August 20, 2018  by

Invitations To Create: New Videos & Prompts!

Are you familiar with Invitations To Create?

Invitations To Create are open-ended art prompts set up for kids to encourage creative exploration of materials. I first learned about these types of art prompts when I was a Reggio-Inspired preschool teacher and have since used them with my own kids for the past 9 years.

Invitations To Create have been the one tool I go back to again and again to keep my kids engaged with their art supplies and to learn new skills.

I’ve been working on a few new projects that involve Invitations To Create and I’m so excited to share them with you today!

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in Art Projects / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Homeschool / News 0 comments
September 5, 2017  by

Episode 10: Kids’ Art Spaces

This is a mini solo podcast episode, where I share the inspiration behind my business, The Art Pantry. I talk about why I view kids’ art spaces as workshops and what kids learn in them that goes way beyond art. I also share about my online course, Design Camp, and have a free download for you with art prompts for kids that are based on the skills I discuss in this episode.

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in Art Projects / Art Spaces / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Home / Homeschool / Indoor Creative Spaces / Podcast 0 comments
September 5, 2017  by

It’s Not About Art: Skill-building in the studio

The other day I was going through photos of our art space over the years and it hit me how much my girls have learned from having a dedicated art space in our home.

I always say that having an art space is about so much more than just having a place to do art. But I realized that maybe I take this for granted and maybe other people don’t know what happens in an art space over time.

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in Art Projects / Art Spaces / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Home / Homeschool / Indoor Creative Spaces 1 comments
July 28, 2017  by

How To Incorporate Tinker & Maker Materials Into Your Art Space

Art spaces for kids are places of exploration, investigation, discovery, and creation. It’s important not to limit your materials to only art supplies (especially for kids over age 3), but to offer them a variety of materials to enhance their learning experience.

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in Art Projects / Art Spaces / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Home / Homeschool / Indoor Creative Spaces 0 comments
July 18, 2017  by

New Podcast!

I’m so excited to announce that I am launching a new podcast along with my husband, Aaron Schiller, called Muse and The Catalyst. It’s a podcast all about inspiration and taking action to create the life of your dreams. We’ll be covering topics such as lifestyle, business, family, parenting, design, minimalism, mindfulness, art, creativity, education, travel and so much more.

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in Creative Business / Guest Interviews / News / Podcast / Travel 10 comments
November 9, 2016  by

Art Workshop For Children: Self-Portraits

Let me introduce you to my favorite new book about process art and Reggio-inspired learning. Friends, meet Art Workshop For Children. Art Workshop For Children, please meet my friends. I’m sure you guys will get along really well.

Art Workshop for Children, by Barbara Rucci and Betsy McKenna, is a breathtaking book (the photos literally made me gasp when I first flipped through the pages) filled with unique process-based art activities for kids and tips on how to prepare your art space for creative exploration. I especially love the thoughtful reflections woven throughout the book by Reggio-inspired educator, Betsy McKenna, on how to raise creative thinkers and why this is important for all children.

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in Art Projects / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Homeschool / News 110 comments
July 31, 2016  by

Reggio Inspired Art Secrets

You probably know this by now, but I am a huge fan of the incredible art teacher and blogger, Meri Cherry. I remember discovering her work a couple of years ago when she wrote a post about wood working with toddlers. I immediately felt a kinship and was so excited to find another Reggio inspired art blogger. We eventually got to meet in person over a plate of tacos and we both couldn’t stop blabbering on about Reggio and kids art. We have been friends ever since! Meri has a way of sharing her experience as a teacher that is unlike any other teacher and blogger I know. Her beautiful photos and down-to-earth voice bring you into her world and make you feel like you are being let in on a secret. So it’s no wonder she recently published an e-book called  Art Secrets Every Teacher Should Know, A Reggio Inspired Approach.

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in Art Projects / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Creative Projects 0 comments
June 3, 2015  by

Summer Reading Recommendations: Learning At Home

A reader recently asked about my recommendations for books on setting up creative learning spaces. She specifically wanted to know about books inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. It got me thinking that I should put together a list of my all-time favorite resources- not only for setting up learning spaces, but also for expanding creative learning opportunities at home.

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in Art Projects / Art Spaces / Creative Learning 6 comments