Introducing the South to New Ways of Teaching & Learning

Inspired Practices’ prime directive is to provide resources, forums, and experiences to support early childhood schools in becoming the best that they can be and reflective of current understanding about human learning. Within that mission is a willingness to experiment with modes and methods of outreach and collaboration. Here are a few we’ve undertaken in the past.

The Georgia Reggio Project

1998-2000

A 3-year series of seminars and institutes designed to educate professionals about the experiences of the infant/toddler programs and preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and the experiences of early childhood programs in the United States transformed by study and research of the Reggio approach. This project was pivotal in building awareness among Georgia educators of the Reggio Emilia approach, and sparked the genesis of the Infinity Project.

The Exhibit Project

2000

This groundbreaking project brought The Hundred Languages of Children exhibit – an immersive experience created by the children, educators, and parents of Reggio Emilia – to Atlanta for two months. By this point, the exhibit had traveled to more than 20 U.S. cities since its North American arrival in 1987. In 2000, initiated by Inspired Practices, the exhibit was presented in conjunction with the annual National Association on the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference, host to more than 30,000 early childhood educators from around the world, including several educators from Reggio Emilia. In total, 12,000 educators encountered the exhibit during its two months in Atlanta. For many, the experience served as a powerful, rich introduction to the Reggio Emilia approach, and for us, the action of organizing and arranging for the hosting built important local relationships and strengthened our connections with educators of Reggio Emilia.