Small, inclusive and diverse full time Reggio Emilia toddler and preschool program conveniently located in the heart of the Grand Lake / Lake Merritt neighborhood of Oakland, CA.
The Children’s Workshop Oakland is a diverse, welcoming and inclusive school community of approximately twelve teachers and fifty students. We are a small, highly creative and intensely collaborative program where staff, students and families feel respected, accepted, valued and encouraged to fully participate in our mission to provide young children with an engaging and challenging critical and creative education of the highest quality that is truly worthy of their tremendous capacity for learning and growth.
Our goal is to create a joyful, equitable and language rich learning environment where toddler and preschool age children from diverse backgrounds and of mixed ages and abilities can freely explore their emerging interests and blossoming capabilities through participation in immersive, self guided play and collaborative project-based activities.
Philosophy: Our teachers are passionately committed to the use of responsive language and inclusive play-based, Reggio, anti-bias and antiracist pedagogies which aim to foster a campus wide culture of child-centered learning and inquiry with an emphasis on perspective taking and belonging. We believe that–like our young students–all human beings learn best when they feel safe, supported and empowered to authentically engage with others in ways that meaningfully reflect their whole selves, their interests, their values and their lived experiences.
Our unique full day play- and project-based, Reggio-inspired curriculum for toddler and preschool ages 18 months to 5 years is rooted in our nurturing, inclusive and highly responsive collaborative learning environment and we remain committed to supporting individual children of all backgrounds and ability levels in their spirited efforts to come to know more about themselves, one another and the world.
As a certified California Early Childhood Mentor Program teacher mentoring campus we focus on credentialing, apprenticeship and training for seasoned toddler and preschool teachers and aspiring early childhood educators from a variety of backgrounds and previous career paths.
The caliber of our teaching team is what truly sets our program apart. Teaching at The Children’s Workshop Oakland requires a dynamic approach designed to inspire children’s learning through use of a facilitative style that is engaging, proactive, nurturing, responsive and culturally aware. We are a hard working, dedicated and detail oriented group of intentional educators from diverse walks of life, united in our passion to:
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- Care for young children (ages 18 months to 5 years) and treat them with kindness and respect;
- Teach in a hands on Reggio, child-centered and co-learner based pedagogical style that positions our students’ own interests, questions and experiences at the center of all learning;
- View young children as innately capable beings whose learning, growth and development deserves to be taken seriously and nurtured competently by highly skilled and intentional teaching professionals;
- Create a supportive and personally and professionally growth-oriented collegial environment that views teacher training, level of expertise and quality of life as critically important to achieving optimum student learning outcomes.
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Learning environment: Set in a sprawling and sun-drenched 1898 Queen Anne Victorian home with numerous outdoor green spaces, The Children’s Workshop Oakland’s indoor and outdoor classrooms are designed to facilitate and support self guided discovery and close collaboration amongst teachers and peers.
Our intimate four classroom campus features beautiful and historic interior spaces flooded with natural light and covered in student art and project work reflecting the children’s evolving interests and most recent investigations. Our natural classroom areas enable students and teachers to spend a significant portion of the school day working and playing outdoors.
View our inspiring indoor-outdoor classroom spaces
Small class sizes and low child-teacher ratios: Our program format makes it possible for teachers to function as hands on co-learning partners who work alongside their students throughout the day. This form of ongoing adult guidance and partnership enables learning to unfold organically and continuously throughout the school day with both teachers and students frequently assuming the interchangeable roles of “leader” and “learner”. Our approach to working with young children of all ages and developmental levels scaffolds and accelerates learning and enables students to confidently and capably direct their own learning, demonstrate their knowledge, take up new challenges and come to see themselves as valued contributors and sought after “experts”.
Responsive anti-bias and anti-racist Reggio-inspired curriculum: Our culturally attuned Reggio curriculum transforms traditional preschool learning objectives into endless opportunities for belonging, perspective taking and extended inquiry through sensory exploration and ongoing project work planned and executed by the children with input from their teachers, their families and from volunteer members of the larger community. Because emergent curriculum is generative–creating an ever-evolving, hands-on learning environment–it in turn fosters age-appropriate social, emotional, physical and intellectual development through the lens of the children’s own burgeoning interests, questions and ideas. The children’s important work is evidenced through detailed sources of documentation created by their teachers.
Learn more about our teaching team and about our Director’s founding vision…
Take a virtual tour of our historic facility
Program format: Throughout the day, periods of indoor and outdoor project work, free-play and choice times are punctuated by opportunities for quiet rest/nap time, small and large group interaction, meal times and snacks.
All of the self-guided learning areas set up during free-play and choice times provide a variety of sensorial, cognitive and fine- and gross-motor experiences for the children to engage in. Our indoor art studios, cozy reading corners, writing centers, math and science materials, dramatic play nooks and project design, planning and building areas are always available for spontaneous use. Music, movement and read-aloud story times are central to our daily routine.
Meals and snacks: Meal and snack times provide enjoyable occasions for engaging in meaningful conversation and cooperative participation (with regard to preparation, serving, clearing, etc.). Our program offers a well balanced, protein-rich lunch and wholesome morning/afternoon snacks served family style, with children and teachers seated together at a group table.
For safety we insist that the children remain seated while eating. However, we also believe that the ritual of pausing our activities to talk and collectively savor our food together creates a positive culture around eating.
Because we support sustainable food production, we make every effort to serve fresh fruits and veggies grown without the use of pesticides, as well as meat and dairy items free from growth hormones, antibiotics and other additives.
Toileting: Children attending our program need not be toilet trained, however, support for practicing use of the toilet is provided while at school, with teacher-facilitated “potty tries” taking place regularly throughout the day.
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License No: 013423786