Please note that 10/13 is the last day to register for the10/22 workshop. 

There will be no sales at the door. 

About this event

The West Coast Collaborative presents:

DOCUMENTING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHING & LEARNING

Featuring: Tiziana Filippini and Loretta Bertani

Saturday, October 22nd 2022

9:00am to 3:30pm (PST)

Wildwood Elementary Campus 12201 Washington Place Los Angeles, CA 90066

We are excited to welcome Tiziana and Loretta back to Los Angeles and reconnect as we come back together at the Wildwood Elementary campus! 

Tiziana Filippini is a pedagogista who collaborates with Reggio Children with regard to research, conferences, and consultancies in Italy and abroad.

From 1978 to 2015, she worked as a member of the Pedagogical Coordinating Team of the Istituzione – Preschools and Infant Toddler Centers of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.

Tiziana is currently one of the curators of the new version, “The Wonder of Learning: The Hundred Languages of Children.”

In addition to her work with the municipality, Tiziana was part of the original research group of Making Learning Visible, a collaboration between Reggio Children and Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The collaboration resulted in a book, Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners, which became very well known in North American early childhood circles and all over the world.

Loretta Bertani is an atelierista in the Robinson Crusoe Preschools and Infant Toddler Centres, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia since 1996

Loretta graduated at Istituto d’arte (Art college) of Reggio Emilia. From 1991 to 1995 she worked as an educator with the municipality of Reggio Emilia in local education groups, an experience addressed to pre-adolescent age groups and to the support of boys and girls with schools difficulties.

Loretta collaborated with the theatre group “Teatro Gioco Vita” of Piacenza for designing and leading workshops on expressive languages and on shadow theatre addressed to primary schools, as well as for street entertainment events for children and youth.

********

Flow of the Day: 

8:30AM – Coffee and Registration

9AM-12PM – Lecture (w/ 10 minute break)

12PM-1PM- Lunch

1PM-3PM – Lecture (w/ 10 minute break)

3PM-3:30PM – Reflection

Morning coffee/refreshments & lunch provided by WCC. 

General Admission – $100

Student Discount (with current ECE ID) – $50

Questions and student discount inquiries: 

Contact allison@branchesatelier.com

Description

Branches Atelier

Location: 11359 W Washington Blvd, Culver City CA 90066

Status: Full-time, non-exempt

Reports to: Executive Director, Administrative and Assistant Director

Hours: Monday- Thursday, 8:30 am-4:00 pm, Friday 8:30 am – 12:30 pm.

Please send your resume to:

Patricia@BranchesAtelier.com and Berenice@BranchesAtelier.com

About Us:

Branches Atelier is an innovative, dynamic Reggio inspired preschool with a home-like quality, nestled in a beautiful campus in Culver City, California.  We have an organic urban orchard and a beautiful school environment. 

At Branches we believe that early childhood education can have a positive impact on our communities and that we can all work together to make a difference in the world. We have a warm and welcoming community of learners that enjoy being part of our vibrant, creative and evolving school community. Please Visit our website to learn more about our school. www.branchesatelier.com

Description of the Position

We are looking for an energetic, passionate, hard-working, creative, warm, friendly, nurturing, and self-motivated Office Manager to join our Reggio-inspired learning community.

The Office Manager is responsible for providing all of the services necessary to carry out effective teaching, learning, observations, documentation, research, enrollment, marketing and communication within the Branches Atelier organization. The candidate is expected to collaborate our Branches directors, teachers and the overall organization. This position requires a candidate to be a critical thinker, reflective, communicative, open minded, flexible, inclusive, and professional; the candidate fulfills Branches Atelier’s mission, philosophy, and pedagogy.

Responsibilities and Duties

Promoting Effective Teaching and Learning

Create a positive, trusting relationship with young children

Support teachers with ill/late/absent/sign in, children’s communication with and to their families

Work with Families

Must have a positive upbeat attitude

Flexible and empathetic

Collaborate with Directors to oversee and organize Parent Committees

Support parents with scheduling committee meetings and needs

Contact families regarding their children when needed and appropriate (e.g., early pick-up due to illness)

Collaborate with administrators to onboard new families

Update and maintain Parent Square (online communication platform with enrolled parents)

Respond to family needs and requests in a timely manner

Work with Staff

Respond to faculty and staff daily needs as they relate to the operation of the school

Collaborate with administrators to onboard new faculty and staff

Support the school for record keeping and marketing/communication for events

Support with Branches Atelier calendar and scheduling

Support Directors and faculty regarding Professional Development Days and Educator Tours/Workshops/Internships

Attend weekly and monthly meetings to organize and coordinate work

Overseeing Enrollment and Marketing

Collaborate with Executive  assistant directors to organize and coordinate prospective family tours and interviews

Schedule and communicate with prospective families for Parent Interviews and Observations

Track, update, organize, coordinate prospective family applications and paperwork (ex: Curacubby – online enrollment platform and database)

Respond promptly to inquiries regarding the school

Oversee enrollment paperwork and share information with the appropriate faculty and staff

Support with the marketing and communication of the organization

Adhere to fiscal procedures handbook and partner with Business Manager regarding secure tuition deposits, fees and contracts

Ensuring Licensing, Accreditation Standards, and Qualifying for Insurance

Serve as a liaison with licensing to ensure that facilities and personnel paperwork are properly collected and maintained

Support with design, implementation, evaluation, compliance, and updates of emergency preparedness plans

Ensure that proper materials needed for emergency preparedness plans are available, accessible, and maintained (specifically fire / earthquake drills)

Maintaining School Environment and Facilities

Serve as the liaison with any janitorial, garbage, maintenance to schedule regular cleaning, upkeep, and maintenance

Update effective emergency preparedness plans annually

Maintain safe and strong security system for the campus

Purchase, organize, and update supplies for office, first aid, sanitation, food service, site maintenance and office as needed and approved by Directors

Partner with Faculty, Staff, and Families to advance fundraising initiatives and goals

Ensure Effective Center Communication and Records

Serve as point person for incoming and outgoing mail and package deliveries

Maintain and update daily attendance and late fees on a weekly basis

Maintain, and update all relevant campus Calendars

Serve as the point person for phone calls and relay information to appropriate parties in a timely manner

Utilize technological tools to create effective work and collaboration

Building Deeper Community Partnerships

Convey a welcoming, friendly, and positive image with all faculty, staff, families, and visitors

Build relationships with local organizations, agencies and elementary schools (ex:, law enforcement, code enforcement…etc)

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications/Requirements

Skills

A Bachelor’s Degree or higher

2-years of experience working in a school administration or office environment

Must meet the requirements of the California Department of Social Services (licensing), including an updated TB status, CPR certification, fingerprint clearance.

Competencies

Values parents as important partners in the work of the school

Demonstrates discretion in communication with various constituents within and outside our community

Values accuracy, competency, and attention to detail

Pays attention to the many ways that children make meaning of the world

Collaborates with children and adults in positive ways

Exhibits a positive, team player spirit

Has a keen interest and curiosity about the nature of learning and teaching

Finds joy in working with children and adults

Approaches teaching as a life-long learner

Embraces reflection as a tool for growth and learning

Demonstrates commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity

Seeks out resources to continually improve one’s practice

Values learning from mistakes

Establishes professional boundaries with children, parents, and colleagues

Demonstrates professionalism in dress, attitude, communication, and punctuality

Shows and values integrity for oneself and others

Provides value add to the organization beyond the job position

Demonstrates strong writing and communication skills

Working Conditions

Requires developmentally normal hearing abilities and visual acuity

Requires strong communication skills with children, families, faculty, and staff

Salary and Benefits

Salary Range: $20-$23/hr DOE

Benefits: weeks s

• 1^st year, 2 Weeks paid vacation during school closure .   3 weeks paid 2^nd year, 4 weeks  paid the 3^rd year. 
• Paid National/State Holidays
• School closed 2 weeks over Easter and Christmas and the month of August
• Medical and Retirement Plan available

Salary Description

$20-$23/hour DOE

Please send your resume to:

Patricia@BranchesAtelier.com and Berenice@BranchesAtelier.com

About this event

Please join us for a special event at the Santa Monica Early Childhood Lab School on

September, 29th 2022 from 6pm-8pm PST.

Our guest Harold Göthson founded, with colleagues, the Reggio Emilia Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden supporting the development of preschools, primary and secondary schools.

In this dialogue, he focuses on our relationship between natural environments and cultural development, with a perspective on education as a possible and necessary tool for renewed democratic, ecological, and global citizenship.

Cost:

General Admission – $40 

Questions? Contact Allison@BranchesAtelier.com

About this event

The West Coast Collaborative presents:

DOCUMENTING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHING & LEARNING

Featuring: Tiziana Filippini and Loretta Bertani

Saturday, October 22nd 2022

9:00am to 3:30pm (PST)

Wildwood Elementary Campus 12201 Washington Place Los Angeles, CA 90066

We are excited to welcome Tiziana and Loretta back to Los Angeles and reconnect as we come back together at the Wildwood Elementary campus! 

Tiziana Filippini is a pedagogista who collaborates with Reggio Children with regard to research, conferences, and consultancies in Italy and abroad.

From 1978 to 2015, she worked as a member of the Pedagogical Coordinating Team of the Istituzione – Preschools and Infant Toddler Centers of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.

Tiziana is currently one of the curators of the new version, “The Wonder of Learning: The Hundred Languages of Children.”

In addition to her work with the municipality, Tiziana was part of the original research group of Making Learning Visible, a collaboration between Reggio Children and Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The collaboration resulted in a book, Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners, which became very well known in North American early childhood circles and all over the world.

Loretta Bertani is an atelierista in the Robinson Crusoe Preschools and Infant Toddler Centres, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia since 1996

Loretta graduated at Istituto d’arte (Art college) of Reggio Emilia. From 1991 to 1995 she worked as an educator with the municipality of Reggio Emilia in local education groups, an experience addressed to pre-adolescent age groups and to the support of boys and girls with schools difficulties.

Loretta collaborated with the theatre group “Teatro Gioco Vita” of Piacenza for designing and leading workshops on expressive languages and on shadow theatre addressed to primary schools, as well as for street entertainment events for children and youth.

********

Flow of the Day: 

8:30AM – Coffee and Registration

9AM-12PM – Lecture (w/ 10 minute break)

12PM-1PM- Lunch

1PM-3PM – Lecture (w/ 10 minute break)

3PM-3:30PM – Reflection

Morning coffee/refreshments & lunch provided by WCC. 

General Admission – $100

Student Discount (with current ECE ID) – $50

Questions and student discount inquiries: 

Contact allison@branchesatelier.com

DEVELOPING YOUR STUDIO:

A SIX-PART WORKSHOP SERIES WITH PATRICIA HUNTER-MCGRATH AND OUR BRANCHES TEAM OF EDUCATORS

You may attend any single workshop or all six

Click here to buy tickets.

 

We still have spaces in all Workshops

1) Introduction to Materials and the Atelier and Exploring the Alphabet of Drawing

This saturdaySaturday, May 7th, 2022, 9 am to 3 pm $100 

After two long years, we are delighted to welcome you back in-person to Branches Atelier!

Please join us for a special workshop series that focuses on The Hundred Languages of Children and how you can use these languages to design a studio/atelier in your school or home. Over six sessions, we will explore in-depth a wide range of materials, tools, and techniques that can be introduced and integrated into your own unique settings.

 From the introduction, tools, and techniques to the care and organization of materials to using these marvelous materials to support and uncover children learning to creating ateliers in your home or school, join us as we share our many years of experience using the Hundred languages in creative and innovative ways with young children. As you are exploring the materials, you will simultaneously create a personalized materials resource guide that you will be able to use for years to come.

 Finally, you will also learn how to plan and create ateliers that will bring the joy and wonder of materials into your classrooms and homes.

 

1) Introduction to Materials and the Atelier and Exploring the Alphabet of Drawing

Saturday, May 7th, 2022, 9 am to 3 pm $100 

–       includes a portfolio binder to create a personalized materials resource book

2) Creating a World of Colors: Palettes that Connect us to our World

Saturday, May 28th, 2022, 9 am to 3 pm $115 

–       includes a Color Wheel, paint recipes, a set of tempera paints, and paint cups to take back to your classroom 

3) Pastels and Watercolors             

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $65

4) Mixed Media: Bringing the Materials Together

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 2 pm to 5 pm $75

–       includes a canvas board, collage papers, and acrylic textures

 5) Innovations in Clay 

Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $85

–       includes a block of clay for your classroom 

 6) Creating an Atelier in Your Space 

Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 2 pm to 4 pm $50

 

All workshops are onsite at:

Branches Atelier 

11359 W Washington Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90066 

For more than 15 years, Branches Atelier has developed an innovative program using expressive media and materials as tools of the mind. We are happy to offer this series of workshops to deeply explore the essential role that materials play in children’s learning. Over six sessions, you will be introduced to the philosophy, techniques, and organizational strategies needed to create dynamic, creative, and innovative ateliers. 

Unlike the traditional art studio that focuses on art production, ateliers are beautiful, creative spaces designed to support all areas of children’s learning and development from math, narrative, and science to creativity and problem-solving. Through the introduction of tools and techniques, you will discover how to use these amazing materials in your homes or classrooms with young children. We will explore how to organize these materials and create ateliers for a wide range of diverse settings and around specific concepts from classrooms to homes, sheds to shelves, both indoors and outdoors. 

 We invite you to attend all or any combination of these workshops. 

All tickets must be purchased via Eventbrite. Click here to buy tickets. 

 Together, we will explore:  

• What is the difference between observational, representational, and imaginative drawing?
• What are the techniques to introduce line tools to children?
• How can drawing be used to help children understand sequencing?
• How can drawing be used to support literacy and mathematics?
• What is drawing to learn?
• How can drawing support literacy, narrative, and poetic language?
• How is drawing used to make relationships and connections visible?
• How can drawing support sequencing and prediction?
• What is the alphabet of drawing?

Included in the cost of this workshop is a portfolio binder that participants will use to create their own materials resource book.

  

2) CREATING A WORLD OF COLORS: PALETTES THAT CONNECT US TO OUR WORLD

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

May 28th, 2022, 9 am to 3 pm $115.00 

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way–things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keefe

Tempera Paint can be mixed in an infinitely nuanced palette, but how often do we end up creating colors that represent the vitality, diversity, and beauty of the natural world? 

 Join us as we consider how we can use this resource to bring attention to the richness of the environment, including: 

• What are the tricks and tips to creating a wide range of beautiful palettes?
• What are the techniques of paint mixing with children?
• How can color support children learning?
• How can a wide range of paint colors support children’s connection to nature?
• What is the difference between a tone, hue, shade, and tint?
• How can paint and color support literacy and poetic language?

 Included in the cost of this workshop is a Color Wheel, paint cups, and paints that participants can use to create a personal palette that can be taken back to their centers. Participants will also create a paint recipe book that can be used as a tool to create beautiful palettes throughout the year.

  

3) PASTELS AND WATERCOLORS             

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $65.00 

“Because watercolor actually moves on the paper, it is the most active of all mediums, almost a performance art.” – Nita Engle

 When considering which materials to introduce, the fluidity of these materials and the nature of the relationship between gestures and lines make these materials ideal for supporting a class of individuals in becoming a collaborative group. The creation of initial color palettes with an eye for how these materials can be combined and layered helps draw children’s interests over long periods of exploration.

 

• How are pan pastels, oil pastels, and watercolor media introduced to the children?
• What are the tools and techniques offered to the children?
• How are the materials used to represent children’s ideas?
• How are these materials used to support narrative and communication?
• How are they combined to create new possibilities?

  

4) MIXED MEDIA: BRINGING THE MATERIALS TOGETHER       

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 2 pm to 5 pm $75.00 

“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse 

 Join us while we explore the possibilities of layering and collage. Combining many different materials and media is a powerful tool for representation and meaning-making. Mixed media can support stories and narratives, scientific thinking, and problem-solving. Its power lies in the ability to endlessly combine and layer different types of materials to create theories, ideas, and new ways to communicate. The potential of different combinations of media invites us to reconsider our perspectives over and over again. 

• What are the techniques of mixed media?
• How mixed media supports literacy?
• How is mixed media used to represent children’s ideas?
• How is the layering of materials introduced to the children?
• How does mixed media become a tool for reflection and collaboration?

Included in the cost of this workshop is a canvas board, collage papers, and acrylic textures. 

  

5) INNOVATIONS AND THE NARRATIVES OF CLAY

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $85.00

“I like doing clay work. It’s different from drawing on a page because you have something to mold into different shapes. It’s quite visual; it’s a thing you can hold and feel, which makes it different from drawing.” – Bonnie Wright

 Clay is a powerful tool for transformation in children’s hands; it supports stories and narratives, mathematics, and geometry. Its flexibility invites us to reconsider our ideas over and over again. Join us while we explore the wonderful medium of clay and consider how to set up a studio where clay’s potential as a tool for representing children’s ideas can be realized. 

 

Together, we will explore:

• What is the alphabet of clay?
• How can clay support literacy?
• How is clay used to represent children’s ideas?
• How is clay introduced to the children?
• What are the tools and techniques of clay?
• How does clay become a tool for collaboration?

This workshop includes a block of Clay for your classroom.

  

6) CREATING AN ATELIER IN YOUR SPACE

– workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath

 Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 2 pm to 4 pm $50.00

 We will discuss many different kinds of ateliers; indoors, outdoors, on shelves, in cupboards, at home, and in school, as well as where to start and how to create a beautiful atelier for your school, class, or home.

• What organizational strategies do we consider in creating an atelier?
• How is the care of the atelier and materials introduced to the children?
• How do you create a place for imagination, creativity, and problem-solving?
• What kind of storage is best for the materials?
• How can you design an atelier within your environmental constraints?

We invite you to attend all or any combination of these workshops. 

All tickets must be purchased via Eventbrite. Click here to buy tickets. 

 In order to attend workshops please bring proof of vaccination or negative Covid test

DEVELOPING YOUR STUDIO:

A SIX-PART WORKSHOP SERIES WITH PATRICIA HUNTER-MCGRATH AND OUR BRANCHES TEAM OF EDUCATORS

You may attend any single workshop or all six

Click here to buy tickets.

 

After two long years, we are delighted to welcome you back in-person to Branches Atelier!

Please join us for a special workshop series that focuses on The Hundred Languages of Children and how you can use these languages to design a studio/atelier in your school or home. Over six sessions, we will explore in-depth a wide range of materials, tools, and techniques that can be introduced and integrated into your own unique settings.

 From the introduction, tools, and techniques to the care and organization of materials to using these marvelous materials to support and uncover children learning to creating ateliers in your home or school, join us as we share our many years of experience using the Hundred languages in creative and innovative ways with young children. As you are exploring the materials, you will simultaneously create a personalized materials resource guide that you will be able to use for years to come.

 Finally, you will also learn how to plan and create ateliers that will bring the joy and wonder of materials into your classrooms and homes.

 

1) Introduction to Materials and the Atelier and Exploring the Alphabet of Drawing

Saturday, May 7th, 2022, 9 am to 3 pm $100 

–       includes a portfolio binder to create a personalized materials resource book

2) Creating a World of Colors: Palettes that Connect us to our World

Saturday, May 28th, 2022, 9 am to 3 pm $115 

–       includes a Color Wheel, paint recipes, a set of tempera paints, and paint cups to take back to your classroom 

3) Pastels and Watercolors             

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $65

4) Mixed Media: Bringing the Materials Together

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 2 pm to 5 pm $75

–       includes a canvas board, collage papers, and acrylic textures

 5) Innovations in Clay 

Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $85

–       includes a block of clay for your classroom 

 6) Creating an Atelier in Your Space 

Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 2 pm to 4 pm $50

 

All workshops are onsite at:

Branches Atelier 

11359 W Washington Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90066 

For more than 15 years, Branches Atelier has developed an innovative program using expressive media and materials as tools of the mind. We are happy to offer this series of workshops to deeply explore the essential role that materials play in children’s learning. Over six sessions, you will be introduced to the philosophy, techniques, and organizational strategies needed to create dynamic, creative, and innovative ateliers. 

Unlike the traditional art studio that focuses on art production, ateliers are beautiful, creative spaces designed to support all areas of children’s learning and development from math, narrative, and science to creativity and problem-solving. Through the introduction of tools and techniques, you will discover how to use these amazing materials in your homes or classrooms with young children. We will explore how to organize these materials and create ateliers for a wide range of diverse settings and around specific concepts from classrooms to homes, sheds to shelves, both indoors and outdoors. 

 We invite you to attend all or any combination of these workshops. 

All tickets must be purchased via Eventbrite. Click here to buy tickets. 

 Together, we will explore:  

• What is the difference between observational, representational, and imaginative drawing?
• What are the techniques to introduce line tools to children?
• How can drawing be used to help children understand sequencing?
• How can drawing be used to support literacy and mathematics?
• What is drawing to learn?
• How can drawing support literacy, narrative, and poetic language?
• How is drawing used to make relationships and connections visible?
• How can drawing support sequencing and prediction?
• What is the alphabet of drawing?

Included in the cost of this workshop is a portfolio binder that participants will use to create their own materials resource book.

  

2) CREATING A WORLD OF COLORS: PALETTES THAT CONNECT US TO OUR WORLD

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

May 28th, 2022, 9 am to 3 pm $115.00 

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way–things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keefe

Tempera Paint can be mixed in an infinitely nuanced palette, but how often do we end up creating colors that represent the vitality, diversity, and beauty of the natural world? 

 Join us as we consider how we can use this resource to bring attention to the richness of the environment, including: 

• What are the tricks and tips to creating a wide range of beautiful palettes?
• What are the techniques of paint mixing with children?
• How can color support children learning?
• How can a wide range of paint colors support children’s connection to nature?
• What is the difference between a tone, hue, shade, and tint?
• How can paint and color support literacy and poetic language?

 Included in the cost of this workshop is a Color Wheel, paint cups, and paints that participants can use to create a personal palette that can be taken back to their centers. Participants will also create a paint recipe book that can be used as a tool to create beautiful palettes throughout the year.

  

3) PASTELS AND WATERCOLORS             

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $65.00 

“Because watercolor actually moves on the paper, it is the most active of all mediums, almost a performance art.” – Nita Engle

 When considering which materials to introduce, the fluidity of these materials and the nature of the relationship between gestures and lines make these materials ideal for supporting a class of individuals in becoming a collaborative group. The creation of initial color palettes with an eye for how these materials can be combined and layered helps draw children’s interests over long periods of exploration.

 

• How are pan pastels, oil pastels, and watercolor media introduced to the children?
• What are the tools and techniques offered to the children?
• How are the materials used to represent children’s ideas?
• How are these materials used to support narrative and communication?
• How are they combined to create new possibilities?

  

4) MIXED MEDIA: BRINGING THE MATERIALS TOGETHER       

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

Saturday, June 4th, 2022, 2 pm to 5 pm $75.00 

“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse 

 Join us while we explore the possibilities of layering and collage. Combining many different materials and media is a powerful tool for representation and meaning-making. Mixed media can support stories and narratives, scientific thinking, and problem-solving. Its power lies in the ability to endlessly combine and layer different types of materials to create theories, ideas, and new ways to communicate. The potential of different combinations of media invites us to reconsider our perspectives over and over again. 

• What are the techniques of mixed media?
• How mixed media supports literacy?
• How is mixed media used to represent children’s ideas?
• How is the layering of materials introduced to the children?
• How does mixed media become a tool for reflection and collaboration?

Included in the cost of this workshop is a canvas board, collage papers, and acrylic textures. 

  

5) INNOVATIONS AND THE NARRATIVES OF CLAY

– a hands-on workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath 

Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 9 am to 12 pm $85.00

“I like doing clay work. It’s different from drawing on a page because you have something to mold into different shapes. It’s quite visual; it’s a thing you can hold and feel, which makes it different from drawing.” – Bonnie Wright

 Clay is a powerful tool for transformation in children’s hands; it supports stories and narratives, mathematics, and geometry. Its flexibility invites us to reconsider our ideas over and over again. Join us while we explore the wonderful medium of clay and consider how to set up a studio where clay’s potential as a tool for representing children’s ideas can be realized. 

 

Together, we will explore:

• What is the alphabet of clay?
• How can clay support literacy?
• How is clay used to represent children’s ideas?
• How is clay introduced to the children?
• What are the tools and techniques of clay?
• How does clay become a tool for collaboration?

This workshop includes a block of Clay for your classroom.

  

6) CREATING AN ATELIER IN YOUR SPACE

– workshop presented by Patricia Hunter McGrath

 Saturday, June 25th, 2022, 2 pm to 4 pm $50.00

 We will discuss many different kinds of ateliers; indoors, outdoors, on shelves, in cupboards, at home, and in school, as well as where to start and how to create a beautiful atelier for your school, class, or home.

• What organizational strategies do we consider in creating an atelier?
• How is the care of the atelier and materials introduced to the children?
• How do you create a place for imagination, creativity, and problem-solving?
• What kind of storage is best for the materials?
• How can you design an atelier within your environmental constraints?

We invite you to attend all or any combination of these workshops. 

All tickets must be purchased via Eventbrite. Click here to buy tickets. 

 In order to attend workshops please bring proof of vaccination or negative Covid test

Whether you are a new teacher,  assistant or a lifelong learner consider enrolling in:

ECE 17: Curriculum Development in Early Education : a socio-constructivist approach.

Taught by Christine Richard, M.A., Pedagogista, Master Teacher,and California ECE Mentor.

ECE 51: Introduction to the Reggio Emilia Approach in American Contexts.

Taught by Ellen Khokha, M.A., Founder of the Growing Place and SMC  California Mentor Coordinator. 

Both courses are:

• Three unit courses.
• 8 weeks (Feb 14-April 10).
• Feature practical applications.
• Entirely on-line. 
• Tour of the new Santa Monica Lab School on a Saturday (optional).
• At $46 a credit unit this is an exceptionally sound investment in the future  of your program and teachers. 

We look forward to working with you. 

Ellen Khokha and Christine Richard

With the winter holiday season fast approaching, I am excited to share our updated Branches Atelier Book & Toy Resource Guide. The books and gifts contained within this guide will support children’s creativity and imagination as well as their attention, self-control and problem-solving skills.

Before heading out to the mall or jumping online to purchase the latest and greatest gifts, I would like to suggest that perhaps you might rethink how many new toys your child needs. Maybe scale back the number and the kind of toys and gifts you purchase. If your child has too much, nothing is special. When a child has too many toys, they tend to flit from one to the other without investing time and deeply exploring or playing with what they have. This leads to boredom. 

While all toys do have a sticker price, I encourage you to slow down and consider the actual cost of certain toys. With climate change being one of the biggest challenges of our time, we must take into consideration the environmental cost of producing so many gifts and toys. And we must ask ourselves the question, “What happens to the toy after a child is finished with it?” Too often, the “latest and greatest” toys end up discarded and, unfortunately, in the trash dump within a few months. Many of these toys are made of plastic and don’t naturally break down. If you think the toy might be discarded in a few months, don’t buy it. 

Instead, here are some high-quality, child-tested, environmentally friendly, fun, and educational gifts ideas that children will enjoy for years to come. These toys will withstand the test of time. And best of all, many of them have much less impact on our environment. 

Finally, don’t forget to buy less, play more, and spend time creating some wonderful new family memories!

Enjoy!! Patricia

Click Here to download Branches Atelier Book & Toy Resource Guide

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Branches Book and Toy Resource Guide