How Thinking Studio
Came to Be
Thinking Studio grew from a decade of watching children’s curiosity, creativity, and unique thinking flourish — and noticing how rare it is to find spaces that truly honor those qualities. Children revealed themselves to be philosophical beings, with real questions and complex ideas.
Too often, these ways of thinking are rushed aside in the race for right answers and measurable outcomes. In doing so, we risk losing the fresh ideas, thoughtful perspectives, and creative solutions that children bring to the world.
Thinking Studio exists as an intentional, in-person program that invites the exchange of ideas and celebrates the wonder and wisdom children bring with them.
The Thinker
Behind
the Studio
Erika Ramsey
Erika Ramsey is an elementary educator and founder of Thinking Studio. She holds a B.A. in Child and Family Studies from Portland State University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Portland. She is currently participating in a semester-long course on facilitating philosophical dialogue with children in K–12 settings through PLATO, hosted by the University of Washington.
Erika has taught in mixed-age, democratic, and constructivist schools, structuring her classrooms as spaces where children bring their whole selves. She approaches children with deep respect, recognizing them as thinkers whose ideas and values deserve to be taken seriously. In her classrooms, she coaches children to reflect on their thinking, deepen their ideas, and communicate them clearly so others can understand and engage with them.