Current Offerings
Camp Starshine 2024
I have the most fond memories of attending camps when I was young and am excited about creating my own camp for little ones. The camps will be taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9:00a-1:00p with extended day options available (until 3p). Camp takes place mid May-August. You may send your child one, two or three days per week and you can sign up for just one week or all of them! Inquire via text or give me a call (551-804-6481) to set up a time to fill out the registration form and pay your deposit to reserve your spot. Fully Booked!
Nature exploration, gross motor, music, art, and sensory activities will be the focus. Each day will have a daily rhythm. The children will explore the many playgrounds, nature areas, splash pad and pools, while also having guided craft, musical and sensory based experiences and time to play indoors. Tuesdays will have a homemaking and art focus, Wednesdays will have an imagination, music and sensory focus and Thursdays will have an outdoor adventure focus. Starfruit Starshine has two community garden plots the children will help establish and maintain. One will be a pollinator and tea garden and the other will be a fruit & veggie garden. We belong to a Chicken Co-Op and the children will have a chance to care for the chickens. Master classes of tennis, yoga, and swimming will be available as well as cooking, sewing, and science experiments will be happening as well!
Extended Day Options (until 3p) Available
Pricing: Inquire for hourly rate as it fluctuates with how many hours you are booking, with a 4 hour minimum plus extra fees paid directly to instructors for special classes and a $7 daily materials fee
Drop In Care
Drop-in care is available, for any age child, any days of the week between the hours of 9a and 7p by appointment only. The rate of care is $22 per hour with a 3 hour minimum. I also offer overnights for a flat rate 8p-8a. Please reach out to have an interview and fill out one of our contracts in order to become a part of our drop in program. This is perfect if you are self employed with wonky hours, your child’s regular nanny / school / daycare is unavailable for the day, you would like a date with your partner in your own home sans kids or just would like a few hours so you can accomplish a home project or take an uninterrupted nap.
Please reach out with any questions:
551-804-6481
www.instagram.com/starfruitstarshine
starfruitstarshine@gmail.com
Fernwood Montessori
For the Fall of 2024 and the spring of 2025 Fernwood Montessori will be delving into the student directed learning method Montessori created. Art will be created, science experiments will be explored, instruments will be played. Yoga, breath work and other somatic practices like Tai Chi will be provided. Practical life work such as tea making, flower arranging, and cleaning up snack, will be practiced. Language and math concepts will be introduced using hands on materials. Cultures will be celebrated and science will be explored. We are so excited to watch as our students interests emerge to inform us what we should learn next alongside the structure of the Montessori method our children become more independent, self directed learners.
Nuts & Bolts:
Fall Semester begins August 20th and ends December 2oth 2024
Spring Semester begins early January 7th 2024 and ends in late May 2024
The program is held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 9a-3p
Option to register for one, two or all three days.
Pricing: Inquire for hourly rate with a 6 hour minimum with a $7 materials fee per day.
Highlights of the Program:
Small Ratio: we keep a very small ratio, in order to observe each child and what their interests are and to provide a more individualized experience for each student.
Master Classes:
We are very excited to announce the addition of master classes, where we will have guests coming on certain mornings to lead the children in an in-depth study of their area of expertise. Classes are open to the community at large, which gives the children a change to be in a larger group. In the past we have had a Spanish, yoga, gymnastics and swimming classes.
Collective Days:
On the 2nd and 4th Thursdays we do a craft / small activity with a local small group of the same children, that is closed to the public. This gives the students a chance to experience consistency within. a medium sized group and to have various adults teach a lesson.
Learning Philosophy:
Children learn by being allowed to explore the world around them. They learn by discovering and practicing a skill until they achieve mastery. If you have ever watched a child they might repeat the same sequence over and over. It’s their brain’s way of integrating the new skill. Children are movement based and thrive when all the senses are engaged. Providing ample opportunity for exploration and practice will be the focus for the program along with time for work cycles with the Montessori materials as well as adult guided activities. We will be spending time at the various playgrounds, splash pads, lakes and our community garden plot and chicken co-op.
Our Weekly Rhythm:
Tuesdays is our homesteader day, where we visit and tend to our garden plot, chickens and we cook / bake in the kitchen and we do lots of practical life and cultural explorations. This past Winter session we built a winter apothecary- we have made our own applesauce, fire cider, bone broth, tallow chapstick and moisturizer, garlic honey and a homemade cough syrup.
Wednesdays we focus on early literacy & math concepts as well as gross and fine motor skills. We use hands on Montessori materials such as the moveable alphabet and the beads cabinet for learning letter sounds and early math.
Thursdays we do field trips twice per month to 3 different parks on a rotational basis & meet with our collective on those Thursdays. We explore the creek / pool depending on the season and an adult leads everyone in an activity. The days we don’t have the collective we have yoga and we do science experiments and art projects - I have a butterfly pea flower acids and bases liquid experiment planned that I’m excited about. We also do special field trips here and there.
Registration Process:
Interview Process Fee: $22 This covers the time it takes to interview potential students and the fee is due via Venmo in order to set up a Meet & Greet
Step 1: Text, or Call 551-804-6481 or email starfruitstarshine@gmail.com to set up a 15 minute phone interview where I can go over my background with you, and learn more about your child.
Step 2: 45 minute Meet and Greet at Mueller Lake. The in person meetup step is important to me, in order to get a feel if our program will be a good fit for your child and your family. So much is communicated in real life through our energies, vs online or even over the phone.
Step 3: 2.5 hour drop off trial is scheduled, the fee for this is $60 and payment is due once its scheduled.
Step 3: Registration form is offered! Once the deposit is paid and form is returned you student will be all signed up!
Please reach out with any questions:
551-804-6481
www.instagram.com/starfruitstarshine
starfruitstarshine@gmail.com
Each Day we will spend time outdoors exploring nature. There are many opportunities for learning outside.
Project Based Learning, Montessori Work Cycles & Quiet Time Explorations
Cooking, small world play, reading, gross motor games, science, music and art projects will be incorporated daily to build fine motor skills and engage the mind and imagination. Montessori shelf work, sensory experiences and practical life skills will be had. We do some work cycles / projects inside and some outside to accommodate the learner who maybe learns better outdoors.
Master Classes
Over the years we have had masters of their craft come in to do instruction for the students. We have enjoyed Yoga, Gymnastics, Spanish, Swimming. Open to infinite possibilities as the students reveal what they would like to learn more about.
Mueller Lake
Mueller Lake
We are walking distance to Mueller Lake Park and and can go there for the kids to engage in gross motor play as well as animal observations and the nature trails. There are turtles, ducks, and other birds to observe.
Chickens!
We belong to a chicken co-op and we will spend time changing the water, feed and providing treats for the chickens. We will collect the eggs and use them in our baking and cooking! This all fosters a sense of where our food comes from, teaches independence and helps children to grow in their responsibility to care for other living things.
South West Greenway
We live within walking distance of the South West Greenway, which is a man made lake with two water falls, nature paths, wild flower fields, a picnic table, butterfly garden and lots of herons and other birds to observe.
Community Garden Time
We have two plots at the Patterson Garden Community Garden that the children will tend to. We will plant seeds and plants, water them, weed the garden and visit other plots. So many practical life opportunities here! In the past we have grown pollinators and talked about the importance of them, we have had herb gardens where we make tinctures and healing salves & teas from the herbs, and we have grown food to incorporate into our time in the kitchen cooking. This summer we hope to make some healing salve from our comfry plants. some simple syrups from our rosemary and lavender plants, some pickles from our cucumber plants and have a healthy salad with safe flowers for our bearded dragon to eat.
Community Garden Time
We have two plots at the Patterson Garden Community Garden that the children will tend to. We will plant seeds and plants, water them, weed the garden and visit other plots. So many practical life opportunities here! In the past we have grown pollinators and talked about the importance of them, we have had herb gardens where we make tinctures and healing salves & teas from the herbs, and we have grown food to incorporate into our time in the kitchen cooking. This summer we hope to make some healing salve from our comfry plants. some simple syrups from our rosemary and lavender plants, some pickles from our cucumber plants and have a healthy salad with safe flowers for our bearded dragon to eat.
Playground Time
We live within walking distance of several playgrounds, that all have different types of equipment and obstacles for the kids to explore. Each week we will visit these playgrounds to allow the children to engage in sensory experiences such as a sandbox, swinging and climbing.
Pool Time & Splashpad Time
In the warmer months we can all enjoy a dip in the neighborhood pools and splash pad and engage in other water based activities. I have taught swim lessons in the past and my mom was a swim instructor growing up and I can help the littles become more comfortable in the water. In the future we will be offering a master class for swimming, with Ian Mckenzie. There is a very shallow section of the pool for tiny babies to splash in as well.
Care of Environment: Pets!
We have several whites tree frogs: Kate, Lemonade, Mango, Flamingo and Skippy and a bearded dragon, named Canyon. Each morning we chop of vegetables for Canyon’s salad and feed him some bugs. The children can take turns doing these tasks to help take care of the animals and they can also observe their tendencies and participate in tank cleanings and other care of environment tasks. Caring for an animal long term has many positive aspects to it for a developing human.
Collective Days
We go offsite at least 2 times per month on Thursdays to 3 different parks on rotation where we meet up with several other families. The collective is a closed group where we ask for strong attendance in order to create consistency for our students. We will engage there as a small group and an adult will lead a lesson sometimes, other times the children will be free to explore.
Field Trips
We go offsite at least 2 times per month on Thursdays to various parks, museums and other cultural places. We will engage there as a small group and an adult will lead a lesson sometimes, other times the children will be free to explore.
