Community Connections and Outreach

CNS is dedicated to giving back to our community and sharing our educational tools as a resource for the larger community.
Connect and Learn More about the Wonder of Learning, Boston, on Facebook. 
Join CNS in Sponsoring the Wonder of Learning
Dear Colleagues, 

Boston will host The Wonder of Learning Exhibit in 2018.

The arrival of this exhibit to our city opens up so many doors for our Boston Area Reggio Inspired educators. Our city, our programs, our educators will be hearing the voices of the Reggio children through this exhibit. We have been awarded the opportunity because of the depth of our knowledge, and the strength of our practice. With our educational history, values and priorities so strongly rooted in Boston’s identity, it is no wonder Boston has had a longstanding appreciation for the Reggio Emilia approach. Our two cities have been in dialogue for over 30 years.
As a host community we are privileged to collaborate with NAREA (www.reggioalliance.org) and Reggio Children (http://www.reggiochildren.it) in the ongoing organization and management of the exhibit. “The Wonder of Learning–The Hundred Languages of Children,” includes traces of work in progress from the municipal infant-toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia. Since the debut of this mutual project in 2008, more than 120,000 participants have encountered the exhibit and experienced a wide and evolving variety of professional development initiatives aimed at advancing knowledge and action with regard to early childhood education. Like Reggio Emilia, Boston has a history in which the vision of democracy, social justice and fulfillment has always been tied to educational opportunity.
We invite you to join us as a sponsor, as a participant, and as an advocate of this mission.
We write to you today, as you are a pillar of the Boston Reggio Inspired community. Reggio-Inspired programs like ours rely on the Reggio principles to define our practice, to engage our families, and to educate and grow our teachers. These principles are engrained in our school’s missions. We quote these principals in our brochures. These ideals have given us a place to start, to connect, and from which to grow our own Reggio-inspired programs. Other educators deserve to know this practice as we do.
You have a stake in this mission. As we prepare to share the work of the Reggio children, your support is critical to promoting this network of dialogue and exchange. Our community is growing, our reach is gaining momentum. With your voice and your contribution we will have the structure of support needed to continue with our mission.
Please take action now to designate available resources
2018 seems far off, but it is now that we must designate the stakeholders in this effort now. As our programs move into the spring months, and we plan our fiscal budgets for next year, please consider designating resources now that you will contribute to uphold this important work. The exhibit itself is free to attend, the time to invest is now: This experience might serve as your program’s one professional development initiative for this fiscal year. Your community outreach resources might be pointed to this mission. You might allocate the income of a school event towards this effort. Reach out to your administrators, your school boards, and your owners to define your contribution of support. We expect there will be questions during your conversation. Please use the enclosed materials to educate your community. And please do not hesitate to reach out to Kelly at kelly@charlestownnurseryschool.org with questions and to inquire about development updates.
We thank you in advance for the strength of your gift. Your sponsorship will be an investment in our collaborative experience,
Sincerely, The Wonder of Learning Boston Committee, sponsored by BARIN
Additional Commuity Outreach 
 
Our umbrella project is Charlestown’s Promise which allows us to share resources, articles, events and activities with parents, educators and providers across centers and communities. We believe that every child should be afforded the same educational opportunities and we work with other providers to improve early childhood experiences for all children in Boston and beyond.
As an extension of CNS and Charlestown’s Promise, we support professional development, community screenings, parent lectures, community concerts for children, and many resources including

  • Charlestown Promise 
  • CNS Reading and Reflections
  • CNS Playful Extensions
  • CNS Recipes for Children and Families
  • CNS Good Reads
Additionally, we embed many community connections and service projects as part of our curriculum of “care for self, care for others and care for environment”. We have been involved in

  • Intergenerational exchanges at the Zelma Lacey house including sing alongs, crafts and board games 
  • Little Free Library site for lending libraries
  • Charlestown Mother Association community events and activities
  • Clean Streets and Park Clean-Ups with Neighborhood Watch, Charlestown Business Association and Mayor’s Office. 
  • Food Drives for Harvest on Vine, Clothing Drives for Room to Grow and Toy Drives for the Kennedy Center. 
  • Screenings of Consuming Kids, Forks over Knives, Play Again, Rethinking Dyslexia and Race to Nowhere. 
  • Performances with Karen K and the Jitterbugs, Charlestown Working Theater and Playtime Puppet Pals.
  • Lectures with Liz Warrick and Vicki Hoelfe in collaboration with CHaD . 
  • Community Trainings in First Aid and Nutrition.
We are increasing opportunities for family service as well though Doing Good Together and we hope that our attention to gratitude, optimism and acts of kindness in the curriculum will foster empathy and compassion as a way of being for all our children as they embark as citizens of the world.