We were lucky to catch up with Yesenia Reales recently and have shared our conversation below.

Yesenia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The main reason why I started Yes2ArtKidz was to offer children and families a safe space. COVID took a toll on a lot of people within the community and even had major affects on the social and emotional development of children of all ages. Ultimately, I wanted to not only provide a safe space for children but to also encourage children and families to say Yes to Art in a world where Tablets were now in control. My focus was and still is to provide families with an opportunity to engage in the arts with their children and give them access to materials and tools they may not have. My mission: To empower children and families through art and imagination. During COVID we all witnessed how tablets and electronics took over homes, filled strollers, and made their way further into childcare settings- children were being offered screen time as a method of “entertainment.” As an educator and Artists I am passionate about providing children safe spaces where optimal learning opportunities are available. I strive to engage with children and families in an effort to educate them about the importance of social and emotional development. For me it is important to educate parents on how much of a difference and impact being hands on and involved with your child can be. Family led art activities can build self-esteem and communication skills within the children. Despite the many negative aspects of the pandemic, many families had been lucky enough to have family and shared time at home. My purpose was to help these families fill their homes with art activities that would offer them a chance to continue to engage together while working towards a greater goal. I started Yes2ArtKidz with the children of greater Boston that were already under my care (in South Boston). The families were supportive of my small up and coming business and eager to gather outside of the home again and in social settings. Today I serve children and families throughout greater Boston.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hola! My name is Yesenia Reales ! I have been working with children and families for over 10+ years. My mother was an early educator and ultimately she inspired me and encouraged me to travel this career path. I got my first job as a volunteer at the YMCA where she worked at a mere 14 years of age. Today I am a paraprofessional for the Somerville public school systems where I work with Special Needs children. I am also Bilingual (fluent in Spanish), CDA Certified, and EEC certified to care for children between the ages of Infancy through school age. My strength is in family engagement and communications. I truly enjoy building genuine and strong connections and relationships with the children and families that I serve. I aspire to make a difference and an impact on every child and family I meet.

What sets my art program aside from others is that I have a passion and intent on supporting children’s social and emotion development. I strive to provide intentional one-one interactions with children in my program and under my care. I understand that supporting a child with healthy social and emotional opportunities and interactions can have positive long lasting effects. For example, by prioritizing a child’s social and emotional well being I am influencing their self-esteem, confidence , communication skills, and emotional development which they can utilize in their adulthood – this is just to name a few of the positive outcomes. I also strongly focus on encouraging parent interaction with children (I would rather support the children interact with their caregivers versus a tablet). For example, Yes2ArtKidz encourages the adults to be hands on and interact with children as they work on completing art activities and projects. Activities such as jewelry making encourages children to ask their caregivers for assistance with maybe tying a knot, or licking the string to fit a bead – this small interaction can actually build communication skills and confidence within the child.

Yes2artKidz stands out for its outstanding curriculum and prioritization of further developing children’s overall development and skills. I understand that each child is different. They all have different abilities and needs. It is important for me as founder of this art program to ensure that I can accommodate every child. I have worked with children who are physically disabled, cognitively delayed, on the spectrum, have language barriers as English language learners,etc. My program stands out because it holds a space and opportunity for every child despite the gap in ability.

My program also provides continuous opportunity for children to develop fine motor, gross motor, language , and cognitive development and skills. I strive to provide indoor as well as outdoor learning opportunities. I also stand out amongst other art programs because my goal is to utilize outdoor spaces and provide children opportunities of an outdoor classroom or learning environment. I also aim to use nature in my art .

I am proud of myself for starting this program in an effort to support children’s social and emotional development. I am proud that I am a guide for children in a time where electronics and screen time are most desired and popular. What I do is important because it allows for youth to interact with their caretakers, educates the masses on art mediums and styles as well as historical artists from our times and other countries as well as provides the safe yet fun space for young artists to thrive in .

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Prior to starting my small business I was in a domestic violence situation/ relationship. In some cultures mental health is not acknowledged or accepted. It is important that people are not rejected or discouraged from speaking their truth. Unlike many women I am not afraid to speak up about my truth and my past. Everyone has a past that may have been challenging and speaking up about it can strengthen and help people’s mental health. I am supportive of advocating for mental health and domestic violence. During this long term relationship my mental health and emotional well being were not well. These regressions also impacted my social skills and interactions. Once I was able to walk away and liberate myself from those circumstances and unhealthy relationship my mental health greatly improved. I was eager, confident, and enthusiastic to finally fulfill my life long dream and vision of being a successful entrepreneur and continue to be a positive role model for the children in my community.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Growing clientele comes natural to me. I focus on building genuine connections and relationships with people in my day to day life. My strengths are in utilizing my networks to build clientele for my small business. I am grateful for the strong connections and long lasting impacts I have had on children and families within my community.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Yes2ArtKidz
• Other: Email:Yes2ArtKidz@gmail.com