Loris Malguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia system in Italy following World War II, coined the phrase, “100 Languages of Children” to describe the many ways children have of expressing their learning. It’s a great way to think about the opportunities we must give children to organize and reinforce the facts and concepts we want them to know.

To allow, encourage, and celebrate expression in your children using DAP, do this:

• Encourage and accept all forms of child communication in home and school language.
• Ask open-ended questions that encourage language and listen attentively to what children say to encourage them to engage in frequent dialogue with both adults and other children.
• Help children use language in social situations by saying the words for them, giving them the words, helping them say the words, and reminding them to use their words.
• Listen actively to children’s language to gain insight into child’s feelings and model self-expression.
• Offer a variety of experiences for children to strengthen and practice language skills (whole group, small group, and individual discussions, story times, sharing (show/tell) times, meal time and center time conversations.
• Create an environment of warmth, acceptance, and relaxation so children feel the freedom and comfort to ask for help when needed and want to share family stories.
• Equip the classroom and campus with developmentally appropriate material intended to build the strengths of role play including raw materials and objects to use for creating costumes, clothing for dress-up that can be used by children of either gender to represent persons of both genders, community helpers, animals, etc.
• Assure children freedom to use those materials in child-directed, child-chosen play without disdain for choice of content (ex. boys can wear high heels and girls can be super heroes and fire fighters).
• Sing, dance, chant, rhyme, and TALK every day!

Next Blog: DAP for the Spirit – Artistic Expression