Our Educational Approach
Wonder school is based on and inspired by the world famous approach to early childhood education known as Reggio Emilia.
Quick Links:
Our Mission is to spark wonder through bilingual progressive early-childhood education.
The Reggio Emilia Approach
As a Reggio Emilia inspired school, our approach to early childhood education emphasizes exploration and discovery. All learning and activity is guided by the curiosity and interests of our children, within the supportive and enriching environment curated by our team of educators.
​
The Image of the Child
Every aspect of the Reggio approach is shaped by a clear and powerful image of the child. Rather than empty vessels to be filled with facts and skills, we view children as competent learners already full of capabilities from the day they are born.
The Rights of Children
The Reggio approach believes in a child’s right to have a voice in his learning, the right to be in beautiful environments, the right to work in small groups, and the right to use tools and materials of professional quality. Wonder upholds these rights as foundational principles, to be upheld and respected at all times.
The Environment
In the Reggio approach, the environment is regarded as the third teacher - the space itself is designed specifically to inspire the children’s learning. Classrooms are filled with natural light and open space. They are purposely free from clutter, where every material is considered for its purpose, every corner is ever-evolving to encourage children to delve deeper into their interests.
At Wonder, you won’t find plastic toys and colorful murals of cartoon characters on the wall. Instead we have taken great care to provide children with authentic materials and tools in an environment that feels natural and home-like. The space encourages collaboration, communication, and exploration.
As with every Reggio-inspired school, we have an atelier or studio space where children can experiment with and create many different types of media. The atelier is equipped with clay, wire, paint, pens, paper, beads, shells and a variety of recycled, natural materials used by the children in short- and long-term projects with the purpose of expressing the "hundred languages" of children.
​
Reggio Emilia
Wonder is a "Reggio-inspired" school. This means that we mold the core values and ideals of the Reggio Emilia approach and with the specific needs of the people, environment, and cultures present in our community.
The title of an 'official' Reggio Emilia school can only be allocated to one of the 46 Infant and Toddler Centers located in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the birthplace of the Reggio Emilia pedagogy. While their approach to education has become popular all over the world, there is no fixed set of standards, methodologies, or certifications that can be attained that enables a center to call itself "Reggio."
The relationship our educators have with our children is that of a "learning partner."
Role of the Teacher
The teacher's role within the Reggio Emilia approach is complex. He/she is first and foremost meant to provide a safe and nurturing environment for young children to discover and interpret the world around them. As a learner partner rather than just an instructor, educators carefully listen, observe, and document children's work and the growth of community in their classroom. Teachers are there to provoke, co-construct, and stimulate thinking and children's collaboration with peers. They are also committed to ongoing reflection about their own teaching and learning.
Role of Documentation
One of our primary responsibilities as co-researchers alongside the children is to make the processes of children’s learning, both as individuals and as a group, visible. Documentation of children's interactions and play together with teachers’ reflections on these documentations, journey binders, documentation panels, photos and videos provide a window into the world of the children at school, as well as become the basis to our children-led curriculum, and allows further reflection of children learning by the children themselves, parents and teachers .
For children - By documenting the children’s play, conversations, and representations, we send them a very clear and powerful message that their work is of value to us. These visible traces allow for children to revisit their experiences, deepening their thinking and inspiring them to form new understandings.
For families - Documentation is about more than a basic exchange of information between teachers and parents. It is an extraordinary opportunity for parents to see beyond what their children are doing in school to the how and the why. By sharing documentation with our families, we create a bridge between home and school, a dialogue where all members of our community - children, teachers, and family - can gather together using a common language to support the child’s learning as a team.
For teachers - Documentation allows us to be reflective practitioners. It provides tangible evidence of our own role in the children's experiences and forms the basis upon which we develop and evaluate the choices we make and the strategies we employ in our teaching.
Non-hierarchical, co-teaching model with 3 teachers working together as a team.
Our Teaching Model
Our classrooms are run using a non-hierarchical, co-teaching model with 3 teachers working together as a team. Each teacher speaks only in his or her native language in the classroom. There is no designated “Hebrew time” or “English time.” Rather, educators work together to provide whole group, small group, and individualized activities conducted in each teacher’s respective native language.
When one teacher is leading an activity, particularly with the whole group, it is the responsibility of the co-teacher to act as a support to his or her partner, facilitating the activity, guiding children who may need extra help, and documenting the learning process. Because this model of education demands a high level of communication and cooperative planning, teaching teams meet weekly to reflect, share observations, and build curriculum based on these observations.
Connection and inclusion through traditions familiar and new.
Jewish Values & Reggio Emilia
A Convergence of Values
Infused within Wonder is a deep connection to Jewish values and tradition. Together as a community we gather around important moments in the Jewish and Israeli calendar. These holidays are a time for asserting a feeling of connection, remembering our national history, and honoring the beauty of ritual. That being said, we welcome children from all religions and backgrounds to the school and promote multiculturalism and inclusion by inviting them and their families to bring their traditions, customs and holidays in an authentic way to the classrooms.
At Wonder, there is no designated “Hebrew time” or “English time.” Rather, educators always speak in their respective native language.
Learn More
Giving Children the Gift of Bilingualism
Wonder employs a model of bilingual education known as immersion. Similar to a bilingual family setting, both English and Hebrew are used within the classroom. Our goal is that children become functionally proficient in both languages as well as acquiring a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, the cultural nuances imbued within each language.
Our method employs the practice of additive bilingualism, meaning that children’s primary language is developed and maintained as a second language is added. Some of the features of this educational model are as follows:
-
Immersing the child in another language and learning it by experiencing it in everyday activities that are familiar to the child, like eating, playing, dressing up etc.
-
Each teacher speaks only one language without translating, while allowing children to use native language resources such as peers and the Hebrew/English-speaking teacher
-
Ample time for interaction between children (such as through the use of cooperative learning and project work) allowing children to practice their new language skills with their peers
-
Exposure to meaningful and developmentally appropriate literacy and a print-rich environment in both languages, where reading and writing are tools used to share ideas, collaborate towards goals, and express feelings.