A life of learning alongside children, educators and communities.
I’m Rosalba Bortolotti, a pedagogist, educator, author, mentor and the founder of Acorn School and Acorn Collaborative. For more than 30 years, my work has been shaped by curiosity—about children and their ideas, the places where learning happens, the materials we choose, food and care, and what becomes possible when educators have time and space to think together.
The Story of Acorn
From 2004 to 2015, Acorn School was a Reggio Emilia-inspired early learning community and an important ground for inquiry, documentation and experimentation. The school is no longer operating, but the thinking that grew there continues through Acorn Collaborative.
A Practice Rooted in Inquiry
Rosalba’s practice has been influenced by years of research, study and dialogue connected to Reggio Emilia in Italy, the United States and Canada. Her work explores design thinking, care, food pedagogies, documentation, materials, outdoor learning and place.
Learning Through Collaboration
Collaboration is central to Rosalba’s work. She has worked alongside educators, schools, early learning agencies, colleges, universities, artists, therapists, pedagogists, chefs and farmers to create learning experiences that cross disciplines and invite new ways of seeing.