Storytelling Through Art
A three-day training for teachers in the Reggio Emilia-Inspired Environment
Date: July 16-18, 2025, 9 am to 3 pm
Location: Ventana School, 1040 Border Rd., Los Altos, CA 94024
Price: $550, lunch and art supplies included
This workshop is designed for preschool and elementary teachers.
Explore new ways to infuse art into the classroom while gaining experience and comfort with different art materials! Visual art media are some of the “hundred languages” described in Reggio Emilia-inspired education. Through art instruction, children learn how to communicate their stories as they gain proficiency with a variety of materials. Workshop participants will explore their own creativity as they respond to open-ended prompts and provocations, experiment with different materials, and ultimately collaborate on a group art project to create a collective story. The workshop will explore how to expand children’s narratives and document student work emphasizing process over product.
Workshop Leaders
Jenny Bishop, Art Specialist
Jenny has close to twenty years of teaching experience. After completing her BA in Art History at the University of Oregon, she went on to earn her teaching credential at San Jose State University. In 2002, Jenny completed her National Board certification. Jenny was a valued member of the committee that started Ventana School. She is known for her ability to infuse social-emotional learning into her art lessons and to use the children’s interests to create innovative artistic opportunities.
Estefania Palmerin Ortiz, Preschool Teacher
Estefania has been an early childhood educator for more than ten years. She enjoys and values emergent teaching and implementing the Reggio-Emilia approach in the classroom by weaving learning into children’s play. She is bilingual in Spanish and has earned her A.S. degree in Early Childhood Education from Foothill College, her B.A. from San Jose State University in Child & Adolescent Development, and her Master's degree in Science in Early Childhood Education from CSUEB. Estefania is also teaching child development classes in Spanish to adult learners at Foothill College.