What is Montessori, Reggio and RIE? We explain all the different styles so you can find the right parenting and preschool fit for you.
Here at HoneyKids, we really dig the idea of mindful and respectful parenting. It’s simply a holistic approach to care and education (known in the circle as ‘educare’), focusing strongly on a collaboration with children. Knowing more about it helps us choose the education and care we want for our children (we know finding the perfect preschool in Singapore is a huge step!). But what’s the difference between all the approaches? Is Montessori better than Reggio Emilia? Does RIE trump Waldorf? Here, we’ve outlined four different teaching styles with little examples you can try out at home and decide which way you want to go. By practising mindful parenting at home, you’ll find yourself being kinder and gentler to everyone around you. And what’s not to love about that?
Teaching styles: which one’s for you?
RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers)
RIE (pronounced ‘rye’) is a philosophy coined by Magda Gerber and paediatrician Emmi Pikler. It focuses mainly on children from birth to three years old, and this teaching style could be summed up as an acute awareness of our babies. Carers enhance their awareness by observing babies, understanding and attending to their needs, allowing them play on their own (play is a child’s ‘work’), without interruption and take age-appropriate risks. RIE dismisses the notion of babies as being merely cute blobs. Instead, it understands them as whole people deserving of our respect.
RIE prepares a child to be: self-confident, brave, sensitive and independent.
Try it at home
Ask your child, even from birth, to collaborate with you on all care-giving activities such as bathing, diaper change and feeding. Ask “Which diaper would you like? Which top would you like? Can you wipe your mouth, or would you like me to do it for you?” Don’t rush through anything. Have a predictable routine and trust that children know their own bodies, will do things in their own time, and evaluate and navigate risks (within reason). No tummy-time, no propped into seating position and no ‘walkers’. RIE is not for anybody in a hurry.
Keen to explore this approach further?
Visit the Janet Lansbury website and read her book, Elevating Child Care, for a more indepth understanding of this popular teaching style. There’s also Magda Gerber’s Your Self-Confident Baby.
Montessori
Montessori focuses on nurturing the child’s in-built desire to learn and therefore does not involve any punishments or rewards. Instead, it places trust in the child’s ability to learn from the natural consequences of their actions. Montessori classrooms are multi-age.
Montessori prepares a child to be: a valuable, capable and useful member of society.
Try it at home
Montessori keeps it real. Using primary colours and staying neat and orderly, a Montessori environment often contains a collection of miniatures from the domestic adult world. Think a miniature IKEA kitchen, and an open bookshelf with a selection of open-ended, self-corrective ‘manipulatives’ (in Montessori speak, toys). Each shelf should ideally house one item or one group of items. Keep a separate basket for all balls, or blocks, or paints as an example. A child’s play often involves a hands-on approach to helping in the home and the consequences of all play is cleaning up after ourselves.
Keen to explore this approach further?
Read Maria Montessori’s The Montessori Child to uncover more about this parent style and approach. The Montessori Toddler by Simone Davies and Hiyoko Imai is another bestseller that’s full of hundreds of practical ideas.
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia educare is known for its project-based approach (which many preschool programs have borrowed). In a project-based curriculum, lessons are based on the interest of the students. With this teaching style, the environment (home or classroom) is considered an integral part of Reggio learning. The focus is on natural fibres, objects and materials.
Reggio prepares a child to be: capable of thoroughly and methodically following through with their interests.
Try it at home
If a child shows an interest in plants, you could follow the life cycle of a carrot from an off-cut growing in some soggy cotton wool, to chopping it up for dinner. Finally, you could make a cookbook complete with carrot drawings and even start a pretend restaurant!
Keen to explore this approach further?
Check out our curriculums guide to see the Singapore preschools that base their teaching on this approach. Also, whereas In the Spirit of the Studio: Learning from the Atelier of Reggio Emilia is aimed at educators, it’s a critically acclaimed book that many parents interested in this teaching style will find useful.
Waldorf Steiner
Waldorf provides a predictable structure and a dependable routine. Certain days of the week have set activities like baking or gardening, as well as mixed-age classrooms with the same teacher for multiple years. The emphasis is on creative learning, reading, singing, acting and sculpture in a setting that appears like a home with wooden toys and natural materials. In addition, Waldorf takes a notable stance against traditional grading systems and frowns upon the use of media in the curriculum (no computers, videos or electronics of any kind). With this teaching style, there are no academics, which means no homework, tests, handouts or even desks.
Waldorf prepares a child to be: intimately aware of who they are, and able to apply their strengths (and weaknesses) to succeed in life
Try it at home
Have a schedule of free-play activities for every day of the week. Allow children to explore their creativity and resist telling them how to do things. For example, if they’re trying to sculpt a cat (bees wax being the preferred Waldorf sculpting medium), don’t show them how to do it. If it looks nothing like a cat, that’s okay. Praise them for the effort, then end the day with some dancing.
Keen to explore this approach further?
The Waldorf Steiner Education Association Singapore runs playgroups and pre-school programs in Siglap, so is a great way to find out more about this teaching style.
Whichever teaching style and parenting approach you’re interested in, our advice is to read around the subject. Borrow some books from your local library to save money, then see which style sounds more like you. You may also like to look into Facebook support groups, or visiting preschools on open days. These are a great way to speak directly to educators and ask all your questions. Good luck!
Top image: Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels
