In the fall of 1991, THE HUNDRED LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN exhibit was brought to St. Louis, Missouri. It created tremendous interest in the detail and creativity of work by 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds from the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. A series of workshops whetted the appetites of hundreds of St. Louis teachers. Over the next two years, more than fifty of these teachers went to Reggio Emilia to observe firsthand the program that produced such incredible depth of learning by preschool children.
In the summer of 1992, plans were made to begin a project to provide a system of professional development for teachers who wished to continue their study and implementation of the principles and practices of Reggio Emilia. A grant obtained from the Danforth Foundation made it possible to begin the project in the fall of 1992. This paper describes the professional development system and some of the experiences and insights of teachers who have participated in it for the past two years.
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