Community Play Atelier is an
inclusive and welcoming (indoor and seasonally outdoor)
space where children are seen, heard and valued
in a collective pursuit of wonder.
Inspired by the Reggio-Emilia
approach to education, we see children as capable, whole citizens
with rights - deserving of respect and joy.
Rather than all work looking uniform, in our process art studio we value each child’s ideas and approach to the materials.
CREATIVE PLAY GROUP (all seasons available)
Our Creative Play Group is a caregiver participation, child-led, indoor and outdoor experience guided by play, process art and sensory exploration. Children are invited to follow their curiosity, engage deeply with materials, and express themselves in ways that feel meaningful and authentic to them. There is no right way to participate - children are met where they are, and their ideas are honored.
Themes and activities are chosen with care, reflecting what is beloved, relevant and important to children.
Creative Play Group takes place in a welcoming space where all families belong, creativity is celebrated, and play creates space for relationships to grow.
CAMPS & WORKSHOPS
Each camp is centered around a thoughtfully designed theme that invites children to engage deeply in process art, sensory experiences, imaginative play, block building, collaborative projects, and reflective community gatherings. Guided by children’s interests and emerging ideas, Wonder Weeks fosters independence, confidence, and relationships that take shape in the flow of imagination.
Indoor and outdoor experiences provide rich opportunities to explore, create, and connect in a safe, inclusive space where all children belong and their creativity can flourish.
THE LITTLE ATELIER (coming soon)
The Little Atelier is an intimate play-based drop-off program for children ages 3-4, offered two mornings a week (Monday-Tuesday) for two hours each day. Designed to honor each child as a capable, curious learner, the program provides a gentle, playful space where wonder leads the way. With two experienced teachers/playworkers per group, we meet each child where they are, supporting their questions and rhythms and working toward building anchoring attachments.
Guided by children’s curiosity and an emergent, materials based curriculum, each two-hour session unfolds from what children notice, ask, play and imagine. Themes such as family, community, feelings, and the natural world provide invitations for exploration, creativity and meaningful play. Foundational content areas - early science, literacy and language arts, math, and social studies - are woven naturally into these experiences, so children encounter concepts through play, observation, experimentation, storytelling, and hands-on art projects that spark both joy and understanding - allowing learning to unfold organically rather than forcing it into rigid frameworks.
Inspired by The Reggio Emilia approach, The Little Atelier nurtures autonomy, creativity and collaboration. Children are free to investigate, imagine and create in ways that are personally meaningful, build confidence and comfort, friendships and a sense of belonging. Our goal is to cultivate a space where curiosity is honored, wonder is abundant and every child feels celebrated and supported as they explore their world.
“Our job is to help children communicate with the world using all the potential, strengths, and languages they possess.”
CUSTOM OFFERINGS
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Birthday Parties & Events (Mobile)
Celebrate your child with our mobile art and sensory birthday parties!
Bring the magic of Community Play Atelier to your home or chosen event space! Our mobile art parties for children ages 2-10 offer hands-on, creative experiences filled with process art, sensory play and playful exploration. Children can paint, sculpt, and invent with open-ended materials, guided by curiosity and imagination, while we handle setup, cleanup and facilitation. Each party is designed to spark creativity, connection and joyful celebration.
Together we come up
with a theme and then I’ll get busy curating the magic party of your child & their friends’ dreams! -
Family Canvas Sessions
Join us in the studio for Family Canvas Sessions, a creative experience for children and their grown-ups to explore art together. Families experiment with colors, textures, and open-ended materials on a shared multi-media canvas, nurturing play, imagination and collaboration. Each session results in a unique keepsake - a one-of-a-kind piece that captures your family’s creativity and connection - while offering a gentle, inclusive space where every idea is celebrated.
Option to do so in studio or at your home!
I’ll take photos throughout the experience to accompany your unique masterpiece, and I’ll happily cleanup!
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Atelier After Hours
Atelier After Hours brings the magic of the studio into the evening with experiences for children and grown-up-only events. No experience required. All sessions take place in a safe, inclusive, and welcoming studio environment where creativity and connection are celebrated.
MORE ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Hi, I’m Jeannine Sloane (she/they), founder of Community Play Atelier.
I am a lifelong creative, educator, and playworker who believes deeply in the significance of play. Play is not a break from learning - it is how children make meaning, build relationships, and discover themselves and the world. My work centers on child-led, emergent experiences that honor children as imaginative, capable, and worthy of being taken seriously, meeting them where they are and supporting their unique rhythms and interests.
I grew up in New York City and Philadelphia, surrounded by many cultures, stories, and ways of being, and spent formative time with my grandparents in El Salvador, where nature, sensory exploration, and imaginative freedom shaped my understanding of childhood. These early experiences continue to inspire how I create environments that invite curiosity, creativity and connection.
My professional journey has woven together filmmaking and art direction, children’s television consulting, classroom teaching, equity-centered facilitation, and parenting. I hold a master’s degree in Early Childhood Special and General Education from Bank Street College of Education, whose progressive, child-centered philosophy continues to guide my work. I have taught at the Bank Street School for Children and Blue School - an innovative, creativity-driven independent school - within play-based, Reggio Emilia-inspired environments that value emergent curriculum, collaboration, and creative risk-taking.
Community Play Atelier was born after becoming a parent and relocating to Cheshire, Connecticut. It grew from a desire to build a sacred space for children and their ideas to thrive - a space nurtured by creativity, care, and community. Through process art, sensory play, and child-led exploration, the studio invites children to follow their curiosity, trust their instincts, and delight in the joy of creating without pressure or expectation.
Our studio is a place where all children belong. We honor and celebrate the diversity of minds, bodies, cultures, genders, and lived experiences, fostering a community built on respect, joy, and curiosity. Community Play Atelier is also a space where caregivers feel supported, seen and welcomed - where play becomes the thread that weaves us together.
As Community Play Atelier grows, my vision remains nurtured by play as essential, creativity as transformative and community as the heart of it all.
