Join free to hold founding pricing, from $599. The Method opens 9 October
For teachers, studio owners, schools and early learning centres

Nobody taught us how to teach art to young children. So we copy Pinterest, and it ends in chaos.

The Method is the how: the set-up, the introduction and the exact words that make process art work with 3 to 6 year olds, without the mess, the meltdowns or the dread.

Valando Demetriou. Qualified early childhood educator, fifteen years teaching, Co-Founder of an art studio in Adelaide.

“…it has really changed our program for the better.”

Bianca, studio owner and teacher, Perth

Nothing is charged. The lessons are yours whether you ever buy or not.

A child painting watercolour over a block of ice
5 days a week
A real studio running this method, not a theory
Hundreds of families
Taught through our Adelaide studio, ages 3 to 6
Written by Valando
Qualified early childhood educator, fifteen years teaching
Used by educators
Teachers and studio owners in Melbourne, Perth and beyond
Sound familiar?

You want to do more art with the children. Here is what keeps happening.

  1. 1

    You find something cute on Pinterest

    It looks lovely. So does every other activity out there, because they all look the same.

  2. 2

    It turns into cutesy craft

    A sample to copy, a template to follow, and children who are told what to make instead of making.

  3. 3

    Then come the mess, the meltdowns and the tantrums

    Paint everywhere. Half the room wandering. Someone in tears. It is loud, it is overstimulating and it is all too much.

  4. 4

    You start to dread it

    In the end you decide not to do it any more. And the art those children could have had never happens.

It is not you. Nobody taught us.

Studio owners, teachers, kinder and centre educators: most of us were never shown how to run art with young children. We were handed a room and a Pinterest board. Nobody told us what to say and what to do.

This is genuinely the hardest age to teach art to.
It turns to chaos before it turns to learning, unless you know how.
The Method is the how.

I know, because I have made so many mistakes and cried so many times. The first session I ever taught in my studio ended with me sitting in my car, crying. Overwhelmed, overstimulated, chaos from start to finish. What changed everything was not talent, and it was not ten more years in the room. It was learning that it comes down to three levers: how you set up the materials, how you introduce them, and how you bring the children into the lesson. They are capable, even at three. It is just how you do it. That is what I have written down for you.

My secret weapon

You will also learn the one thing I have used in my own studio for four years to hold a room of three and four year olds through a 90 minute session. No yelling. No behaviour charts. No stickers. None of that.

“I have always found art really stressful. I wanted to understand process over product, but in a world where everything has to be perfect, I did not know where to start. It is so nice to learn to slow down as an adult and actually enjoy the process with the kids. What they create is incredible. This has honestly been life changing.”

Bianca, studio owner and teacher
This is for you

I see you.

You are here because you want to make a difference.

You are ready to level up your learning. You are ready to level up the way you teach. And you are ready to help the children you are with every single day.

This is for you.

What changes

What it looks like when you know how.

What you work towards, and what educators using the Method tell us.

Art you look forward to

One set-up, the same every time, so the mess has a place and you stop bracing for it.

“As someone who LOVES art but always dreads it because of the mess, I am finding [the Method] really easy to follow and I have started taking baby steps to do more art with my preschoolers.”

Educator using the Method

Children who start without copying a sample

No example on the table, one sentence to begin, and a story for every material.

“The way I have started to introduce every material with a background story has really changed how I teach my class of 3 year olds.”

Reggio-trained teacher, Spain

A room that stays with you

The words to say, in order, from the moment they sit down to the moment they share.

“I have had the best 2 weeks teaching my pre K’s! Introducing the materials and setting up the environment. THANK YOU!!”

Pre-K educator using the Method

A real answer when a child says “I can’t”

The sentence for that moment, written out, so you are never inventing it in front of the room.

“All I can say is thank you for changing my perspective on what is possible with 3 year olds.”

Educator using the Method

Teaching days that finally change what you do

Practical, usable the next morning, not a certificate and a folder.

“I have been to so many teaching days, this is nothing like that. You actually get practical tips and learn how to teach.”

Educator using the Method

What three year olds make when nobody hands them a template

No example on the board. No adult finishing it off at the end.

Flowers made from cupcake liners on black paper with painted stems
Rows of printed blue and red circles filling a page
Rows of painted shapes in blue, orange and purple between ruled lines
Collage strips with a paper doily and glitter on black paper
Rows of pink and purple painted shapes with marker outlines
Watercolour palettes, brushes and children's work laid out on the table
From educators using it

“…really changed how I teach my class of 3 year olds.”

Reggio-trained teacher, Spain
The Method
Teacher in Spain here that’s Reggio trained!
This course is so thoughtful and easy to follow.
The way I have started to introduce every material with a background story has really changed how I teach my class of 3 year olds.
B
Bianca
Studio owner and teacher, Perth
I bought this for my studio in Perth and it has really changed our program for the better.
The little things you don't realise you need to do with younger children to help them be engaged.
M
Melissa
Teacher and studio owner, Melbourne
…I was thrilled to see Valando finally put all of her knowledge in one place.
If you are on the fence, trust me, this will be the best investment you make.
J
Jess
Queensland
Amazing course, highly recommended.
Wow, I'm so blown away.
Educator
The Method
We are always told about growth mindset but sometimes it’s just another thing we need to stay on top of.
I found this really easy to follow and it made me excited to talk to my students about their growing brains again! Thank you.
Educator
The Method
As someone who LOVES art but always dreads it because of the mess, I am finding [the Method] really easy to follow
and I have started taking baby steps to do more art with my preschoolers.
Educator
The Method
I am so grateful to be part of this amazing opportunity!
This is life changing.
Educator
The Method
I am 45 years old and this was MIND BLOWING.
I have been to so many teaching days, this is nothing like that.
You actually get practical tips and learn how to teach. Thank you Valando and team!
Pre-K educator
The Method
I have had the best 2 weeks teaching my pre K’s!
Introducing the materials and setting up the environment. THANK YOU!!
Educator
The Method
The thing about teaching art is that it’s bigger than any of us.
It is life changing for these kids and learning from Valando has literally been amazing.
Thank you so so so much!
Educator
The Method
This training is so powerful I can’t even explain it.
All I can say is thank you for changing my perspective on what is possible with 3 year olds.

You have the ideas. This is the part nobody taught you: the set-up, the introduction and the exact words.

$599, or 3 monthly payments of $199.67
Here is what changes it

It was never talent. It comes down to the Three Levers.

I did not get good at this by becoming more talented. I got good when I learned what actually decides a session. There are three levers, and every one of them can be learned.

01

How you set up

The set-up decides the session. What is on the table and what is not, where the materials sit, what you do before a single child sits down. It is why one session holds and another tips over.

02

How you introduce

How you introduce a material decides how children use it. Teach it like a story and they hold it, explore it and look after it. Hand it over cold and the table gets away from you.

03

How you engage

How you bring the room in decides whether you keep them. The words you use, in the order you use them, from the moment they sit down to the moment they share.

Every word of it is written down in the Method, so you are never guessing.

Who it is for

Made for anyone teaching young children.

You're a kinder or preschool teacher

You have the Pinterest ideas. But when the materials come out the room tips into noise, and you are managing it instead of teaching it.

For you this means: how to set up and introduce each material so the room stays with you, and the words to say, every time. It can count towards your PD (check with your service).

You're a classroom teacher or school-based educator

Art is the lesson you are handed with a full room, no plan and twenty minutes to fill.

For you this means: a rhythm that holds with a full class, and scripts so you are not inventing the lesson at 8:50 in the morning.

You're a room leader in a nursery or early learning centre

You want genuine creative development in your room, not just busy hands. Engaging the whole group is the hard part.

For you this means: one method your whole room runs the same way, with every word written down, so it survives staff changes and hard weeks.

You lead a school, kindergarten or centre

Art looks different in every room, and it depends on who is on.

For you this means: one shared method for your whole site, one licence for every educator who teaches there (the studio licence covers every educator at your site; for a team of ten that is around $150 each), and a certificate you can count towards your PD.

You run a studio

You can teach it yourself. Getting every educator to run a session that is engaging and fun, without chaos, is the harder problem.

For you this means: one licence for every educator at your studio (any number at one site; for a team of ten, around $150 each), the leadership module, and the sheets that keep everyone teaching it the same way, so parents see the same session whoever is on.

If you nodded at any of those, you're in the right place. If you want a craft pack that tells children what to make, this is not it. If you want to know how to run the room, keep reading.

Inside the Method

It is me, teaching you, in your ears.

Thirty four recorded lessons, every word written first and then spoken, so you can learn the way you actually have time to learn. Forty five if you take Studio.

01
Put your headphones inAbout an hour and a half of me talking you through it, closer to two with the Studio module. On the school run, while you set the table up, folding washing at nine at night. You never have to sit in front of a screen.
02
The same shape, and the actual wordsEvery lesson runs the same five phases: connect, wake up the growth brain, teach, create and coach, share. And I give you what to say: the sentence for the moment a child says I can’t, the line that names effort instead of talent, and what to do when it wobbles.
03
Then you print and goSixty seven ready-to-print sheets, seventy three with Studio, so the method leaves the screen and ends up on your wall and on your table.
See nine of the lessons and the printed system

Here are nine of the lessons

The five beliefs
FoundationsThe five beliefs
Introducing a material
FoundationsIntroducing a material
The growth-mindset easel
FoundationsThe growth-mindset easel
The very first mark
Lines and shapesThe very first mark
The foil tree
Warm coloursThe foil tree
Painting on ice
Cool coloursPainting on ice
Kusama, the queen of dots
Great artistsKusama, the queen of dots
Van Gogh, the swirling sky
Great artistsVan Gogh, the swirling sky
How to build any theme
The theme recipeHow to build any theme

And the printed system

Wall print showing the five phase rhythm of a lesson
Wall prints
A lesson card showing the five phase flow for one lesson
Lesson cards
The parent guide page explaining the method on one page
For families
Staff observation sheet for studio leaders
For team leaders

You do not need another training day. You need the set-up, the introduction and the words. Start listening on the drive in tomorrow.

$599, or 3 monthly payments of $199.67

Art was never the point.
The child who believes they can try is the point.

What the science says

Built on research, not on craft trends.

Everything in the Method started in a real studio. The research is why it holds up.

What you say changes what they do

Carol Dweck's research found children praised for effort were more likely to choose harder challenges and keep going after a setback than children praised for being smart.

In the Method: the sentence is written for you.

Hands first, then pencils

A study following children from school entry found fine motor skill predicted later reading and maths.

In the Method: the materials, in order, build the grip before anyone is asked to write.

Focus and self-control are built, not born

Harvard's Center on the Developing Child says focus and self-control are built through practice and responsive back-and-forth with an adult.

In the Method: a predictable rhythm and a ready sentence let one educator hold that when eight children want her at once.

Sources: Mueller & Dweck, 1998, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Grissmer et al., 2010, Developmental Psychology. Harvard University Center on the Developing Child.

They started exactly where you are. The moment you pay, your first lesson is waiting for you.

$599, or 3 monthly payments of $199.67
Not sure you need this? Take the two minute check
Before you decide you do not need this

Six questions. Answer them honestly.

Most people reading this are already good with children. That is exactly why this is worth two minutes. These are the questions that separate running an art session from teaching art.

  1. If you took the example off the board, could they still start?
  2. Can you name the skill last week's activity taught?
  3. When a child says “I can’t”, do you have a sentence ready?
  4. Do you teach a material properly before you hand it out?
  5. Does every educator in your studio teach art the same way?
  6. Look at your wall. Do most of them look the same?

If those landed uncomfortably, that is not a failing. Nobody trained you for any of it, in any degree or any training day. It is simply the part that never got taught, and it is the part this fixes.

An investment

An investment in you, the children and their families.

This is not another folder of ideas.

It is an investment in yourself as a teacher, in the children you work with every day, and in the families who trust you with them. Once you know how, it stays with you for every group you teach.

Everything you get

Everything, once, for life.

This is not a PD day you forget by Friday. Not a folder of activity ideas. Not another craft curriculum. It is the system a real studio runs five days a week, in your ears.

The Lesson RhythmFor when you sit down to plan and do not know where to start. The five-phase flow that runs any art lesson.
Thirteen scripted lessonsFor the morning you have nothing planned. Every word written for you.
Artist briefs and the theme recipeFor when the term topic is dinosaurs and it needs to be art. Six artists, plus a recipe for any topic.
The Material StorytimesFor the day the glue goes everywhere. How to introduce every material so children use it with intention.
The “I can’t” script bankFor when a child says “I can’t”, or asks if it is good. What to say, word for word.
Print-and-go toolkitFor the wall, the table and the families. Sixty seven sheets.
The Kitchen Table bonusFor the families who ask what to do at home. Ideas you can hand to a parent.
Lifetime accessEvery new module and update lands in your account free. No subscription, no renewal.

A certificate of completion is included, and it can count towards your PD. It is not accredited and not mapped to the EYLF or NQS, so check with your service how it can be recorded.

Individual
Personal licence: one educator, lifetime access
$999 $599
or 3 monthly payments of $199.67, no extra cost
Founding price, open to everyone until 14 October. Then $999.
What is included
  • Everything in the tiles above
  • Foundations and all three core modules
  • Thirteen scripted core lessons, six artist briefs and the theme recipe
  • The full printable toolkit for your own use
  • The bonus for families at home
  • Can count towards your PD, with a certificate of completion
  • Lifetime access, plus every new module we add
  • Founding: a live session with me, date to come
  • Founding: thirty minutes one to one with me, first five buyers only
For studios, schools and centres
Studios, schools and centres
Studios, schools, kindergartens and early learning centres
$2,497 $1,497
or 3 monthly payments of, no extra cost
Founding price, open to everyone until 14 October. Then $2,497.
What is included
  • Everything in Individual, plus:
  • The leadership module, ten scripted lessons
  • Licence for one site, every educator at that site, no cap
  • Studio print licence for the whole toolkit
  • Staff observation and weekly huddle sheets
  • Certificates of completion for your team

Both are one payment, lifetime access, for every child who ever sits at your table. For a studio that is less than three days of relief cover. For a teacher it is a single payment that covers every group you will ever teach.

$599 works out at about $11.50 a week for the first year, then nothing, ever.

Prices are in Australian dollars. In US dollars, $999 AUD is roughly US$690 at today's rate. One payment, no subscription, no yearly renewal. Read the licence terms.
Not sure yet? Start with five free lessons.Kusama, Rothko, Kandinsky, Matisse and Goldsworthy, straight to your inbox. Yours to keep, whatever you decide.
Paying through your service? Copy a note for your director, or request an invoice
Need your service to pay?

If your director or educational leader approves PD, copy this note, change what you like, and send it on. The Studio licence covers every educator at your site, no cap: $1,499, about $150 each for a team of ten, or three payments.

Paying through your service?

I can send an invoice straight to your accounts team instead. Fill this in and it goes out straight away, with a secure link to pay online. Payment is due within 14 days.

Is it worth $599?

Fair question, and better answered than danced around. $599 is eleven sessions at our own studio, so it is real money. Here is what it is instead of.

Instead of a training day One external early-years professional development day runs $300 to $600 a head, for one day, and you cannot replay it in the car on the way home. This one ends with a certificate of completion too, which you can count towards your professional development.
Instead of four years of working it out That is how long it took us, running a studio five days a week, to get this down to something another person can teach from.
Instead of paying twice One payment. No subscription, no renewal, and every update we ever add lands in your account for nothing.
And if it is not worth it to you Take the five free artist lessons and run one this week. If it changes nothing about your sessions, do not buy it. They are yours either way.

The founding window is five days

The Method opens on 9 October. Waitlist members get the founding price from that moment, and it stays open until 14 October. After that both tiers rise and stay there, for good.

Two of the bonuses run out before the window does. The thirty minute one to one is the first five people, not the first five days. The live session is for everyone who joins inside the window.

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When the timer runs out the Method opens, and your founding price is yours for five days.

Valando Demetriou, teacher and creator of The Method

Why I wrote it down

I co-founded my studio because I watched too many bright little children decide they weren't good at art before they turned six. They had only ever met craft.

I'm a qualified early childhood educator with fifteen years of teaching behind me, in schools first and then in my own studio, which I have run for four. I have also been the teacher sitting in her car afterwards, wondering if she was cut out for this.

Today my studio in Adelaide runs art sessions for three to six year olds five days a week, with a team of qualified early childhood educators. The Method is that exact practice, refined over hundreds of real sessions.

For two years, educators from all over the world have asked how we do it. So I'm putting the whole method in one place, and opening it to founding members at the lowest price it will ever be, for five days from launch.

Valando Demetriou

Use it for a week. If it doesn't work, I'll refund you.

Buy the Method and run it with your own children. If your sessions aren't calmer, or you still don't know what to say when the paint comes out, reply to any email from me within 7 days and I'll refund every dollar. I'll only ask what you tried, so I can make the Method better. The five free lessons stay yours either way.

Free to join

Get your five free artist lessons.

Nothing is charged today. Your three printables arrive straight away: the philosophy guide, the lesson rhythm wall print and the phrase cards. Joining also holds you founding pricing from $599 for the day the Method opens.

1
Join free todayNothing is charged. You are holding a price, not buying yet.
2
Your printables arrive by emailAll three, straight away: the philosophy guide, the lesson rhythm wall print and the phrase cards.
3
You get first access when it opensAt founding pricing, from $599. Your three printables are yours whether you buy or not.
Before you ask

The things people ask before they buy.

I already use Pinterest, TPT packs and Reggio-inspired training. What is different?

Those give you ideas and inspiration. They do not tell you how to run the moment: how to set the table, how to introduce a material, what to say when a child says "I can't". The Method is the how, in words you can use tomorrow morning.

Will it actually stop the mess and the chaos?

Paint is still paint, and three year olds are still three. What changes is the setup, the way you introduce each material and the words you use, which are the things that decide whether a session stays with you or tips over. That is what the lessons teach, step by step.

Can I get a refund if it doesn't work for me?

Yes. You have 7 days from the day you buy. Run it with your children, and if it hasn't changed how your sessions go, reply to any email from me and I'll refund you in full. On a payment plan, I refund what you've paid and cancel the rest. After 7 days, sales are final. Your rights under Australian Consumer Law are not affected.

I'm not artistic myself. Can I still teach this?

Especially you. This isn't about your art skills, it's about how you set up the moment, introduce the materials and talk to the child. We give you the exact words and steps, so you're never guessing.

What ages is it really for?

Three to six. That's the window we specialise in, and the method is built specifically for how children think, move and create at this age. Older or younger siblings can usually join in, but the design is for the early years.

How long will this take me?

About an hour and a half of listening in total, and you do not do it in one sitting. Each lesson is short enough for a school run or a set-up. You do not have to finish the whole thing before you start: work through Foundations, print the lesson card, and you can run your first Method lesson this week.

My room is big, or my team is mixed. Will it hold?

Yes. Every lesson runs the same five phases, so it holds with a full room, and a new educator can run it the same way as someone who has done it for years.

Is it worth $999?

It is one payment for every group you will ever teach, and it can count towards your PD. Not sure yet? The five free artist lessons let you test it with real children first, and you still have 7 days after buying to change your mind.

What materials do I need to buy?

Almost nothing you do not already have. Paint, brushes, paper, glue, scissors, watercolour and oil pastels carry nearly the whole method. A handful of lessons use something specific, foil, ice, leaves from the garden, and each one tells you exactly what to gather. This is deliberately not a method that needs a budget, because most of the people who need it do not have one.

Where does it live, and what does “lifetime” actually mean?

It is a private web page, yours through your own link, so there is no app to install and no password to lose. Play the lessons in any browser, on your phone while you set up or in the car. The printables download as PDFs you keep on your own computer. Lifetime means exactly that: one payment, no renewal, and every lesson or sheet added later appears in your account at no extra cost.

What's the difference between the free lessons and the full Method?

The five free artist lessons are five complete lessons, so you can try the Method with real children before you pay. The Method is the whole system: the foundations, three core modules scripted lesson by lesson, the great-artist lessons, a theme recipe that turns any topic into a new lesson, the full materials library and the printable toolkit, with lifetime updates. The free lessons show you what one session feels like. The Method teaches you to run every session that way.

Which one do I need?

If you are one educator teaching your own group, take Individual. If you are a studio, school, kindergarten or early learning centre, take Studios, schools and centres: one licence covers one site, however many educators teach there, and it adds the leadership module and the team sheets. If you run more than one site, each site needs its own licence. If you are between the two, ask yourself who else will teach it. If anyone else will, the site licence is the one that covers them.

Site licence: what happens when an educator leaves?

The licence covers one site, so it does not depend on who is on. When an educator leaves, the next one uses it. One licence is for one site only: if you run more than one, each site needs its own. The print licence covers running the toolkit across your site and sending the parent sheets home to your families. It does not cover reselling the sheets or teaching the Method as your own paid training. The full terms are on the licence page.

Does it work outside Australia?

Yes. The method is about how young children learn and how you teach, and it travels. The course is priced in Australian dollars. At today's rate $999 is roughly US$690, and your bank converts it at checkout.

Can it count as PD?

Educators can count the Method towards their professional development. When every lesson is ticked off, a certificate of completion appears in your course with your name and the date, and that is your record. Log the time you spend on the lessons and readings; the recordings alone run to over an hour and a half. The Method is not accredited, it is not mapped to the EYLF or NQS, and no registration board has endorsed it, so please check with your own service or board about how it can be recorded. On the Studio tier, certificates for your team are included.

How do the live session and the one to one work?

The live session is for every founding member. I will set the date once the founding window closes, so I am not asking anyone to hold an evening before they have even started, and it is recorded if you cannot be there. The one to one is thirty minutes with me, and it is the first five people only. If you are one of them I will email you to book a time that suits you. Bring your actual room and your actual children, that is what makes half an hour useful.

Why is the founding price so much lower?

Because founding members get in first, before everything is polished and public, and help us shape it. In return you pay the founding price instead of the launch price, and you keep it for life.

One decision. A room that settles, and children who believe they're artists.

You are ready to level up the way you teach, and to help the children you are with every single day.

While you are deciding, the weeks keep coming. Every one is another session you run on instinct and recover from, and another small deposit into a child's belief that they are not good at art. You cannot get these years back, and neither can they.

Somewhere in the next few months a child you teach is going to decide, quietly, whether they are one of the creative ones. That decision is completely teachable, and this is how you teach it.

Joining is free. Your three printables arrive this week, the Method opens on 9 October, and your founding price holds until 14 October.

Free to join · five artist lessons this week · yours to keep whether you buy or not

P.S. If you are still unsure, run one of the five free artist lessons this week. If the room settles, you will know exactly what to do next.

Free to join · holds founding pricing from $599 · opens 9 October