Reggio Emilia Inspired Playroom
As many of you know I am Early childhood educator. I have worked in kids since 2011 and I have been educated on many different shapes of teaching. One of my favourite teaching approaches is "Reggio Emilia" this approach makes teaching easy, fun, and let's children take the lead.
What is Reggio Emilia?
The founder of this teaching approach is actually from Loris Malaguzzi, who believed every child is unique and will express their interest in many different shapes and forms. Reggio Emilia also revolves children's senses, relying on sight, sound, touch, and even taste and smell. Reggio Emilia classrooms/play areas are also tended to have natural elements and lots of real life material, nature, and lots of open ended materials.
Let's take a look into the playroom --
I have two different play areas in my house. In my basement I tend to keep majority of their toys down there, and we built an under the stairs little nook. I like to keep it all natural, no bright colours and of course having the room play apart of learning. I keep it very simple, no electronics, inviting, and a calming environment.
In this photo this is one area of the room where I set up an invitation to play as a Flower Shop. My daughter was showing interest in flowers when we go for walks and the grocery stores, so I thought it would be a great idea to incorporate it into her playroom. I also decided to also add in a "tea shop" and have the tea set up as an invitation for her to continue the play. Each week I try and change this area into something new, and based on her interest.
This is my favourite part of her playroom. I've always wanted an under the stairs playroom! This was an absolute must when I knew we had the space for it. Having this for her playroom makes a real life teachable moment, where Capri can relate to real life scenarios.
Inside the playroom theres a kitchen with wooden foods, pots, pans, real life toys. This initiates play of real life events. I also set up here for Capri to continue the scieno by putting food in the pots and see where she leads with it. In the corner I have a book area with some stuffed animals, and a wooden crib for her babies.I also love to display her artwork to gain a sense of belonging, and well being inside her playroom.
I love baskets and the best place to find baskets like this is from the thrift shop! Each basket was only a dollar! Here these two are placed in the kitchen area and I have them sorted from "soft" to "hard" This is also a teachable moment as Capri will use her senses when putting them away. I wanted to add a free play art area, so I spray painted the inside of the door to a chalkboard for Capri to use to jot down thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
Upstairs --
This is one of my favourite spots in my house right now. I know it's crazy to think to have a playroom inside your living room, but when it looks like this and when it can act as a teachable moment for your little one its all worth it. We spend a lot more time upstairs and having to always lug toys from upstairs to down it got way to much (especially having a little one now) I went thrifting and found the cutest baskets that were from 50 cents to a dollar. They fit perfect in my Ikea shelf and fit perfect with my home decor. I have a variety of different toys in the shelfs that I rotate occasionally. Having the toys in the shelfs, and having Capri watch daily movements around the house, teaches her. If I am feeding William she mimics it with her baby doll. One of my new favourite things she does is use these silver gems as "ice" to pretend to put ice in her water cup. I also love this area is right by a window to let natural light in, and use the window in her play/exploring.
The are the toys that I have right now inside the shelf. There are lots of wooden toys along with some pop of colours. I found majority of this stuff from the dollar store, outdoor, and amazon!
This is one of my favourite toys for toddlers. It's very open ended and great for exploring light. I have this toy accessible for Capri with a white sheet and flashlight which makes an amazing activity. (these are from amazon)
I will link all the toys I got from Amazon on my amazon store front which is linked down below :) Hope this blog was inspiring. Let me know what you like to do with your littles in your play space and what kind of play your into!
XO
Stephanie
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