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Visual Arts Program
THE HUNDRED LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN
As children
make hypotheses, explore their environment, and discover connections and
meanings, they use many media to express and communicate their discoveries. In Reggio Emilia, Italy, the educators refer to these as the "hundred languages of children." At Fort Hill, specialists in visual arts and music support the teachers and children in using many languages. The specialists work with all the children in the school- infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
VISUAL ARTS STUDIO
When we designed the Fort Hill building in 2005 we had the opportunity to include a studio space. The inclusion of the studio space was inspired by the ateliers of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The studio was intentionally located in the front and center of the school, open to the Common, the foyer and one of the smaller classrooms. We chose a design that would emphasize the community of the space and would encourage interactions; the studio is visible to all who pass by- there are windows to the outside, to two halls and double glass doors to the classroom and the common areas.
As in Reggio Emilia, each of the Fort Hill classrooms has a mini-studio that provides opportunities for children to work on extended projects and have more possibilities to explore many "languages" to learn and to express themselves. The mini-studios are maintained by the classroom teachers in consultation with the studio teacher. For the past four years we have been reflecting on ideas from Reggio Emilia and the role of the studio and studio teacher in our context at Fort Hill.
Our thinking and practices have evolved with our experience and the way the studio is integrated into the program has changed to reflect our thinking. Among the changes was the decision several years ago to allocate funding for a part-time studio teacher. This position is held by Kaitlin Northey, a full-time supervising teacher who works half-time as the studio teacher and half-time in a classroom.
In the schools in Reggio Emilia, the studio teacher is referred to as the atelierista and has complex roles; among them to support children and teachers in their encounters with materials and the many languages of expression. The atelierista promotes collaboration among teachers, maintains the studio space, and collaborates with teachers and children on their projects. There is also a very important position known as the pedagogista who works closely with teachers. The pedagogista supports the preschools or the infant toddler centers by participating in teachers' meetings and discussing a variety of educational issues concerning children, where the ultimate goal is always to promote teachers' professional growth and autonomy (personal communication with Lella Gandini, 2009)
In defining the responsibilities of the Fort Hill studio teacher, we considered to roles of both the atelierista and the pedagogista, as well as the constraints of a part-time position and state regulations on appropriate materials. The Fort Hill studio teacher consults with all the teachers in the school. She attends the classroom team meetings and discusses documentation and experiences, the materials in the mini-studios, and the children and families. She works directly in classrooms, and in the studio, with the preschool-age children and contributes to the Work Sampling assessments by completing a portfolio page for each preschooler. She supports infant/toddler and preschool teachers in the development of the mini-studios.
The infant/toddler mini-studio supports the youngest children's explorations. The central studio is designed as a laboratory for preschool-age children. The studio is open in the morning and closed in the afternoon. Two mornings a week there is "Open Studio" and children visit the studio freely during the morning. Three mornings a week the studio teacher is in the preschool classrooms, interacting with teachers and children and learning about their interests and long-term projects, which she supports both in the classroom and the studio, and through dialogue at team meetings. On these morning, preschool teachers may take children into the studio to extend projects.
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