NEWS ARTICLE
STUDIES REGGIO PRESCHOOL EDUCATION IN REGGIO EMILIO, ITALY
Joanne Rahn, DRE
Joanne Rahn, recently returned from her third intensive study tour of the early childhood programs in Regio Emilio, Italy. The Reggio approach is based in the belief that Children and rich, powerful people, full of desire and ability to grow and construct their own knowledge. Ms. Rahn had previous trainings in Reggio in 2000 and 2002.
Ms. Rahn is the director of children and youth programming for the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. She has spent 15 years in early childhood education specializing in Mentessori, Reggio, and Pikler methods with administrative and teaching experience in northern Indiana, Belize, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hong Kong before coming to Oberlin. Recently she wrote and secured a major grant from the Kellog Foundation for a four year Reggio based preschool program to be administered by the YWCA of Metropolitan Detroit.
The Pikler methods focus on infants and toddlers. Ms. Rahn studied this approach at the Pikler Institute in Budapest, Hunngary in 2005. Dr. Emmi Pikler developed practices with the goal of developing resilience and trust by nurturing independence and self reliance.
caring for children were respected and nurtured toward toward being healthy, secure and trusting.
The religious education goals of Unitarian Universalism are consistent with the Pikler, Reggio and Montessori views of childhood. The Oberlin UU Fellowship offers programming from pre-kindergarten including a newly started Reggio inspired program for early childhood. Ms. Rahn welcomes inquiries about the Fellowship’s programs. You may contact her at 440-935-2048 or jrahn@oberlin.net.
