لخّصلي

Parents play an indispensable role in the life of a child . In Reggio schools there is a positively strong relation between the teachers and the parents
Parents are involved in Reggio emilia schools in many different ways such as : Orientation day, open night meetings, daily observation . In the classroom , furniture is designed in a way that the parents feel welcome when they arrive in the school each morning . Usually in the morning when the parents arrive to drop their children they stop by talk with the teacher and discuss about the documentation . Also the parents are involved in many co-curricular activities
(Alghofail,Jawaher , Reggio emilia study tour .113)
The role of parents in the method of Reggio Emilia

The role of the parents :-
Parents play an indispensable role in the life of a child .
In Reggio schools there is a positively strong relation between the teachers and the parents
Parents are involved in Reggio emilia schools in many different ways such as : Orientation day, open night meetings, daily observation .
In the classroom , furniture is designed in a way that the parents feel welcome when they arrive in the school each morning Usually in the morning when the parents arrive to drop their children they stop by talk with the teacher and discuss about the documentation . Also the parents are involved in many co-curricular activities

How do parents and families participate in the life of the schools?
Participation is encouraged at various levels:-
1- School starts, even before children start Inclusion program This involves meetings between children and parents
Building an image of the child as an individual, and a cover on the child's relationship with a task
Make a Holiday Booklet for your favorite photos and nursery rhymes, can be watched
Used as a stimulus for discussion between the child and the teacher.
He gains confidence in the new environment. It is considered the integration period, not only for the child but for the parents and teachers, as it is in this stage
Building a relationship of cooperation and trust
2- Participation in observation and process documentation of their children's learning is required
It understands how the child behaves in the home environment, allowing teachers to build more of a child's image. He flies to keep a diary. For example, I took pictures that I shared with the teachers and with other parents in a group.Settings. Discussing children's experiences in a session and tends to take place in a group, reflecting the Reggio teachers' belief in the group religion of the group.
3- Interact with other teachers and parents
They will collect their baby at the end of the day. Reggio's teachers are ready for that
Set aside time and direction not just to talk to parents and listen every day. Documentation plays into a parent's daily life
Participate in their children's experiences through the daily agenda and describe the activities the children participated in
Parents can see pictures
The children interacted on the same day they were picked up. This allows parents to unfortunately have in their files
Experience the child and create a meaningful dialogue with them
4- At a practical level, participation takes place in many different ways. Parents and
grandparents are encouraged to contribute to the upkeep of the buildings and gardens
by volunteering to repair furniture, paint surfaces and equipment, make and build toys
and equipment, and tend to gardens and play areas, in short volunteering any particular
experience they have. Their involvement is also encouraged through participation in school
outings and celebrations. Parties for particular family groups such as grandparents are often
held to celebrate the importance and uniqueness of these relationships.

5- At a more theoretical level, parents are involved in the life of the schools through elected
membership of school councils known as Consiglio Infanzia-Città (city-childhood councils).
Members of the council are encouraged to participate in meetings held by the schools to
discuss policy concerns and educational matters. They do not take any part in the hiring of
staff or in the distribution of funds in the schools. Rather, they participate in many different
pedagogical projects. At the time of writing, for example, parents have been involved with
educators and pedagogistas in the rewriting of the Charter of Values for the institution which
now runs the municipal infant-toddler centres and pre-school establishments. Parents are
also involved in groups that deal with the refurbishment of school buildings and gardens.
Another group is presently working with cultural mediators on the development of a
cultural project which seeks to create dialogue between the many different cultures now
participating in the schools.
6- One of the most interesting aspects of participation in the Reggio schools is the role the
schools play in adult learning. Crucial to participation in Reggio Emilia is the conviction
that parents are competent individuals in their own right who contribute to the social and
cultural growth of the school. This goes far beyond participation such as keeping parents
informed, or even encouraging involvement, but is rather participation in the form of
working co-operatively to create culture through the organisation of regular talks and
practical evenings where parents and families are given the opportunity to discuss various
topics, such as child health, diet, and the role of religion in education, with experts in the
field. Parents also have the opportunity to attend evenings run by the school cooks, who
explain and demonstrate how to prepare balanced meals for young children.
7- Parents are also encouraged to take on the role of learner at research level. A good
example of this is the year-long work completed by groups of parents from many schools
on the theme of ‘Questions Facing Education’. The research culminated in a conference of
the same name that took place in 1998. As part of the conference four parents presented
papers on themes such as ‘Can We Teach Without Feelings?’ and ‘Education and Time:
Should We Fill the Day or Live It?’ to a large and varied audience. More recently parents
were involved in a long reflection and research process that brought about the writing of
the charter for the city-childhood councils.
When asked what participation means at a personal level parents responded in many ways.
Below are some of their answers.
• It is a search for opportunities for more profound exchange, confrontation and
reflection so that we ourselves continue to grow as people.
• There is a need not to delegate our own child’s education.
• Curiosity
• I see participation not just as personal, but also as social and cultural growth.
The reciprocal relationships that exist between child, family, school and, indeed, community
are therefore far-reaching indeed. To talk of a ‘link’ between families and home is to undervalue
what actually takes place in Reggio. In reality it is not so much that families take part in the life
of the school but rather that, together with the children and the teachers, they are the school.
Paola Cagliari, Pedagogista of the municipal pre-school establishments, states this clearly when
she says:
No teacher, no pedagogista, no parent can have individually more ideas or better
ideas than those produced by a group that is in dialogue together. We are talking
of a new ethic of living together, which presupposes listening, welcoming and the
recognition of the other, whether that be an adult or a child.17