Registration for workshops & videochats closes 2 hours before the event.

"Transforming Classroom Culture Through Intentional Words of Kindness" VIDEOCHAT
with Karen Levenberg
Thursday, Nov 13th, 3:00-4:30 PM (ET)

Daily intentions, special words of kindness and empathy, that can be visualized and physicalized, form the foundation of this social/emotional framework developed by Karen Levenberg and Annabelle Baylin. As an extension of a daily mindfulness routine, teachers select special words (intentions) based on observations and values that they want to cultivate in the classroom, establishing a classroom culture with a shared set of moral principles: generosity, integrity, persistence, gratitude. Each word is defined, modeled, discussed during morning meeting, and put into action over a two-week period. Throughout the school year, this set of words creates the container for children to take action to make their world a kinder and fairer place.

In this workshop, Karen will share video footage of her PreK classroom conversations, videos of children speaking about the intentions, and lead the group through their mindfulness practice and intention conversations. She will also share how she incorporates this language and values throughout the school day and reflect with participants on what intentions they might incorporate into their own classrooms. Lastly, she will speak about how she shared this work with families and how she supported parents to also use the language of the intentions at home. 

BIO: Karen Levenberg is an Early Childhood Education Consultant. She was a classroom teacher for 17 years, teaching at the Blue School in Lower Manhattan for 10 years. Prior to teaching, she helped initiate early literacy Even Start programs in public schools in administrative capacities. Karen holds an MSEd in early childhood education from Brooklyn College, an MPH in public health from Hunter College, and a BA in studio art/art history from Oberlin College.

"Building Teacher Relationships" VIDEOCHAT
with Yeshnaya Dougherty
Wednesday, Dec 3rd, 3:00-4:00 PM (ET)

Relationships are the heart of each classroom and community. Just as we value and support friendships between children, the significance of teacher relationships is instrumental in providing a powerful space for growth, reflection and shared joy! Being in partnership with teachers brings built-in opportunities for ongoing professional development, creativity, and support.  Coming together as co-teachers, lead teacher and associate, director and teacher can often be overlooked. Taking time and space to implement meaningful reflection and shared values on these roles can be the beginning of one of your most rewarding relationships. In this session, we will explore the value of teacher relationships and unpack this process by identifying personal values and how to build a classroom community on shared goals.

BIO: Yeshnaya is an Early Childhood Educator and certified coach who is passionate about developing meaningful relationships with educators and leaders as they explore and grow their practice. Most recently, she was a coach with the Efshar Network supporting Jewish Early Childhood programs in the Denver and Boulder area. She began her journey as a coach with Teaching Beyond the Square in 2015, where she worked alongside early childhood educators across the Tri-state area. Passionate and inspired by the curious minds of young children, Yeshnaya's practice and philosophy are largely shaped by her work with the Reggio Emilia approach. She received her M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Lesley University and her B.A. in Environmental Studies from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia.

Loose Parts Workshop
with Wendy Gelsanliter
Thursday, Dec 4th, 4:00-5:30 PM (ET)

Come to the Materials Center in Manhattan and join our team for a Loose Parts Workshop. We will introduce educators to the history and thinking behind materials work with children and share actual footage of children playing, creating, and building. Afterwards, we’ll discuss concrete ideas for integrating this work into your program or curriculum. At the end of the session, participants can shop for materials to take back to their own classrooms.

"A 2s Emergent Curriculum Study" VIDEOCHAT
with Andrew Hauner, Sara Redeghieri, and Caroline Reuben
Thursday, Dec 17th, 5:00-6:00 PM (ET)

When facilitating the emergence of a curriculum in a twos classroom, how can we as early childhood educators follow both the (creative) lead and the (developmental) need? How can the practice of emergent curriculum cultivate inclusion in connection to both communication and belonging? As twos teachers grappling with these questions, we plan in this videochat to present the processes and products of two of our emergent curricula: 1) “Color as Multiliteracy” focused on how the materiality of color can serve as a relational mode of meaning making that facilitates and also goes beyond verbal language; 2) “Self-Portraiture: Material, Identity, Language” took attachment and transitional objecthood as departure points for exploring personal and social identity. Observation, documentation and assessment help us as teachers show each other what is possible in a twos classroom.

BIO: Sara Redeghieri is an early childhood educator currently teaching at Beginnings Nursery School. She received a B.A. in Anthropology and Romance Languages from Mount Holyoke College. She grew up in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and was fortunate to experience the educational approach firsthand. She has worked with children of various ages and in diverse settings internationally, facilitating after-school and summer camp programs, teaching cooking enrichment classes, and designing language workshops. She had the opportunity of discovering the many wonders of materials while working at the non-profit Teaching Beyond the Square. She's pursuing an MSEd in early childhood education at CUNY's City College of New York. Sara loves to learn about different cultures and their people. She loves to cook, whether learning new recipes or perfecting her Nonna's traditional pasta recipes.

BIO: Caroline Reuben was born and raised in San Francisco, California.  Her love for preschoolers and nursery schools began at 14, when she volunteered in her Synagogue's nursery school.  Caroline graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Behavior and Marketplace Studies. She is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education at Hunter College. Caroline joined Beginnings in 2022 as a floater and assistant teacher and is now a head teacher in the Parent/Child program and Young 2s classrooms. When not in the classroom, Caroline loves travel, museums, books and cheering on her favorite Bay Area sports teams.

BIO: Andrew Hauner, M.F.A., is an early childhood educator and artist–researcher. He is a head teacher at the Reggio-inspired Beginnings Nursery School. He has worked with children and families across educational contexts in NYC, including Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Imani House, Blue School, and P.S. 10K. His arts-based research into creativity and education has been exhibited internationally. He has presented on artist biofiction in children’s picture books at College Art Association and early intercorporeality at New York City’s Art of Play and Wonderment Conference. Hauner’s recent articles are “Artistic Research as Citational Practice” (Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis) & “Creative Documentation: Making My Research Lens Visible” (Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange). His forthcoming work is a chapter entitled “There is No Arts-Based Research Without Arts-Based Learning” to be featured in a volume addressing the interplay between creative practice and pedagogical practice (Vernon Press, 2026). He is interested in the Reggio Emilia approach as a way of seeing, challenging, and leveraging his teacher subjectivity and cultural lens.

Loose Parts Workshop
with Wendy Gelsanliter
Thursday, Jan 8th, 4:00-5:30 PM (ET)

Come to the Materials Center in Manhattan and join our team for a Loose Parts Workshop. We will introduce educators to the history and thinking behind materials work with children and share actual footage of children playing, creating, and building. Afterwards, we’ll discuss concrete ideas for integrating this work into your program or curriculum. At the end of the session, participants can shop for materials to take back to their own classrooms.

If you previously attended a videochat and need a certificate of participation,
you can request one here.