Philosophy
As a Reggio Emilia inspired school, we believe that children are capable learners and actively embrace each child’s thoughts and ideas. Through small group projects and in collaboration with their friends and teachers, children can explore different ideas and interests. A combination of dedicated teachers and a small student body ensures that each child can follow through on their interests in an authentic and satisfying way. Tokyo Children’s Garden is a uniquely beautiful and nurturing space for children to grow.
What is Reggio Emilia?
The Reggio Emilia approach, named after a small town in northern Italy, gained prominence in 1991 when Newsweek magazine named it one of the best 10 schools in the world. The Reggio Emilia approach is : “an educational philosophy based on the image of a child with strong potentialities for development and a subject with rights, who learns through the hundred languages belonging to all human beings, and grows in relations with others.”
(Taken from the Reggio Children website https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/)
“The child has, a hundred languages, a hundred hands, a hundred thoughts, a hundred ways of thinking, of playing, of speaking…”
From the poem "No way. The hundred is there." by Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach.
“Children need the freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes, and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds, and colors.”
— Loris Malaguzzi
“Ensuring that every child feels a sense of security and belonging within the school enables each child to accept and participate actively in transforming situations that are a part of learning experiences.”
— Loris Malaguzzi
“From the beginning, children demonstrate that they have a voice, know how to listen, and want to be listened to by others.”
— Carla Rinaldi
President of both Reggio Children and Malaguzzi Centre Foundation.