Our Classrooms
About our classrooms
The GREDC includes five early learning classrooms in our main building at 515 Jefferson, as well as a 4-yr preschool and a school-age out-of-school time program located in the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center. Each classroom is designed and arranged to meet the developmental level and learning goals of the current group of children enrolled. Each of our classroom names are derived from Italian words that hold something meaningful to the classroom.
Our youngest students begin in the Tesoro infant classroom, transitioning through our programs until entering kindergarten.
Our classrooms at 515 Jefferson
Tesoro
Meaning treasure, Tesoro is the youngest students enrolled in our program. We view infants as a treasure and value the opportunity to influence them during this sensitive period of development.
Read more...Avventura
Meaning adventure, Avventura begins as a toddler classroom and loops into a young preschool classroom. Students are venturing further away from their primary caregivers.
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Scoperta
Meaning discovery, Scoperta begins as a toddler classroom and loops into a young preschool classroom. The classroom provides an environment that encourages children to explore.
Read more...Vita Mia
Meaning my life, Vita Mia begins as a 3-yr old preschool classroom. Children in this classroom are learning to care for themselves and their environment, gaining confidence in caring for all aspects of their lives.
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Malaguzzi
Named after the founder of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, the Malaguzzi classroom is for 4-yr old preschoolers. Children in this room are using all the experiences in the previous classrooms to navigate their relationships, their feelings, their community, and the world.
Read more...Our Classrooms at the Child Discovery Center
These classrooms are located in the same building as our partnering elementary school, the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center, at 409 Lafayette Ave.
Immaginare
Meaning imagine, Immaginare is a 4-yr old preschool program, in partnership with the Great Start Readiness Program. The program operates at the Child Discovery Center during the school year.
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Discovery Care
Discovery Care is our out-of-school time program and summer care program for grades K-5. During the school year, meaningful experiences are provided for children enrolled at the Child Discovery Center for before and after school, half days, and days the school is not in session. During the summer, the program is open to the public.
Read more...Learning Spaces
In addition to our classrooms, we have several learning spaces thoughtfully created for specific purposes.
Cucina
Catherine Gonzales — Kitchen Fairy, Nutrition Queen, Head Chef, Director of Hunger, Most Important Adult in the Building!
Meaning kitchen, the Cucina is perhaps not typically listed as a 'learning space' by many early learning centers. But at the GREDC, even our Cucina is used to educate, explore, and create. In addition to creating breakfast, lunch, and snack for every child every day, the Cucina becomes a science lab whenever an emergent project or creative passion requires the services of an oven, stove, or mixer.
Passero Piazza
In Reggio schools, a piazza is a place where the whole school can gather but also a space that can be repurposed for individual activities, small or large group experiences, or presentations. Our Piazza serves as a welcome area, a mini-library for our families, a sitting space, a small group craft or reading space, and a coffee bar. Our families are invited to take a moment to sit down and have a cup of coffee, plan a play date for their children, talk to teachers, or just relax.
Read more...Gigi's Garden
We are definitely lucky to be located in Downtown Grand Rapids and have many walkable experiences to enjoy with our students. Gigi's Garden, named after a former GREDC Director, contains several raised garden beds and lattice trellises within a safely enclosed space. Children of all ages use the garden to explore, experiment with plants, water, and bugs, and learn about life cycles and nature.
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Playgrounds
Three outdoor playgrounds provide bountiful opportunities for exploration and discovery. Each is newly redesigned as part of a school-wide, child-led project to improve our outdoor areas and make the best use of the space we have. We worked with our students, families, and community to build a water wall, install a boat, a concrete tunnel, several dynamic building supplies, and Judah's rope bridge project.
More about us...
Our Story
Learn about our history, from the early days in the 1980's at Aquinas College to our current campus on Jefferson Ave, right in the heart of Grand Rapids.
The Reggio Emilia Approach
The Reggio Emilia approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education. This educational philosophy is focused on preschool and primary education and is described as child centered and constructivist.
Emergent Curriculum
The Emergent curriculum develops from exploring ideas that are socially relevant, intellectually engaging and personally meaningful to children.