K-6 Morning

 

For each session, morning students attend three different classes for one hour each morning for two weeks. Thus, they have one class from 9 AM to 10 AM, another from 10 AM to 11 AM, and a third from 11 AM to 12 PM. Dismissal is at noon each day. There is no extended care available for morning only students.

Kids looking at laptop

Session Dates:

  • Session I: June 15th - June 26th
  • Session II: July 6th - July 17th

Class Size:

  • Limit to 15 students per class

What to bring:

  • A folder with pockets and pencils
  • A nut-free snack to eat mid-morning

Course Offerings

Play With Your Food: Artistry in the Kitchen

Grades K-6th
Have you heard the expression, "eat with your eyes?" Beautiful to behold as well as tasty to the tongue, artistically prepared food can appeal to all the senses at once. Explore the amazing and creative possibilities of vegetables, fruits, bread dough, and even gummies as we create imaginative works of art, both edible and inedible. Get the giggles as you shape, create, carve, and decorate. Explore the symmetry of an apple, the humor of an eggplant. Food can be a delicious medium for creative expression, on the plate and off. No macaroni boxes here, but some imaginative, messy and occasionally edible fun. You may never see food the same way again!

National Parks

Grades K-6th
What do Earth’s biggest trees, tallest geyser, and longest canyon have in common? They can all be found in national parks in the U.S. Using Google Earth’s satellite imagery, we’ll explore some of the famous trails, topography, and animals located in the parks. Discover the history and geology behind Yellowstone supervolcano eruptions, the granite faces of Yosemite, and the many rock layers in the Grand Canyon. We’ll make our own trail-ready snack and explore wilderness first-aid techniques. Learn how naturalist, John Muir, photographer, Ansel Adams, and 10-year-old rock climber, Selah Schneiter have been driven to greatness by exploring the national parks, and how you can too. Find out how our national parks came to be and explore the flora, fauna, and geologic history they protect for us all.

Dream Time and Kiwis - Exploring the Lands Down Under

Grades K-6th
Learn about the land, people, animals, and plants of Australia and New Zealand.  The areas once known as Gondwana are home to unique animals and plants found nowhere else in the world.  In Australia, discover the culture, art, and "dream time" of the earliest Aboriginal people and make music on your own didgeridoo. Imagine life as an 18th century convict settler, exploring a new land that ranges from tropical coral reefs to massive outback deserts to icy waters that are home to Little Penguins. In New Zealand, recreate the narrow boats that brought the Polynesians to live on the green islands of volcanoes. Imagine a country with more sheep than people and flightless birds. Their language is the same as yours – or is it?

Animal Rescue

Grades K - 6th
Are you an animal lover? Would you like to find ways to help homeless animals? Come investigate the who, what, where, why, and how of animal rescue. Learn the difference between an animal shelter and a rescue. Find out what it takes to run such an operation and learn ways kids can be an ally to animals looking for forever homes. Choose what kind of animal you would like to assist? We’ll make several items to help pets at the Austin Animal Center - design adoption posters for senior pets, tie dye bandanas for long-stay dogs, make rice socks to keep puppies & kittens warm, and create cat toys for bored feline friends.

Around the World in 10 Days - An Exploration of Food and Culture

Grades K-6th
Explore the food, culture and history of countries around the world. Travel to Egypt and eat falafel and mahshi while visiting the capital city of Cairo. Discover Piccadilly Circus and Big Ben on a search for the best fish and chips in London. Wonder at the beauty of the Taj Mahal. Awaken your senses with the smells and tastes of jasmine and spices in India. A final stop to the island of Japan will bring you to the populous city of Tokyo. Here you’ll taste tempura and pickled vegetables while learning about the art of Manga. Learn history, customs, and traditional foods from countries around the world. You’ll make a passport and a journal to keep track of your travels. Get your passport stamped at each destination and use your journal to record facts and recipes from each country. Fill up your passport with stamps from around the world.

Vexillologist! Vexillographer! Vexillophile! Which One Are You?

Grades K-6th
Have you ever considered the designs on a flag? They are more than just interesting symbols. From battlefield identification to a countries’ specific symbols, flag colors and designs contain hidden meanings. We’ll delve into flags from around the world and learn their secrets. Are all flags created with the same materials? Let's find out why they are used. What purpose do flags have in our modern world? Let's share some ideas and come up with new reasons and traditions for flying a flag. Using your new knowledge of flags, you’ll plan one of your own. Channel your passions and feelings to design your own personal and unique vexillum.

Clay Techniques from Around the World

Grades K-6th
For over 25,000 years, humans across the globe have shaped, decorated, and fired clay. Despite great differences in location and time, universal themes appear in the world’s ceramic traditions, including religious influences, human, and animal representations. Join us on an adventure around the world as we learn about pottery from different time periods and places. We’ll become potters and sculptors and learn how to play with ideas such as scale, multiples, detailing, texture, and craftsmanship while learning the basics of hand-building techniques in clay. Did you know that pottery is one of the most useful finds in archeology? Together we’ll recreate an archeological site and gain an understanding of the vast amount of information a simple piece of pottery holds.


Rome-ing Through Italian History

Grades K-6th
Italy is world famous for its beautiful art, delicious cuisine, and magnificent architecture. Discover how Ancient Romans lived by traveling back in time. By teaming up to build our own aqueduct, learn how Romans got water from city to city. Through mythological stories, we’ll gain an understanding of how they explained the world around them. Learn about a few famous Italian artists and paint your own masterpiece. We’ll explore the cuisine of Italy by making our own pasta from scratch and going on a faux truffle hunt. Pick up a few Latin words and learn some ancient games.

Meet the Masters

Grades K-6th
Have you ever heard of Picasso, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci? What about Renoir and Caravaggio? Get a close look at some of the world’s most famous artists who have shaped the styles and techniques we enjoy today! Each day we’ll explore a new artist and create projects that are focused around the technique and styles from Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Henry Rousseau, Frida Khalo, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas and Gustav Klimt. We’ll draw, paint, and sculpt our way through time as we learn why mankind’s most enduring achievement is art!

Castles, Dragons, and Royalty

Grades K-6th
Hear ye, hear ye! I call upon all of you gentle persons locked away in your castles to come learn all about the Medieval Times! Castles are far more than drawbridges and stone walls! They were cities within cities. What kind of people lived in these castles and who lived outside the walls? Find out and build your very own example! Storm the castle as we explore and release catapults, trebuchets, and other siege engines. And yes, there were games and entertainment: juggling, music, jousting, and plays. Imagine creating a dance, learning how to juggle, and designing your own shield or princess attire. Can you spot a dragon or unicorn? Join us in a time both real and magical.

Art in Architecture

Grades K-6th
Self-express art through the many aspects of architecture! You’ll create your art using simple materials - shaping them into architectural wonders. Learn how parts of architectural fabric are carried over in many different forms of art. We’ll look at the use of space - color - design - sharp lines - soft lines - paintings - pottery - jewelry - sculpture - buildings - structures and light, light, light! Explore different architectural periods and discover your favorite, mimicking it in the form of art. Construct a real building from your imagination - design a skyscraper, home, school, monument, or pet home.

Far Away Fantasy Worlds

Grades 2nd-6th
Immerse yourself in the imaginary worlds from fiction, including Middle Earth, Camp Half-Blood, Narnia, Hogwarts, Weslandia and your favorite land beyond imagination. Then construct your own fantasy world. Design a map of your lands. Will it include a dense forest like in Narnia? Poppy fields? Caves? Castles? Using recycled materials, build structures for your setting. Develop characters with extraordinary powers and flora and fauna that inhabit the area. Document a history of your own world. With scraps of material create clothing. What kind of accessories and tools will your characters need? Is there a special language? While answering these questions, we’ll discuss the elements of a civilization.  Adventure awaits as you travel out of this world and into your own.

Riddle Me This - Brain Teasers and Puzzles

Grades 2nd-6th
Add to your brain cells and multiply your fun with teasers, riddles and puzzles. The Cambridge Dictionary defines a brain teaser as “a problem for which it is hard to find the answer, especially one which people enjoy trying to solve as a game.” Teasers come in a variety of forms including language, math, and visual puzzles. Get your thinking cap ready to tackle logic problems and rebuses. We’ll discover Wuzzles, KenKen, and Cryptograms galore. Do you like optical illusions, spot-the-difference pictures, or number puzzles? Escape rooms combine riddles and solutions to guide you through situations. Using your newly acquired skills, you’ll design your own clues and puzzles to create an escape room adventure. Ready, set, solve!

Call to Action

Grades 2nd-6th
Do you have a cause you feel passionate about? Maybe you want to increase awareness of our environmental issues, promote animal welfare, or encourage racial/religious tolerance? We’re going to explore the intersection of democracy and art. We’ll examine how political art can be a platform to express, protest, and make fun of beliefs and issues, after learning about well-known artists who work in this genre, like Diego Rivera, Ai Weiwei and Keith Haring. Use paint and collage to create a poster promoting change. We’ll also investigate political cartoons and create a caricature of several modern political figures.

Technology Marvels that Changed our Lives

Grades 3rd-6th
Nothing has changed the world more than new technologies that become widely used. Fire, the horse collar, agriculture, the wheel, and plumbing were all once revolutionary new technologies that transformed the way people live. Look around you - every bridge, building, car, boat, aircraft, and spacecraft you see today was once just a dream in somebody’s head. What dreams are in your mind? Join us as you design your own future! Why do some ideas become reality while others do not? Try your hand at forecasting, planning your own city, or plotting a technology revolution. Discover some new technologies that didn’t work out as planned, and some that turned out better than expected. We’ll investigate the latest research and engineer an incredible new future.

We hope that you’ll find our schedule full of so many interesting courses that it’s hard to choose!