Check out a new addition to the Brooklyn area - an educational program catering to creative kids.
The Bluebird Creative Learning Center opened its doors this November and is accepting students for fall enrollment.
Offering a preschool program catering to children ages 3, 4, and 5, Bluebird's programs are inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach, an educational philosophy that focuses on relationships between students and their peers, parents, and teachers, and strives to make learning a communal activity. Elements of Montessori are also incorporated.
"All learning is done through giving the children a sense of their own power, inventiveness, and creativity," says Linda Tsaboukas, founder and teacher at the center. Hands-on learning takes place through the projects children work on, Tsaboukas says, and teachers cater to children's interests instead of teaching from a prepackaged program. Reading, writing, and math are incorporated into projects along with dance, music, drama, and art. "The emphasis is on encouraging children to pursue what they are interested in," Tsaboukas says. "It's a more natural setting, where people interact freely with each other, and children are never made to feel that they have to perform to someone else's standards."
Classes are 2.5 hours each and are offered Monday-Thursday each week, in morning and afternoon sessions.
Bluebird Creative Learning Center is located at 363 Bay Ridge Parkway, Brooklyn. For more information: 718-259-8188; www.bluebirdcreativelearning.com.
