"But what happens next?"

How do educators observe and reflect on children's work in a way that will inform their curriculum planning and assessment? How do educators spark children's thinking and respond to their ideas while balancing the practical needs of managing the classroom? How can children's interest be sustained in on-going project work lasting days, weeks, or even months? This "reflective practice" thing sounds great, but how do we sustain it in the midst of the busyness of life in the classroom?

At Hilltop, we've found that it can be done! And we would love to share conversations with you and your team about what we've all discovered about how to make these intentions a reality.

Join us for a full-day visit to Hilltop to see reflective practice and emergent curriculum in action, explore proven models and examples of ways to support this work in your own programs, and talk directly with educators from Hilltop's classrooms who can discuss practical strategies for building curriculum from the interests and needs of the children and families in our schools.

Hilltop Study Days include:

The story of Hilltop's transformation from a small neighborhood preschool, to a respected model for authentic child-centered early learning

An opportunity to observe reflective practice in action with Hilltop's children, teachers, and classrooms

Time to explore practical strategies for how to observe, reflect on, and build curriculum from the interests and needs of children

An introduction to Pedagogical Documentation, an approach to recording and tracking children's growth that enables teachers to both reflect on and develop curriculum directly from children's play

Opportunities to consider your own practice and add your experience to the dialogue about successful strategies, on-going challenges, and deep intentions for our work with children and families

Real life examples of successful long-term project work with young children, demonstrating a variety of styles and approaches

A catered lunchtime conversation with Hilltop educators, offering the opportunity to share your questions, struggles, and wonderings with other early learning professionals

6 hours of Washington STARS training credit

Hilltop Study Days run from 9:30-3:30. A limited number of registrations are available for Individuals and groups of educators and administrators on the following upcoming Hilltop Study Days:

Friday, November 13th
Tuesday, February 16th
Monday, May 23rd

Can't make one of our scheduled Study Day events? Groups of 6-15 educators and/or administrators can request additional dates to coincide with their own professional development or in-service days. Multi-day events can also be scheduled for teams interested in taking an even deeper look at how to implement this work in their own setting, or for guests traveling from farther away.

Contact us today to learn more about scheduling a Study Day for your team. Or register for one of our currently scheduled Study Days by following the links above, or by clicking the registration button below.