Thursdays are engaging at Long Island Achievement Center which recently opened in May. While they offer tutoring for school age children, they also offer an academic readiness course which allows young children ages 3-5 to learn through art, math and science projects. The Math and Science class runs on Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:30. Many parents drop off for both sessions so those children have a snack in between classes. There is an Art enrichment that runs from 11-12 on Thursdays. You can also choose to do one class and transition into both as your child gets used to it.
We were invited to the Art Enrichment course that starts at 11. Situated at 124 Main Street Suite 1A, I was thankful for the parking lot that allowed direct access to the facility. (You will turn on Irving Place next to town hall to access the parking lot.) As you enter the bright and warm facility your children join Erica Long, the director in the classroom. There is a window and waiting room to observe happenings or you may choose to run errands.
They started by playing with shape blocks. During this time, the children created blocks sculptures and spoke about what they were making with the assistant, Maureen and their neighbors. They also labeled the shapes and colors they were using. They cleaned up and you could see that many were used to the routines and following directions which is key for school readiness. There was no down time as children moved to a painting activity where they painted a fall tree with q-tips. This helps develop the fine motor skills needed to write and cut during their school years. Next, the children worked on puzzles and labeled their puzzle topics or performed the task. For instance, one puzzle was for fine motor skills and had a button, zipper and string to tie. After ten minutes, they transitioned to coloring a Halloween print out. Again, children discussed colors and a couple of the older children were able to cut out their own picture to glue it on special Halloween paper. As a closing, the children were given maracas and did a "goodbye" song. Everyone was very excited to show their parents their craft.
What I loved about this class was the small ratio and how engaged the children were. Everyone was interested and loved the activities. As an educator, I know the challenges of gaining and keeping the attention of any child, especially pre-school! This is a great environment for them to practice sharing, socialization, turn taking and following directions all while having fun and making a craft. Erica Long shared that the facility was gutted and she was able to design it so everything is clean, bright and open. Long Island Achievement Center is a great, no pressure way to prepare your baby for the rigors and demands of the classroom in a warm, loving environment that understands what is developmentally appropriate for your children. For your older children, tutoring rates are very reasonable and everything is aligned to Common Core!
For a FREE trail class call 631-470-9300 or visit www.longislandachievementcenter.com. Please tell them you found the 100 dollar coupon on Huntington Macaroni Kid.
