Annual Exhibit
C5 has a tradition of holding an exhibit of children's work each year. It features many annotated examples of children's multi-media, multi-dimensional work and photos, videos, and slide shows of children and staff working together. There is also abundant information in text and graphics about how C5 Children's School works with children, families, and the community.
The exhibits display ample evidence of the power and capacity of young children to learn and develop in the resource rich setting of an emergent curriculum based on their interests and fascinations that is facilitated by skilled professionals and caring parents in a project-based environment.
Each exhibit has a ribbon cutting ceremony, a reception attended by all of the children and staff, and a workshop for educational professionals on a weekend closely associated with the exhibit. The exhibit is usually up for several weeks, and tours of our centers are also conducted for college and university students, practicing professionals, and the media.
When the exhibit is concluded, selected portions travel to our community partners. In the past, interested and participating partners have been:
--- The San Francisco Public Library Main Branch Children's Division for "The Circus," "House," and "Jewel, the Life-Sized Anaconda Snake"
--- The Administrative Offices for Families, Children, and the Courts for "The Flying Frog"
--- And other venues
This year's exhibit, for the 2006-2007 school year, was held from May 2-11. It is part of our first annual Festival of Learning. The theme was "Facilitating Learning and Development in Partnership with Young Children and Families." The exhibit was displayed in the Great Hall of the Hiram Johnson State Office Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, at Civic Center in downtown San Francisco, between Polk and Larkin Streets. The ribbon cutting ceremony featured San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly as Honorary Festival of Learning Chair and was attended by every child and many parents from the program at both centers.
We also convened a Saturday Morning Seminar with the same theme and content that was related to all of the items in the exhibit. It was held on Saturday, May 5, 2007. The C5 staff members from both centers presented what we have learned and how we work on this topic with children and families every day. There were also tours of the exhibit and the C5 Children's School.
On Thursday evening, May 10th, we held our first annual Gala Evening Celebration. The exhibit was featured, and families and the general public attended and toured the exhibit and the Preschool Center. Many other events were also going on with the Under the Sea theme, including buffet food for adults and for children; Artist in Residence samplings from previous visits to C5, such as jazz bass and baby yoga; ocean-related crafts; dramatic play; dancing; music; sand box discovery; video of the children’s play they wrote and produced; and a report from two C5 staff members who recently visited Reggio Emilia, Italy on the U.S. Study Tour.
During the 2005-2006 school year, the theme of the exhibit and seminar was "Growing Strong Together." The exhibit was held in the Great Hall of the Hiram Johnson State Office Building.
During the 2004-2005 school year, the theme of the exhibit was "Making Learning Visible -- An Exhibit Advocating For The Rights of Children and the Possibilities of Learning for All." It was held on the mezzanine and the hallways adjacent to the Preschool Center in the Hiram Johnson State Office Building.
