue to deepen our knowledge and strengthen our relationships.
School Begins
What a wonderful first day! We received an extremely warm welcome from Szonja and all of the educators at the Lauder Ovoda School. It was a productive day as we discussed logistics for the upcoming and first SOS Early Childhood Morim Conference. We observed the environment, both the spacious, bright and airy classrooms, and the incredibly large outdoor play spaces. It was especially lovely watching the children prepare for Shabbat. We are anticipating two wonderful days of learning together! ~ Shelley, EC Morim Steering Committee Member
Wrapping up and wrapping my head around it
Old cobblestones of the city and me with half a leg out already. We have left Reggio Emilia but as we left our shadows there, so did the ideas leave an effect on us that we took on the train, bus, plane.
So many ideas and no recipe, no one way to do it. It’s not an easy package to have gotten. We return and place ourselves back to our environment but we are ourselves changed!
But these Italians have some recipes! The ones they use at the Pegaso, our daily frequented restaurant. This was the place that fed our bodies after a days worth of mind and soul food. And at that it was amazing! We tried many times to break from it but it kept pulling us in, and thus we were bringing more and more people there!
The gnocchi with truffle mushroom sauce was my personal favorite. Not to mention the prosecco that bubbled it all down. Some of us couldn’t break away from the pizza quatro fromagi! It was cozy inside and out and the waiter felt like an old friend by the end of the week. So Mara, we took your advice and took good care of our bodies! Thanks for all! ~ Vera Marton, Early Childhood Educator, Lauder Javne Ovoda, Budapest, Hungary
Reflecting
Wednesday was the peak and fill point of our visit. I felt like a cup of water filled over the rim, when only the surface tension allows the water not to spill, the tension ...
Where to now?
That’s it! It is finished! I packed my bags, I said goodbye to old friends ( my Europe support group Sonya and Vera from the Lauder kindergarten in Budapest, Beti and Vanessa from Gan Balagan in Sofi), to mentors ( Mara and Nama who made this approach not only doable but also so well fitted with our Jewish heritage), to rediscovered friends (like Kate and Erin from Temple Emanuel that shared not only the room) but also their views on this process, their hopes and dreams and plans, to new friends (70 teachers from USA and Israel ready to share their experience on this journey), to pedagogistas and atelieristas and teachers that took time to share their excitement, curiosity, knowledge, ways of working and looking at kids with us.
And now what? Where do I go from here? In one of the workshops, they told us over and over: theory and practice go hand in hand all the time.
So the next step is practice. Here is my to-do list for home:
– define a workgroup. A workgroup is a bunch of people working together with a common goal.
– take the I out of the conversation and of the process of thought. They said we weren’t on a professional training program but in a process of ” transformazione”. Because we change the basics of how you deal with a world, you transform yourself, you evolve. And one of the concepts is acknowledging multiple ways of looking at the world. And you can not do that if everything is around me: I think, I want, my opinion is;
– documentation, observation, questions, and repeat the process with the new input.
So children, here I come! It is our Gan so it has to be no longer what I think is good and important but what WE think. Parents, members of the community lets be a functioning working group!
Does this mean that in x amount of time everything will be perfect? For sure not! But at least we will evolve together aware of our reality, history, traditions, culture, and dreams! ~ Dalia Golda, Director Gradinita Ganeden, Bucharest, Romania
Opportunities
Life serves us so many opportunities on a daily basis – obvious and hidden, big and small, the ones we miss and the ones we seize. In the end, it’s all about having the eyes to see them, the strength and courage to grab them and the heart to live them.
The opportunity to continue my professional development and personal growth in the city Reggio Emilia, side by side with experienced and inspiring educators from different parts of the world is one of those opportunities that is rare and valuable, and it is often life-changing.
The past days of this educational and spiritual journey have been intense, rich in content and experiences, and challenging in many ways. I feel all kinds of emotions – excitement, frustration, inspiration, curiosity, confusion, amusement and gratitude. My mind and heart are rushing and my thoughts are all over the place, but it all feels good and right – I call it euphoria.
Everything in Reggio Emilia feels like an opportunity – to stroll around the beautiful streets, to enjoy self made pasta and pizza in local restaurants, to hear the music of the city, to feel the spirit of optimism, to learn more about and experience the complex educational approach of Reggio Emilia and to debate and discuss with people who have common values and beliefs. It is a multi-sensory experience that enriches you on many different levels.
The days start early and finish late. The intensity of the lectures is sometimes overwhelming but mostly eye opening and valuable. The opportunity to visit schools that are in alliance with parents in the fight for better education and that value curiosity, creativity, research, and deep learning, is one that you don’t just grab, you seize it. Listening to lectures led by educators devoted their life to excellence in education and building meaningful relationships with children and families is another opportunity for personal and professional enrichment.
The Reggio Emilia Conference so far has been an outstanding journey, an opportunity to further shape my identity, and a chance for us to give back to our community by strengthening early childhood education. Here comes the most challenging and beautiful part of the journey – once going home it will be all about the opportunities we create for ourselves.
The colors of the rainbow
It’s been 5 days since I am here in Reggio Emilia, looking at projects that children and teachers are developing together, but more importantly discover the magic that is behind this projects – the documentation, the questions – always there is a Why strongly connected to a How, the attention for details, but also the importance of everyone’s voice and the values of working in a group.
I look at the society we are living in and I am thinking of what kind of a world we want our children to inhabit. I look around and I am surrounded by people always complaining, not satisfied whit what they have, with how the world goes, how decisions are taken. But are we doing something about it? No, because often we answer: who am I to say something different? Do you want people to look different at me? I am nobody, no one cares about what I have to say? We do so many things we strongly disagree with only because it is easier than trying to find a reason, an explanation, or even a solution – not necessarily a better one, but to show a different perspective on things.
We say we want our kids to be different but we tell them from the beginning: you are not capable of anything, you are a baby – so the child will learn: what’s the point of trying if I am not going to get it right, or on time like the adults. We tell them exactly how the world is – and we make it black and white, without options, without possibilities, with only one truth – the one of the adult, everything in order in a precise box.
One of the ideas that struck me here is that we have to truly believe that kids have a voice, they are capable and equal citizens of the world. If you are true to this belief we can have the world painted in the colors of the rainbow. Let’s give our kids the gift of wonder, of curiosity, of time to analyze and reflect, of responsibility, let’s be their partners in this journey because we too deserve a world painted in colors!
Thank you SOS for taking me on this journey! You heard our sos and you answered with all your energy, and power, and knowledge and care and I am extremely grateful! ~Dalia Golda, Director Gradinita Ganeden, Bucharest, Romania
An impressive visit
Today was a really special day. We visited one great preschool – Freire. The first thing I was impressed was the formidable yard that belongs to the preschool – it is like you are in the park. And the kids are really involved with the development of this park – they made a pond, they playing there, they observe the animals. The second great thing was the architecture of the building – the classrooms have a second floor and it’s made like this especially to develop again the way of children’s thinking – to give them the opportunity to see from different levels the same things. Also, they have a lot of internal windows to have more light and because the transparency is a value of this approach. They have transparent doors because of the visual communication. They keep on being open for the entire and the city, the community. The building of preschool Freire have an ecological vision and is created as a result of the collaborative work of bio architects, pedagogista, and ateliarista. They wanted to create welcoming place for the autonomy of the kids. And another special thing is that each classroom has its own atelier.
formidable yard that belongs to the preschool – it is like you are in the park. And the kids are really involved with the development of this park – they made a pond, they playing there, they observe the animals. The second great thing was the architecture of the building – the classrooms have a second floor and it’s made like this especially to develop again the way of children’s thinking – to give them the opportunity to see from different levels the same things. Also, they have a lot of internal windows to have more light and because the transparency is a value of this approach. They have transparent doors because of the visual communication. They keep on being open for the entire and the city, the community. The building of preschool Freire have an ecological vision and is created as a result of the collaborative work of bio architects, pedagogista, and ateliarista. They wanted to create welcoming place for the autonomy of the kids. And another special thing is that each classroom has its own atelier.
After I became a mother, for me the food that I give to my daughter has to be really special, homemade, bio, clean, for sure without white sugar and salt. So in this preschool, they almost are a mirror of my requirements. They do homemade food, it’s healthy and when we was there it’s smelled so good… And the next good thing was that the kitchen staff is really important part of the whole staff. The kitchen is the atelier of tastes, of smells, of seasons, of colors, of materials.
Also, we saw gorgeous classrooms, very clean, well organized, full of kids each of them doing something. And they were so autonomous. They have the freedom for so many choices – they played, they worked with clay, they read books, they arranged numbers and letters, they danced and they delivered and served the food.
And this preschool was so welcoming that we didn’t understand where passed the time for our visit.
I can’t wait for the toddler-infant center visit! ~ Beti Gershom, Early Childhood Director, Gan Balagan Sofia, Bulgaria
HINENI
How do you put into words something that transcends your whole body, it affects your senses and your mind is overwhelmed.
It’s been a year and half since I first discovered these words: the Reggio Emilia approach, and since then, all I’ve heard is: you have to be there, to really grasp it. And so, since December 2017, I’ve been dreaming about my Mecca, my promised land – Reggio Emilia.
And guess what: for the past 4 days, I am walking on the streets of Reggio Emilia, breathing the air of Reggio Emilia and talking to teachers and pedagogistas and atelieristas from Reggio Emilia.
Are you jealous yet? You should be!! It is all they have promised and much more!!!
We started the week with a beautiful havdala ceremony because we had to wake up all our senses – our eyes, our brains, our ears and our hearts to this experience.
I could talk to you about the 100 languages of the child – and how it all started, how people saw a need to educate kids for a reality that had to be totally emersed in the educational process, or I could talk to you about a city that values education and displays the works of the children, I could go on and on about confident and creative and independent children that create magic with their hands, working in groups, helping each other and going deeper than I ever gave them credit for, but at the end of the day I think I have to look at this experience through my Jewish lances and tell you: HINENI!
It is our responsibility to change first, to be the best we can be, and be there for the child – because when we are REALLY there, the child never forgets. We really and truly have to be there for the child, learn to listen to children in order to understand them, to see how they think and what they are saying, how they look at the world and how they interpret it, what are their dreams and struggles.
We have to be true to our beliefs and commit to providing our kids with the best we can be, and then we will give them the best education – and it is possible, I am looking at it, and I am seeing the results and it is the right of our kids to get it! ~ Dalia Golda, Early Childhood Director, Gradinita Gan Eden, Bucharest, Romania
A Fairytale
At the beginning of an amazing Shabbat in an amazing place, there was a sacred place. This Shabbat we pause, we disconnect to connect, we move from action to reflection and back from reflection to action. Talking about storytelling we create a good fairytale:
“Once upon a time there was a kingdom. There lived an unknown family. And one day this family which was a group of great educators realize that they are really lonely. So they decided to go walking around the kingdom Reggio Emilia. They saw so many beautiful places and families and smiling kids. They went home and it was time for Havdala. They embraced themselves, they started singing and became aware that they are the amazing family with a perfect mission and that in the name of their kids they will do everything to have a good future!”
So this good family started their journey in the kingdom wisdom understanding that “When the adult is there – the child never forget”. They started organizing different places for their kids, they started to listen to the kids, they started to teach the kids to have a dialogue. They talked about the essence of childhood and taught that it’s the nature, play, songs, smile and freedom of being.
And then the amazing family went to the most special place in the kingdom – The Malaguzzi International Center and have one long, educational, understanding and at the same time a confusing day, full of strong sessions that gave them a lot of information how to work with kids. And the family became more united because they have a nice dinner talking about what they learned and what are their worries. Gelato was good ending of this long day. Have a good night, sweet family! ~ Beti Gershon, Director Gan Balagan, Sofia, Bulgaria
“Once upon a time there was a kingdom. There lived an unknown family. And one day this family which was a group of great educators realize that they are really lonely. So they decided to go walking around the kingdom Reggio Emilia. They saw so many beautiful places and families and smiling kids. They went home and it was time for Havdala. They embraced themselves, they started singing and became aware that they are the amazing family with a perfect mission and that in the name of their kids they will do everything to have a good future!”So this good family started their journey in the kingdom wisdom understanding that “When the adult is there – the child never forget”. They started organizing different places for their kids, they started to listen to the kids, they started to teach the kids to have a dialogue. They talked about the essence of childhood and taught that it’s the nature, play, songs, smile and freedom of being.
And then the amazing family went to the most special place in the kingdom – The Malaguzzi International Center and have one long, educational, understanding and at the same time a confusing day, full of strong sessions that gave them a lot of information how to work with kids. And the family became more united because they have a nice dinner talking about what they learned and what are their worries. Gelato was good ending of this long day. Have a good night, sweet family! ~ Beti Gershon, Director Gan Balagan, Sofia, Bulgaria
Dreams do come true
On Monday we could see what we have been dreaming of for months. The Malaguzzi Centre opened its gates to us. The study continued through presentations and conversations. We could hear about the principles of the Reggio approach. The presenters spoke about the projects, the values, the working method, the emergent curriculum, the joyful learning…One of the most important and core values is that children construct their own knowledge. We visited the preschool and the primary school at the Malaguzzi Centre. It seems like a museum or an exhibition. Huge spaces, special and natural materials. It was very inspiring, but I am very envious of the place.
On Tuesday we met with a few atelieristas. They introduced us to the culture of the atelier through some powerpoints. After this, we could try how it works in practice. We explored different kinds of paper, we tried to create freely, without restraints. We could share our thinking and researching of our creations with each other. In the afternoon we visited the Documentation and Educational Research Center. We spoke about its works and mission. We saw exhibitions about metaphors as a tool for learning and about the shapes, that interact with things. Mara always helps us to interpret the things heard and seen. She gives us opportunities for asking questions. It was also a very exciting and useful day for all of us.
~ Szonja Merenji, Director Lauder Javne Ovada, Budapest, Hungary
Beresheet
Feelings ranged from overwhelmed to awe, thoughtless to whizzing with ideas, energized to dead tired. It was an intense first day and it seemed super long. The visit to the school seemed surreal in so many ways. The amazing and well thought out architecture created a bounty of possibilities. It’s just so hard to imagine it in action! It is a place impossible to be in without learning and experiencing. The spaces are open and visibility is everywhere. I loved this, the overlapping of ages and time and spaces and lives! How spaces change and transform depending on their inhabitants.
The lectures were thought-provoking and connected on many levels. People were friendly and inviting!
I can’t wait to go on!
Vera
impossible to be in without learning and experiencing. The spaces are open and visibility is everywhere. I loved this, the overlapping of ages and time and spaces and lives! How spaces change and transform depending on their inhabitants.The lectures were thought-provoking and connected on many levels. People were friendly and inviting!
I can’t wait to go on!
Vera
My journey to the fantastic world of Reggio Emilia
My experiences started with the discovery of the city. In this fairy small town there are so many little streets, squares, coffee shops and restaurants. The squares are very special, they always show different faces. On Friday we welcomed the Shabbat with the American and European members of our study group. It was very unique, we wrote our own Shabbat prayer. We finished this day with a very special Shabbat dinner. On the weekend we had a story based Shabbat experience, we went on a short meaningful walking tour around the hotel and had a nice Havdalah. We could travel to the nearby city of Parma. Naama and Mara spoke about the connection of Jewish values and the Reggio approach. We shared our stories about our objects of the essence of the child. It was very interesting and helpful in getting to know each other. On the weekend we could spend some time with our east European friends from Bucharest and Sofia. ~ Szonja Merenji, Director Lauder Javne Ovada, Budapest, Hungary
Continuing across the ocean
Since today was Grandparents Day at the preschool and it was going to be very chaotic, we decided to have our final meeting away from the school. We treated Magda and Marika to a big American breakfast of pancakes. We talked about the changes that can happen at Frajda with the help and encouragement of SOS International. Marika and Magda are ready to begin the transformation at 7:30am on Monday morning!
After a short stop overlooking the San Francisco Bay for the last time and collecting seeds from Eucalyptus trees, it was time to head to the airport. We all had an emotional goodbye as we parted. Even though we will be apart physically, we are bound together. We look forward to much collaboration and to being together again soon. ~ Fran