Presented by Franceska Schifrin and Berenice Vallejo

In this workshop we will explore the many ways literacy can be integrated into the classroom and the home. Join us as we consider how we use the many aspects of literacy to support collaboration, grow a love for words and poetic language, engage all learners and connect children in deeper relationships to each other and the world. These are only a few of the many resources that will be included in this workshop:

Together we will explore:

• How can literacy support collaboration?
• What are Key Words?
• How can songs and games support literacy?
• What are Story Book Journals?
• How to support in-depth and on-going narratives.
• How to keep letter writing engaging for learners of all types.
• How can literacy support personal and emotional growth in young children?
• How can we utilize literacy to support children during this time of the COVID-19 Virus?

About the presenters:

Franceska Schifrin is a lifelong painter, student of natural sciences, education and social justice. After studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, her international career took her to multiple places where she also worked with children and their families – refugee camps in Bosnia during the wars, orphanages in Haiti, Lakota reservations in South Dakota and Cuban villages, to name but a few.

Franceska has always been dedicated to children, during her time in the East Village of NYC she made sure she had a shelf of early reader books for the local children who treated her apartment like an after school center. During the Balkan wars, she used her knowledge of visual arts and human compassion to share therapeutic art with the children in refugee camps. Deeply involved with Haiti since 1985, she has spent years working there with children in a multitude of ways.

Franceska is the mother of 2 children and has a personal passion for helping multi-race families and their children navigate their paths. Her experiences with adoption have made her a constant student of the subject, studying family dynamics and child development from all angles. Her introduction to Reggio Emilia began with her 20-year-old son's preschool in Cambridge, MA. She chose the school because it fit so well her concepts of care and respect of children. She was raised by educators, artists, and anthropologists.

Franceska's formal training in ECE has been at UCLA. She has taught school for over eleven years, including six as a lead teacher and assistant director at a Jewish preschool in Venice, California and three years with Branches Atelier.

Berenice Vallejo​ was born in Mexico and immigrated to Los Angeles in her high school years. Berenice earned her BA Degree in Early Childhood Education from Cal State Los Angeles University. During her college years, she discovered her passion for working with children. Her teaching experiences started as a volunteer in the Head Start program in East Los Angeles Occupational Center. Later she became an assistant teacher at the Vine Street and Commonwealth Elementary Schools in the LA Unified School District and then a teacher in private preschools in Downtown LA. including the Infant and Toddler Program at Hope Street Friends. While taking Reggio-inspired courses at Santa Monica College, she was a substitute teacher at Branches Atelier for a year before joining the community as a full time teacher. Berenice has been a teacher at Branches for over 4 years and has over 15 years of experience working with children of all ages. Berenice has become a mentor teacher and offered workshops for other educators. She attended a nine days study group at Reggio Emilia in 2019 and received advanced training in this philosophy. As Reggio-inspired school, Branches Atelier has motivated Berenice to broaden her understanding of the philosophy and the general interaction of instinctive curiosity with the world, as a process of development and learning for children.

“Understanding the complex learning processes that go through the child’s mind while working with materials and making social connections has become my passion”.