Summer Program

The Woodside Summer Program includes a variety of outdoor learning experiences with an emphasis on art, nature, and collaborative, ongoing projects.

The outdoor learning environment at Woodside allows opportunities for physical exercise, with obstacle courses, bike riding, action games and dramatic play part of our daily routine. Key learning experiences, such as painting at the easels, experimenting at the water tables, playing with the forest animals, and even having snack together, take on new layers of enjoyment when brought outside!

Logistics

Sessions: 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on a weekly basis in June.

A nutritious mid-morning snack will be provided. Families are asked to provide a peanut-free lunch that will be refrigerated and enjoyed as an outdoor picnic each day.

Programming

Each week, enrolled children will become part of a mixed age group, giving them opportunities for making new friends within a familiar community. The children will be encouraged to explore and experiment in a relaxed outdoor environment, will have plenty of time for discovery and reflection, and will enjoy activities reminiscent of unstructured neighborhood play in years' past, yet guided by experienced teachers.

Past summer projects and activities have included:

• collaborative creation of sculptures to display in the atrium for the school year
• woodworking - design and building of cars, boats, and sculptures
• making cement stepping stones for our school and to bring home
• creation of clay wind chimes
• creation of fairies, elves, their houses and habitats
• building volcanoes, roads, and other ongoing, elaborate sand box construction
• planting and harvesting herbs, fruits, and vegetables for cooking projects
• study of the natural environment through nature walks and exploration around the neighboring bogs and ponds

In addition to training in Early Education, Early Intervention, and Child Development, teachers bring a variety of backgrounds and experience to the Summer Program, including art, cooking, gardening, and natural science.