Image of the Child
The ‘Image of the Child’ is where you can begin!
I’m so excited to share with you our Reggio Inspired Teacher Playbook, written by Megan Haynes and me!
This past Friday, my husband SJ and I got to spend time with our granddaughters, Grace and Lillian. They are 10 months old and are developing so differently and have such distinctive interests. Grace is crawling and has been for some time, she stands by pulling herself up on almost anything. She is determined and her main focus is physical development - getting anywhere she wants to go or getting to anything she wants. She is so interested in other people and children. If we are at a restaurant she will try to engage with people at tables close to us. If we are at a park or swimming pool and there are children near by she makes cute little noises to get their attention and wants to engage with them.
Gracadilla
Lilly is gentle, and for me personally, seems like she can look right into my soul. She has this power of being present, examining everything about me or anyone she is with. She is sitting up and loves to clap. She has always had beautiful hand movements. Lilly also loves to talk, very loudly. She says mama, dada, baby, etc. She really wants to be moving her body more and loves to take your hands and stand up. She also loves sitting on the big exercise ball and being bounced up and down.
Lilly Beans and Rice
They both love music and hearing people sing. Their parents, Chelsea and Matt, sing to them all the time and they also have dance parties. Grace laughs a lot when Matt dances. They love going on walks and swinging on the swings at the park. They have started to interact with each other and that is exciting to see. When I sing to them, I add hand motions and they love it. It totally gets their attention and helps with transitions.
Grace rocking Lilly in her car seat and Lilly laughing!
What I have observed that feels new to me is the ways in which both of the girls imitate and create. Lilly will watch someone clap and immediately imitate and practice the movement. Grace imitates her parents waving and now says “hi” when she waves. Imitation is very important for babies and young children - it is how they learn to do something, how they learn new skills that will be important for them to know for their lifetime. I have noticed that Grace loves to create with her body. We were at a store the other day and there was music playing. She pulled herself up on a coffee table and started dancing. It was the first time I saw her do that. Right now Lillian creates more with her sounds. She loves to talk and create different sounds. I find the idea of babies creating something fascinating. I would like to know more about it and how to cultivate and encourage it. Creating is essential to human development. My ‘Image of the Child’ definitely got an upgrade when Grace and Lillian came into this world!
Chelsea, Lilly, and Grace at the Farm in Fort Collins, Colorado
