Why ECELP?

At the LSU Early Childhood Laboratory Preschool, the Reggio Emilia approach guides us on our mission to provide a nurturing environment that promotes a life-long love of learning. What does it mean to be Reggio-inspired?

Core Tenets of the Reggio Approach

1. The environment as the third teacher. Great care is given in creating the classroom environment. Child choice is paramount, as research suggests that children engage longer with materials of their own choosing. A highly skilled early childhood professional is essential for selecting materials that provide opportunity for children to practice key developmental skills.
2. 100 languages of children. Children learn in a variety of ways and need a variety of opportunities to express their knowledge, which can include talking, writing, acting, drawing, the use of natural materials, and dancing.  Providing children with free play, encouraging exploration of a child’s own interest, and creating a safe and positive environment and community supports the hundred languages.
3. Long-term projects. Long stretches of time are necessary for children to engage deeply with materials to explore and develop skills.
4. Teacher-researcher. The teacher serves as a support for children’s ideas, seeking resources and materials to further engage children in learning
5. Image of the child. Children are considered competent, creative, curious, and full of potential.
6. Negotiated learning. Children’s ideas are given serious consideration in the design (plan or intended solution), discourse (reflective study of what is being said), and documentation (record of performance) of projects.
7. Documentation. Documentation is used to promote communication, collaboration and reflection among children, teachers, and families, as well as to facilitate the learning processes of children.
8. Social relations. The recognition that learning is socially constructed through group interaction.

Teacher to Child Ratio

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