Professional Development & Support
for early childhood educators
“Even when we speak of creativity, we don’t mean artistically, but that we are all creative, and learning is a creative process.
Why is learning creative? We are always adjusting our thinking and what we envision.”
Ivana Sorcini, psychologist, Reggio Emilia 2016.
Even with the best intentions, sometimes it simply feels impossible to do all the things. All the time. Sometimes as educators we need a bit of an inspiration boost or a little encouragement and support.
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Even though I believe wholeheartedly that we are all creative beings, I know that sometimes you may not feel that way. You know when you feel confident it's much easier to show up and share that with the children you're teaching. They know when your heart isn't in it, and their heart won't be in it either.
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If you want to give yourself, or the educators in your team more:
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confidence to set up and facilitate creative experiences for children
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understanding of process art
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knowledge of painting techniques and how they can be applied in an early childhood setting
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tips for creating and running short and long term projects
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strategies for linking theory to practice and
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inspiration and motivation to give it a go....
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I'm here to support you!
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I have a number of services that can support your educators and your centre. I offer in person professional development workshops, An Educators Guide to PAINT (downloadable), educator mentor programs and The Wonder of Paint artist in residence programs for children.
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Contact to enquire and discuss the options that suit the needs of your centre: meredith@thewildatelier.com.au
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Testimonial
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I approached Meredith as I wanted to organise a special professional development session for the start of 2022 for the Mia Mia team. I have known Meredith for over 10 years, and she is a skilled and experienced early childhood teacher, artist, and just a beautiful soul. I knew whatever she organised would be really special.
I provided her with a very loose brief- I wanted the team to learn some art techniques which they could use in their teaching practice, and importantly, I wanted it to be an enjoyable experience, a time of connection for the educators before they got into the rush of the new year- particularly after the challenges of the last few Covid years!
Meredith’s workshop was wonderful! We experimented with colour mixing, which sounds simple, but as most of us discovered- there is actually more to it! We explored painting tools and techniques, and all created our own pieces of art. Because Meredith’s painting process is intuitive, we began the session by thinking of a word as our own intention to start the year and guide our painting process. This added another positive and calming layer to our group experience. We also created a beautiful collaborative artwork which we now hang in our foyer, along with a photo of our wonderful team on the day which captured a special moment of engagement and togetherness.
I highly recommend Meredith’s workshops to any centre (or workplace)- this is the new kind of professional development we all need!
Catherine Jones
Director
Mia Mia Child and Family Study Centre
“Teachers are like explorers, who use maps and compasses; they know the directions, but they know that every year the terrain, the climate, the seasons, the children can add new directions and that the order of times and problems can change. Destinations are important and must not be lost from sight, but more importantly is how and why we reach them.”
Loris Malaguzzi