Set it Up and See What Happens

The first workshop in our Professional Workshop Series

Embrace process-focused creative experiences, see children as capable and full of good ideas, and learn our approach for deep engagement, agency, and flow in the classroom.

This is our first webinar in the series. Sign up below for access to the whole 5-part series, which includes PDF printable resources, PD certificates, links, and access to our Mighty community.

Enroll in our Workshop Series

Note: This is an individual registration. Email us for schools & groups.

$168.00
One time
$42.00
For 4 months

Get full access to our 5-part professional learning series exploring materials, environments, mindsets, and systems. Developed for classroom educators, art studio educators, childcare providers, pre-service educators, parents, and caregivers.

✓ One portal to access all workshops
✓ Includes PDF resources, PD certificates, links
✓ Unlimited lifetime access

Our Workshop Series

1. Set It Up and See What Happens

LIVE: October 1, 2024
3:30 pm EST

Learn how to offer open-ended art and play experiences in any setting to give educators opportunities to learn deeply about children, what interests and engages them, what funds of knowledge they bring with them to the learning environment, and what brings them joy. Watch as children of all ages and developmental stages make discoveries and decisions, cultivate creative confidence, and find flow in their work. When we set it up to see what happens, we are intentional about curating materials and environment, but we are open to the possibilities of what can happen. Getting comfortable with this practice will make classroom life more joyful for children and adults and open your eyes to other opportunities for agency and choice throughout the day. This is the first of our essential practices that can be applied in virtually every setting, with any age group, and with any budget.

2. Designing for Discovery: Cultivating Creativity in Any Learning Space

LIVE: November 12, 2024
3:30 pm EST

Once you see how powerful it can be to set it up and see what happens, you’ll be ready to design other opportunities around the learning environment to nurture agency and autonomy. Let us show you our rigorously tested methods for creating zones for different kinds of play and creativity, as well as the logistics and mechanics of organizing and offering materials. Create a learning environment that supports flow, connection, and of course joy, by highlighting the humans in the space. We’ll show you ways to display children’s work, ease the overwhelm with simple and low-cost (or free) design choices, and make a space that works for everyone. Whether you teach from an art cart, in the park, in a classroom, at the library, in an art studio, or are using our approach at home, this workshop will inspire you to consider the physical space in the planning of open-ended art and play experiences.

3. Just The Basics: Use What You Have

LIVE: January 8, 2025
3:30 pm EST

Now that you’re feeling comfortable with setting up simple experiences that allow you to see what children are capable of and you’ve made some tweaks and changes to the learning environment, we’ll go deep and explore with you all the possibilities for loose parts, dramatic play, and process art using the standard, most basic supplies. Yes, we’re talking about crayons, markers, staplers, copy paper, cardboard, recyclables, and anything else that is free or very low-cost. Get your creative juices flowing, bring joy to your learning space, and help children learn that anything can be anything!

4. Digging Deeper: Art is Play & Play is Learning

LIVE: February 4, 2025
3:30 pm EST

Once you get a feel for all that is possible with the most basic tools and materials, you might be inspired to try other process art experiences in your learning space. We’ll take a deeper look at some of children’s favorites like painting, printmaking, and sculpture, and show you how to plan for the most open-ended experiences no matter the variety of ages and developmental stages. You may also wonder, “How can I document and communicate the learning that is happening here?” In this webinar, we will share tips and tricks for organizing, offering, and documenting these processes; how to make small tweaks and changes to encourage even more creativity; and how to be an advocate for art and play in the classroom as we share academic and cognitive learning connections, and the impact of open-ended experiences on social and emotional well-being.

5. What Brings You Joy? Finding Focus & Flow

LIVE: March 18, 2024
3:30 pm EST

Now that you’ve learned to step back and see what happens, design for discovery, use what you have, and understand that art and play are learning, put it all together with us to find focus, flow, and meaning in your creative practice. Stay energized and joyful even in the most challenging circumstances by coming back to what matters to you and what you want to spotlight in your learning environment. Join us and special guest educators and thinkers who have put our approach into practice as we set intentions and playfully explore together. Gain access to some of our favorite tools for reflection and planning as we celebrate months of incredible learning together.

  • I am taking away the idea that the image of the child that we hold affects the way we approach learning. When we believe that the children are capable, creative, and valued, then we can "set it up and see what happens."

    Chryssa, Set it Up and See What Happens participant

  • Thank you for this reaffirmation on the importance of play-based learning and open-ended art. A fire in my belly, and lots of lovely inspo for setting it up and seeing what happens!

    Emma, Set it Up and See What Happens participant

  • I am inspired and energized as a museum educator. I've always struggled to come up with ideas for how to use abundant, available materials. Your "how not what" approach feels like a revelation to me.

    Katy, Set it Up and See What Happens participant

  • Shannon and Bar - you both speak with such confidence and beautifully illustrated this program. My biggest takeaway is the advocacy you have for this movement and the use of empowering language when discussing this as a right for children

    Suzanne, Set it Up and See What Happens participant

  • My takeaway is to start with a couple of simple choices. Sit with the discomfort of wanting to direct students.

    Kari, Set it Up and See What Happens participant

  • Love all your visual examples! You have reaffirmed my commitment to process art! Loved getting some new ideas -fence weaving, varying sizes of paper for more choice, egg cartons for glue.

    Lainey, Set it Up and See What Happens participant

  • I think its so brave to challenge stereotypes and the need to conform. You allow us to value and encourage independent learning. Through your workshop I learned - Process not product. The possibility of merging structured learning with free learning. Respecting the process of learning. Not expecting a finished stereotypical response.

    Janet, Set it Up and See What Happens participant

 FAQs

  • All workshops will be recorded and available for those who have registered for the series in a password-protected portal where you can also find links to supplies, materials, and resources covered in our workshops.

  • Once you register for the series, you will receive an invitation to create an account or log into your TCP account. In your portal, you will find links to the ZOOM workshops (posted 3 days prior and also by email), and access to the recordings within 48 hours of the live event. You will have lifetime access to your portal.

  • We ask that you purchase one registration per educator, please. If you plan to sign up more than 5 educators, please email us for a bulk discount code. We’ve made this series and all of our products incredibly inexpensive and offer discounts whenever possible. We appreciate your support in our work!

  • Yes, please email us with documentation and we will provide a discount code. Note: This course is already deeply discounted if you register before October 1st, so your Title 1 discount is only valid after this date.

  • Yes, printable certificates will be available on your portal after completing reflection questions.

  • Our Materials Matter course covers many of the principles in this workshop series but through the lens of specific materials exploration. It also encourages teachers and those working with children to become comfortable with each of the materials and find ways to organize and offer them to meet the needs of the learning space. This workshop series allows us to dig deeper into The Creativity Project approach with new ideas, mindset work, and fresh takeaways in a live, personal setting where attendees can answer questions and we can answer them in real time. There is a whole new level of learning that can happen when engaged in active listening, visual context, and conversation. This workshop series is a wonderful extension for those who have taken our Materials Matter course or an inspirational beginning to our approach, leaving room to take the course in the future.

  • We have learned so much in the past four years of creating curriculum and other resources for educators and those working with young children. Our original 36 guides focus on big ideas or themes that ground the invitations, mindfulness routines, and picture book lists within. This workshop series is less focused on adult-created themes or big ideas, and more on mindset shifts and building environments of autonomy and agency for creative thinking and learning.

  • We will open up opportunities to ask questions ahead of time so that we can cover your wonderings throughout the presentation. There will also be a chat feature open during each workshop so that we can answer questions in real time, and we will save time at the end to highlight and discuss recurring themes from the chat. Our Mighty community will be open for conversation between workshops for those who purchase the series.