Early Childhood Conference – March 13, 2010
Chabot College and Las Positas College will be hosting an early childhood conference on March 13, 2010 at Chabot College in Hayward. The theme: Our Focus: The Child & Creciendo Juntos: Educadores, Niños y Familias. This conference is specifically geared toward early childhood professionals who educate or care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children.
Maya will be presenting some of the lessons of her Claiming Face curriculum and how to use creativity as a tool for self-empowerment. She will also be selling and signing her children’s books and art prints at the conference. Her presentation is scheduled for 11:00am – 12:20pm on Saturday.
Conference Details:
Saturday, March 13, 2010
8:00 am—5:00 pm
Chabot College
25555 Hesperian Blvd. Hayward, CA 94545
Sponsored By:
Chabot College
Las Positas College
Every Child Counts
First 5 Alameda County
More information and to register for the conference visit their website.
Hope to see you there!
Filed under Conferences | Tags: children, CLAIMING FACE, conference, creativity, empowerment, family | Comment (0)Letting Go to Express
I went to Almaden Elementary School in San Jose in January. It was one of those visits that leaves me feeling very happy. I enjoyed an especially full day because I got to come into contact with basically every kid in the school. This meant 3 big assemblies and 2 preschool readings. The last assembly was the older kids, 4-5th grade, so besides my presentation we got to do a project together. I’m always moved by the generosity and exuberance of childhood and what children show in their art. But this time what I was most moved by was the very last question of the day. We only had time for one more. Thankfully I called on this boy who asked, “How do I let go and express my emotions in my art?”
I swear it was like having a plant in the audience to ask the most beautiful question possible. I get asked a lot, a lot of things, but this was unique. This question seemed Continue reading »
Filed under Maya in the Classroom, The Creative Process | Tags: children, CLAIMING FACE, creativity, empowerment, presentations, school visit | Comment (0)Take Our Educator Survey
Perhaps you have read about our Claiming Face curriculum and educator packets on our main website? We’ve been working hard over these last few months to assemble it into a valuable resource for teachers who are interested in using creativity as a tool for empowerment in their classrooms.
As we develop these packets, we want to look to educators to ask what is helpful to you around creativity in the classroom. Do you value it? Do you feel confident bringing it into your classroom? Do you have the resources to support you? What would be the most supportive? We’ve assembled a short educator survey of 9 questions to find out. To thank you for your participation, you will be entered to win a 11×17 archival art print of your choice from our available art illustrations. We’ll choose random winners on January 1, 2010 so feel free to pass the survey link around to other educators. The more responses the more winners.
Help us develop our curriculum: take our educator survey>>>
About the Curriculum: Our Claiming Face curriculum uses reflection and creativity as a tool for self knowledge and empowerment. It is created by the artist, Maya Christina Gonzalez, through her years of working in numerous classrooms across the country. The goal is to instill an internal perspective first. We know ourselves most deeply from the inside. While reflection in our environment is vital to a sense of belonging and is part of a developmental process, the aim of our curriculum is to provide children with the form and skill to know themselves especially when those external reflections do not exist. Our curriculum is unique in that it is both artist-based and kid-tested. The exercises and perspectives have literally been used with hundreds and hundreds of children and adults throughout the years. Read more on our site.
Filed under General | Tags: creativity, educators, empowerment, reflection, survey | Comment (0)Invisible Families
When I was a child, they didn’t teach about my family in school. They didn’t talk about my family on television or in the movies and definitely not in books. At least not the books I ever came into contact with at my library or school. If my family was mentioned at all, it was to condemn, ridicule, or shame. Why? Because I have a gay father.
The messages I heard repeatedly from my childhood were loud and clear in everything I read, everywhere I looked, and everywhere I went. I must be the only one. My family must be something I’m supposed to hide – a difference not to be celebrated, but embarrassed and ashamed of. My family, and therefore I, must be less than, unwelcome, an outcast, deserving of the harsh treatment because otherwise someone would try to stop it, someone would talk about it, someone would tell me it was ok, right? These messages followed me throughout my middle school and high school years and into college. Never once did I meet another kid like me, never once did a teacher acknowledge families like mine existed, never once did I not feel fear that someone would find out my secret and tease and shame me for it. My family was invisible. I was invisible.
At the end of my junior year of college, after I had told maybe a handful of people my entire life about my family, I was sitting at a computer researching scholarships. When out of nowhere I found an organization called, COLAGE. An organization for children who have lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parents! I couldn’t believe it! I wasn’t the only one, I wasn’t an outcast! I wasn’t supposed to be ashamed. No, in fact, I could be proud! Proud of Continue reading »
Filed under LGBTQI Families | Tags: acceptance, empowerment, family, lgbt, reflection | Comments (3)
