Broadening Horizons: Why Are Incursions and Excursions Part of Our Childcare Program?

At Reggio Emilia Early Learning Centres we offer a range of fun incursions and excursions to promote the engagement, development and understanding of your child. From magician incursions to wildlife zoo excursions, police visits to picnic trips, this significant part of our program focuses on engaging children and providing additional context to their learning. In this blog, we’ll explore the many reasons why we include incursions and excursions in our childcare approach and how these activities can expand a child’s interests and knowledge of the world around them.

Child-Centred Learning

An emphasis on child-centred learning is one of the driving philosophies of the Reggio Emilia approach. It places importance on noticing a child’s interests and creating a learning environment that’s engaging, meaningful and personalised. Incursions and excursions provide opportunities for children to explore topics and activities that genuinely spark their interest. Their experience is then documented and for those that express a desire to learn more about the activity, this may be expanded on in future projects. 

As part of our incursion program, a Bubble Artist visits the centres and blows giant bubbles for the children to play with. Bubbles are fascinating to many, if not all children as they come in a variety of shapes and are fun to chase, pop and play with! After the Bubbles incursion, we often find the children want to engage with bubbles more in their projects, such as blowing bubbles themselves, using bubbles in science experiments and creating unique artworks using bubbles. 

Real-World Experiences

While we take great pride in our project-based learning program at Reggio Emilia, there’s only so much learning that can be covered in the classroom. Taking the children on excursions to explore the community or natural environment is a great opportunity to present them with real-world context for their learning. In the Reggio Emilia approach, we emphasise the importance of the ‘Third Educator’ — the idea that there’s always a lesson to be learned from our surroundings. During excursions, the children are provided with opportunities to connect their learning to the world around them and see its practical relevance in their daily lives.

Some great examples of this are our excursions to the aquarium or zoo. Instead of only seeing pictures of them, or reading a story about them, children get to observe a variety of animals up close and come to understand and engage with their different behaviours, characteristics and habitats more easily.

Building Connections

Both incursions and excursions provide opportunities for children to engage with the broader community and various subjects. There are multiple ways one can learn about a single topic, something that we emphasise in the ‘100 Different Languages’ philosophy in the Reggio Emilia approach. Whether it’s by inviting professionals or community members to the centre or exploring the outside world, incursions and excursions help children develop a sense of connection between different styles of communication and their learning. By introducing them to diverse perspectives, children are exposed to a variety of ideas and experiences that contribute to their overall education. 

Sunny and Clare’s Sustainability Show is an incursion we have at the centres that explores this concept. During the experience, children learn how they can personally help take care of the planet through songs, rhymes and riddles. Rather than being presented with the information in a dull, basic format, they are instead able to connect sustainability issues to their own lives in a way that is accessible and fun.  

Stimulating the Senses

Sensory development is essential in a child’s early years. It lays the foundations for their learning and gives them the skills to process information received through the senses. Hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell are all used every day, but during the experience of an incursion or excursion, these senses can be heightened, as a child becomes more excited and engaged with their new surroundings.  

Whether through touching an animal’s fur at a petting zoo incursion or watching a performance on a theatre excursion, incursions and excursions allow the children to develop their sensory awareness in dynamic ways. 

Inspiring Hobbies and Aspirations

Career visit incursions introduce children to a variety of professions, broadening their understanding of society and inspiring potential hobbies and aspirations. This aligns with the Reggio Emilia principle of providing children with a wide range of activities to spark their curiosity and exploration. By meeting dentists, police officers and many other industry professionals, children may discover new hobbies and gain a deeper understanding of what they want to be when they grow up. 

Having professionals visit the childcare presents the children with a tangible way to learn about different careers from positive role models. For example, during a fire brigade visit, children may be invited to climb into a fire truck or try holding a fire hose. During past police officer visits we’ve had the children dress up in the police uniform and for magician incursions, children are invited to participate in the show. This hands-on approach helps the little ones apply abstract concepts to the real world, promoting a deeper understanding of who they can aspire to be and how their role would fit into society overall. Connecting the children to individuals who are passionate about their work can also influence their attitudes toward learning, perseverance and the pursuit of their interests.  

Social Interaction

Encouraging social interactions and collaboration skills is crucial in a child’s early years. It is around this age that many children are first able to understand concepts such as empathy, friendship and kindness. Both incursions and excursions encourage the use of these skills. Whether they are collaborating on a project with a visitor or exploring a new outdoor environment together, these experiences encourage communication, cooperation and the further development of social skills. 

One of our most social excursions at Reggio Emilia is picnics at the park. During these experiences, children enjoy playing at the park together and enjoying a packed lunch while connecting with their classmates.

Joyful Learning

At Reggio Emilia Early Learning Centres, we believe learning should be joyful. Incursions and excursions are a wonderful way for children to make positive associations with education. The joy that comes from exciting, new experiences contributes significantly to our mission to inspire children to gain a love of learning, discovery and knowledge.

To emphasise this even more, we refer to part of our incursion program as our ‘Happiness Campaign’. There are so many opportunities throughout the year for our children to find absolute joy in learning — from mystery mascots to Book Week activities, our Happiness Campaign is designed to spread smiles across our centres. 

Through the implementation of incursions and excursions into our curriculum at Reggio Emilia Early Learning Centres, we create a greater sense of community, inspire lifelong learning and broaden horizons. To find out more about the incursions and excursions we offer and how they relate to the Reggio Emilia approach, feel free to reach out to us on 02 9891 2222 or via email at mail@reggioemilia.com.au.