Classes are starting back up this fall, however, things may look a little different this year! Rather than separating learning into subjects such as art, STEM, and pre-literacy, we are going to be moving to a Reggio Emilia-inspired studio model. The studio brings these areas together through a monthly focus that invites children to investigate a big idea from many different perspectives. The studio will take place in our former event room, which has been carefully transformed into a dedicated space for our learning pods.

What does a studio model look like? Imagine our monthly focus is ‘Looking Up’.  Our gathering time would begin the same, in the rug room, where we open with our beloved parachute and read aloud about birds. We would then move back to the studio! Throughout the studio, children would encounter a variety of invitations to explore this idea. Children might lie on their backs and paint a surface above them, inspired by Michelangelo. They might study clouds and create their own using wool roving, or build skyscrapers with blocks, or examine feathers under a microscope. Each focus is explored through multiple ‘invitations to play’, allowing children to choose what captures their interest. The focus of ‘Looking Up’ is a guidepost for how I set up the environment, but the children determine how they engage with the environment.

One thing families may notice is that our studio will not completely change from week to week, and that's intentional! Children thrive when they are given opportunities to revisit ideas, and experiences over time. As the studio rotates through monthly focuses, children will encounter familiar materials in new contexts, allowing them to build confidence, deepen their understanding, and develop increasingly complex ideas. A child who spends one week simply exploring clay may return the following week with a new plan, a new question, or a new skill. A child who at first only watches others build may later feel confident enough to create a structure of their own. Through revisiting materials and ideas, children move into deeper learning.

While the studio will become the heart of our learning pod experience, it won't replace the rest of Small Talk! Throughout class, children will continue to enjoy our familiar playrooms that families already know and love. The studio simply becomes an additional, prepared learning space available exclusively to children enrolled in our learning pods.