Becoming Revolutionaries of Tenderness

Northern California and Nevada Regional Conference for Waldorf Early Childhood Teachers
WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKER LAURIE CLARK

Friday, November 8, 2024 | 5pm-9pm
Saturday, November 9, 2024 | 8:30am-4pm

Friday: Becoming Revolutionaries of Tenderness
Bringing nurturing and healing gestures to children who are experiencing stress and anxiety begins by working on the restorative transformation of our own lives. Cultivating inner tenderness in ourselves births and imbues empathetic understanding of others. This will lead us into the exploration of the modalities that deepen, support, soothe, and comfort the children in our care.

Saturday: If These Walls Could Talk—Exploring the World of Children’s Drawings
The wonder of each child’s unfolding individuality reveals itself when we learn to “read” what the child is trying to tell us through their drawings. The power of the images that children draw are unspoken parts of the self, and reflect development, emotions, relationships, and other aspects. Drawing provides a window for the child to express themselves and bring what is occurring from their inner life into visual images. This modality can give the gift of offering a sheltering, safe place to bring what is living in the depths of the child—including trauma, crisis, and emotional upheaval—into an outer picture of their situation. The child is given a way to communicate without having to use words alone, with a language that allows for symbolic expression.

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Participants may choose to participate in this conference either in-person or online. Online participants will join the keynote lectures and plenums. The conference is open to teachers working in Early Childhood at school and home-based programs.

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Laurie Clark has had the privilege of being a Waldorf early educator since 1978. She incorporates her therapeutic training into all aspects of the classroom. The deep question of how to meet the child of today and explore their needs in practical applications lies at the heart of her work. Laurie has been studying and collecting the drawings of children for the last four decades, and is in continual research through observation and constant engagement with the young child. She also mentors teachers and is a teacher trainer and frequent conference presenter. She has co-authored two books with Nancy Blanning on therapeutic movement for young children. Currently, Laurie is joyously working with her daughter, Clair, who is a Waldorf teacher as well, offering a program called Songbirds, an outdoor home program for two- to four-year-olds.

Conference Fee: $175
A discount is available for group signups.

In-person at the Marin Waldorf School, 755 Idylberry Road, San Rafael, CA 94903

For more information, please contact:
tiffany@bacwtt.org | (415) 479-4400 | www.bacwtt.org