A movement is underway in Sonoma County for our youngest learners through the Reggio Emilia Approach! This teaching and learning philosophy for young children symbolizes the endless and creative ways children express, explore, and understand the world. The approach focuses on “The Hundred Languages of Children,” signifying a child’s infinite potential, curiosity, and capacity for expression. The concept is famously expressed in a poem titled “No Way. The Hundred is There,” arguing that traditional education “steals 99” of these language by only focusing on traditional, verbal, logical methods of learning. Children communicate through a hundred languages—expressing themselves through drawing, painting, sculpture, music, movement, and much more (Edwards et al., 2011). The Approach was founded in Reggio Emilia, Italy, which is cited as one of the most innovative, culturally diverse public school systems in the world. Educators worldwide attend organized study groups to observe Reggio Emilia schools every year.

CREATIVE LEARNING FOR EDUCATORS

Local early childhood educators, both in-school and in public and private childcare centers, are receiving training through the Sonoma County Office of Education in Reggio-inspired curriculum. Educators and providers explore curriculum that integrates creativity and inquiry into the learning of preschool-3rd grade students. In Fall and Spring of 2026, professional development was offered to educators and administrators to explore how to support all children in communicating their thinking and learning through multiple means of expression using the Reggio Approach.

The interest and results are impressive! This past school year, 90 preschool providers engaged in using Reggio-inspired, project based approach in classrooms. Over 60 educators from across the education community participated in two introductory workshops led by the California International Reggio Center. More than 60 educators including visual and performing arts teachers and expanded-learning educators learned how to integrate The 100 Languages into their programs. Multiple school tours to Reggio-inspired classrooms, called ateliers in Italian, further sparked enthusiasm by seeing Reggio instruction in action .

In early May, the work of these many schools districts and childcare centers were on display at the Sonoma County Reggio Emilia Teacher Sharecase. The event celebrated student work from classrooms of trainees. Teachers shared how creative learning impacted a wide variety of communities of their students. Ryan Kurada, SCOE P-3 Coordinator, expressed accolades for these educators. Kurada leads the SCOE Reggio project. After visiting Reggio Emilia schools in Italy, his life and philosophies of teaching were changed forever and supports teachers in discovering the philosophy.

Reflections of teachers now incorporating Reggio into their instruction included:

• “The Reggio Approach has encouraged me to slow down from the metric driven method of teaching that is so prevalent in public schools.”
• “Student language has been enhanced as they express their ideas with one another and the adults in the classroom.”
• “Students who may not typically play with another peer found commonality when exploring the arts together.”

Dates for more trainings in 2026-27 can be found at creativesonoma.org/socoartsedplan-professionallearning/

MULTI-YEAR COLLABORATIVE PROJECT

This wide-scale professional development is an essential part of an exciting community-wide multi-year project. Sonoma County was selected from an applicant pool of over 15+ potential host cities and will host the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA) Exhibition and International Conference in 2028. The exhibition, Mosaic of Marks, Words, Material, tells the story of research done in Reggio Emilia infant-toddler centers and preschools on the theme of mark-making and drawing, woven with narrative. The Exhibition will be installed at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts and available to explore for educators, parents, and community members – anyone who has an interest in education and early learners. The NAREA Conference will be hosted at the Santa Rosa Junior College to hundreds of early childhood educators from across the nation and globe. This timeline below shows the roll out of the project:

If you have interest or questions about the Reggio Emilia project or if you would be interested in pledging or sponsoring the project, contact Ryan Kurada rkurada@scoe.org for more information.