Welcome Educators & Parents!
Branches Atelier is delighted to invite you to two upcoming workshops designed to inspire, renew, and strengthen our community of educators and families. Both events offer meaningful opportunities for growth — and professional development credit is available for educators.
Fueling Curiosity, Wonder, and Renewal:
Nature, Connection, and Building Empathetic Communities
📅 Saturday, August 30, 2025
🕘 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
📍 Branches Atelier, Culver City, CA
Presented by: Patricia Hunter McGrath & Christina Bianchi
A hands-on day of reflection, renewal, and inspiration — exploring how nature, curiosity, and deep connection can fuel learning and help us build compassionate, empathetic communities for children and families.
Cost: $110 Register
Includes a light breakfast
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
― Rachel Carson
Now, more than ever, our approach to environmental design and materials in our schools and classrooms must reflect our role in creating restorative, responsible relationships.
How can fostering wonder and curiosity in the natural world support mindsets of diversity, equity, and inclusion?
How can we create classrooms that foster a worldview of empathy and kindness?
How can we make our connections visible through our setups at the start of the year?
How do we harness our connection to the natural world to support engagement, imagination, integration, and experimentation in the classroom?
How does a sense of place help to ground us in our relationships?
How do natural materials enhance learning environments and connect to the curriculum?
How to delight in the unpredictable alive in our classrooms?
How do we introduce the use of multiple symbolic languages?
Parents as Partners:
A Creative Community Introduction to Reggio in Our Context
📅 Wednesday, September 3rd & Wednesday, September 10th, 2025
🕠 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
📍 Online via Zoom
Presented by: Patricia Hunter McGrath & Christina Bianchi
An engaging two-part online series designed to bring parents and educators together in exploring the Reggio Emilia philosophy — grounding it in our unique community context while strengthening the vital partnership between school and home.
At the start of the school year, we encounter families and spark the dialogue that will sustain our community throughout the year. Join Patricia Hunter McGrath and Christina Bianchi as we discuss strategies for building, nurturing and sustaining relationships with parents as part of building resilient classroom communities.
Together we will explore:
- How can families and educators can co-create a culture of inquiry, wonder, and trust?
- How can parents support emergent curriculum at home and at school?
- How do we build dialogue through classroom documentation?
- How do we nurture an understanding of collaboration and communication through the 100 languages of childhood?
Reggio Inspirations 