About The Wonder Studio
Parent/Caregiver & Child Classes
Our professional teachers provide curated, educational, arts/science opportunities designed to elevate your child’s first learning experiences with you (or a loving caregiver) by their side.
The studio approach facilitates authentic, social interactions for children in a multi-age peer group (ages 18mos - 6years) through active, messy, multi-sensory, hands-on, play-based experiential learning experiences.
At The Wonder Studio, we see children as strong, competent, co-learners and scientific researchers who thrive in a community of curious, respectful adults who are also researching and exploring while making meaning together.
Our play studio experiences include:
Clay, Paint, Collage, Printmaking
Live insects, Seed germination and planting
Carpentry, Real tools, machines
Sensory exploration with water and sand
Wind Tunnel, Construction, Engineering
Dirty, messy fun
On July 27, 2017 - Owner of Wonder Studio, Shannon Lipan gave a talk for Creative Mornings - Tampa Bay (previously St Pete) on the theme/topic of Outside the Lines a series on Equality. In this talk, Shannon shares her point of view on seeing young children as equals - as citizens of today - not just citizens of the future. She shares her perspective on how teaching at Wonder Studio invited her to “change” from Early Childhood Teacher to an artist. She addresses Q/A’s from the audience on how to help children and adults embrace creativity and to think “Outside the Box”.
Meet Shannon Lipan - Interview with Voyage Tampa
The Wonder Studio classes use research and evidence based teaching practices.
We know children learn best in environments where they are seen with deep respect and have adults supporting and facilitating their innate ability to learn and lead through play.
At Wonder Studio, your child will:
1. Choose between a variety of possibilities for exploration.
2. Experience and practice creativity.
3. Belong to a learning group of their peers.
4. Learn about their own individuality, likes and dislikes.
5. Develop fine motor, gross motor, social/emotional, Logical/mathematical, language, cognitive, and self-help domains.
6. Engage with and/or observe their own emotions and others safely - through co-regulation with caregiver.
7. Participate in a sensory safe and also stimulating environment.
At Wonder Studio, parents/ caregivers will have opportunity to:
1. Offer their child time without distractions
2. Model curiosity and joy in the learning process
3. Observe their own child as well as other children
4. Learn about the stages of growth in a young child’s development
5. Consult with a professional teacher regarding early childhood issues
6. Learn With and From their child
7. Be inspired
Parent - Child Classes
Ages 18 mos. and Up
The Wonder Studio Parent (or a loving caregiver) and Child classes are Arts and Science based Early Childhood classes.
We offer 12 Week Sessions in both the Fall (September - December) and the Winter/Spring (January - April).
Summer classes are shorter sessions offering flexibility for vacations/travel.
You pick your day/time (based on the schedule offered) and come to your class each week with the same group of adults and children. See the FAQ: Why we don’t do drop-in classes during our weekly sessions here.
Each class is one hour.
The routine of the class is completely guided and facilitated by your Wonder Studio teacher and follows this structure:
Entry - greeted by teacher - Children take off shoes - put items in cubby - wash hands.
Play time - the children can freely roam/choose from 5-7 different experiences that the teacher has intentionally prepared for the group. Our Wonder Studio curriculum has adapted and evolved over the past 15 years. It is a living and active curriculum based on the needs and desires of the children we have enrolled. It begins sequentially and grows and changes based on the observations of the teachers and adults . The curriculum is heavily guided by the interests of the children. Learn more about our Unique - one of a kind curriculum here.
Clean Up Time - this is a teaching time where the children and adults are gently and mindfully guided with techniques for transitions and clean ups that can impact your child for their entire lifetime. We look at clean up as one of our most important times at Wonder Studio. See more on clean up time here.
Circle Time - our group gathers to Sing our Wonder Studio songs (which you and your children will never forget ;) and the teacher adds in (when she feels the group is ready) one of the other Arts - Dancing, Storytelling, Puppetry.
Good bye - children are invited to say goodbye in whatever way they are comfortable with. A wave, a handshake, a look, a hug. Like the Entry greeting, we believe that Hello’s and Goodbye’s are key in building the relationship between the teacher and the child and is a key piece to our Belonging curricula. See more here.
