School may be out for our students, but at Richland, the halls are still filled with the voices of learning – only this week they are the voices of educational professionals taking part in the Reggio-Inspired Summer Intensive Course currently underway. We are delighted to have teachers from across Ontario and the U.S. taking part and sharing their time between Richland Academy and Acorn School. You may even see some familiar faces from Richland’s Faculty among the delegates!
Yesterday, the group explored documentation and natural materials indoors and outside at both the Acorn and Richland campuses. The day was filled with dialogue, discourse and reflection, and participants concluded their investigations in nature through the creation of still life drawings inspired by their findings. Today the dialogue deepened as the participants explored Constructivism in Reggio-inspired practice, as well as collaborative theory building. Throughout the morning, participants also explored the beauty and theory of Richland’s Reggio-inspired learning environments, as seen in the photos below. The excitement is mounting for this afternoon’s Messing About session, and the exploration of physics through marble run designs. Participants will be working collaboratively to design marble runs of ramps and pathways as they physically reveal the physics behind their construction.
The course is the first of its kind, and is directed by Seneca College’s Bachelor of Childhood Development Professors, Diane Kashin and Louise Jupp. Acorn School and Richland have partnered with Diane and Louise, who are also independent researchers, to form the Reggio Professional Learning Collaborative. Through this collaboration, we are also looking forward with much anticipation to hosting the Canadian iteration of Cultivate the Scientist in Every Child: The Philosophy of Frances and David Hawkins, a project of Hawkins Centers of Learning which will be officially opened at Richland Academy on October 25th and 26th 2013.
The week is going far too quickly! The energy and excitement from the immersion of Educational Professionals in our environment is contagious, and we look forward to sharing all that is transpiring around us. Please follow our social media links for more on this week’s Reggio-Inspired Summer Intensive Course, as well as for further information along with registration details for the opening conference about the exhibit, Cultivate the Scientist in Every Child: The Philosophy of Frances and David Hawkins.
“We are exploring together. We are cultivating a garden together, backs to the sun. The question is a hoe in our hands and we are digging beneath the hard and crusty surface to the rich humus of our lives.” ― Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
