Year of Yes! Workshop Series

A 3-part on-demand webinar series.

We designed this series for educators and caregivers who believe in the power of open-ended play and process art, but also need practical tools to make it work. We build on what participants love about our TCP Approach Series, with a deeper focus on what happens after the inspiration: the routines, the challenges, the language, the mindset.

Enroll in our 3-part Workshop Series

Note: This is an individual registration. Email us for schools & groups. Click here for workshops sold separately.

$78.00
One time
$26.00
For 3 months

Get full access to our 3-part Year of Yes! Workshops Series, and say yes to creativity, connection, and support that feels realistic and sustaining. Whether you're new to this work or ready to go deeper, these sessions are here to support and inspire you. Your work matters more than ever!

✓ One portal to access all workshops
✓ Includes PD certificates, printables, resource links
✓ Unlimited lifetime access

Year of Yes! Workshop Series

1. Play Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect: How to manage chaos without killing creativity

This is the 1st workshop in our Year of Yes series. This series is designed for teachers and caregivers who believe in the power of open-ended play and process art, but need practical strategies to implement it effectively in their own spaces. In this session, we explore how simple routines and small rituals can make open-ended play possible within the crevices of the day. You’ll learn how to design systems that support setup, cleanup, and material access, including our self-serve art cart and stations model, which works across ages, settings, and group sizes. We also look at play as both practice and information: a space where children rehearse empathy, collaboration, resilience, and focus, while educators shift into researcher mode to notice strengths and deepen understanding of each child. This workshop offers practical strategies, realistic ideas, and reassurance that although play can be imperfect, busy, messy, and sometimes chaotic, children need this time to rehearse the work of being human.

2. Beyond Cute: When a finished product matters, but so does honoring the process

This is the 2nd workshop in our Year of Yes series. It is a natural continuation of Set It Up and See What Happens for educators and caregivers who already believe in the power of open-ended play and process art, but need support in navigating the very real tension between values and expectations. We share five core practices for prioritizing creativity while responding thoughtfully to outside pressures. You’ll explore how to understand differing perspectives, operationalize your values into everyday behaviors, and make intentional choices around aesthetics, materials, and curation. We dig into how to share and tell the story of learning that unfolds during process art and creative play, and how to display artifacts of children’s work in ways that spark curiosity and invite conversation. This session offers clear language, concrete examples, and sustainable strategies to help you move from defending your approach to living it with confidence.

3. The Art of Guiding: What to say (and not to say) when children create

This is the 3rd workshop in our Year of Yes series and continues the work of translating values into everyday practice. After exploring how to design environments and advocate for process-based learning (see Design for Discovery and Set it Up and See What Happens), this session focuses on what happens in the moment, when children are creating, struggling, negotiating, or asking for help. We explore what gentle support really looks like, how to scaffold children’s thinking without interrupting their process, and how to integrate children’s ideas and interests in real time. You’ll learn specific language aligned with social-emotional development, along with strategies for handling frustration, mistakes, creative blocks, and “I can’t do it” moments with care and clarity. Through real examples and small, actionable shifts, this workshop supports educators and caregivers in showing up with confidence, presence, and trust so children feel capable, resilient, and supported as they create.

Year of Yes! Workshop Series

This is your year of YES, and your invitation to say yes to creativity, connection, and support that feels realistic and sustaining. We are building on our foundational TCP Approach Series, which covers the basics of open-ended materials exploration, designing the physical environment for discovery, using what is readily available, documentation, and finding purpose and joy in our work.

These webinars are grounded in what we heard from you in our recent community survey. You told us:

  • “I need help with setup and cleanup—I want a system that works.”

  • “It’s hard to stay true to creativity when parents and admin want something finished to come home.”

  • “I don’t think kids know how to play or create anymore. They’re always stuck on how to get started”.

  • “I don’t want more theory. I already believe it! I want something I can actually use tomorrow.”

We listened. This series offers clear, replicable strategies, direct language, and encouragement for those navigating real-world challenges.

What you’ll get:

  • 3 practical on-demand webinar sessions

  • Real solutions for transforming everyday challenges into creative, affirming experiences in any setting

  • Supportive language you can use with children and adults

  • Examples that help you advocate for creativity without apology

  • Tools that move you from inspiration to transformation

  • Printable resources and PD certificates

  • 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

  • Just when I think I’ve learned all that I can from TCP, bam! You give me so much more to refresh, inspire, and energize my creative process. It’s no coincidence that I have to pull my kids out of the art room at bedtime in the days and weeks following a workshop :) Item

    Katy, “Back to Basics” workshop 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

  • I love how your workshops are organized and the simple, effective way you share ideas. Our preschool already does a lot with open-ended art experiences, loose parts, and recyclables, and yet I walked away with new ideas and inspiration. Thank you!

    Kevan, “Back to Basics” workshop 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

  • “Learn to see learning” stuck with me. I tend to get stuck in a rut of just “getting in and getting out” when I go into schools to teach. What a great reminder to slow down and see how the students are learning, so that I can celebrate OUR hard work!

    K.Z., “Digging Deeper” workshop participant

  • 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

  • I love the resourcefulness of the workshop. Sometimes we feel we don't have the budget but I think you have offered so many free solutions! Thank you.

    Heather, “Back to Basics” workshop participant

  • Thank you for all the amazing ideas for how to invite children to get creative, how to set up space, how to pare down, how to inspire other teachers, etc. Everything was just what I was looking for!

    Kim, “Designing for Discovery” workshop participant

  • So many wonderful visuals, and how you organize the information conveys your message so well. As a preschool director, I now have ideas for how to better communicate "less is more" to our amazing teachers!

    Kevan, “Designing for Discovery” workshop participant

  • So many a-ha moments you brought me to! You answered my questions and then some for organizing, dealing with art accumulation, and starting from scratch with creating or redesigning a space.

    Katy, “Designing for Discovery” workshop participant

 FAQs

  • Once you register for the series, you will receive an invitation to create an account or log into your TCP account if you already have one. The recorded webinar will be in your portal, along with PD certificates and supporting links and resources. 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.

  • Yes, printable certificates are available to download on your portal. They total 3 hours of professional development.