Our philosophy is Reggio Emilia inspired. Our curriculum design offers innovative play and inquiry pedagogies in dialogue with the Reggio Emilia principles of respect, responsibility and community, to offer your child quality education and care.

We believe children have rights- a right to communicate, a right to be heard, a right to participate, a right to imagine and a right to learn.

What is the Reggio Emilia Educational Project?

Our curriculum draws on the Reggio Emilia principles of respect, responsibility and community, to offer your child quality education and care. The Reggio Emilia Educational Project is an educational philosophy developed after World War II by psychologist Loris Malaguzzi, and parents in the villages around Reggio Emilia in Italy. The philosophy embraces the image of the child as a capable, confident, creative and active learner.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the pedagogy is the way in which the curriculum derives from the theories and wonderings of the children themselves, expanding in open-ended ways to develop richer knowledge and thinking purposes. This constructivist approach supports experiential learning in relationship driven environments. Malaguzzi believed that people form their own personalities during their early years of life and that children are empowered with a Hundred Languages through which they can express their ideas.

Hundred Languages

Malaguzzi’s poem, the Hundred Languages describes the infinite ways that children can express, explore, and connect their thoughts, feelings and imaginings. These languages are symbolic and are open to the endless potentials of children.

“Nothing without Joy.” Loris Malaguzzi

The Happy Days curriculum design offers innovative play and inquiry pedagogies in dialogue with Reggio Emilia principles:

The Image of the Child

We view child as competent, beautiful, powerful, creative, curious and full of potential and ambitious desires. Children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their relationships with others. There is a strong focus on social collaboration and working in groups, where each child is an equal participant, having their thoughts and questions valued.

The Environment as the Third Teacher

The learning environment is recognized for its potential to spark imagination, provoke curiosity, support collaboration and nurture relationships. Our centres offer studio environments filled with natural light and are designed thoughtfully, where every material is considered for its purpose and learning potential.

Ateliers to Nurture Creativity

Creative expression is valued at Happy Days. We offer a variety of ateliers (art studios) for the children to explore. Through encounters with a wide range of media and materials, children become more skilled and begin to use the materials to communicate or represent their understandings, emotions, discoveries, and interests. Our Atelierista (art teacher) offers the children possibilities for experimentation, skill development and creative expression.

The Educator is a Co-constructor

Our educators are co-constructors, viewing children as active collaborators, rich with wonder and knowledge. educators make time for children to experiment in their own way, make mistakes and find new solutions. They support children to engage in research projects, where they can actively participate, explore and question. Children are listened to with respect, with educators believing that the children’s questions and observations are an opportunity to learn and search for meaning together.

Documenting Children’s Thoughts

We carefully document and display children’s progression of thinking, making their thoughts visible in many ways including photographs, videography, jottings of children’s ideas and theories and visual arts creative representations. Loris Malaguzzi shared that through documentation children, “become even more curious, interested, and confident as they contemplate the meaning of what they have achieved” (Malaguzzi, 1993).

Children are Communicators

We believe that children learn and grow in and through their relationships with others. Communication is a process, a way of discovering things, asking questions, and using language as play. Children are encouraged to collaborate, investigate, explore and to reflect on their learning experiences. We treasure the wonderings of children and actively seek news ways in which to weave their voices into the fabric of their learning.

A Community of Participation

Communities grow through participation. We believe children have a right to a community that invests in children and early childhood education. We recognise and embrace the value each family brings to the rich tapestry of culture in our centre communities. We pride ourselves on creating communities that inspire.