Festival of Learning

This year’s Festival of Learning isbeing held May 1-24, 2012

The theme this year is:

Dreaming and Doing – The Power of Collaborating Teams and Individual Imagination

Events are being held at both our Infant-Toddler Center at 505 Van Ness Avenue
and our Preschool Center at 455 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco

They include:

The Grand Exhibit May 1-24, of children’s work and documentation of teachers, parents, family members, and community members working with them

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the exhibit, with Olympic opening ceremony-like activities, was held on May 2nd from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.

Public Demonstrations of every age learning group of children working in public with their teachers; one group each day during the festival

The Saturday Morning Imagination Workshop Was held on May 5, open to parents, family members, educators, and the public. Details are immediately below

The Gala Evening Party Was held on May 11, celebrating children and their work and learning partners

The Raffle of many fabulous prizes was held during the Gala Evening Party. See the list.

The following is more on our Imagination Workshop that was held on May 5, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It was free! Over 100 participants explored how children’s imaginations contribute to their social, emotional, intellectual and physical development. For more information on the Imagination Workshop, visit this link.

This Year’s Festival is underway!!!

Join us for:

The Exhibit of Children’s Work

May 1-24. The exhibit is open during business hours in the Hiram Johnson Building’s Great Hall, 455 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be held on May 2nd from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. Examples of children’s work will be presented from all learning groups, ages 2 months to 6 years old. Visitors will see examples of children’s ongoing projects and activities that documented their explorations and expressions in a wide array of various media, processes, and discoveries that revealed the power of learning of young children in collaboration with each other, teachers, parents, family members, and community members. Guided tours can be scheduled by contacting Bev Melugin via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Gala Evening Celebration

We celebrated on May 11th from 5:00 to 7:30 pm, on the 2nd Floor of the Hiram Johnson State Office Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue. We had an event-packed evening festival full of fun, excitement, and learning for families, friends of C5, and the general public. Over 200 people: families, friends of C5 and children sampled food, some made by the children; music; special Artist-in-Residence spotlights; the Children’s Exhibit; school tours; talks by teachers, parents, and alumni children; music and dancing; games and creative activities; an exciting raffle with a wide range of amazing gifts; and, films by children, teachers, and famous educators. Tickets were $20 per person, $25 at the door. Children 12 and under were free.

Children and Teachers Working in Public

There are 15 days during the four-week festival when the children and staff at C5, with parent chaperons, are taking their learning processes into the public view in San Francisco for 17 demonstrations. In most cases, the children are continuing explorations and development of their projects or their current interests and fascinations.

The current schedule of the Public Demonstrations is below:

Public Demonstration (1) The older preschool and pre-kindergarten children demonstrated their “Hula-Hooping” with their teachers in Civic Center Park, on May 3rd, from 10:00 to11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (2) The older preschool and pre-kindergarten children demonstrated “Various Dances” with their teachers in the 455 Golden Gate Building’s Great Hall, on May 4th, from 10:00 to11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (3) The C5 Monkeys Learning Groups, who are toddler-aged children, worked on “Bubbles and Shadows” with their teachers on the Mezzanine outside of the C5 Main Office at 455 Golden Gate, on May 7th, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (4) The C5 Elephants Learning Groups, who are toddler-aged children, demonstrated their “Light & Shadow Work” with their teachers in the Preschool Center Cafe Alcove at 455 Golden Gate, on May 8th, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (5) The older preschool and pre-kindergarten children conducted their “Talent Show” with their teachers in the Great Hall at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, on May 9th, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (6) The C5 Penguins Learning Group children worked on “Music & Sounds” with their teachers in the Plaza Training Room of the Public Utilities Commission Building at 505 Van Ness, on May 9th, from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Public Demonstration (7) The C5 Elephants Learning Groups, who are toddler-aged children, demonstrated more of their “Light & Shadow Work” with their teachers in the Preschool Center Cafe Alcove at 455 Golden Gate, on May 10th, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (8) The younger preschool children presented “Zoo Blocking” with their teachers in the Great Hall of the 455 Golden Gate Avenue Building, on May 10th, from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Public Demonstration (9) The C5 Monkeys Learning Groups, who are toddler-aged children, demonstrated “Blocks & Shadows” with their teachers on the Mezzanine outside of the C5 Main Office at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, on May 14th, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (10) The younger preschool children presented their “Circus” with their teachers at the Civic Center Park, on May 15th, from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (11) The older preschool and pre-kindergarten children demonstrated their “Hula-Hooping” with their teachers on the Plaza of the Public Utilities Commission Building at 505 Van Ness, on May 16th, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (12) The younger preschool children will present more of their “Circus” with their teachers in the Great Hall at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, on May 17th, from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m.

Public Demonstration (13) The C5 Infants Learning Group children will be working on “Sensory Experiences” with their teachers in the cafe of the of the Public Utilities Commission Building at 505 Van Ness, May 18th, from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m.

Public Demonstration (14) The C5 Bumblebees Learning Group children will be demonstrating “Drums” with their teachers in the cafe of the of the Public Utilities Commission Building at 505 Van Ness, May 21st, from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Public Demonstration (15) The younger preschool children will present more of their “Zooblocking” with their teachers in the Great Hall of the 455 Golden Gate Avenue Building, May 22nd, from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.

Public Demonstration (16) The C5 Elephants Learning Groups, who are toddler-aged children, will demonstrate more of their “Light & Shadow Work” with their teachers on the Mezzanine outside of the Preschool Center Main Office at 455 Golden Gate, May 23rd, from 9:45 to 10:15 a.m.

Public Demonstration (17) The C5 Monkeys Learning Groups, who are toddler-aged children, will demonstrate “Creative Movement & Dance” with their teachers on the Mezzanine outside of the C5 Main Office at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, May 14th, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Directions to C5

C5 Children’s School main offices and Preschool Center are located at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, Suite 2400, San Francisco, California, 94102. We are in the Hiram Johnson State of California Office Building. The main entrance to the building is in the middle of the block between Polk and Larkin Streets.

Parking

The closest parking is in the block next to our building. It is the University of California Hastings Parking Garage at 376 Larkin Street, between McAllister and Golden Gate Avenue. It is on the right side as you are traveling north on Larkin. The rates are $3 for 0-1 Hour; and, $3 per hour for each hour afterward.

The next closest parking garage is in another block next to the other side of our building. It is the Civic Center garage that is underground below Civic Center Park in front of City Hall. The entrance is on McAllister Street between Polk and Larkin. The rates are $3 per hour 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and, $2.50 per hour for 3 to 6 p.m.

Mass Transit

If you take BART or MUNI, get off at the Civic Center Station, walk to Larkin, go north on Larkin to Golden Gate Avenue, turn left before crossing Golden Gate Avenue, walk to the middle of the block, and the main entrance to our building is immediately off of the sidewalk in the State of California Building.

Security in the Building

There is security screening in the building that is similar to screening at courtrooms and airports. The security officers can direct you to our school and meeting spaces.

Donations

C5 Children’s School is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public interest organization.
Donations and Sponsorships are accepted. Contributions are tax deductible.

History of Our Festival of Learning

Our first exhibit was in 2005. Many examples of children’s work were displayed on the mezzanine in front of the Preschool Center and around the hallways outside the school. The theme that year was “Making Learning Visible—An exhibit advocating for the rights of children and the possibilities of learning for all.”

In 2006, the exhibit was installed in the Great Hall at the Preschool Center building and was displayed prior to the auction. That year, the theme was “Growing Strong Together.”

In 2007, we discontinued the auction and created the Festival of Learning with the central focus on children, their work, and their learning. We replaced the fundraising function of the auction with money donations from families, friends, extended families, and corporations; and, the sales of raffle tickets and tickets to the Gala Party. These funds were used for special enhancement activities and a small number of partial scholarships. The festival theme that year was “Facilitating Learning and Development in Partnership with Young Children and Families.”

Also in 2007, as part of our staff retention and incentive plan and to augment our comprehensive staff development and curriculum planning, we set an objective of sending two teachers each year on the U.S. Study Tour to Reggio Emilia, Italy. The proceeds from the Festival of Learning fundraising activities go to support these study tours, along with providing scholarships for children whose families could not otherwise afford to enroll their children in our school or to stay at C5 Children’s School.

In 2008, the festival and exhibit theme was “The Surprise! ... what children can do!!!”

In 2009, the festival and exhibit theme was “The Greening of Learning—Reducing, Reusing, Recycling, ReCreating.”

We have now sent eight staff members on the U.S. Study Tours to Reggio Emilia, and two more will go in May of this year. The study tours have been life-changing professional growth events for all six teachers. They enthusiastically tell stories of their experiences and implement what they have learned to create many more amazing possibilities for a new culture of childhood at C5.

In 2010, the theme for the Festival of Learning was “Discoveries! The Inspirations, Insights, and Innovations from Children’s Interactions with Materials, People, and Processes.”

In 2011, Last year, the theme was “Deeper Learning Through collaboration—with Children, Parents, Family, Colleagues, and Community Members.”

The strong support we have had over the years from our parent and family community, our neighbors and vendors, and the community at large have helped to spread the word about children’s capabilities and accomplishments from birth to kindergarten, to fund tuition scholarships for some of our families, and to send a total of eight staff members to the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy on the U.S. Study tours.

We invite you and those you care most about to join us again this year for a marvelous four weeks of a Festival of Learning!