By Kristi Cameron
On August 8, 2011, The Nest Nursery School in Ormewood Park opened its doors to eighteen area families. The Nest, co-founded by Teresa Cole, Mandy Palmer, and Kristi Cameron, was built upon the belief that there was a serious deficit in full-day, year-round childcare for the very youngest children in the Southeast Atlanta community. Since its inception, the idea has been to create a unique childcare environment that truly embraces a home-like feeling. When you enter The Nest, you are frequently greeted by the smell of good food cooking – healthy, nutritious, and delicious. The school also prioritizes low staff-to-child ratios, which contribute to the cozy nature of the school.
The Nest has embraced an educational philosophy based on the Reggio Emilia Approach to education. The Reggio Emilia Approach (also simply called Reggio) has become something of a buzzword in early childhood education. It is based on the practices within the municipally funded preschools and infant/toddler centers which can be found in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
So what does a Reggio-inspired school look like? There is no single, easy answer. Unlike other educational approaches, there is no catalog of materials or books that outline a Reggio curriculum. Schools that are inspired by the experiences of Reggio Emilia can be found across the world, with a heavy concentration in the United States. The schools themselves are as different as apples and oranges. For schools that are Reggio-inspired, the focus is on the individual school’s context and vision. There are, however, some central values that are true among all schools that identify themselves as Reggio-inspired.
A strong image of the child – the child as competent, capable, and powerful – is a component of the Reggio approach that can be seen in Reggio-inspired schools across the world. Children are not viewed as blank slates or empty vessels to be filled, but instead are seen as competent, capable, and powerful from birth. The job of the teacher is to provide an environment that is rich in possibilities and experiences that support children’s natural predisposition for learning.
Reggio-inspired schools also maintain a strong belief in the rights of children to be active, participatory members of their community. Parents, too, have rights within a school to be active participants and to be valued for their unique perspectives and viewpoints.
Reggio-inspired schools put a strong emphasis on creative materials and expression. The environment is full of rich materials that are open-ended and intended to support children in exploration and discovery. Efforts are made to go outside of the school walls and into the community in order to learn more about our unique place in the world. Whether inside the walls of the school or outside in the community, children are supported in encountering experiences individually and in small groups.
As we look forward to our second year of operation, The Nest will begin its enrollment process for the 2012-2013 school year (which begins on August 6, 2012) on January 30, 2012. Tours of the school will be offered on January 8, 21, and 29. For more information about our program, school tours, and the enrollment process, please visit our website at www.thenestnurseryschool.org, or contact us directly at info@thenestnurseryschool.org or 404-627-1200.
Comments are closed.