Nursery School Hits YouTube With “The Hundred Languages of Children”

Adorable kids, lively music, dancing, papermaking, and clay — the latest from Rye Presbyterian Nursery School, featuring over 100 of its young students, has it all. For the second year in a row, the school is starring on YouTube in a 16-minute film. The film, directed, and produced by parent Leon Sculti, shows how children learn through the “language” of activities.

By Sarah Varney

The idea of a hundred languages comes from the Reggio Emilia pre-school model started by Loris Malaguzzi in post-World War II Italy. Reggio Emilia is the name of the city where Malaguzzi taught. Respect for children’s ideas, the inclusion of parents as a child’s first teacher, and the importance of the environment of a child are all part of the Reggio philosophy. A language refers to the many ways that children learn — whether through music, dance, drama, or papermaking.

RPNS School Director Cheryl Flood explains that all of these activities give voice to the underlying concepts, including math, literacy, and critical thinking skills necessary for success in a traditional educational environment. “The film is a way of helping our parents understand the learning that comes from these activities. Children learn in a hundred different ways,” said Flood.

In the film, and in the photo above, children are shown learning about birds from books, songs, and clay art. The bird project germinated from the kids. “We focus on what the kids are interested in. Listening to the children’s ideas is vital,” said Flood.

Last year’s film, “Rescue Helicopter”, also shepherded by Sculti, showed the children immersed in a nearly eight-month project focused on helicopters. The idea came from a single child who built himself a helicopter out of blocks. It took off from there.

Flood and Sculti are already working on ideas for next year’s feature.

To see the film, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQtLOu99BfE.

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