~ Get Your Summer PD by the Ocean ~
3 Days of Professional Development & Inspiration!
The Inspired Classroom is happy to announce its 9th annual Teacher Art Retreat
August 5th, 6th, & 7th, 2019 8-3:30 each day
Relax ~ Create ~ Discover
Learn arts integration and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) concepts at this year’s workshops held at the Ashworth Inn on Hampton Beach, NH.
No matter what, at the retreats, we are able to get our creativity going and learn a few new lesson ideas while enjoying time spent with a variety of colleagues.”
This retreat has me bursting at the seams for the school year! Having an opportunity to create some artwork as well as work on lesson planning and curriculum is truly a gift.”
Every art retreat that I have attended has left me feeling like I took time to care for myself as an educator and also provided me with professional development that I can share with my students that is meaningful and fun.”
Ever feel like your summer PD is a drag? What if you could learn strategies for your classroom and come out feeling refreshed and inspired? That’s what I want for you! I want you to enjoy your PD in a great location (how about next to the ocean) with amazing educators who are encouraging and supportive. I want you to feel special: be well fed with great food and comfortable in a great learning environment. Not to mention, I want you to learn hands-on in a teacher-centered atmosphere. You deserve PD like this! (And your students will only benefit from it too!)
If you would like to print a letter to your administrator detailing more information about The Inspired Classroom’s retreats, please press this button.
"Things are looking fine for #9!" Click for a Message from Elizabeth...
If you are ready for 3 days of inspiring, hands-on, arts-based learning by the ocean, look no further. This is going to be amazing.
Ask any retreater who has been to one of these before!
“The purpose of the retreat is experiential. We teachers most often do not have the opportunity to experience first-hand the activities that we ask students to complete. By immersing ourselves in the arts integration activities for hours, we will be better-equipped to remember, deliver, and connect with the lessons that we create for our students. This is common sense!” ~Jen D.
“I left the first day of the retreat feeling loaded. Loaded with positive energy, loaded with great ideas, and loaded with excitement for what the next day would bring.” ~Ashley
“One of the best parts of participating in the teacher art retreat is the renewed excitement I have for getting back in the classroom to initiate all the new learnings I have encountered here.” ~Dara
“With this being my first retreat, I didn’t know what to expect. I was more than surprised by everyone’s ability, including my own.” ~Amanda
Over the years we have had all kinds of educators in all facets, levels and years of experience. New teachers find great ideas, veteran teachers revitalize their curriculum, retired educators come for the overall retreat-feel, administrators are eager to share with their staff, and educators outside of the classroom enjoy the creative atmosphere and common love of learning!
So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get you signed up!
Watch this video tour of the Summer Retreat location!
This Year’s Retreat Workshops
Shine Brightly using LEDs in art!
This year’s Focus STEAM Workshop includes three graduated sessions of art-making that include simple electric circuits powering light-up elements to make your art shine! Each of the three days of the retreat, we will try something new as we “level up” the art experience.
These projects have many connections to the Next Generation Science Standards.
- Day one will be all about paper circuits, mixed media, and using diode LEDs powered with coin cell batteries in two-dimensional art.
- Day two will be taking it to another dimension – we’ll light up 3D structures and/or sculptures made from translucent plastics.
- Day three we’ll explore the innovative art of eTextiles, or sewn circuits – using conductive thread! We’ll decorate a small fabric bag with colorful LED’s all electronically linked to a hidden sewn-in battery holder!
All materials will be provided.
Stacie Lea Greenland is a visual art specialist for the Town of Arlington in Massachusetts. She has taught at three elementary schools there and has up to 600 students per week ranging from Kindergarten through 5th grade in her art classes. She has taken “Engineering is Elementary” teacher-training at the Boston Museum of Science, and is on the science leadership team at her main school, the Dallin. Because Stacie holds certification in both visual art and general education, she enjoys incorporating art into academics and academics into art whenever possible.
Workshop 1 - Having a Ball!
Balls. Everyone loves them. Now you can use them as a creative hands-on way of teaching and assessing while bringing joy to the classroom. Learn to make several types from the simple pom-pom to the highly artistic wool felted ball. Toss ‘em in math, spelling, music, and ELA. Use them to address social issues in the classroom, improve storytelling, and for conducting improv activities in theater or music. The list goes on and on.
Taylor Carroll has taught K-8 music in Nottingham, and now Henniker NH for a total of 17 years. She earned her BA in Music ED from PSU in 2001, and her Master’s degree in Integrated Arts from PSU in 2009. It was during her grad work, that Taylor rekindled her love for the hands-on arts. Taylor loves making things that are useful, so making balls that can be used in her classroom for vocal exploration and the various musical games is a win-win. She is married with 3 children, age 9, 10, and 13. She loves to listen to books, sew, and is an orchardist wannabe. Taylor is a Repeater Retreater and is excited to be leading her second workshop at TAR 2019
Kelley Gordon is a creative 3rd and 4th-grade teacher at the Seacoast Charter School, an arts-integrated charter school in Dover, NH, where the sky is the limit in terms of Art Integration. Kelley has been a classroom educator for 20 years. She teaches music lessons and performs at weddings as well as in her family living room with her kids as back up band. She believes in engaging students in the world around them through art, music, and creative problem-solving. Kelley is a Repeater Retreater. Her most recent accolade is winning a conch shell blowing contest in Key Largo.
Workshop 2 - Ink by the Ocean
Learn and explore techniques in painting with alcohol ink- the ink found in sharpie markers. Use gravity to manipulate the fluid as forms spread. Organic shapes of color emerge when the paper is wet with rubbing alcohol. You will learn all the basics of using alcohol inks and create abstract or representational work. The elements and principles of design will be discussed and applied in this engaging and experimental workshop.
Using alcohol ink is unique as it replicates what is very difficult to do in paint or other media- it naturally makes paper look like a watery ocean scene. And what a beautiful experience it will be to create this outside, by the ocean!
Jenny Santa Maria is a returning presenter from 2017 when she demonstrated pysanky (ukrainian egg decorating) which is her primary art. Sometimes she experiments with unusual materials and media which informs decision making in her work. This process-based art form allows the artist to use highly pigmented color in an experimental way to create collage elements, backgrounds, beautiful glass objects and original works of art.
Workshop 3 - Dancing Content
Content vocabulary and the overarching ideas of your curriculum can sometimes be challenging for students to understand and remember. We will learn how to integrate basic dance elements with a variety of content so that learning is highly engaging and memorable. An element of music creation through technology will be added in as well!
Students use dance to illustrate math vocabulary. Pictured here: rays
Elizabeth Peterson is a teacher, author, and arts integration consultant who hosts www.TheInspiredClassroom.com. She loves to integrate various art forms into the lessons of her fourth grade students and utilizes dance nearly every day. Through content dancing her students gain a deeper understanding of challenging ideas as they explore these concepts through whole body movement.
The Teacher Art Retreat is a place where you can relax, create and discover with other like-minded educators. This is what sets a Teacher Retreat from The Inspired Classroom apart from other professional development you’ve had.
Our goal is for you to interact with a variety of art forms so that you can get ideas to bring back to your teaching. The workshops are hands-on and accompanied by discussions of how to apply your new knowledge and skills to what you do with students every day.
Everyone will attend all workshops which focus on Arts Integration and STEAM strategies! No one will miss ANY of the fun!
Lunch will be provided each day and all your materials are included!
Who Attends Teacher Art Retreats
If you are an educator who believes in the arts, including STEAM and SEAL, you should attend the Teacher Art Retreat!
Our professional development is taken by pre K through high school teachers including those who teach special education, art, music, guidance, ELL, technology, ELA, science, and general ed, as well as school nurses, reading specialists, behorialists, speech therapists, those in before and after school care, day care teachers, home school teachers, long term substitutes, veterans and first year teachers. We’ve even had administrators in attendance!
Time each day will be spent discussing how the things we learn apply to what you do with students every day. Part of the power of the arts is that they transcend subjects and age levels.
Not to mention, YOU will get something personally out of this too…
The arts touch us all!
Our Summer Retreat Location
It is very exciting to be hosting the Retreat at the beautiful Ashworth by the Sea hotel on Hampton Beach in Hampton, New Hampshire. We are steps away from the sand and sea! Visit the ocean during your lunch break, take some of the workshop activities outside or leave your car with the (complimentary!) valet for as long as you want after the workshops are over and spend the rest of your evening in the sand. Who said PD had to be in a stuffy room?
Photo taken at TAR18 by Erin Warren, art teacher and repeater retreater.
295 Ocean Blvd, Hampton, NH 03842
I'm coming from far away. Where can I stay?
If you have ever considered a summer get-away with your teacher friends, this might just be what you’re looking for! A few teachers have even come with their families, spending the day with us and the evenings with family.
Of course, you can stay at the Ashworth by the Sea, where we are having out retreat. It is across the street from the beach!
Lamie’s Inn is located on route 1 in downtown Hampton, NH and is attached to a local favorite restaurant and bar, The Old Salt. Please let them know you are reserving your room to attend the Teacher Art Retreat and you will receive 15% off the regular room rate. Call (603) 926-0330 to make your reservations and go to the Lamie’s Inn website for more information.
If you have any questions or run into any trouble, please send Elizabeth an email.
It is so fun to meet people from various places who share an appreciation in arts in education! If you are coming from far away, you will certainly enjoy your time in and around Hampton, NH. It has a nice downtown with many restaurants and shops to explore. Not to mention, you will be a very short drive to the ocean!
In addition, Hampton is 60 minutes to Boston, Massachusetts and less than 15 minutes to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. These are both wonderful and exciting cities to visit while you are here!
Don't miss an update!
If you are interested, but still want to know more, be sure to email me, Elizabeth and I will personally make sure you are kept up to date on any new plans surrounding the retreat. Of course, if you register now, I will automatically email you whenever something new is live! You can also contact me using this form:
Other Activities
Depending on the interest, we will be organizing other fun activities for after the retreat. (These are not included in the registration for the retreat and are optional activities.) Think dinner on Hampton Beach, drumming circles in Boston, dancing to live music in Lowell… More details will be forthcoming on this.
Registration Information
Registration is now open!
Don’t forget to join our Facebook Teacher Art Retreaters group!
If you don’t want to register through PayPal, download our flyer and registration form and send a check to The Inspired Classroom, PO Box 303, Hampton Falls, NH 03844.
We also accept POs.
Coming with a group? Ask about our special pricing for 3 or more people!
Get Retreat Updates!
If you want updates on the retreat or more information, just fill out this form. Someone will get back to you shortly!
Follow-up Links and Additional Information
Listening to instructions before it’s time to play.
Keep in mind, this retreat is not just about the workshops, it’s about building a community of like-minded passionate teachers. We will be busy with other activities too: movement, brain gym, collaborative art work, discussions, drumming. When you register, you will get more info on all this other fun stuff!
For general information about the retreats, visit the Teacher Art Retreats page.
Reflections on the Teacher Art Retreat from a Repeater Retreater Here is a wonderful reflection from Mary Krikorian. She has attended nearly every Teacher Art Retreat and in this piece, she captures the essence of what this type of professional development is all about. Thanks, Mary!
Cancellation Policy
Paid registrants may send a substitute.
If for any reason you can’t attend, 100% of your paid registration will be refunded when you notify The Inspired Classroom at least 7 days in advance.
Notifications within 7 days of the retreat will be refunded less a $25 service fee.
Notifications within 48 hours of the retreat will be refunded less a $75 service fee.