Avenues New York Explorers

Grades 1-2

Avenues First and Second Graders are growing quickly in their social, cognitive, and independent skills. They’re curious, but instead of looking to adults for all of the answers, they are starting to find answers through their own discoveries. They are gaining physical stamina and coordination, and are often on the lookout for new challenges. Designed with this in mind, Avenues has curated unique classes just for them.

Specialty classes begin directly after school and go until 4:30 pm (after care is available until 5:15 pm)
Stay & Play, our after care program, begins directly after school and goes until 5:15 pm.
All classes include healthy snacks.

Registration is for the Fall season, and you can learn more about the fees by simply clicking on the registration button below. The cost of each class is based on the number of days it will run. Space is limited, and waitlists will be established when the program is full.

Important Dates:

FALL 2024

Stay & Play: First day of school - December 20
Specialty Classes: September 9 - December 20

Register Now

Ready to register? Click on the green button below.

Program	Action
Grades 1-2 Class Registration	Register here
LD Stay and Play Registration	Register here

Want to learn more? Click on the class titles below for a drop-down description.

Monday

Adventures in Animation

Students will utilize a variety of materials to build props, characters, and fantastical mini-movie sets to feature in original stop-motion animation films. Experiment with combining live action with animation, as well as effects like drawing on each frame, and utilizing green screens and stock footage. Students will also learn to create their own sounds and special effects to add to their shorts as they work in post-production finishing their animated shorts. By exploring various stop-motion and digital animation techniques, students will be able to create a multitude of 2D and 3D projects.

Chess Tactics

Tactics are an integral part of chess and occur throughout all phases of the game. This dynamic class focuses on common tactics such as Pins, Forks, Skewers, Double Attacks, Deflections, Discovered Checks, and Mating attacks. Each week we prepare a variety of puzzles and chess brainteasers, so students at all playing levels will be challenged and engaged. This class encourages imaginative chess play, and is ideal for a student who has mastered piece movement and the basic rules, may have tournament experience, and who enjoys working on puzzles and exercising creativity.

Build-A-Biz

Financial literacy is fundamentally one of the most important topics anyone can learn. What better way to be introduced to the basics than with your very own hot cocoa stand and small businesses! In the Fall, our young entrepreneurs will learn key marketing, sales, and budgeting skills to create a hot cocoa stand where all proceeds go to a charity of students’ choice. From designing marketing flyers and estimating profits to experimenting with recipes, students have fun while developing entrepreneurial skills.

Tuesday

Robotics and Engineering

Our engineering & robotics students will be constantly building, designing, and problem-solving using any materials they can get their hands on. Building challenges will bring structural engineering & physics concepts like friction or weight distribution into focus, while robotics projects will call for the mastery of mechanical engineering concepts like circuitry or conductivity. Examples of topics that we will cover include: Advanced Electrical Engineering, Structural Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

Circle Sing (Grades 1-5)

Is it a Glee Club? A Choir? An A Capella group? We aren’t sure what to call it, but we know we will be singing together in a circle, so let’s start there. Welcome to our singing group for LD students who want to learn how to sing. In Circle Sing (led by the Practice Room), we will meet weekly to practice vocal warmups, work on understanding our breath, learn how to harmonize, and, most importantly, sing as a group, with feeling. The group will name themselves, design a logo that represents them, and participate in team building activities, as well. Repertoire will be mostly selected from the pop and rock canon, with some musical theater thrown in, and the goal of four completed songs at the end of the semester. There will be an end of semester share, which families and friends will be welcome to attend. This project is open to anyone who loves to sing.

Wednesday

Coding and Computing

Every activity in this course is designed to help students build fundamental coding skills. They give each young inventor an opportunity to strengthen their logical thinking, develop their troubleshooting skills, and become resilient to the challenges that always come with using any new technology or tool. Almost all of our activities task students with programming physical devices (circuit boards, robotics kits, motors, sensors, etc.) that serve not only as an important visual learning tool but also as an additional avenue for creativity and engagement. Examples of topics that we will cover include: Loops! What are they and how do they work? Advanced conditional coding, and fundamentals of functions.

Pickleball

Sessions will focus on the skills and rules that are necessary to play and enjoy America's fastest growing sport. Serving, "dinking", forehand and backhand strokes will be worked on consistently throughout the course with the goal of the students learning how to play and score a competitive match. Classes utilize interactive games and drills that make learning the game fun while also ensuring students learn the importance of sportsmanship, team work, and individual effort.

Thursday

Parkour

Parkour is a fun and exciting physical activity for school-aged children to explore! Coaches place an emphasis on safe movement progressions when teaching skills and help students develop body awareness, strength, coordination, and mobility. Climbing, vaulting, and jumping are explored safely in nearby playgrounds and parks. Parkour skills are integrated into collaborative games that foster a sense of community and build social and problem-solving skills.

Architecture, Engineering, and Math

What do Pythagoras, Vitruvius, Michelangelo, Leonardo have in common? They were all remarkable engineers, mathematicians, and inventors. In this course, students will learn to recognize complex mathematical patterns and creatively solve challenging real-world problems. Some topics we will cover include: Design - Could the axle of the wheel be moved without compromising the wheel’s efficiency? Could you design your own building materials? Tension and compression - How can these forces help us design buildings?

Friday

Painting & Drawing (Grades 1-4)

Explore a range of classic painting methods in this fun twist on traditional art techniques. Each week, we'll delve into a variety of mediums, such as charcoal, watercolors, colored pencils, acrylics, gouache, and more. Ideal for children eager to expand their knowledge of drawing and painting. This unique class will focus on traditional, and non-traditional, techniques, getting inspiration from old masters and contemporary artists such as Jim Dine, Hilma af Klint, Keith Haring and many more. Think Kehinde Wiley-inspired self portraits, Takashi Murakami pattern making and Georgia O’Keefe shell drawings.

Program	Action
Grades 1-2 Class Registration	Register here
LD Stay and Play Registration	Register here