Afterschool Goes Outdoors!

Outdoor Adventure Program–Fall Cycle 2022

Since launching out outdoor adventure program many years ago, safety has been our number one priority. This focus on health and safety updated to include COVID precautions in the fall of of 2020. Arts and Athletics has implemented a number of outdoor activities for safe, socially-distanced, in-person learning.

Key Logistical Details for this Cycle

  • Arts and Athletics will continue to monitor directives from state and local officials
  • Children should have their own water bottle and hand sanitizer and children should bring their own snack. Please don’t send any candy or any snacks containing nuts as we are nut free program.
  • All pick-up will take place back at your child’s school building.
  • Outdoor activities take place rain or shine. Please monitor the weather and send your child to school with appropriate attire.

Outdoor Adventures involve exploring different parts of Central Park, learning about nature, taking part in various cooperative games, and expressing our creative side with art and music offerings.

For all of our offerings, our instructors remain dedicated to your child and their continued academic growth and social-emotional well-being. By going outdoors, students will discover new places outside of their school and learn new and exciting things during different seasons. 

Gallery–Adventure Photos

We are excited to offer a nature-based after school, all of which take place just steps away in Central Park. The adventure program is designed for children entering pre-k through fifth grade. Students can spend an afternoon building a makeshift shelter, drawing a scenic view, or discovering the park’s many plant and animal species. While having fun in the fresh air, students will develop a better understanding of nature, as well as a more profound sense of place and belonging while keeping their social distancing rules.

 Students will explore a world of colorful adventures and enrichment activities through a weekly theme while given the opportunity to learn about and through nature. Each topic contains various activities such as Hiking, Bird Watching, Wilderness Adventure, Observational Drawing, Plant Life in Central Park, Landscape Drawing, Gardening, and Sports. Our program addresses all aspects of language: listening, speaking, vocabulary building, and a lifelong interest in nature and experiencing the outdoors. 

Curriculum

Our outdoor curriculum is based on the Nature Core Routines, Coyote Mentoring guidelines, North American Associations for Environmental Education. 

Core Routines of Nature Connections

We used the core connections to connecting kids in nature. The “Core Routines” are part of a nature connection movement and cultural model called the “Coyote Mentoring.” 

Arts and Athletics’ outdoor team models the core routines and guides the students every day to make the core routines a habit. Central Park is a natural beauty and is a wonderful place for observing plant and animal life at close range.

Risk Management and Weather

Understanding the BENEFITS & HAZARDS of Outdoor Play and Learning
We have crafted this critical resource to help you understand the many ways we protect children, staff, and the land we tread upon. We want everyone to thrive outdoors, which requires a commitment to thoughtful planning and safety routines. As you read through this resource, we hope it illuminates the thorough preparation of staff and the immense ways in which nature is your child’s third teacher. We are aware of the risks that children and staff are exposed to nature and the public environment. 

Click Here to learn more about the benefits and hazards.

Click Here fro FAQ about the outdoor program

Outdoor Afterschool Adventure Program

Arts and Athletics follows the orientation of the natural cycle of learning for the outdoor program; we will look at the sun as being our guide for our afterschool schedule. Each day children will have different specialty activities martial arts, yoga, exercises, and dance!

Schedule:

1Dismissal-3:00p.m.Pick up form the classroom or designated school area
23:00 p.m.-3:20 p. mWalk to Central Park 
33:20 p.m.-3:40 p.m.Snack time/Storytelling
43:40 p.m.-3:50 p.m.Sit Spot quiet time to relax
53:50 p.m.-4:10 p.m. Enrichment activity or Games and Sports
64:10 p.m.-4:15 p.m.Rest time (Sit Spot quiet time) 
74: 15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.Games and Sports or Enrichment activity 
84:45 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.Return to school
95:00 p.m.Pick up time from your child’s school
Aftercare available 5-6pm please email us for more information.

Outdoor Special Programs

Full Immersion French and Spanish Afterschool

Spanish Outdoor Full Immersion
Aventuras En El Parque (Adventures In The Park)
Days and times to be announced
“Aventuras en el Parque” is a full immersion Spanish adventure where we maintain the original essence of the outdoor adventure program philosophy where the role of a teacher is to accompany, observe and document the children’s activities from behind the scenes asking open-ended questions about the important discoveries of the day, thus allowing children to share a deep connection with nature and their peers by owning their space and experiences in Spanish.

To learn more about our program and instructors click here

French Outdoor Full Immersion
L’aventure en Plein Air (Adventures In The Park)
Days and times to be announced

Join us in the park for this full-immersion French adventure where we maintain the original essence of the outdoor adventure program philosophy where the role of a teacher is to accompany, observe and document the children’s activities from behind the scenes asking open-ended questions about the important discoveries of the day, thus allowing children to share a deep connection with nature and their peers by owning their space and experiences in French.

To learn more about our program and instructors click here

Click Here fro Language Immersion FAQ

Outdoor Soccer Fun!

Soccer is a very active, fun class for all skill levels! Children will get lots of exercise running around while learning to kick, pass, dribble, and play the position. This class both for kids who already love the sport and kids who are just getting started.

Click here to learn more

Middle School Grades 6-8

Middle School Outdoor Fitness Fun
The ‘Outdoor Fun’ class is designed to cultivate our middle schoolers’ athletic ability—both physical dimensions and mental ones. In doing so, we’ll include activities like parkour, agility obstacle courses, track and field exercises, and flag football just to name a few. We’ll also measure speed and strength at the start of the class in hopes that we improve by the last class meeting.
 
The instructors will also encourage their athletes to increase their mental focus, their understanding of the principles of training, and their commitment to consistent effort. By improving the physical and mental components together, we set the students on a path to lifelong fitness and better health.

Click Here to Learn More