The children in the Early Learning Centre are provided with opportunities each and every day to learn and discover using the ‘hundred languages’.   Our curriculum is inspired by the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach to education, inquiry and nature pedagogy.  We believe that the children have many ways of thinking, communicating and doing and therefore provide them with many opportunities to express themselves every day.

“Young children are encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through all of their available expressive, communicative and cognitive languages, whether they be words, movement, drawing, painting, building, sculpture, shadow play, or music, to name a few.”

– Edwards, Gandini & Forman,1998

Throughout the year, the children in the ELC have the opportunity to experience a range of languages such as painting, drawing, construction, storytelling, light and shadow, sculpture, music and movement.  This enables them to express their thought and ideas, to learn about themselves, and to learn about the people and world around them.

Through their experiences at the ELC and in life, the children develop a natural affinity for particular languages.  Whilst one child may enjoy drawing as their preferred language for expression, another child may prefer to represent their thoughts and ideas through construction.  The children are provided with a range of materials, equipment and resources so that they have the opportunity to explore and experience many different languages and take their learning and thinking to a deeper level.