What’s the Difference Between a Project and a Theme?

What’s the difference between a project and a theme? I mentioned recently that I had been talking with a friend about projects; what is a project? How do you go about starting one? How is it different to a theme?

I can only speak from my experience with Jack (3.5yrs) but the main difference, and most important, is that a project is entirely child-initiated and child-led. It follows an undetermined course, changing and evolving according to the child’s interests. A project has no time frame, it continues until the child’s interests have peaked and naturally shift to something else; possibly an off-shoot of the original project or a different subject entirely.

A theme is, in my experience, a predetermined subject, like dinosaurs or transport, where the activities within that theme are largely chosen by the adult and presented to the child. There is generally a sequence of activities which move from basic to more abstract concepts with a culminating activity at the end. There is usually a time frame (letter of the week, seasonal theme, etc.) where the adult will generally choose the end point.

A Field trip for Jack’s Space Project

For me, it is easy to recognise if I am planning a theme or preparing for a project by how much planning I have done beforehand. If I have the unit mapped out with activities slotted in, then it’s a theme. If I have an activity (or an open-ended experience) planned based on an observation (something Jack has said or asked, or a game he is playing) with the intention of seeing where he takes it, then I am preparing for a project.

Project-based learning is common in Reggio Emilia and Reggio-inspired preschools. The teachers will offer the children open-ended activities (often with a subtle suggestion of how the children could proceed) and then observe the children, listen to their stories, their questions, see how they navigate the activity, take note of their interest levels and talk with the children.

Then with the variety of materials on offer to the children, the teachers help them to make their learning visible through modelling or building, collage or drawing, dramatic play or music; any means at all to encourage them to delve deeper and deeper to find the answers to their questions, and in turn ask new questions. These activities aren’t preprepared. They are subtly suggested to the children as the discoveries from one experience lead onto the next.

Observational drawing of planets

Representational drawings of rockets: Followed on from dramatic play

So how does this translate to the home? Well, if you have a notebook and pencil, some basic art supplies (coloured pencils, oil pastels, clay, lead pencils, watercolour paints, washable paint, and paper of course), some open-ended loose materials for creating and inventing, and access to a library then you are pretty much set. The notebook and pencil is for you to take some simple notes on your child’s interests. For me, this has been the best way for me to make sure that our projects stay Jack-led. My quick notes about games he plays of questions he asks stop me from taking over and planning too much in advance.

So for example, Jack was (and still is to some extent) really interested in volcanoes, particularly active volcanoes. I noticed one morning that he was throwing a red shawl (from the dress-up box) into the air as if a volcano were erupting. I made a quick note and while he was napping put out some red, orange and black paint. That afternoon I said something like, “Jack, I noticed you were making a volcano erupt this morning. Do you think you could make a volcano erupt with these paints?’ A resounding YES!

The Solar System

One of the best things about projects is that the activities don’t have to be fancy. By using your notes (whether mental or written down) you can help your child to connect their thoughts. Whether you say it to your child directly, “I noticed you doing… this morning…’ or ‘this morning you were asking about why the moon moves, do you think this book might give us some answers?’ or whether you make it more subtle, more of a provocation, by placing a new book on the shelf, or some watercolours and an object (related to your project), you are helping them to transfer their knowledge, their thoughts from one context to another. This is how learning happens; slowly, slowly building upon thoughts, thoughts about something which truly interested you. It’s about having choice and independence to explore, and being trusted that with guidance meaningful learning will occur.