About the studio
Roly Poly is a relaxed, open-ended, kid-led art space. Our values are…
Children choose their own projects and materials. It gets silly and messy- and sometimes very serious. When children create, they work on persistence, fine motor skills, problem-solving, communication, spatial awareness, sharing and storytelling. They build confidence. They experience freedom!
Everyone is allowed to be themselves here. I meet children where they are at and encourage collaboration across difference.
We supplement art-making with outdoor exploration and age-appropriate learning about healing and protecting the planet. We strive for low-waste art-making through creative reuse.
About Sophie Schwadron
I have been teaching early childhood students in DC for over 10 years. I come from a
family of artists and musicians. When I was young, my mom
kept a “junk box” and I spent days reinventing discarded items with scissors and a
hot glue gun. In 2024, I was profiled in book called
Teaching for Climate Justice and I recently spent a week in
the Costa Rican rainforest for a climate justice education
retreat (I saw many snakes, two sloths and a tarantula!).
Once, an older student walked past my classroom and
asked “why is it always a party in there?”
