Why Choose Sapling?

There are many reasons for our success, but above all our Reggio Emilia inspired approach focuses on four main areas:

Our Curriculum

One of the most beautiful elements of the philosophy of education from Reggio Emilia is the holistic, emergent curriculum that is embraced.

We often use the phrase, “following the child,” to describe our approach to educating young learners. Our learning is based on the interests and inquiries of our students. What are our children passionate about? What do they wonder? What gives them joy?

Our Environment

In the Reggio philosophy we focus on three teachers. Children build relationships with each of the three teachers throughout their learning process. We consider the parent to be the first teacher, a guide and partner to the child. The second teacher is the classroom teacher, who takes on the role of researcher and communicates with the child in meaningful, engaging ways. A child’s environment is considered the third teacher. The environment acts as the third teacher by inspiring the emergent curriculum as children wonder about their surroundings.

Our Documentation

Documentation is a powerful way to capture and display children’s thinking and learning. “Making thinking visible,” is the phrase often used in the Reggio approach. Documentation is a way to emphasize the PROCESS of the children’s learning rather than just the PRODUCT. Creating documentation is one of the teacher’s responsibilities as a researcher of young children and their learning.

Our Relationships

Children learn through experiences they have, but also through relationships. Relationships with teachers, peers, and parents are influential in the development of the whole child. Reggio inspired teachers do not view children as empty vessels that enter a classroom to get information poured into them. They learn about their children and get to know them and their families.