● Our Story
Meet Bobby
I am a professionally trained Art Therapist who has been creating for as long as I can remember. Not to impress, but to make sense of the world.
I grew up in a turbulent home where art became my refuge and a powerful tool for feeling, processing, and healing. As a highly sensitive person, developing emotional intelligence helped me understand myself deeply, and later, meet my son with the same compassion, patience, and presence.
My early work began as a Library Assistant, with storytime sessions that wove books and craft into imaginative experiences through play. This led me to Melbourne’s Arts and Culture Branch and ArtPlay, where I witnessed the profound ways creativity can connect us, and contribute to the development of self-efficacy and self-esteem by enabling children to identify and express their unique creative strengths.
In my 40s, I returned to formal study and committed fully to art-as-therapy. Today, I carry this work through both my therapeutic practice and Life Craft homeschool.
At Life Craft, children learn through curiosity, connection, and hands-on creative exploration. Through unique and engaging practices, I support them to grow with confidence, creativity, and self-awareness.
● The Mission & Philosophy
Our Principles
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Unconditional Positive Regard
We meet each child with unwavering respect and care, embracing their full humanity, emotions, mistakes, and all. This deep acceptance fosters trust, emotional safety, and the freedom to grow into their authentic selves.
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Autonomy
We nurture each child’s sense of agency, helping them trust their inner compass and act with integrity. In our creative spaces, autonomy is celebrated as the root of authentic learning and emotional growth.
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Responsive Curriculum
Our curriculum is flexible and intuitive, shaped by the real-time needs of the children we serve. Lessons evolve in response to emotional moments, developmental shifts, and spontaneous curiosity, making learning relevant, heartfelt, and alive.
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Authenticity
We honour each child’s whole self, quirks, questions, and quiet strengths included. In our brave spaces, children create and connect without fear, building confidence and discovering the joy of living from the inside out.
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Process Over Product
We value art as a journey of expression, not performance, where the process matters more than the outcome. Children are free to explore, reflect, and discover themselves through making, with no pressure to impress, only space to feel, grow, and be.
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Congruence
We lead with honesty and emotional alignment, speaking and acting from a place of integrity. This clarity builds trust, especially for neurodiverse children, creating relationships that feel safe, respectful, and real.
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Leadership
Facilitators lead with emotional intelligence, modelling self-awareness, empathy, and grounded presence. This mindful approach creates a safe, attuned environment where trust, connection, and deep learning can flourish.
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Art Therapy
Life Craft is grounded in the creative arts therapies, an evidence based therapeutic practice. Through playful, process-driven exploration guided by trained facilitators, children express emotions, build resilience, and connect with their inner world in ways that feel safe, empowering, and deeply human.
● About
Why Life Craft?
Life Craft is more than a homeschool program, it’s a sanctuary for emotional growth, creative freedom, and real connection. In small, attuned groups, children are gently guided to develop emotional insight, creative confidence, and authentic self-expression. Our art isn’t about perfection, it’s about play, process, and personal discovery. It’s messy, meaningful, and alive with feeling. Here, every creation is a step toward self-awareness, and every moment is an invitation to grow.