Reggio Emilia Approach: The Hundred Languages of Children

In the rich tapestry of educational approaches available to UK families, the Reggio Emilia philosophy stands out as a beacon of respect for children’s innate capabilities and natural curiosity. Born from the rubble of post-war Italy in the 1940s, this approach emerged from a community’s determination to create something beautiful and meaningful for their children. What began in the small Italian city of Reggio Emilia has become a globally recognised philosophy that celebrates children as competent, curious researchers capable of constructing their own learning.

The Reggio Emilia approach is not a method to be replicated, but rather a philosophy to be interpreted and adapted to different contexts and cultures. This flexibility makes it particularly suitable for home-educating families who wish to honour their children’s natural learning processes whilst maintaining the individuality that makes each family unique.

At its heart, the Reggio Emilia philosophy views children as having “a hundred languages” - countless ways of thinking, exploring, and expressing their understanding of the world. This profound respect for children’s multiple forms of communication and expression offers home-educating families a framework for rich, meaningful learning experiences that go far beyond traditional academic subjects.

What Is Reggio Emilia Education?

The Reggio Emilia approach is founded on the image of the child as a strong, capable, and resilient individual, rich with wonder and knowledge. It recognises children as protagonists of their own learning, capable of constructing knowledge through relationships with people, places, and materials in their environment.

Unlike prescriptive educational programmes, Reggio Emilia education emerges from the interests and questions that children naturally develop. Teachers (or in the home context, parents) act as co-researchers alongside children, documenting learning journeys and providing provocations that deepen understanding and extend thinking.

The philosophy emphasises the importance of community, viewing education as a collaborative endeavour involving children, families, and educators working together to create meaningful learning experiences. This community-centred approach translates beautifully to home education, where families can create their own learning communities with neighbours, friends, and extended family members.

The Fundamental Principles of Reggio Emilia

The Image of the Child: Children are viewed as strong, rich, and capable individuals who are naturally curious and competent learners. They are not empty vessels to be filled but active constructors of their own knowledge and understanding.

The Hundred Languages: Children have countless ways of thinking, exploring, discovering, and expressing their ideas - through words, movement, drawing, painting, building, sculpture, shadow play, collage, dramatic play, and music, among others.

The Teacher as Researcher: Adults are co-learners and researchers alongside children, observing carefully, asking thoughtful questions, and documenting the learning process to make children’s thinking visible.

Documentation: The practice of carefully observing, recording, and reflecting on children’s learning through photographs, transcriptions, and displays that make learning visible and meaningful.

The Environment as Third Teacher: The physical environment is considered a crucial component of learning, carefully designed to be beautiful, inspiring, and rich with possibilities for exploration and discovery.

Projects and Investigations: Learning emerges through in-depth investigations of topics that genuinely interest children, often lasting weeks or months and involving multiple forms of exploration and expression.

Community and Collaboration: Learning is viewed as a social process that happens within relationships and communities, with collaboration and dialogue being essential components.

The Role of Materials: Carefully chosen, beautiful, and open-ended materials invite exploration, creativity, and deeper thinking about concepts and ideas.

The Reggio Emilia Approach in Home Education

The Reggio Emilia philosophy adapts beautifully to home education, offering families a framework for creating rich, meaningful learning experiences that emerge from children’s genuine interests and questions. Many UK home-educating families find that this approach aligns perfectly with their values of respecting children’s natural learning processes and creating authentic educational experiences.

Creating a Reggio-Inspired Home Environment

Spaces for Wonder: The home environment should invite curiosity and exploration. This might include dedicated spaces for art, construction, quiet reflection, and messy exploration, all designed with beauty and accessibility in mind.

Natural Light and Beauty: Reggio environments are characterised by natural light, plants, and beautiful objects. Even small changes like adding mirrors, transparent materials, and natural elements can transform learning spaces.

Organised Materials: Art supplies, loose parts, natural materials, and construction materials are organised in attractive, accessible ways that invite children to engage with them independently.

Documentation Displays: Walls become galleries showcasing children’s work, photographs of their learning processes, and reflections on their thinking and discoveries.

Flexible Furniture: Low tables, comfortable cushions, and moveable furniture allow children to create their own learning spaces and work individually or collaboratively as needed.

The Role of the Adult in Reggio Home Education

Observer and Listener: Parents learn to observe carefully and listen deeply to their children’s interests, questions, and theories about how the world works.

Provocateur: Rather than providing answers, adults offer provocations - interesting materials, questions, or experiences that encourage deeper exploration and thinking.

Documenter: Parents become skilled at capturing children’s learning through photographs, recordings, and careful note-taking that makes thinking visible and celebrates progress.

Co-Researcher: Adults learn alongside children, expressing genuine curiosity and wonder about the topics being explored rather than positioning themselves as the expert with all the answers.

Environment Preparer: Parents thoughtfully prepare environments and materials that support and extend children’s interests and investigations.

Implementing Reggio Principles in Home Education

Emergent Curriculum Development

Following Children’s Interests: Rather than predetermined lesson plans, learning emerges from children’s genuine questions and fascinations. A child’s interest in shadows might develop into a weeks-long investigation involving light, science, art, and mathematics.

Project-Based Learning: In-depth investigations allow children to explore topics thoroughly through multiple perspectives and forms of expression. These projects might last days, weeks, or even months.

Collaborative Planning: Children become partners in planning their learning, contributing ideas about what they want to explore and how they want to investigate their questions.

Flexible Scheduling: The daily rhythm adapts to support deep engagement with projects and investigations rather than being constrained by rigid timetables.

Documentation as Learning Tool

Making Thinking Visible: Through careful documentation, parents help children see their own learning processes, revisit their thinking, and reflect on their discoveries.

Photography: Capturing moments of engagement, discovery, and collaboration helps children and families remember and reflect on learning experiences.

Learning Stories: Written narratives about children’s learning experiences help make sense of the journey and celebrate growth and development.

Display and Reflection: Creating beautiful displays of children’s work and learning processes validates their efforts and invites further reflection and discussion.

The Hundred Languages in Practice

Multiple Forms of Expression: Children are encouraged to explore ideas through drawing, painting, clay work, construction, dramatic play, music, movement, and countless other mediums.

Art as Learning: Art is not a separate subject but an integral part of all learning, providing children with tools for exploration, expression, and communication.

Loose Parts Play: Open-ended materials like shells, stones, fabric scraps, and wooden pieces invite creativity and support various forms of investigation and expression.

Technology as Tool: When used thoughtfully, digital tools can become another language for exploration and expression, supporting documentation and creative projects.

Benefits of Reggio Emilia Home Education

Families who embrace the Reggio Emilia approach in their home education often experience numerous benefits:

Deep, Meaningful Learning: The project-based approach allows children to develop thorough understanding of topics that genuinely interest them, leading to more meaningful and lasting learning.

Creative Expression: The emphasis on multiple forms of expression helps children develop confidence in their creative abilities and find their own unique ways of communicating ideas.

Critical Thinking: The investigative nature of Reggio learning develops strong analytical and critical thinking skills as children learn to ask questions, form hypotheses, and test their ideas.

Collaborative Skills: Even within families, the emphasis on collaboration and dialogue helps children develop strong communication and social skills.

Self-Directed Learning: Children become increasingly capable of directing their own learning, developing intrinsic motivation and independent learning skills.

Aesthetic Appreciation: The emphasis on beauty and artistic expression helps children develop aesthetic sensibilities and appreciation for their environment.

Documentation Skills: Children learn to reflect on their own learning processes and become skilled at communicating their thinking to others.

Flexible Thinking: The open-ended nature of investigations helps children develop flexibility and adaptability in their thinking and problem-solving approaches.

Getting Started with Reggio Emilia Home Education

Start with Observation: Begin by carefully observing your children’s natural interests, questions, and ways of exploring the world. Keep a simple notebook to record these observations.

Improve the Environment: Make small changes to create more beautiful, organised, and inviting learning spaces using natural materials, better lighting, and thoughtful arrangement of materials.

Introduce Quality Materials: Gradually add open-ended, beautiful materials for exploration - art supplies, natural objects, mirrors, transparent containers, and loose parts for building and creating.

Document Small Moments: Begin documenting children’s learning through photographs and brief notes, starting small and building skills over time.

Follow One Interest: Choose one of your child’s current interests and explore it more deeply through multiple forms of investigation and expression.

Connect with Others: Join Reggio-inspired home education groups, online communities, or local networks to share experiences and learn from other families.

Study the Approach: Read books about Reggio Emilia, watch documentaries, or attend workshops to deepen your understanding of the philosophy and practical applications.

Resources for UK Families

Reggio Children, the international centre for the defence and promotion of the rights and potential of all children, provides extensive resources and training opportunities. Many UK cities have Reggio-inspired educators who offer workshops or consultations for home-educating families.

Online communities share practical advice about creating documentation, implementing projects, and adapting Reggio principles to home settings. Art supply companies often provide materials specifically designed for open-ended exploration and creativity.

Local museums, galleries, and cultural centres often offer programmes aligned with Reggio principles, providing opportunities for community connection and extended learning experiences. Public libraries frequently stock books about the approach and children’s books that support project-based investigations.

The Community Aspect of Reggio Home Education

One of the unique aspects of implementing Reggio Emilia principles in home education is the emphasis on community and collaboration. Families often form learning cooperatives where children can work together on projects, share their discoveries, and learn from each other’s perspectives.

These learning communities might meet regularly for collaborative investigations, share resources and materials, organise community trips and experiences, or simply provide space for children to present their projects and discoveries to appreciative audiences.

The community aspect extends beyond other families to include local experts, community members, and cultural institutions. Children might interview local historians, visit artists’ studios, explore community gardens, or collaborate with elderly residents on intergenerational projects.

Making the Reggio Choice

Choosing to implement Reggio Emilia principles in home education represents a commitment to viewing children as competent, capable, and naturally curious learners. It requires faith in children’s ability to construct meaningful learning experiences when provided with rich environments, quality materials, and supportive relationships.

The approach asks adults to become learners themselves, developing skills in observation, documentation, and collaboration whilst setting aside preconceived notions about what children should learn and when they should learn it. This can be both liberating and challenging for families accustomed to more structured educational approaches.

The beauty of the Reggio Emilia philosophy lies in its respect for children’s natural wisdom and capabilities, its celebration of multiple forms of intelligence and expression, and its recognition that learning is fundamentally a social and collaborative process. By providing rich environments and meaningful relationships, families can support their children’s natural development whilst building strong foundations for lifelong learning.

Whether implemented fully or adapted to suit individual family circumstances, Reggio Emilia principles offer valuable insights for any parent seeking to honour their children’s natural learning processes whilst creating beautiful, meaningful educational experiences. The approach’s emphasis on creativity, collaboration, and community creates educated individuals who are confident, capable, and deeply connected to their world.

For families considering this educational path, remember that Reggio Emilia is not a method to be copied but a philosophy to be lived. Start with respect for your children’s natural capabilities, create beauty in your learning environment, and trust in the profound learning that occurs when children are free to explore, question, and express their understanding of the world through their own hundred languages.