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When you step into a Reggio Emilia-inspired preschool, you immediately sense something different. There’s a calm, purposeful energy as children move about the space, deeply engaged in their pursuits. Light streams through large windows, illuminating collections of natural materials carefully arranged on low shelves. The walls display children’s work alongside documentation panels that tell the stories of their learning journeys. Teachers move among the children, observing, documenting, and occasionally asking thoughtful questions that extend thinking.
This is not a classroom where you’ll find worksheets, rigid schedules, or teacher-directed lessons. Instead, you’ve entered a world where children are viewed as capable, curious citizens with rights, where the environment serves as a “third teacher,” and where learning unfolds naturally through exploration, relationships, and meaningful projects.
Originating in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy, after World War II, this educational approach has gained worldwide recognition for its respect for children and its innovative practices. But what does a day in a Reggio-inspired preschool actually look like? How do teachers balance child-led learning with intentional teaching? And what can we learn from this approach that has influenced early childhood education for over 70 years?
In this article, we’ll take you inside a typical day at a Reggio Emilia preschool, exploring the rhythm, spaces, interactions, and learning that make this approach so distinctive and powerful.
Before we walk through a day in a Reggio-inspired classroom, let’s briefly explore the core principles that guide this approach:
In Reggio schools, children are viewed as competent, curious, knowledgeable, and full of potential. They are seen as active constructors of their own learning rather than empty vessels to be filled with information. This fundamental belief shapes every aspect of the program.
Children express their thoughts, theories, and feelings in many ways beyond verbal language—through drawing, movement, building, music, drama, and more. Reggio educators value and nurture these many “languages” as legitimate forms of communication and learning.
The physical environment plays a crucial role, designed thoughtfully to inspire exploration, foster relationships, and provoke learning. Spaces are beautiful, purposeful, and filled with natural light and materials.
Teachers carefully document children’s work, conversations, and learning processes through photos, videos, transcripts, and displays. This documentation makes learning visible, helps teachers plan next steps, and communicates with families.
Rather than following predetermined plans, teachers develop a curriculum based on children’s interests, questions, and theories. Learning unfolds through projects that may last days, weeks, or months.
Teachers see themselves as co-learners and researchers alongside children, observing, asking questions, and reflecting on their practice. They work collaboratively to interpret children’s learning and plan responsive experiences.
Learning is seen as a social process built through relationships between children, teachers, parents, and the community. Collaboration is valued and nurtured at all levels.
With these principles in mind, let’s explore how they come to life in a typical day.
As families arrive at a Reggio-inspired preschool, they’re greeted warmly by teachers who view parents as essential partners in their children’s education. The atmosphere is unhurried, allowing for meaningful transitions and connections.
Unlike traditional programs with rigid start times and structured morning activities, Reggio schools typically offer a “soft start” in which children gradually enter the flow of the day at their own pace. Some children might head straight to the block area to continue a structure they were building yesterday, while others might need time to observe before engaging.
What You Might See:
The Reggio Difference: In this approach, even arrival time is seen as valuable for learning, not just a transition to “real” activities. Teachers might note which areas children gravitate toward, which relationships they seek out, and what language they use to describe their plans for the day. This information helps teachers understand children’s interests and supports the emergent curriculum.
While Reggio schools don’t follow rigid schedules, most include some form of group gathering to build community and share ideas. Unlike traditional circle times with teacher-led calendar activities or predetermined lessons, Reggio morning meetings are forums for meaningful conversation and planning.
What You Might See:
The Reggio Difference: Rather than teachers presenting information, these gatherings center children’s thinking and foster democratic participation. Teachers might introduce new material or experiences as provocations, but the direction of the conversation and subsequent activities emerge from the children’s responses and questions.
As one Reggio educator explains: “Our morning meeting is not about teaching children specific content—it’s about teaching them that their ideas matter, that listening to others enriches our thinking, and that we can plan and work together to explore our questions.”
The heart of the Reggio approach is project work—extended investigations that emerge from children’s interests and questions. Unlike teacher-predetermined thematic units, Reggio projects evolve organically as children and teachers research topics together.
What You Might See:
The Reggio Difference: Projects in Reggio schools aren’t completed in a single day or even a week. They unfold over time, growing deeper and more complex as children build theories, test ideas, and develop new questions. Teachers support this process by providing resources, asking questions, and helping children represent their thinking in various ways.
A project might begin with a simple observation—children noticing shadows on the playground—and evolve into a months-long investigation involving light experiments, shadow puppetry, storytelling, and scientific documentation.
According to KLA Schools, a network of Reggio-inspired schools in the United States, “The projects aren’t about producing a specific end product but about the process of exploration, theory-building, and representation.”
In Reggio-inspired programs, outdoor spaces are considered extensions of the classroom—rich environments for exploration, discovery, and learning. Unlike traditional recess, focused primarily on physical activity and a break from “real learning,” outdoor time in Reggio schools is an integral part of the educational experience.
What You Might See:
The Reggio Difference: The integration of indoor and outdoor learning reflects the Reggio principle that learning happens everywhere and in many forms. Teachers might bring documentation tools outdoors to capture children’s discoveries, or children might collect natural materials to incorporate into their indoor project work.
As noted by the Community Playthings resource library, “The outdoor environment is viewed with the same importance as the indoor environment, offering different but equally valuable opportunities for exploration and expression.”
In Reggio schools, everyday routines like meals and rest are viewed as valuable learning experiences rather than just necessary transitions. These times offer opportunities for social connection, practical life skills, and meaningful conversation.
What You Might See:
The Reggio Difference: The attention to aesthetics and respect for children extends to these routine times. Beautiful, thoughtfully arranged spaces for meals and rest communicate that these activities are valued parts of the day, not just functional necessities.
Conversations during mealtimes might connect to ongoing projects or spark new interests. A discussion about where food comes from might lead to a garden project, or observations about the shapes of pasta might connect to a geometry exploration.
After rest, Reggio classrooms typically offer another period for project work and exploration. This might involve continuing morning investigations or engaging with different materials and spaces.
What You Might See:
The Reggio Difference: The afternoon schedule remains flexible, responsive to children’s energy levels and interests after rest. Teachers might notice that a morning discovery has generated particular excitement and create an afternoon provocation to extend that thinking.
For example, if children became fascinated with how water moves during morning outdoor play, teachers might set up a water investigation station in the afternoon with tubes, funnels, and containers at different heights.
The day in a Reggio classroom typically concludes with another gathering time focused on reflection and connection. This is not just a transition to going home but an important opportunity to solidify learning and build community.
What You Might See:
The Reggio Difference: This reflection time embodies the Reggio principle of making learning visible. By revisiting the day’s experiences through conversation and documentation, children develop metacognitive skills—thinking about their own thinking and learning processes.
According to Reggio-Inspired.com, “Documentation isn’t just record-keeping; it’s a way of valuing children’s thinking, making it visible to them, and helping them see themselves as capable learners.”
Throughout this glimpse into a Reggio day, you may have noticed that teachers play a very different role than in traditional preschool settings. Rather than directing activities or delivering curriculum, Reggio teachers:
Teachers carefully watch and listen to children, taking notes, photographs, and videos to capture learning processes. This documentation serves multiple purposes:
Instead of providing answers, Reggio teachers ask questions that extend thinking:
Teachers curate materials that invite exploration and offer multiple possibilities. These might include:
Teachers set up thoughtful arrangements of materials designed to spark curiosity and investigation. These provocations aren’t prescriptive activities with predetermined outcomes but invitations to explore.
Reggio teachers work closely with colleagues, sharing observations, interpreting documentation together, and planning responsive experiences. This collaborative approach enriches the program and provides multiple perspectives on children’s learning.
The Reggio approach places tremendous importance on the physical environment, considering it a “third teacher” alongside adults and other children. In a Reggio-inspired classroom, you’ll notice:
Spaces are filled with natural light, plants, and materials that connect children to the natural world. Plastic is minimized in favor of wood, metal, glass, stone, and other natural elements.
Materials are carefully arranged on accessible shelves, often grouped by type or purpose. The organization communicates respect for materials and invites intentional use.
Walls feature documentation of children’s learning processes—photos with transcribed conversations, samples of work at different stages, and teacher reflections. These displays communicate that the process of learning is valued as much as final products.
The environment includes areas for different types of engagement—quiet reflection, collaborative work, messy exploration, construction, and dramatic play. These spaces can be transformed based on children’s interests and projects.
Attention to beauty is evident throughout—from the arrangement of materials to the quality of light to the display of children’s work. This aesthetic sensibility communicates value and respect.
Windows, natural materials, and easy access to outdoor spaces blur the boundaries between inside and outside, encouraging children to see connections between these environments.
One of the most distinctive features of the Reggio approach is its emphasis on documentation—the practice of recording, interpreting, and sharing children’s learning processes. In a Reggio classroom, documentation takes many forms:
Teachers create narratives that capture significant moments in children’s learning, often including photos, children’s words, and teacher reflections. These stories highlight the competencies children demonstrate and the strategies they use to solve problems.
Large displays combine photos, conversation transcripts, examples of children’s work, and teacher interpretations. These panels make the learning process visible and help children revisit their experiences.
Many Reggio-inspired schools use digital tools to document learning—creating videos, slideshows, or digital portfolios that capture the richness of children’s experiences.
Children themselves participate in documentation by drawing what they observe, dictating their thoughts, taking photographs, or creating models that represent their understanding.
Documentation serves multiple purposes in the Reggio approach:
As one Reggio educator explains, “When we document children’s words and work, we’re saying, ‘Your ideas matter. Your thinking is valuable. We’re listening.'”
To better understand how the Reggio approach unfolds in practice, let’s look at some examples of projects from real Reggio-inspired classrooms:
In one preschool classroom, teachers noticed children’s fascination with shadows on the playground. Rather than simply explaining the science of shadows, they began a months-long investigation:
Throughout this project, teachers documented children’s theories (“I think shadows are scared of light because they always run away from it”). They provided materials and experiences that helped children test and refine these theories.
Another classroom’s project began when children noticed birds building nests outside their window:
This project integrated science, art, language, mathematics, and music as children pursued their interest in birds through multiple “languages” of expression.
A project on water in another Reggio-inspired school evolved over an entire school year:
This complex project exemplifies how Reggio teachers follow children’s interests while weaving in important concepts and community connections.
In the Reggio approach, families are viewed as essential partners in children’s education, not just as supporters or volunteers. This partnership takes many forms:
Families receive detailed documentation about classroom projects and their child’s involvement, going far beyond the typical daily reports or occasional newsletters found in many preschools.
Parents might contribute materials, expertise, or connections related to classroom investigations. For example, a parent who works as a carpenter might visit during a construction project, or a family might help collect natural materials for an art installation.
Parents are invited to share their observations and insights about their child’s interests and development, which teachers incorporate into their planning and documentation.
Regular gatherings, both formal and informal, help build a sense of community among families and between families and staff. These might include project celebrations, family workdays to enhance the environment, or social events.
As noted by Brightwheel, “The Reggio Emilia approach recognizes that children’s first and most important teachers are their parents. Schools strive to create a welcoming environment where families feel valued as partners in their children’s education.”
While the Reggio Emilia approach originated in a specific cultural and historical context, its core principles can be adapted for various settings. Educators around the world have embraced these principles while making them relevant to their own communities:
Some public preschool and kindergarten programs incorporate Reggio elements within existing structures:
Families can incorporate Reggio principles at home:
Reggio-inspired programs around the world adapt the approach to honor local cultures and contexts:
As the educators of Reggio Emilia themselves emphasize, their approach is not a model to be replicated but a philosophy to be interpreted in context. The fundamental values—respect for children, belief in their capabilities, and commitment to making learning visible—can inspire practice in any setting.
While the Reggio approach offers a compelling vision of early childhood education, it also presents certain challenges:
The emergent, project-based curriculum requires time for deep exploration and the patience to follow children’s interests rather than rushing to cover predetermined content.
Teachers need substantial professional development to understand and effectively implement Reggio principles. This includes learning to observe, document meaningfully, and facilitate rather than direct learning.
Creating beautiful, well-equipped environments requires thoughtful resource allocation, though many Reggio-inspired programs demonstrate that meaningful environments can be built on modest budgets and with natural materials.
In contexts where standardized assessment is emphasized, Reggio educators must find ways to demonstrate children’s learning through documentation while honoring the complexity of the learning process.
Some attempts to implement “Reggio-inspired” practice focus on superficial aspects (like natural materials or documentation displays) without embracing the deeper philosophy of viewing children as capable and respecting their right to participate in their own learning.
Research and observation suggest that children in Reggio-inspired programs develop significant strengths:
As one parent of a child in a Reggio-inspired program shared, “My daughter doesn’t just know things—she knows how to learn. She approaches new situations with curiosity and confidence, asking questions and looking for connections. That’s a gift that will serve her throughout her life.”
A day in a Reggio Emilia preschool reveals an approach that goes far beyond a teaching method or curriculum. It embodies a profound respect for children as citizens with rights, ideas, and capabilities—not just future adults but full human beings in the present moment.
Through thoughtfully designed environments, meaningful projects, careful documentation, and collaborative relationships, Reggio-inspired programs create contexts where children can construct knowledge, build relationships, and develop the skills and dispositions they need for lifelong learning.
As Loris Malaguzzi, the founding educator of Reggio Emilia’s approach, wrote in his poem “The Hundred Languages of Children”:
“The child has a hundred languages, A hundred hands, a hundred thoughts, A hundred ways of thinking, of playing, of speaking… The child has a hundred languages (and a hundred hundred hundred more).”
The Reggio approach honors these hundred languages, creating spaces where children can express themselves, explore their world, and grow in community with others. In doing so, it offers a powerful vision of what early childhood education can be—not preparation for the future, but a rich, meaningful experience in the present that lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning and growth.
Have you experienced a Reggio-inspired program? What aspects of this approach resonate with you? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
