Dovie Thomason- Keynote Speaker

Before and Beyond the Text
8:45-9:30 am

What can we do in our classrooms to enhance the current core standards of Speaking and Listening through storytelling? Since the 19th century, the traditional “Three Rs” of education, were the acronym for what we now call Literacy (read/write) and Numeracy (‘rithmetic), and we still teach our children how to Read and ‘Rite and ‘Rith. Literacy can be a powerful tool for preserving and transmitting culture; but in many oral cultures, literacy is seen to undermine traditional ways of life. In literate societies, on the other hand, oracy is often viewed as an uneducated form of communication. Drawing on her own oral traditions of fluent speech and effective listening, storyteller Dovie Thomason will explore ways for Oracy to be an equal partner to Literacy in a “Both/And” approach to the Verbal Arts of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. 

FIRST SESSION

9:45-10:50 am

Laura Hawley

Story Through Collage:  Habitats, Animals, Portraits
Grades 3-6
Dive into the creative world of paper collage in this hands-on workshop designed to explore the techniques that make collage exciting and accessible to young artists. Using a mix of gelli plate printing as well as painted and colored papers, we will learn to tell a story through collage techniques by creating a habitat, portrait, and/or animal collage. Participants will leave not only with a finished piece, but with fresh ideas and the confidence to bring this engaging art form into their classrooms. 

Kim Montano 

Musical Math Creations
Grades K-2
This workshop is focused on K-2 Math and Music integration and will concentrate on musical creation while connecting basic counting and early fundamental math skills. Lessons explored will have strong composition elements including composition using iconic notation and shape recognition. Lessons will also connect counting and early addition and subtraction to steady beat, dynamics, and pitch.

Melissa Wrigley

Pieces of Nature: Creating Art with Found Objects
Grades K-2
Discover how nature can become your art supply. In this K–2 focused workshop, participants will create animals, landscapes, and more through nature collage using found materials while exploring texture, shape, and composition through playful experimentation. This lesson introduces temporary art, where designs are arranged, revised, and photographed rather than permanently attached. With natural connections to science concepts like observation and patterns, this simple and engaging project offers a meaningful way to integrate art while helping students connect with the world around them. Kids love this one day playful project and you will too with mostly free supplies found outside.

Tina Misaka

Exploring and Expanding Movement in the Natural World
Grades 3-6
Using the book Dear Acorn, Love Oak as a springboard, we will explore the natural connections between ourselves and the many cycles of life intertwined in our world. During the workshop, we will discover ways to expand the students’ movement vocabulary and create short compositions to express the beauty of our relationship to the natural world.

Sarah Butterfield

Turning Movement into Momentum: Using Drama to Inspire Vocabulary
Grades 3-6
In this interactive workshop, participants will experience how movement can be used as momentum to build rich vocabulary, and inspire creative student writing and performing. Through drama-based learning, we will curate and organize a “collection” of words that will then be transformed into a collection of partner poems and performances inspired by “Dear Acorn, Love Oak”. Designed for grades 3-6 educators, this workshop will offer practical and adaptable drama techniques that integrate literacy, speaking, and social learning.

SECOND SESSION

11:00 am-12:00 pm

Dovie Thomason

Listen as if Your Life (or Laugh) Depends on It!
Grades K-6
Native games were, and still are, used to improve listening and observational skills, as listening has always been considered an essential survival skill.  In this workshop, we’ll compare those games to modern “gaming”, which is largely visual and only marginally verbal. Participants will experience some of these native games firsthand, along with listening activities you can take back to your teaching, parenting, and everyday interactions.

Katie Hejazi-Far

From Seed to Song: Integrating Music & Literacy Through Dear Acorn, Love Oak
Grades 3-6
Using Dear Acorn, Love Oak as a springboard, this interactive session explores how upper elementary students can connect music, literacy, and creative expression. Participants will engage in rhythm reading, text-to-music composition, and collaborative creation strategies that work in both music and general classrooms. Walk away with adaptable lessons that support ELA standards while building musical confidence and creativity.

William Estrada 

Arpilleras: Celebrating Personal Stories Through Textiles
Grades K-6
This workshop introduces K-6 educators to arpilleras, a traditional textile art form from Chile. We will explore how to use Visual Thinking Strategies to facilitate students' exploration of visual narratives. Using fabric scraps, stitching, fabric glue, and layered compositions, students create visual-sculptural scenes that emphasize personal or community narratives. The process of creating arpilleras encourages creativity, cultural awareness, and fine motor skills while developing opportunities for students to amplify their agency through storytelling and art.

Tina Misaka

Moving Connections in the World Around Us
Grades K-2
What do bubbles, droplets, pebbles and students have in common? They all can move and dance in fun ways as they connect us to the world and all its life cycles. In this workshop, we will use the basic concept of dance and movement, time, space, and energy to explore and expand the wonderful vocabulary of the book Dear Acorn, Love Oak. Be ready to move and create as we learn about the never-ending connection to our world and curriculum.

Cyndi Davis-Nordfelt

Actors Turned Authors
Grades K-6
Story comes first and then the acting, right? Wrong! In this fun, interactive workshop we will explore drama games that result in dynamic stories. Acting FIRST opens creativity, builds storytelling skills, and hones writing tools. We will examine games designed for specific language arts skills like story order or voice. We will also practice games that build an entire story as the game moves along. Drama games are amazing teaching vehicles and this session will arm you with many so you can literally play your way through core curriculums. Join me as we act our way into being authors!

THIRD SESSION

1:00-2:05 pm

Dovie Thomason 

Conversations Between Big and Little
Grades K-6
In this workshop, Dovie will share traditional stories that explore the deep interdependence of Animal People, to highlight relationships rooted in listening, respect, and reciprocity. Drawing on the conversations of the letter poems in the book Dear Acorn, Love Oak, we’ll look at how letter poems create space for pauses, thoughts, and images. Together, we’ll consider how the shared exchanges in the book model the respect that comes as a response to both truly hearing another and needing to be heard.

Kim Montano

Fact Fluency, But Make it Musical
Grades K-2
Turn math practice into a rhythm-filled experience students won’t forget! This workshop focuses on using bucket drums and other classroom instruments to reinforce and practice math fact fluency in grades K-2. Lessons explored will have strong connections between math fact practice and elements of steady beat and counting while playing instruments.

Melissa Wrigley

STEAMpunk Robots: Making Artists into Engineers, Inventors, and Problem-Solvers
Grades 3-6
Discover how simple materials can spark big ideas. In this workshop for grades 3-6 educators, participants will design 2D robot inventions using cardboard and a variety of found objects to explore texture, layering, and composition. We will build designs by arranging and attaching materials to create visually rich, dimensional surfaces while focusing on problem solving and innovation. With connections to STEM concepts like technology, engineering, and design, this project offers a meaningful way to integrate art while encouraging creativity and student choice.

Sarah Butterfield

From Wiggles to Words: Using Drama to Inspire Vocabulary
Grades K-6
In this highly energetic workshop, participants will experience how drama-based learning can unlock student creativity, build rich vocabulary, and lead naturally into collaborative writing and performance. We will explore strategies to help engage students by “collecting” interesting vocabulary which will then be transformed into a collection of partner poems inspired by the book Dear Acron, Love Oak. Designed for grades K-2 educators, this workshop offers practical, adaptable drama techniques that integrate literacy, speaking, and social learning.

Aurora Hughes Villa

From the Ground Up: Garden-Based Learning and STEAM
Grades K-6
Through the practice of nature journaling, students develop deeper connections with nature by observing and documenting the world around them. In this workshop, participants will first explore nature journaling through observational drawing, writing prompts, and watercolors. Garden-based learning will then be experienced as participants explore two arts-based lessons (seed accordion books and vegetable mandala prints). Ten arts-based lessons relating to STEAM and garden-based learning will be provided at the workshop. 

FOURTH SESSION

2:15-4:00 pm

William Estrada 

Paper Puppets: Exploring Themes of Agency Through Personal Narratives
Grades K-6 
In this workshop, K-6 grade teachers will explore paper puppets and the various ways they can be used to foster student agency. Through character design and simple narrative development, we will explore how students can practice ownership over their ideas and share personal perspectives in imaginative ways. This process fosters student agency, creativity, and collaboration, empowering students to shape and share their own stories.

Katie Hejazi-Far

Any Book, Any Classroom: Designing Music-Integrated Literacy Lessons That Stick
Grades K-6
How do you take any picture book and turn it into a meaningful music-integrated lesson? This hands-on deep dive equips teachers with a flexible framework for connecting music and ELA across grades K–6. Participants will explore rhythm, form, sound, and movement as tools for literacy instruction, then collaborate to design their own integrated lessons. Walk away with adaptable strategies, classroom management techniques, and ready-to-use ideas for both music and general classrooms.

Laura Hawley 

Let’s Make Books! Simple Student-Tested Bookmaking Techniques
Grades K-6
Bring creativity to life in this hands-on bookmaking workshop where art, poetry, and storytelling come together.  We will learn simple, adaptable book-folding techniques that are easy to teach and exciting for students to explore, while diving into how bookmaking can be woven into any curriculum content area. Walk away with a Petal Fold poetry book (a design that opens into a flower-like shape with layered “petals” that reveal words and images) along with easy-to-follow printed tutorials of additional bookmaking forms you can start using right away in your classrooms.

Tina Misaka

Behind the Blinds: A Movement Exploration of Hidden Fears and Emotions
Grades K-6
Dance/creative movement can be a wonderful way to express and experience what is deep inside of us. Using basic dance concepts, a fan, a moment in Japanese American history and current events, we will explore ways to channel the possible feelings and emotions that are often hidden deep inside of us that might be too afraid for us to express.