Stars are Aligning!

The stars aligned this week and we made a lot of progress towards opening. The construction team worked over the weekend and have almost completed framing. We found the most amazing preschool teacher or maybe she found us (we'll introduce later this week). We've hired wonderful instructors for our Art, Dance and Zumbatomic programs. Overall we're feeling very grateful to have such a dedicated group of men and women helping us bring the vision to life.

Hands-On = Getting into Everything!

Alison Gopnik*, a leader in understanding how children think and learn, summarized her latest study as follows: "when children play spontaneously (‘getting into everything') they are also exploring cause and effect and doing experiments - the most effective way to discover how the world works."

This is being proven in the Discovery Village test laboratory as well (read my dining room). As we create the hands-on Neighborhood Pizzeria exhibit one thing is for sure – it will get messy, it will get used, and it will be an exploration in how things work! The entire exhibit space is designed to be touched, used, and lived-in. Best of all, our children are having so much fun they don’t even realize they’re learning :)

If you know of a preschool or kindergarten class that might be interested in a great hands-on field trip let us know or pass along our email – info@discovery-village.com. We’ll be well prepared for field-trips starting in January 2011.

*(Alison Gopnik’s website - www.alisongopnik.com)

"Love It!"

The marathon search for "I LOVE IT!" gifts and toys for kids was a huge success! We've found a unique mix of toys you won't find at the big box stores ... here's one of my favorites!

Toddlers' Tango and Babies Boogie

We're so excited to announce Discovery Village will be licensed and trained to teach both Babies Boogie and Toddlers' Tango classes! These fantastic music and movement classes are geared for children ages 1-5. Toddlers' Tango/Babies Boogie classes have won Nickelodeon's Parents' Picks Award for Best Artsy Class, Creative Child Magazine Award, iParenting Choice Award and Dr. Toy Best Children's Production.

On another musical note - Discovery Village has booked local musician, Johnny Keener, for our kick-off concert! Dates will be announced closer to our opening but you can check out Johnny's music on his website - www.johnnykeener.com

Discovery Village - Good Idea to Reality

Discovery Village was a plan created five years and three babies ago by my business partner Mollie. Mollie and I met several years ago while waiting to pick up our daughters at preschool, little did we know then that we would become fast friends and business partners. Joined by our friend Heather, we decided make Discovery Village a reality.

In the coming months I'll share our journey in building Discovery Village and the wonderful enrichment opportunities that are about to become available in Gig Harbor.