Philosophy

At Atlanta Progressive Preschool, we believe children learn through play.  Children’s play is their work. We strive to nurture the whole child:  physically, emotionally, and socially.  Enchantment and wonder are what inspire children’s imaginations and their ideas.

At Atlanta Progressive Preschool we honor and celebrate the wonder of the Earth. Our curriculum follows the changing of the natural world and we celebrate the powerful rhythm of the seasons. Sustainability and environmental stewardship are deeply rooted into everything we do.

We believe in using an arts-integrated project approach.  We believe our environments and classrooms are the third teacher.  We take great care with the arrangement of materials and use nature to add warmth to our rooms.

Our commitment to the Earth

We are an Earth-centered school.   We are committed to the health of our natural environment and model this for our children in everything we do — our classrooms, curriculum, snacks, brand of cleaners, as well as composting and recycling practices are just a few of the school-wide efforts that incorporate our Earth-friendly philosophy.

We have natural materials in our rooms.  Outside there are barrels to harvest rain water.

All of our school celebrations are season-based.  The rooms change with the change of the seasons.  Our circle times change with the seasons.

We do all we can to respect our mother Earth.  We teach children to love the planet.

What are we inspired by?

We are inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy.  We are also heavily inspired by nature.

We believe in using an arts-integrated, project approach that makes it possible for children to utilize and explore their “hundred languages” as explained by Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach.   Like Malaguzzi, we believe the environment is the third teacher and take great care to nurture both our indoor and outdoor spaces.

The Reggio Emilia approach focuses on a child’s natural development. It is child-centered and directed.  A child’s point of view is completely respected and the student is encouraged to follow his/her own educational path.  Teachers observe children, figure out their interests, put materials out that will help children to explore interests at deeper levels, and ask follow-up questions to better understand what children are thinking and how they are expressing their world-views.

The basic values of the Reggio philosophy:

• Relationships are the central organizing principle of education
• The image of the child is that children are capable, resourceful, rich, full of identity and story
• Education begins when the teacher can listen to the child and hear his/her point of view
• Together with children, teachers research and investigate children’s topics of interest and participate in their discovery process
• Teachers, parents, pedagogy and art specialists observe and interpret student interests with a desire to go deeper
• Teachers document the work of their children with notes, photos, projects, and artwork and make these visible to parents and the children
• Classes work in small groups
• The environment is the third teacher
• Children express their thoughts and feelings in many ways—not only through words—there are “100 Languages”
• Teachers are committed to providing the materials in the classroom to help students explore their interests