"Reggio Inspired" Child Made Calendar and More!

In November of last year, I had the opportunity to tour a Reggio Emilia inspired school in my area and see the classrooms.  One of the things that absolutely captured my heart was the child generated print materials.  

It was so inspiring!  I came back resolved to toss my commercial made materials and have the children make them.  Here is what I have done so far:

I use index cards to make the calendar.  We "x"-out the days we are not in school.  On school days, the special helper draws a picture for the day.  We staple that on top of the index card already on the board. 

At the end of the day, the special helper recalls three things about the day and I record it on index card under the picture.  (You can see how it makes a flap above)  We can review what we did that week, yesterday, and so forth. 

 I had the children work in pairs to create individual month posters.  I had the children work in pencil and crayons.  I traced their writing with a sharpie.  I noticed at this school that black was used frequently to frame the writing.  I put each month on a black paper and laminated them.  Now, I am shifting my calendar board to black as well (my project for tomorrow!).

 I think they are much more beautiful than the commercial months found in calendar sets!  See!  Who needs to buy a calendar set?  Save your money and have the children make it! 

 The children created name cards for checking in every morning.  I had them write with pencil and I traced their writing with a sharpie.  Love their handwriting!

They made their own name cards for our restroom procedure.  (Here they are all bunched up!)   They have to hang their name up to go to the restroom so I know who is out of the room.  Only one girl and one boy can be gone at one time.  This is a Responsive Classroom idea that I adore for safety.   I have other commercial posters that I am going to have the children make for me and I will post those as they are made!!

There is such a wonderful ownership in the room when their developmental stage of handwriting (the way the letters are generated) is honored and cherished.  It brings warmth and a deep feeling of respect for children.  It moves me to see their writing instead of something from a teacher's store.  

Good Teaching Scents!

According the Rudolph Steiner, the sense of smell has a direct impact on memory and thus is a great ally in the educational process.  However, he does warn to not over do it.  I think it is important to find subtle smells and use sparingly.  Remember that an adult's sense of smell is much duller than a child's.

One of my mentors in my training said in early childhood it is important to stick to one smell as a teacher.  It is comforting to the children if they can count on your smell being consistent and reliable.  It is an aspect of safety.


Additionally, it is through the sense of smell we experience the quality of things and our very personal relationship to them.  I think it is important to get the best possible scents in as natural a state as possible.  Quality is imperative.

Scents for the Teacher:
The smells of the classroom and the teacher are such an important of the environment.  I receive my students at the door of my classroom and many give me a big hug.  Their noses go right into my belly.  I think is so nice to make sure it is a lovely smelling hug!!!  My Waldorf mentor suggested the Moors Lavender Body Oil as a personal scent.  It is lovely.  I have used it for years. You can buy it at  Dr. Hauschka's.

Currently, I am wearing a French Vanilla perfume that is heavenly.  The children say I smell like a cookie.  One day a mother told me that she and her daughter were in a bakery and the little girl says, "It smells like Mrs. Haughey!"  Anthropologie carries it in their stores (not online) and you can buy it online at Smallflower.  It is not too sweet - it is the perfect vanilla scent. Warning!  It sells out quickly because it is so yummy!  So buy two if you find it!

Smells for the Classroom:

One of my current favorite cleaning soaps is Meyers Basil Cleanser.  It is such a homely, lovely scent.  I like it much better than Meyer's Lavender Cleanser which seems a bit too sweet.

Another way I like scenting the air is with a candle warmer.  It gently releases the scent into the atmosphere and seems more gentle than an essential oil diffuser.   This year I am using a subtle cinnamon scent that gives a homey feel.  It lasts and lasts so it is very economical as well.