Contact Us

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11359 W Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA, 90066

Branches Atelier is committed to creating high-quality, creative, dynamic, educational programs for children, families and educators. We are a social constructivist program, inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.

Based on our fundamental belief that children learn best when their work is meaningful and in a social context, we integrate all areas of curriculum though short-term explorations and long-term project . Children are viewed as protagonists in their learning and are encouraged to work in collaboration with their peers to co-construct new theories and ideas.

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Nature Initiative

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“A DITCH SOMEWHERE-OR A CREEK, MEADOW, WOODLOT, OR MARSH… THESE ARE THE PLACES OF INITIATION, WHERE THE BORDERS BETWEEN OURSELVES AND OTHER CREATURES BREAK DOWN, WHERE THE EARTHGETS UNDER OUR NAILS AND A SENSE OF PLACE GETS UNDER OUR SKIN.”

– ROBERT PYLE

Over the past decade, new research has explored children’s connections and relationships with nature. Through this research we have discovered that this generation of children are spending less and less time interacting with the natural world.  A few years ago Richard Louv wrote a book called “Last Child in the Woods”. In this book, Richards writes that over the past decade, children are having much less time in nature and have less time exploring the wild places around their homes. He believes that this lack of connection is causing an erosion of childhood and also creates a disconnection with nature.

The term “Nature Deficit Disorder” has been coined to describe this alarming trend. The repercussions of this phenomenon are that children are disconnecting from the natural world and may not be caring what happens to it. For the past few years we have been looking for ways to strengthen our children’s connection with nature not only for their own benefit but also to ensure that they will be advocates in the future for the protection and preservation of our natural environment. With this in mind we have decided to offer all of our Branches families the opportunity to join us in our parent and child nature initiative.

Our Teacher / Naturalist, Christina Bianchi provides a unique hands on nature experiences for the parents and children of Branches.

Throughout the year, on select Fridays, come rain or shine, the community are invited to join us on an exploration of locals Canyons, beaches and urban gardens. We believe these outdoor locations are classrooms without walls, places for the spirit, imagination and soul.

Places where we hope to discover, explore and reconnect with the wonders of nature and our communities. We also hope that some of these experiences may extend into our curriculum.

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