Our sweet April art camp theme will be all things planting/gardening/recycled sculpture plant-flower making/making little nests/eggs/birds/baby animals! We will be making art of all kinds with natural or post consumer materials and garden planning. Mud pie making/playing and tons of art. As always very mindful book selections will be read and curated books available for children to look at, meeting the child where they are at developmentally. We also integrate simple, thoughtful, playful, thematic movement/yoga and little caring games as part of our day. Our creative teaching approach is inquiry-based, and we support the curiosity and imagination of the young child.

Rhythm of our day
*** Each day children will be gently greeted by a different early morning process (good for early birds!) in the studio with art or cooking.
Morning Gather: We will then begin with storytime + movement work
Morning Crafts + Art: individual and collaborative creative projects, inside + outside of the studio
Snack + Creative play
Lunch + Outdoor play + Projects
Afternoon in-breath: tea, rest + choice: books/play or craft, creative movement + more art projects!

When: Monday – Thursday, April 15th – 18th, 9 am – 3 pm / with full and half day options, please see below! We can accommodate early birds, 8-9 am, or 3-5 pm, additional options available upon request.

Cost
Mon – Thu, 4 full days = $ 250
Mon – Thu, morning only 9 – 12 = $150
Mon – Thu, afternoon only 12 – 3 = $150
–
Includes all the materials, 2 teachers, afternoon tea, additional assistants and visiting artists and/or farmers. Please note: If you would love your child to attend this camp, but cost is an issue, please contact us to inquire about sliding scale spots. If you are able, and feel generous in your ability to help a family who can’t afford the fee, please reach out to us to chip in to defer the cost for another. We also can do a sibling discount please inquire. And – Thank you!

What else
Children bring lunch, snack, water bottle, extra clothing plus warm gear for outside play!
We will provide daily afternoon tea.

Some of our values
* The whole child: social & emotional development and inclusion within a caring community
* The child as communicator: language development through participation, listening, poetry
* The child as co-creator: project based, hands on, and individual learning
* The child as artist: centering arts, creativity + imagination
* The child as informed citizen: community member, global & ecological participant

Who
Children: We welcome and celebrate a mixed age group of  children ages 4 – 8 (please contact us if your children are close to these ages and still might be a good fit!)
Teachers: Our collaborative teaching team, includes very skilled lead teachers Christina Mesevage and Christina Bechstein. We are a unique team with each of us having diverse, skilled and certified training and experience in: Columbia Teachers College Reading and Writing Program, Reggio Emilia, Public School, advanced degrees, art and contemporary art education pedagogy of all kinds and more. We also have caring, skilled art teacher assistants and look forward to a visiting artist/farmer for our April camp!

Our space
Our space is bright and newly renovated, known as Love Lab Studio. The design is thoughtfully curated for the needs of the children. We are located in a mixed residential and retail neighborhood in the West End of Portland, at the edge of a beautiful park and playground and a nearby urban food forest.

SOME DETAILS
To bring for April Art Camp: For children please bring a water bottle, a cozy pair of slippers (thick socks are OK too) to wear in our studio. Please pack a snack, and lunch if children staying for lunch. If you will be sending siblings, please contact us for an additional discount to sign up. Prior to starting class, each student caregiver must sign and return our student info sheet packet (includes media form, release form, and other important info), we will have those in the studio for you to sign on the first day. We will send an email the weekend prior to camp starting with other details.
We can’t wait to get in the studio and outside with you all!
This will be a such a sweet week!