What do you think of when you hear the word assessment? 

Measuring achievement? Evaluation of learning? Benchmarks and comparing our kids to where they should be?

What if assessment were used less as a means for reporting achievement, and more as a means of looking at children’s growth and for the purpose of teacher planning, and children's goal setting?

In the olden days, assessment used to mean we were evaluating our children’s work according to certain standards or benchmarks. But today, assessment means a whole lot more. 

Assessment for learning is the process of gathering and making sense of our child's learning - to help us determine where children are at in their learning, and where they need to go.  

Assessment as learning is the child’s responsibility, and is the process of self-reflection on learning. We call this meta-cognition. 

Assessment of learning measures learning at a given point in time - a snapshot that can be...

What is an atelier?

How does the atelier foster our kids' creativity and self expression?

How can we create our own mini-atelier in our own home, and what materials should be included?

In Reggio Emilia, Italy, the atelier is like the beating heart of the classroom. 

A dedicated space for art-making, long-term projects and creative exploration through a variety of rich art media, accessible to children to represent their ideas, provoke creative thinking, and show understanding through their one hundred languages.

How might we bring the magic of the Atelier home?

What kinds of tools should we include, and how can they be organized to foster independence and creative exploration for our own children?

Designating a dedicated space for creating sends a message to our children that art is valued, and that they are valued as artists.

This can be a special nook, corner or area of...