Art is at the heart of everything we do. We are an educational
consultancy and creativity incubator that serves kids, educators, families and organizations with access to transformative educational experiences. heARTful Kids empowers learners of all kinds with tools for holistic growth that weave together therapeutic frameworks, social-emotional learning, leadership, and mindfulness practices through the arts. We do this through cultivating community partnerships that rely on a mixed model of program development, facilitation, consulting, workshops, and community events/beautification projects.
About
heARTful Kids
Incorporating project-based and strengths-based learning are valuable, evidence-based approaches that benefit the whole self and the collective. Structured art experiences strengthen cognition, attention, and confidence for people of all ages and developmental stages.​
The spillover effect of incorporating more intentional creativity into our lives can shape us into happier, healthier, more intelligent, kind, confident, courageous, resilient beings.
Educational spaces require stewardship by adults invested in lifelong learning who practice and model the tools kids need to thrive.​
"Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children."
-Albert Einstein
That by forming a healthy relationship to our creativity we are also building a stronger relationship to our unique learning process, allowing us to expand our skillsets in any area more rapidly and can uncover tremendous joy in the process.​
We Believe...
That every child deserves access to fun
and engaging experiences for healthy development AND that every person has creative genius if they have the opportunity and willingness to cultivate it.​​
The Frameworks We Leverage
✨Expressive Arts, Transformative Arts, and Play Therapy
✨Visual Learning Strategies and Sequential Visual Literacy
✨Applied Behavior Analysis and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
​
✨Educational Psychology and Social-Emotional Learning Frameworks
✨Embodied Cognition, Movement, and Games
✨Mindfulness and Movement Practices
As the fields of art, therapy, education, and neuroscience continue to converge, there is a growing space for innovation anchored in scientific research and the certainty that interdisciplinary frameworks like ours are needed in education. Creativity unites us and holds infinite potential for positive change, both personally and collectively.
Our
Values
You're in the right place.
Welcome, heARTist!
Partnerships
We design and facilitate a series of signature transformative programs and professional development trainings in partnership with various districts, non-profits, schools, and families. Through these partnerships, we have served thousands of kids across the Bay Area and beyond with meaningful outcomes based in a deep passion for arts education, growth mindset principles, leadership development and wellness. Thank you for being here and in doing so, being a part of our team of providers and collaborators in this revolution. We're so glad you're here, you heARTful human, you.
Meet Our Team
Now Hiring
Multiple Roles
We are currently hiring a new Lead Creative Counselor for the East Bay, one assistant, and a Meta (FB/Insta) Magic Worker. Please reach out for a link to apply.
Mz. Rhonda
Creative Counselor
A masterful, lifelong musician and lyricist who can inspire everyone, even the rhythmically challenged, to have fun with music. She even created the songs for our Mindset Modes.
CHRISSY
Program Director
A highly organized, fun loving, and patient mom of three who keeps our systems running smoothly behind the scenes, efficiently and with a smile.
Dom
Creative Counselor
A multi-talented and big hearted ray of sunshine who puts tremendous thought and care into planning every class and project. Dom is also the writer of our theme song!
Ms. ClarA
Creative Counselor
Artist and scientist with a natural skill for building community and connecting with kids authentically. Our archeological and anthropological whiz with an old soul.
Vita, Founder
Executive Director
Interdisciplinary artist since childhood who discovered that creativity is the conduit for personal growth and collective change.
Meet our founder, Vita
Vita Pascone is an educator, facilitator, and Transformative Artist whose commitment to empowering kids and families through art turned her into (accidental) an entrepreneur and founder.
​
Prior to entrepreneurship, she served as a Behavioral Therapist and Educational Specialist for children with divergent learning needs. She received her Master's in Transformative Arts from JFK University in Berkeley, CA (2014). Upon completing her thesis, she continued her professional development with a series of certifications to deepen and expand her client work, finding deep meaning and healing in the process. Her playful nature, strong spiritual foundation, and applied leadership experiences bring a sense of radical aliveness to every project she pursues.
​
She continues her interdisciplinary creative practices as part of a deep commitment to ongoing personal growth driven by the desire to build a more compassionate and creative world. heARTful Kids is a labor of love born from the courage to answer the call of her soul's purpose.
OUR STORY
2015
"To be an artist is to believe in life."
-Henri Moore
heARTful Kids has evolved from decades of dynamic educational support with children and families in the fields of art therapy, expressive arts, play therapy, behavioral therapy, structured literacy, and academic tutoring.
The art and design lines you see in the Shop for Good were born from Vita's childhood passions that she later put to work as a system of self-care early in her career while providing therapeutic services to families navigating the Autism spectrum.
​
It was here that she discovered her love for mentoring children and guiding parents and educators through creative play. She noticed with multiple clients that leveraging art for IEP implementation brings a motivating sense of joy and interest allowing for faster skill acquisition. After this experience, she went on a deep dive of scientifically proven approaches, gathering a certifications in Mindfulness, Play-Based Facilitation, and Art Therapy. Fast forward to now: through various projects we've seen this work make a significant positive impact on thousands of kids and families across various settings, learning styles, and cultural milieus. ​