lifelong learners who can contribute to a kinder, more sustainable and equitable world. We have four age-based classrooms serving 55 children, ages 2 through 5. Historically, most slots at our school were tuition-based, but in September 2024, we joined the Cambridge Preschool Program. The city now pays tuition for all 4-year-olds and some 3-year-olds who live in Cambridge. This increases the economic diversity of our families.
Newtowne is a family cooperative and a Reggio-inspired school, an educational approach inspired by a group of infant-toddler centers and preschools in the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia( Edwards et al. 2011). Like all Reggio schools, we have an atelier, or studio, where the children come once every two weeks for playful learning experiences facilitated by the atelierista( that’ s me). I’ m also the pedagogista, or curriculum consultant, so I work with all four teaching teams to align our learning goals for the children with a playful learning approach that aims to create experiences that match the children’ s interests( Mardell et al. 2023).
Many young children are intrigued by insects, and red-tailed hawks in flight are majestic. So, the first two sightings are not remarkable, though I would argue that our school culture promoted the collective excitement among the children. But what are Slingy Dags and the critter count?
In this reflection on my practice, I discuss“ The Newtowne School Critter Count.” Aimed at increasing children’ s( and adults’) attention to the animals we share our city with, it is part of a larger effort to foster children’ s solidarity with the natural world. I describe the context for this work, explain the origins of the count, share some documentation about how it unfolded in its first year, and discuss possible implications for you.( I’ ll also explain what Slingy Dags are.)
Newtowne School and Our Nature-Focused Curriculum
The opening sightings took place at Newtowne School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The mission of Newtowne is to help our children become curious,
The playful learning in the studio is guided by two main learning goals: To foster solidarity between children and nature and to support projects that bring the Newtowne community together. Solidarity with nature involves relationships with the Earth that are curious, knowledgeable( e. g., an understanding of the deep connections between all living things), and empathetic. Projects, where children are guided in collective investigations of a topic or questions, allow them to explore, plan, make, and revise. These are processes that help children gain agency, learn to collaborate, and develop as creative thinkers( Resnick 2017).
The two intentions are connected. Aiming to foster solidarity with nature, projects at Newtowne involve the flora and fauna around us. In a time of rapid climate change, this is what developmentally appropriate curriculum should involve for the children at our school. After all, when children connect to the natural environments of their unique geographic settings, they witness firsthand the climate’ s effect on local species. This opens the door to relevant and age-appropriate discussions about climate change( Beaver & Borgerding 2023).
52 Young Children
Winter 2025