Creative Action
Creating shared arts experiences that build community, connection, and capacity for change.
Creative Action School-Based Programs
Pre-K: SINGING OUR WORLD: In this lively singalong program students explore feelings and build community through music, story, and movement. Interactive and fun, your students will want to get up and dance along! Songs and stories are in English, but the music and dancing transcends language.
1 session, 45 minutes, available Sept - April
Kinder: WELCOME ARMADILLO, SOMOS COMUNIDAD: Music, puppetry, and performance are used to spark imaginations as we journey into an animal sanctuary as we welcome new friends, calm down, and handle accidents. SEL Goals: Naming emotions; understanding accidents; practicing apologies.
5 sessions, 1 hour each, available Oct - March
Bilingual program (English/Spanish); focuses on the social-emotional skills of naming feelings, self-regulation, making friends, and repairing harm when accidents and mistakes happen.
1st Grade: THE HEROES/ LOS HÉROES: In this interactive, bilingual performance, Teaching Artists use puppetry, song, movement, and games to teach a four-step conflict resolution process. Students join Sam the Salamander as he sets off on a journey from Barton Springs to Costa Rica to Mt. Kilimanjaro to discover the four steps to peace. SEL Goals: Naming emotions; self-regulation; clear communication; seeking help.
5 sessions, 1 hour each, available Jan - May
Bilingual program (English/Spanish); focuses on social emotional skills of handling big feelings, self-regulation, and the four-step process to conflict resolution.
2nd-3rd Grades: CREATING COMMUNITY: In this new 3-day program, students will focus on what is the same/different about individuals in their classroom, how they get along, and how they take care of each other. The 3-day program is composed of theater games, poetry and visual art activities to build connection and community.
3 sessions, 1 hour each, available Sept - Jan
Focuses on social emotional skills of collaboration, appreciating difference and understanding how to support and care for others.
4th and 5th Grade: THE COURAGE TO STAND: Students learn how to become a courageous bystander in a bullying situation by exploring acts of courage throughout history, including moments from the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. SEL Goals: Empathy; considering the well-being of self and others; basing decisions on safety, social, and ethical consideration
5 sessions, 1 hour each, available October - March
Focuses on skills of identifying bullying behaviors, intervening and strategizing how to support a target without escalating a situation.
Professional Learning for School Staff and Community Members
Available to schools, teachers and organizations interested in using the arts to activate learning, build community and facilitate dialogue around critical social issues. Available for Continuing Professional Education Credit from the state of Texas for school teachers/staff. Highly interactive. (1 session, 3 hours, online or in person). Topics include:
All grade levels:
Creating Community and Building Belonging in the Classroom: This interactive workshop will share research about the impact of belonging on developing academic and social strengths in the classroom. Strategies for building community and increasing belonging in the classroom will be demonstrated, explored and practiced together.
Conflict Resolution and Effective Apologies: Putting Students in Charge: This workshop differentiates between conflict and bullying, introduces a 4-step process for conflict resolution, and examines effective apologies and the role they play in resolving and recovering from conflict.
Handling Challenging Moments: Do you wonder how to respond when a student says something that sounds hurtful, mean, biased or discriminatory? This interactive workshop examines why and how our response matters when we witness these moments. We will explore specific tools that demonstrate what it sounds like to center dialogue and diverse perspectives within a learner-centered practice.
Family Workshops
Family Workshops:
Workshops are offered to explore content related to classroom programs through an interactive format. Available Sept - May, in-person or over zoom. Perfect to combine with a PTA meeting. Topics available:
Raising Courageous Bystanders: How do you show up? How do your kids show up? In this time of polarization in our country, young people may be receiving confusing messages about how to treat one another. Some messages normalize racism and bullying. To respond, Creative Action has created this workshop that highlights creative, inquiry-based activities and discussion starters that counter harmful messages and provide tools for engaging young people in conversation.
Conflict Resolution and Effective Apologies: Putting Students in Charge: This is an adapted version of our workshop for teachers. It differentiates between conflict and bullying, introduces a 4-step process for conflict resolution, and examines effective apologies and the role they play in resolving and recovering from conflict.
Creating Together: Engaging Creatively with young people: This workshop introduces a sequence of visual art strategies to engage your kiddoes in making art. This workshop is designed for parents and children together.
Want something different? We are happy to work with you to develop an arts-centered professional development workshop for your staff.
Contact us schoolbased@creativeaction.org
Contact:
Jenny Arffmann, Program Director of School Based Residencies
1023 Springdale Road, Building 3
Austin, TX
Telephone: (512) 442-8773 x 122
Email: jenny@creativeaction.org or schoolbased@creativeaction.org