For children ages 3 – 7
Overview
To further enhance your child’s learning, we offer unique enrichment classes, which offer an explosion of activities to excite the mind and engage the interest of the preschool to elementary-aged child. Whichever class you choose, your children are certain to burst forth with enthusiasm for the creative discoveries they make. These are parent-child programs, where moms and dads (and grandparents and nannies!) volunteer in the class on some days, and attend parent education once a month.
Creative Arts Lab
What Parents say about Creative Arts Lab:
Thank you for a fun and wonderful year! It has been a pleasure to be in your class. We enjoyed the creative projects and being part of the supportive warm community.”
This is an art and creativity enrichment program. Children are between the ages of 2.75 and 6 years old in September. Classes meet in our studio on the Bellevue College campus.
Each week we offer a new curriculum theme with a large variety of hands-on, experiential art and creative activities. We believe art for young children is about thinking creatively, taking risks, making big decisions, changing your mind, experimenting with materials, expressing yourself, dreaming big, having fun and getting messy! We honor children’s creativity and work to develop their agency.
Children explore painting, sculpting, drawing materials, collage, and a variety of printing techniques. (To see sample activities, check out videos of our storybook theme and our apple theme.) We also offer block play, puzzles, math manipulatives, and imaginary play opportunities. In circle time, we read stories and sing songs, then go outside for playground time.
Check out this video:
Family Inventors’ Lab
What Parents say about Family Inventors’ Lab
I love the concepts chosen, the creativity of the activities, and the way time is divided between structured learning and free choice options. I love this class so much I plan to do it every year with every one of my kids.” (father who participated for five years in a row)
This is our Saturday morning STEM class. The hands-on science and engineering curriculum is aimed at kids from age 3 – 6. In-person classes meet on the BC campus and at Robinswood Park.
STE(A)M is STEM with the Arts mixed in. Our activities include: hands-on science exploration, creative experimentation, construction projects with building materials of all sorts, art activities, messy sensory play, circle time with songs and books, and outdoor time. We have three units:
- Fall: What’s an Engineer: simple machines, building towers, bridges, houses, and model cars. (We build cool stuff! Then knock it down! Then build it better!)
- Winter: What’s a Scientist: geology, paleontology, astronomy, physics, chemistry. (We simulate earthquakes, dig for dinos, gaze at stars, test gravity, and make things go boom!)
- Spring: What’s an Inventor: We explore life sciences, as we study the human body, animal adaptations, sea life, insects, and more. Then we talk about how humans have developed inventions and tools based on what they observe in nature.
Check out this video:
Discovery Science Lab
DISCOVERY SCIENCE LAB (Ages 5-7)
This is a science enrichment program on Saturday afternoons. Each week we have a new theme. We study Chemistry, Geology, Engineering, Astronomy, our Northwest Habitat, and more. Class is for ages 5 to 8 and meets on the BC campus, with one session each month at Robinswood Park.
We start with free choice time, where kids have 30 minutes to explore 10 or more activities, including: experiments, art projects, building challenges, observation stations, large motor play, fine motor skill builders, books, and imaginary play. We then have a group time where we introduce the key science ideas of the day, with non-fiction books, science demos and songs that reinforce curricular concepts. They then have 40 minutes to apply that new learning to the free choice activities. Then we have outdoor time, followed by journaling about what they’ve learned. We end with a group time with a fun story to inspire imagination and inspire a passion for learning.
What is the parent involvement in these classes?
Our enrichment classes are all parent-child cooperative classes, where parents and children play, learn, and grow together.
Parent Education Sessions: You will participate in required monthly Parent Education sessions, lasting 60 – 75 minutes. We cover topics like brain development, ways to support your child’s learning at home and at school, building children’s emotional intelligence and social skills, discipline, and managing challenging parenting situations. Parents can share experiences, offer support, build friendships, and get the parent educator’s input on current questions and concerns. Parent Education sessions are held in-person during class.
Working in the Classroom: You will also be asked to work in the classroom approximately once a month. Classroom tasks include: supervising children for safety, providing and serving snacks, classroom clean-up, and playing along with the children. On non-work, non-parent-ed days, parents in Creative Arts Lab and Discovery Science Lab typically drop off, though they are welcome to stay. For Inventors’ Lab, the majority of parents choose to stay and play along with their child as their Saturday family time, but if you need to drop off on some weeks, you can do so.
How to Register for 2025-2026
To register the parent: check the table below to find the course and section number of the class you want to enroll in, then go to our registration page.
To register the child: After you register online, your instructor will contact you with details about required paperwork and how to pay lab fees. (Or you can contact your instructor directly with questions.)
Tuition: Each quarter, parents pay $57.42 in college tuition (plus a $3 fee) – paid through the college system, plus lab fees which are paid directly to the instructor. Lab fees for all classes are $220 per quarter. We do offer discounts when multiple siblings from one family, or multiple parents from one family, attend the same class. Scholarships are available; a confidential application is made through the class instructor.
If the class is waitlisted, contact the instructor to learn more.
Questions: If you have any questions about a class, feel free to email the instructor. Click on the “contact” link in the table below.
Schedule for Fall 2025
Viewing from a mobile device? Scroll right to see full content of the tables below.
| Class Name | Course / Section # | Age | Schedule | Contact | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Arts Lab | PARED 16 Creative Activities Lab AA-LEC (Fall 26452) | 2.75 to 6 (age 3 by 12/31/25) | Tu 12:30-2:30 p.m. | Kristin Nasman | Open |
| Discovery Science Lab | PARED 16 HB-LEC (Fall 26455) | 5 – 8 years (age 5 by 9/1/25) | Sat 1:30-3:30 p.m. | Janelle Durham | Open |
| Family Inventors’ Lab | PARED 16 HC-LEC (Fall 26457) | 3 – 6 years (age 3 by 8/31/25) | Sat 10:00 am -12:00 p.m. | Janelle Durham | Full |
Enrichment classes start in late September and run through May each school year. Students may join mid-year, if there is space available.
Last Updated June 5, 2025