Combining the best of both worlds,
Bushnell Bigs and Littles offers an opportunity for digital and experiential learning for preschool aged children in a uniquely creative environment that includes their favorite “Big” person! Early artistic exposure and exploration gives young children the ability to establish a foundation for developing strong physical, cognitive, and social-emotional awareness that will extend well beyond their initial years. This adult-child, artistic teaching model provides exclusive access to first-run episodes of
Horace B’s Creative Classroom, (The Bushnell’s digital learning product) coupled with live and in-person workshops led by The Bushnell’s accomplished and renowned, Master Teaching Artists!
Register today!
Dates of in-person sessions (pick 4):
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Each in-person session will run for 75 minutes, starting at 10:15AM and going until 11:30AM and feature circle time, alternative activity areas, and breaks (as needed). Each session comes with a supplemental digital session, that can be viewed before or after the in-person session.
The art forms offered in this inaugural season of this special learning series will include:
Captured Memories - An introduction to innovative textile arts with internationally acclaimed fiber artist, quilter, teacher, and curator,
Ed Johnetta Miller. “Ms. Ed”, will lead the “Littles” and their “Bigs” in creating colorful and original gifts just in time for Mother's Day! Participants will learn and use basic quilting techniques and textile designs to produce jaw-dropping fabric collage pieces that will “capture this moment in time.”
Vivacious Visuals – Master Teaching Artist,
Peggy Gomez, is well-known for her vivid, alluring, and inspirational art pieces. She will share her incredible knowledge and talents with
Bigs and Littles to guide them in designing visual artwork that will be the proud refrigerator centerpiece in the home of
any family!
Culinary Confidence – There is no better way to provide a gateway to learning math and reading comprehension, develop language skills, or to help instill self-esteem in young children than to teach them to cook!
Paula Santos is a meticulous and talented culinary and teaching artist, who will introduce big and little pairs to the joy of cooking together to create healthful and inviting foods, using basic recipes and simple directions. The Littles will be blissfully unaware that they're not just enjoying a delicious treat that they made themselves, but all the while expanding their palates, exploring their senses, and learning to make healthy food choices!
Mindful Moves – Improving concentration, confidence, balance, and behavior, are but a few of the competencies to be attained by way of practicing Yoga and Mindfulness exercises. Teaching Artist
Ysanne Marshall’s soulful and innovative, Yoga class will introduce yoga postures, breathing techniques, and much more that both tall and small folks will enjoy, and they will look forward to expanding their knowledge of the art form!
Your 4-week (trial) subscription includes 10 unique services and is available for the introductory offer of $250.00. Registration includes:
- 4 Digital Creative Learning Episodes
- 4 In-Person Creative Learning Classes (@ The Bushnell)
- 2-Free (Digital) Storytelling Episodes
- 1-Bushnell Bigs and Littles t-shirt for your “Little” (Adult t-shirts are available for an additional cost of $23/shirt)
Enrollment Details:
Registration is for the entire four-week package. Fill out the registration form linked below and you will be contacted for payment. A member of the Education team will send orientation materials for participating families.
Registration deadline is April 30, 2024.
Teaching Artists
Edjohnetta Miller
Ed Johnetta Miller is an author, fiber artist, teacher, independent curator, Founder, Hartford Artisan Center, former Management Envoy from the US to Cote D’Ivoire, Ivory Coast. Widely exhibited in the US and internationally, her quilts can be found in numerous celebrated museums, and private collections such as the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum of Art, Washington DC, The Contemporary Quilt Museum, Golden Colorado, The Wadsworth Museum of Art, Hartford Ct., Nelson’s Mandela’s National Museum, Cape Town, South Africa, Safeco Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, Hartford Hospital, Michigan State University, Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, US Embassy in Cotonou, Benin, West Africa, and countless others. The Sunday New York Times featured Ed Johnetta in the Best of the Best series, and again in 2020, one of her quilts around Black Lives Matter, was featured in the New York Times, Best of the Best series. The recipient of a multitude of distinguished awards and recognitions throughout the world, including Connecticut’s most prestigious, The Governors Award in July of 2022, Ed Johnetta has been featured on HGTV, Debbie Allen’s series, “Cool Women,” Visionaries, and the Christian Science Monitors, “People Making a Difference,” to name but a few. She has been a Master Teaching Artist for The Bushnell’s Education Department for more than three decades and is favorite among the adults and children served by our organization.
Peggy Gomez
Peggy Gomez has been working with children in the education field for 40 years. Mrs. Gomez specializes in using art as therapy along with art education and has been fortunate enough to use this skill to mold and shape children Pre-K to16 years with varying needs. She began her career working as an art specialist and co-founder of an arts-based preschool in Boston and later moved on to a role as an educator and master gardener at a Montessori school in the Greater Hartford region. Mrs. Gomez had the unique experience of living in Singapore for six years where she was able to build her own education consultancy business and worked with children K-12 from every continent and school system. Mrs. Gomez also worked for CREC’s early beginnings program and then became Art Director for Jumoke Academy known affectionately as JAH-HC. There she proudly led an innovative Team composed of Dance, Band, Theater, Chorus, Orchestra, and Visual Arts. Peggy is now working with the Bushnell Theater as a teaching Artist alongside the most amazing team of versatile artists.
Peggy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and specialty in Art Therapy from Emmanuel College, Boston with Graduate work in Family Studies from UCONN. At home and at school, Peggy continues to grow new and wonderful plants with amazing compost but wants to be most remembered for her work with children and the ability to show them how to work with purpose spreading beauty by repurposing, reusing, and recycling old worn-out materials. She is most proud for assisting to create the next generation of purposeful recyclers charged with preserving the planet we live on for future generations.
Ysanne Marshall
Ysanne Marshall is certified yoga instructor that has practiced the art form more than10 years. She has worked extensively teaching yoga throughout Connecticut and continues to actively study and enhance her exemplary skill set. For the past few years, Ysanne has maintained consistent relationships with local school districts and community-based organizations including the YMCA as a yoga teacher, and she has adorned the cast of Bushnell Teaching Artists since 2022. Additionally, Ysanne is a classically trained musician, having spent the past decade on stage performing in musicals, as well as jazz and soul performances. Most recently, Ysanne placed 3rd in the Hartford’s Got Talent! Competition, singing a stirring rendition of Billie Holiday’s, “Strange Fruit.” She is currently an Artist of Color Accelerate Fellow, completing her original, competitive project in partnership with The Bushell’s Education department. Ysanne’s yoga students are often treated to samples of her lyrical artistry, and soulful tone, as she sometimes splendidly serenades them during her workshops.
Paula Santos
Having been an Educator for more than two decades, Paula Santos is a retired Speech Language Pathologist, and currently the Director of the Cook4Life Camp for Kids in Rhode Island. Paula has enjoyed cooking and baking throughout her entire life and passed on her culinary legacy to her own three children, who are now all equally talented (adult) culinarians. Because of this, Paula can personally attest to the developmental benefits that young children acquire by way of exposure to cooking in their formative years. Her love of cooking is matched only by Paula’s conviction to and knowledge of healthy living, and the impact that healthful foods have on our general wellness. Her motto is that “eating well and feeling well go hand in hand.” Paula is committed to perpetual learning about all things health and wellness and incorporates these principles into her daily life. In addition to being an accomplished Teaching Artist for The Bushell since 2021, Paula is a masterful textile designer and instructor, specializing in sewing and crafting.