The Overnight Teacher Art Retreat is built for any and ALL adults who work with students of all ages: teachers, specialists, administrators and support staff. 

It doesn’t matter how old you are or how long you’ve been in education.  We have had teachers in their first 5 years and even retirees who want to come back for the enjoyment of the retreat!

We have had just about any kind of educator at our retreats: nurses, librarian, EL teachers, admin, special ed, general ed, admin, math, art, music, drama, dance, speech, vocal, PT, OT, just to name a few.

And our teachers work with PreK through High School.  Arts and learning go hand in hand.  You will find that your learning experiences at the Teacher Art Retreat will inspire your teaching no matter who or what you teach!

Elizabeth loves spoiling retreaters!  You will feel so taken care of at this Teacher Art Retreat.  Here are a few of the fun bonuses you can enjoy.  

• There’s a large hot tub and sauna to enjoy on Friday night.
• We will take advantage of the large fire pit outside where we can drum!  (weather permitting)
• A complete handout will be provided that includes all the activities completed as well as the arts standards and corresponding SEL Competencies touched upon during the retreat.  This is a great resource to refer to again and again!
• There will be a brisk (optional) morning walk and stretch on Saturday morning.
• Every retreater will get a special retreater gift upon arrival.
• You will get access to a special WTAR27 Retreater Playlist so you can enjoy your Friday commute to Essex Woods!

YES!  We offer 1 graduate credit for this retreat through our partnership with Adams State University.

You will need to complete all the activities at the retreat and then 3 additional hours on your own.  When you sign up, you’ll get a syllabus and Elizabeth will walk you through the process.

The graduate credit costs an additional $150.  You can sign up for it now or later.

Our overnight retreat is located at Essex Woods Retreat and Meeting Center in Essex, MA.  It is about an hour from both Boston, MA and Portsmouth, NH.  And it’s just over an hour away from Manchester, NH.

This is a beautiful location and we have the place all to ourselves.

Everything!  You simply arrive and we take care of the rest!  Your room, food and drink and all content, experiences and materials. 

If you have certain art supplies you enjoy using, you can bring those, but we will have the basics.  

YES!!  (This may be our favorite part.)

We will have a freshly prepared dinner on Friday as well as breakfast and lunch on Saturday.  The food is truly amazing.

Along with the meals, there are snacks and drinks provided throughout the weekend.

If you have any food allergies or strict dietary needs, just let Elizabeth know ahead of time and Essex Woods will accomodate you.  We are not allowed to bring food on site.

Please plan for comfort.  There is no dress code and we want you to be ready to work, think, create and learn.  This retreat is a no judgement, stress free event.

Please consider the weather and have layers.  We will have a couple of (optional) outdoor activities planned.

If you have certain art supplies or materials you enjoy using, you can bring those, but we will have the basics.

We have only 25 spots available for this Overnight Retreat.  We limit our spots so that you can get to know others as well as have time to work 1:1 with Elizabeth and other presenters.  This also allows us to spread out and utilize the many areas of the property during studio/work time.

ALL of our Retreats are Teacher-Centered which means that YOU will experience all ideas and activities presented.  This retreat is as much for your growth as it will be for your students.

Each activity and workshop within your retreat experiences will be Hands-On and Arts-Based. The arts provide a naturally differentiated approach for all the retreaters.  All the arts integrated activities and projects are carefully thought-out and chosen to meet the learning needs of teachers and students.

Bring a friend (or 2, or 3) and you can room together!  Just be sure to include each other’s names of your registration and we’ll match you up.  

If you’re coming alone, no worries!  About 90% of our attendees don’t know anyone at first.  But then they meet so many new friends!!  Some past retreaters come back time after time just to see each other again!

We’ll match a roommat for you and make sure you know who they are ahead of time.  

If you would like to upgrade a single room, we have a few limited spots available.  It is an additional cost of $150.  Just check the box to add this to your registration.

New England winters can be unpredictable, but we are a hearty bunch!  We have retreated in sunny, cold weather and snowstorms.

While inside the retreat center will be comfortable, bring layers in case you want to walk outside.  We will have a couple of (optional) outdoor activities planned: Saturday morning walk and stretch, fire pit drum circle, and you’ll need to walk to a different building to get to the hot tub and sauna.  (But that’s totally worth it!)

The address to the Essex Woods Retreat Center is:

1 Conomo Point Road
Essex, MA 01929

It is about an hour from both Boston, MA and Portsmouth, NH.  And it’s just over an hour away from Manchester, NH.

This retreat may not be for you if you have physical limitations. Our host venue property is creekside lodge and includes many opportunities for stairs across the property. We want you to feel at home and at ease in our experience and the last thing we want is for you to feel overwhelmed in moving from each session.

This isn’t just 12 hours of PD credit – it’s a retreat that gives you back something you’ve been missing.

We firmly believe that the content and experience will more than meet the investment of registration.  Be sure to read what past Retreater Teachers have said about these retreats.

The price includes all workshops, shared occupancy lodging, 3 meals, all materials and bonuses.  Each retreater will be awarded a certificate for 12 professional development hours.

This retreat is full of workshops that will add to your teacher toolkit and better yourself professionally.  Consider asking your administration for reimbursement.  We also accept POs from schools.

If you have any questions about this, please email us at support@theinspiredclassroom.com

We are pleased to offer a payment plan. A non-refundable payment is due immediately to hold your seat.  We will hold a credit card on file that will automatically file payments on set dates. Payment Plan installments that are more than 2 days past due will forfeit registration and your seat will be sold.

Tickets to the Overnight Teacher Art Retreat are non-refundable; however, they are transferable to another attendee up to 30 days prior to the event start date of January 22, 2027. The deadline to complete a transfer is December 22, 2026 and a $50 transfer fee will apply. If you’d like to transfer your ticket, please email support@theinspiredclassroom.com with the recipient’s details.