Perth Reggio Network Meeting - November 2019

Presenter: Katie Pitchford

Date: Monday 18 November 2019

Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Venue: Loftus Community Centre

Category: WA Network

Registrations have now closed

Program Description

Perth Reggio Network presents: Woven Connections 

Four projects undertaken by children and educators will be presented.

Katie Pitchford from Como Children coordinated two collaborative projects which resulted in a hiding place for transformation at the Perth Convention Centre during the Landscapes of Transformation conference and the creation of bonbonnieres as gifts for the participants attending the conference dinner. The installation represented what we hope for, a transformation in us and in our schools. The organic, deliberate and slow-growing nature of project work was metaphorically represented by the layers of different transparencies of cloth that people were able to pass through, touch, engage with, hide beneath, rest and reflect in. Treasures found by children were wrapped in bundles made of pieces of dyed silky cloth. Once opened, the gift was revealed with a memory from the child, along with a little tag that described the printed holiday journey.

The ‘Together Group’, a group of four year old children and their educators from each of the five Schools of Early Learning, researched how the Children and the city acknowledge each other. From the provocation of visits to the city, the children used their existing investigations in their kindy and studio programmes to draw meaning and understandings of the place they live in. Each centre’s unique inquiries influenced the learning of children in different centres. The intentions of Active Citizenship (finding solutions for problems in our community), symbols as a form of communication, being visible through sound, and children’s ways of knowing in relation to nature were some of the focuses used within each centre. This helped the children take notice and acknowledge the multiplicity of life that we live amongst as well as to appreciate that everything (tangible or not) can coexist and has the right to a voice and place.

Another project from the Schools of Early Learning researched the idea that Music and sounds can transform us and the world we live in.  The responses of toddlers to music seem universal, the natural way that children move and sing along was similar in the 3 centres involved. Children showed their resourcefulness and open mindedness to use everyday resources to make and create sounds. The music that captured the attention of the children involved was that which they could embody somehow (using their bodies, clapping, stomping, jumping). Music and sounds transformed the children, from creating calm transitions that helped the children predict what was coming next, singing to one another (even the quieter and shy children), to transforming spaces such as bathrooms and stairwells. Music and sound added a new layer and perspectives to existing experiences in the programmes such as mark making, extending the life of inquiries.

After the presentations, the committee will announce the programme for 2020 and invite participants to consider their next steps on their own journey with Reggio Emilia.

Participants are invited to gather in the foyer for coffee, tea or a glass of wine and cheese and crackers to celebrate another wonderful year of Reggio and research!