Brianne was working at the Chicago Children's Museum, and was introduced to the Reggio Approach. She met her husband, Enrico, who is from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. After getting married, they moved to Reggio Emilia and Brianne found herself learning Italian, and becoming a volunteer at the "Ray of Light" atelier at the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre. She was in meetings with atelieristas and teachers from around the city - a dream!
AND it got better. As she and her husband were making their plans to return to Kansas City, Brianne's Grandfather gifted her three acres of land with a church and a small house so that she would be able to make her dream of opening a school into a reality. Now, Brianne is back in Kansas City, hoping that the school will be open in fall of this year. In the meantime, she has put together a travelling exhibit, the Bambini Creativi Play Experience Exhibit, that is being showcased all around Kansas City.
Brianne sent over these images of the travelling project, and I have to say, I'm pretty jealous. At some point, I hope I have her job! If you are in the area, you should definitely see this work - it seems like a real showing of the open-ended "atelier" aspect of the Reggio Approach, as it works in the states.
Otherwise, you can check out the Bambini Creativi website and Facebook Page.
Thank you for the post, but more importantly for understanding the infinite possibilities when working with young children. It is the only profession that I know of, where your little co-workers are willing to go to the stars & beyond with you!!!!
ReplyDeleteBrianne Teevan-Bongiovanni
This really looks incredible, Allie. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteWe've been horsing around with an overhead projector for the past few weeks and what I see in these photos looks so familiar!
What a wonderful story. Just goes to show you how small actions can become important acts, that provoke even more small actions...
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