Playful Learning

“Playful Learning” is the magic that takes place when we meld a child’s sense of joy and wonder with thoughtfully planned learning experiences. We believe that childhood is a time of wonder and that the most productive learning occurs when children are offered interesting materials, ample time and opportunity to investigate, transform and invent, and most important of all – play! For families interested in an alternative to preschool we’ve created advanced enrichment classes created specifically for 3 to 5 year olds - 40 minute classes that focus on beginning reading, writing, and math skills, geography/geology, science, ecology, cultural awareness, foreign languages, and mindfulness (social-emotional skills).

Please click here for our Philosophies , Details, and Registration forms.

Registration Details

Unlike our other classes, you are welcome to drop your child off for these classes. Because of this your child needs to be “potty proficient”. For the Winter Term we’ll be offering two days a week. Tell your friends!

* In order to provide a well-rounded learning experience and consistency for your “preschool-aged” child, we encourage you to register for all 3 classes on a given day.  

FUNdamentals

reading, writing & math exploration

Writing in shaving cream, building marshmallow ABC’s, playing leap frog, making an AB-Cheese sandwich, squeezing out pancake batter numbers, drawing with colored ice cubes, creating abacus waffles! Sound like fun ways to teach a 3 to 5 year old reading, writing, and math skills? Everyday activities provide amazing opportunities to learn “the 3 R’s”, whether it’s working with clay, finger painting, gardening, cooking, or story-telling puppets. Children should never be forced to read and write at a young age, but engaging them in artistic, musical, and imaginative play, and providing a nurturing space filled with literacy- and math-rich activities, children will spontaneously “explode” into writing, reading, and math! Join us for the fireworks!

  • Ages: 3 to 5 years
  • Tuesdays,  (Class Code:  FUN1)
  • Fridays,  (Class Code:  FUN2)

Cost: $50.00 per term*

*Register for all 3 PLAYFUL LEARNING classes on the same day & your cost drops to only $5/class! Please pay on location at the CFEC if you’re not going to register for all 3 classes, at which point the fee becomes $10 per class.

Register for FUNdamentals ($50.00, One person, Helping Hand Members)

Register for FUNdamentals ($45, One person, Helping Hug/Heart Members)

Hand-in-Hand

community, kindness & cultural awareness

Exposing children to different world cultures through music, art, and cooking makes the world a little smaller and reinforces that kids are kids – no matter where they live, what language they speak, or what color their skin is. Through simple games, stories, and songs children quickly learn typical daily words and phrases in a variety of languages, including sign. Utilizing puppetry, role-playing, free expression dance, and yoga we’ll encourage community, kindness, creative ways to avoid conflict, and respect for others. Whether we’re baking aggression cookies, playing community hop scotch, developing a world passport, growing a family tree, eating friendship snacks, painting our feelings, or dancing the language limbo, children will be learning ways to appropriately express their feelings, practice patience, and learn to work cooperatively with others, as well as countering the stress experienced by young people living in a hurry-up world.

  • Ages: 3 to 5 years
  • Tuesdays,  (Class Code:  HIH1)
  • Fridays,  (Class Code:  HIH2)

Cost: $50.00 per term

*Register for all 3 PLAYFUL LEARNING classes on the same day & your cost drops to only $5/class! Please pay on location at the CFEC if you’re not going to register for all 3 classes, at which point the fee becomes $10 per class..

Register for Hand-in-Hand ($50.00, One person, Helping Hand Members)

Register for Hand-in-Hand ($45, One person, Helping Hug/Heart Members)

Earth Rocks!

our world, our bodies, our environment

Children are born explorers, naturally curious about the world around them, learning best through hands-on playful experimentation. Building a child-size bird’s nest, creating marshmallow moon phases, digging through a fossil sandbox, baking erupting volcano cupcakes, planting a pizza garden, putting on a vegetable puppet show, growing crystals, creating snack maps, blowing wind bubbles, dancing the fishy pokey, cooking rainbow stew, playing body bingo, feeding a litter bug! Can you believe how fun learning about geology, geography, science, and our environment can be?! We’ll satisfy your child’s curious nature and fulfill their natural desire to touch, see, and explore while helping them develop a sense of respect and care for their world, their bodies, and all living creatures, even the ones that live under rocks!

  • Ages: 3 to 5 years
  • Tuesdays,  (Class Code:  ER1)
  • Fridays,   (Class Code:  ER2)

Cost: $50.00 per term

*Register for all 3 PLAYFUL LEARNING classes on the same day & your cost drops to only $5/class! Please pay on location at the CFEC if you’re not going to register for all 3 classes, at which point the fee becomes $10 per class.

Register for Earth Rocks! ($50.00, One person, Helping Hand Members)

Register for Earth Rocks! ($45, One person, Helping Hug/Heart Members)