Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators

What is Wolf Trap?

Hands-on arts-integration professional development for early childhood educators.

Incorporating the arts in early childhood education engages young learners in more profound, meaningful learning experiences. But teachers need the tools to make it possible—that’s where we come in.

SCCT has become an affiliate of the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts, providing time-tested, research-driven arts-integration professional development programs for early childhood educators.

We offer multi-week classroom residency programs and educators participating in Wolf Trap professional development programs can apply the skills they learn right away and in future lessons.

Classroom residencies are at the heart of Wolf Trap Institute’s approach.

Wolf Trap Residency Options

16-Session Classroom Residency ($1000 overall cost for school/teacher per classroom)

Oneclassroom observation for the teaching artist to get to know your class for 30 minutes

Four planning meetings between the classroom teacher and teaching artist.

Eleven 30-minute-long arts-integrated lessons led by teaching artist in collaboration with the classroom teacher.

Twelve hours of in-class professional development.

5-Session Classroom Residency ($500 overall cost for school/teacher per classroom)

One planning meeting between the classroom teacher and teaching artist.

Five 30-minute-long arts-integrated lessons led by teaching artist in collaboration with the classroom teacher.

Five hours of in-class professional development.

1-Session Family Workshop ($250 overall cost for school/teacher per classroom)

One Family Workshop that would invite parents and siblings into the classroom to use arts-integrated skills through drama, music, and dance.

Our Wolf Trap Teaching Artists

We pair our professional Teaching Artists with early childhood educators. Teaching Artists then work with teachers in their classrooms—sharing arts-integrated learning strategies, developing lesson plans, and interacting with children.

Wolf Trap Teaching Artists provide educators with the skills and confidence to:

Use performing arts best practices to engage children in joyful, active learning
Improve learning in areas specified by the required curriculum
Integrate performing arts into daily routines and experiences

Classroom residencies empower early childhood educators by providing them with customized, hands-on teaching strategies that they can apply in their current and future classrooms.

Grant Support for Educators

South Carolina Arts Commission offers multiple grants to support schools in bring arts integration into their classrooms.

If you need assistance writing a grant to underwrite for education programming, please reach out to Education Programs Manager and Wolf Trap Affiliate Director, Jesse Siak at jesse@scchildrenstheatre.org.

You can read more about them and apply for them below.

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