I am about to co-teach a course: Environments and Materials in Reggio Inspired Teaching and Learning at Lesley University and about to see the second edition of our book, In the Spirit of the Studio: Learning from the Atelier of Reggio Emilia come out next week... so, I have been thinking a lot about the whole idea of materials and what they mean to me and have come to mean to many with the perspective of the work in Reggio Emilia. A central thread in Reggio Emilia is aesthetics and the power of materials...paint, pens, pastels, clay, stones, shells, sand, earth, leaves....to hold meaning together, to prompt connections, stories, exchange, pleasure and wonder. Playing with the stuff of the world... the pigments, the earth itself, the fibers and filaments, the graphite and charcoals...all of it of the earth and from the earth, gives us human beings the chance to make marks and make meaning in many forms. This is never so clear as it is in Reggio Emilia, Italy in the municipal schools for young children. What a wonder to live now and to take inspiration from Reggio Emilia as many of us do all around the world.

Vea Vecchi's book, Art and Creativity in Reggio Emilia is a must read for those of us who want to peek into the real world of aesthetics and learning as it has evolved in Reggio Emilia. Margie Cooper's chapter in the newest and third edition of The Hundred Languages of Children, "Is Beauty a Way of Knowing?" synthesizes and interprets a talk by Vea Vecchi that is the foundation of much of the work in Reggio Emilia. All of the publications from Reggio Emilia communicate in myriad ways through many learning stories the power and pleasure that materials of all kinds hold for students and adults.

We have shared a list of basic materials in different contexts and for different reasons. We are now sharing it with the students in the Lesley course that begins this weekend.

We share it here to remind you what you might need and what you could look for. The list is not complete by any means but it is a good start. Have fun and never doubt that some good pens and some soft colored pencils in the hands of children, over time, will inspire and amaze you.

Suggested Materials

These are basic suggestions for ordering materials to use with children. Several sets of colored pencils should last a class of 20 children a school year if they are treated well. You do not need to order a set for each child. Soft, high quality colored pencils are a pleasure to use and produce results that do not compare to low quality, hard student sets of 12 pencils. The same is true of other materials.

These are brands that we find reliable and good. There are others that are also fine. Experiment and have fun. It should not cost so much more in the end, and you, as a teacher or parent, will become more educated and refined in making choices. Remember that these are beginning basic suggestions and only suggestions. We order most of our materials from Dick Blick: 800 828 4548, www.dickblick.com

Drawing:

Fine line black pens: Permanent black Sharpie pens

Prismacolor colored pencil-set of 36 or more

Pentel fine markers-set of 24 or more

Drawing pencils in HB, 2B, and 4B (hard to soft)

Kneaded erasers

Painting:

Pelican Gouache-12 color set

Water color sets-16 color set

Dick Blick medium grade tempera (Order as many colors as you can afford and then mix new colors. We use jelly jars to mix colors.)

Brushes:

Economy camel hair for tempera, sizes 4, 6, and 8

Assorted sizes of brushes for watercolor and gouache

Sponges for blotting

Papers:

Basic white drawing paper in 9x12, 12x18 for drawing, and 18x24 for tempera painting

Textured grays, and off whites

Vellum for painting, marker, qouache and colored pencil

9x12 Biggie Junior watercolor pad

tissue assortments

foil assortments

origami paper

decorative collage paper

corrugated cardboard and other mat board scraps for collage and paper sculpture

Glue:

Elmers gel glue

Glue stick

Hot glue for heavy objects

Wire:

Twisteez colored wire

Aluminum, copper, brass, fine and medium gauge from local hardware stores

Beads, buttons, sequins, shells, yarns

Beautiful Stuff to collect with children and families:

Sequins

Unmarked envelops of all sizes

Stamps, wildlife and others

Unused postcards, cards and stationary

Beads

Buttons

Fasteners (paper clips, brass fasteners and grommets)

Hardware (rubber and metal washers, screws, nuts and bolts)

Clean rubber or plastic tubing, clear tubing

Snaps, zippers, eye hooks, thimbles

Cord, tassels, threads

Ribbon, lace

Lace

Interesting wooden pieces

Rubber stamps

Old keys and charms

Silk or dried flowers

Leather strips

Dowel rods

Plexiglas or mirror pieces

Springs

Doilies

Colored straws

Corks

Cellophanes

Twigs, acorns, seedpods, shells, dried leaves, flower petals

Sources:

Basements, junk drawers, garages, sewing boxes

Flea markets

Hardware stores

Craft supply stores

Gardens and woods

Party supply stores

IKEA

Craft supply stores

Ashley and I just read an intriguing book, A More Beautiful Question, by Warren Berger. We first heard about this book through our work in inquiry-based learning with Oregon Episcopal School. We have always been struck by the thoughtful and powerful questions that drive the work at Opal School of the Portland Children's Museum. The images in this blog post are all from Opal. In his book, Berger quotes some staggering statistics. On average, children between the ages of 3 and 5 ask 300 questions a day! And what happens? Then, they stop. Because of lots of reasons including this one: school and teachers are usually looking for answers from children not questions.

Berger's main message is that framing questions and wondering why? what if ?and how? are among the critical skills of our time. We need to cultivate the natural curiosity and questioning disposition that children have in schools.

I always think of Pedagogical Consultant to Reggio Children, Carlina Rinaldi's, advice to parents. When your child asks, "Why is there a moon?" Instead of giving her some kind of answer, ask her what she thinks and imagines. What theories does she have? In this way, you start a wondering conversation with your child where you are investigating together and enjoying the pleasure of that search. This is a good idea for teachers, too. Children are full of theories if we ask them and wonder with them. It is the search and the questions that are the most important part of life, not answers, that for the young child, may not stick or make sense in any case.

This is the heart of inquiry-based learning: learning that comes from real curiosity and a desire to uncover meaning and knowledge that can all hang together and last inside of us so that it changes our perspective and our way of understanding the world.

This is real learning, the kind we would like to see in schools.

Did you know that our brain does not really like answers? We much prefer puzzles and unsolved mysteries. Just try to watch your brain sometime and you will see.

We highly recommend this book, especially Chapter Two, which is all about children and schools. If you read it, tell us what you think and what new questions you have.

You can watch this trailer about the book to get a taste.