School-Based Creative Arts and The Manitoba Framework for Learning
In this experiential training series, you will discover the benefits of the creative arts for school-aged learners and ways to bring The Manitoba Framework for Learning to life. Explore how creative self-expression and collaboration can be used to amplify hope, belonging, meaning and purpose, in and out of the classroom.
Weaving Western and Indigenous educational worldviews as in Two-Eyed Seeing, this training aligns with both Mamàhtawisiwin: The Wonder We Are Born With, and the Manitoba Global Competencies in Education: Creativity, Citizenship, Connection to Self, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Communication.
Bringing the arts into your classroom, resource, or counselling spaces offers students opportunities to:
- Communicate and express themselves through diverse media,
- Enhance self-awareness and self-regulation skills,
- Amplify authentic engagement with K – 12 curriculum,
- Increase capacity for leadership, and
- Collaborate creatively.
The activities and creative interventions you will learn are ones that anyone can do, regardless of artistic experience, and can be adapted for learners of various ages and abilities. The holistic approach focuses on “process over product” and “low-skill, high-sensitivity” to bring students into closer connection with self and other. Coaching around developing lesson plans will be included, and you will be able to use these activities in your classroom right away.
Teachers, educational assistants, counsellors, resource teachers, and administrators will gain valuable tools and experience to enhance classroom success and wellbeing in new and playful ways using music, movement, sensory-based play, drama, poetry, mindfulness, film and visual art from a Creative and Expressive Arts Lens. Many of the activities are centred around relationships with nature and place, for enhanced ecological awareness and engagement.
The program has 3 tiers:
- Introductory Workshops (Spring 2026, 9 hours)
- School-Based Creative Arts Professional Development (Fall 2026, 26 hours)
- School-Based Creative Arts Certificate (Once-weekly evenings and monthly Saturdays starting January 2027, 176 hours)
Tiers 2 and 3 together comprise the full 200-hour School-Based Creative Arts Certificate. Participants who complete the three Introductory Workshops in the spring term may ladder into the certificate and receive a discount equivalent to the workshop fees on their tuition. If a participant cannot attend a specific workshop or course, it may be substituted with any other certificate course offered by WHEAT, provided the course is running.
The 200-hour School-Based Creative Arts Certificate aligns with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association’s (IEATA) requirement for Registered Expressive Arts Consultant/Educator (REACE) and the Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association’s (OEATA) requirement for Expressive Arts Practitioner. The certificate includes practice sessions and consultation with WHEAT faculty to directly support you and your team in integrating what you have learned into your school or classroom.
Tier 1. Introductory Workshops with Heidi McCurdy
Spring 2026, three 3-hour evenings
In the three spring Introductory Workshops, you will learn playful, mindful, and practical arts-based techniques that can be applied across curriculum for various age levels. These techniques will enhance students’ readiness and capacity to learn, while helping them feel safe and supported at school.
Each workshop includes a warm-up that leads into the main activity and extended applications, followed by a group collaboration to practice, enhance and integrate your learning. These workshops are family-friendly and offered online. Feel free to invite friends and family members to participate with you.
Cultivating Calm through Music and Poetry with Heidi McCurdy
Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 6 – 9 PM CDT
ACTIVITIES: Musical Conversations, Nature-based Soundscape, and Perspective Poems
Tune in to the power of music to bring more calm, fun and connection into both the classroom and your daily life. Discover how using your own voice and playing with found instruments can lead your nervous system out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-digest. We will also explore ways to weave simple forms of music and poetry with land-based curriculum.
Learning Goals:
- Experiment with musical techniques such as vocal toning, gentle drumming, percussion play, and a simple song.
- Find more freedom in your voice and musical expression so you can more confidently lead others.
- Explore the benefits of music-making and creative writing for wellness.
Active Arts for Grounding & Focus with Heidi McCurdy
Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 6 – 9 PM CDT
ACTIVITIES: Expressive Dance, Embodied Art, and Group Body Poems
You don’t have to be sitting still to feel grounded! Discover trauma-informed, active, arts-based techniques to support you and your students in feeling more grounded and regulated in the present moment. We will weave experiences in movement, visual art, music, and embodied writing for a relaxing intermodal flow. These techniques are especially helpful for students who are neurodivergent or experiencing anxiety, and can support classroom members through challenging times. They are a great way to start the day, and can be woven in for smooth transitions or energizing brain breaks.
Learning Goals:
- Experiment with a variety of arts-based techniques for self-regulation.
- Understand the emphasis of process over product in the creative arts.
- Experience that ways the creative arts affect well-being in schools overall.
Exploring Emotions Through Drama with Heidi McCurdy
Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 6 – 9 PM CDT
ACTIVITIES: Pass-the-Emotion Game, Knowing Nature as Support, Storytelling Group Tableau
Learn playful, interactive drama games that increase learners’ awareness and vocabulary around common emotions and how they show up in their own nervous systems. We will explore methods for healthy self-expression, that also develop empathy and collaborative problem-solving skills. These socio-emotional techniques foster a safer space where learners can communicate their needs and support one other.
Learning Goals:
- Develop a shared vocabulary and understanding of common emotions.
- Practice drama-based techniques for expressing and articulating emotional experiences.
- Explore individual and group processes using warm-up games, embodiment, storytelling and tableau.
Tier 2. School-Based Creative Arts Professional Development
Fall 2026, four six-hour Saturdays
| Meeting Global Competencies Through the Arts with Heidi McCurdy |
| Two-Eyed Seeing with Tatum Albert and Natalie Pepin |
| Student and Teacher Well-being with Heidi McCurdy |
| Peacebuilding through the Arts in School Settings with Bonface Beti |
Tier 3. School-Based Creative Arts Certificate
Once-weekly evenings and monthly Saturdays starting January 2027.
| Intermodal Therapeutic Drama with Conly Basham |
| Movement and Meaning – An Intermodal Approach with Tanja Woloshen |
| School Based Creative Arts Applications Part I: Developing Your Arts Based Projects with Heidi McCurdy |
| Multi-Media Creativity, Digital Storytelling, and Video Making with Indigenous Perspectives with Bevan Klassen and TBA |
| Indigenous Perspectives with Tatum Albert and Natalie Pepin |
| School Based Creative Arts Applications Part II: Developing Your Arts Based Project for Facilitation with Heidi McCurdy |
| Peacebuilding and Settlement with Bonface Beti |
| Comics and Sequential Art as an Expressive Modality with Cormack Norberg |
| Sharing Your Personal Learning Journey and Final Projects with Heidi McCurdy |
| Intermodal Land-based Creative Arts Grounded in Indigenous Worldviews with TBA held in person at Painted Sky Studio in St. Laurent, Manitoba |
| School-Based Creative Arts Applications Part III: Facilitation Practice Day with Heidi McCurdy |
| Elective Choice (one course selected from WHEAT’s Creative and Expressive Arts Certificate program) |
| Planning and Follow Up Consultations (scheduled as needed to support in school programming) |
A full brochure with the schedule and course descriptions is available upon request.
Contact WHEAT Institute at info@wheatinstitute.com or register here.
Application Process
The School Based Creative Arts offerings are designed for school-based teams including classroom teachers, educational assistants, student services teachers, administration, and clinicians. Participate as an individual, school-based team, divisional team, or inter-divisional team.
All participants are required to submit a written application statement and a resume or CV.
Contact us at info@wheatinstitute.com or 431-887-2787 to learn more.
Current Fees
There is no GST on any of our fees or tuition. All fees are listed in Canadian (CAD) dollars. Training is tax deductible, see more information here.
Introductory Workshop Rate
$99.00 CAD per participant per 3-hour workshop
Participants who complete the three Introductory Workshops in the spring term may ladder into the certificate and receive a discount equivalent to the workshop fees on their tuition.
Professional Development Day Rate
$179.00 CAD per participant per individual 6-hour PD Day
$649.00 CAD per participant for all four 6-hour PD Days
School Team Rate (unlimited number of participants within the school)
$9,800.00 CAD per school for the 200-hour School-Based Creative Arts Certificate
School Division Rate (maximum of 25 participants within a division)
$19,800.00 CAD per school division for the 200-hour School-Based Creative Arts Certificate
Full Individual Rate
$4,900.00 CAD per participant for the 200-hour School-Based Creative Arts Certificate
Additional Fees for Individual Participants:
- $100.00 CAD – Non-refundable Registration Fee
- $100.00 CAD – Non-refundable Supply Fee
Land Acknowledgement
WHEAT Institute and Painted Sky Studio are located on Treaty Territories and Ancestral Lands of Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anisininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Dene, and Inuit, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.
We acknowledge the harms and mistakes of the past and respect the spirit and intent of the Treaties and Treaty Making. We dedicate ourselves to working in partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation, and collaboration.