Program Details

Ages 5-12 La Petite Academy's Before and After School Program provides the perfect combination of recreational and educational activities for a well-balanced out-of-school experience. Children end each day excited about the broad range of engaging, hands-on activities that allow them to develop their interests and skills, as well as having the opportunity to spend time on homework so that they can enjoy more quality time at home.

The Before and After School Program incorporates:

Physical Activity Time - Children play on our playground or, if the weather is uncooperative, enjoy games or songs inside. It's time spent giving their bodies what they need, while connecting with friends to talk about their day at school.

Group Meeting Time - The children gather together to foster a sense of community. Each child shares a positive experience from their day, which gives our teachers the opportunity to get to know your child, respond to their varying needs and adapt the program to fit their interests.

Homework/Quiet Time - Provides 30 minutes for homework completion. If your child doesn't have homework, she may participate in a constructive, quiet activity, such as leisure reading, puzzle construction or completion of an art-inspired activity.

Project Time - Children break up into workshop areas where they collaborate on various long-term projects.

Literature Circle Time - Invites children to share their ideas about the literature being read. The program has several different recreational themes that are followed for several weeks depending on the interest level of the children. Additionally, we incorporate La Petite Academy's Kids of Character Program to help develop your child's sense of community and respect for others.

Convenient hours complement your child's daily schedule and elementary school closings, as well as transportation to and from school. Find an Academy near you to schedule a visit.

Creative Quest School-Age Program at Select Academies:

At some Academies, our new Creative Quest Curriculum is offered and based on a variety of long-term projects and investigations for the children to pursue over a two-to-three week period. The projects will unfold in one of the four main "studios" located within the school-age classroom. In these programs, the following elements are included:

• The topics are chosen to extend and supplement what your child will be learning or might already have learned in school, such as Ants, Pioneer Days, Green Thumb, Inventions, Careers, Artistic Treasures, etc.
• During Group Meeting time, the school-age teacher fosters discussions about the current topic, and introduces the children to various projects that occur in the Design, Library/Research, Inquiring Minds and Fine Arts Studios. Each project is designed to expose your child to a different, more creative, hands-on aspect of the current topic. The projects take several days to complete and it's not uncommon to have children beg to stay at the Academy even when Mom and Dad come pick them up!
• Each topic runs for however long the children are interested, so the teacher spends a significant amount of time getting to know the children's interests and determining how long to extend each topic.

Studio Time gives children an opportunity to engage in investigations or long-term projects. The topics and activities in each Studio were created to give children a chance for individual exploration and to help them build confidence in themselves and their work.

Creative Quest Studio Choices:

Fine Arts - An area that will inspire children to create and express themselves artistically with a plethora of materials.

Design - A place where children can make, re-create, replicate, build or construct whatever their imaginations desire

Library and Research - An inviting area housed with reference and picture books, magazines and informational texts to inform the investigations occurring in the various studios and support the literacy development of the children.

Inquiring Minds - A laboratory to serve children's investigations related to the current classroom topic.

Creative Quest Sample Projects:

• Candle Making, Woodworking, Knitting for Kids, Jewelry Making in the "Art Studio"
• Grow Flowers, Tree Diary, Grow Vegetables, Measure Growth, in the "Garden Workshop"
• Ant Farm, Raising Earthworms, Butterfly Gardens, Making Volcanoes in the "Laboratory"

The projects are designed to take more than a few days to complete and are related to one another through various Modules. Multiple projects may be going on at the same time as the teacher decides which to implement based on your child's interests. Your child will always have something special to take home at the end of each project. To find out if your local Academy offers the Creative Quest Curriculum, please call and speak with the Academy Director.