Winter 2026 Class Schedule
Virtual and in-person group and private classes.
Registration for Winter 2026 is now open. Spots are very limited.
Winter classes begin the week of January 5.
Spanish, Music & Motor Skills
Caregiver & Me
Note: For the in-person class, a vaccinated adult must be present with your child.
Please provide proof of vaccination at time of enrollment.
Tuesdays, 9:30-10:15 a.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Tuesdays, 1:15 p.m.-2:00 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 2-6)
Winter classes begin on January 6, 2026
Rolling admissions, enrollment is per calendar month.
Contextualizing new vocabulary with a wide range of highly engaging, age-appropriate songs, finger plays, and movement, we work thematically through word groups (i.e. the body, African animals, farm animals, pets, weather), simultaneously emphasizing colors, counting, etc., with the intention of building a broad Spanish vocabulary base.
This class uses humor, puppets, visual aids, movement and a theatrical approach to language transmission. Music is a constant presence in the class and as we intentionally repeat lyrics and melodies, children as young as 18 months begin to sing along.
Caregiver & Me
Note: For the in-person class, a vaccinated adult must be present with your child.
Please provide proof of vaccination at time of enrollment.
Tuesdays, 9:30-10:15 a.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Tuesdays, 1:15 p.m.-2:00 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 2-6)
Winter classes begin on January 6, 2026
Rolling admissions, enrollment is per calendar month.
Contextualizing new vocabulary with a wide range of highly engaging, age-appropriate songs, finger plays, and movement, we work thematically through word groups (i.e. the body, African animals, farm animals, pets, weather), simultaneously emphasizing colors, counting, etc., with the intention of building a broad Spanish vocabulary base.
This class uses humor, puppets, visual aids, movement and a theatrical approach to language transmission. Music is a constant presence in the class and as we intentionally repeat lyrics and melodies, children as young as 18 months begin to sing along.
Civilizado<> Civilized
Human Society, Game Building & Spanish Conversation
Please note: This class is an intermediate-to-advanced competency Spanish class and is only appropriate for students who can thrive in an immersion environment or have attained a high level of receptive proficiency (comprehension.)
Tuesdays, 5:20-6:00 p.m., on Zoom, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 10-14)
Winter classes begin on January 6, 2026
A full academic year commitment is expected.
Civilized is an exercise in anthropological thinking and game design. In Phase One of the class, the group will create an original human civilization that has settled in a (student-designed) environment.
Together we will craft the basic elements found in virtually every civilization: the architecture and housing infrastructure, economic systems (barter, currency, types of work, etc.), origin story, cultural and religious beliefs, artistic practices, communication, documentation and knowledge transfer systems, technology and tools, defense and security, resource management, legal codes, forms of governance and social organization.
During Phase Two students become citizens of their civilization, now gamified and under duress. To defend their "pueblo" (people), participants will need to honor (or adapt) their cultural institutions, values and doctrines, preserving their heritage, history and integrity while responding to threats of all kinds.
This is the 10th year-long learning game I will help create; games are the most potent context for learning. Gamified curricula foster natural language and vocabulary repetition, along with high levels of motivation and focus while simultaneously building discernment, resilience, grit, collaboration, communication, decision-making, resource management, problem-solving and strategy-formulation skills.
Human Society, Game Building & Spanish Conversation
Please note: This class is an intermediate-to-advanced competency Spanish class and is only appropriate for students who can thrive in an immersion environment or have attained a high level of receptive proficiency (comprehension.)
Tuesdays, 5:20-6:00 p.m., on Zoom, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 10-14)
Winter classes begin on January 6, 2026
A full academic year commitment is expected.
Civilized is an exercise in anthropological thinking and game design. In Phase One of the class, the group will create an original human civilization that has settled in a (student-designed) environment.
Together we will craft the basic elements found in virtually every civilization: the architecture and housing infrastructure, economic systems (barter, currency, types of work, etc.), origin story, cultural and religious beliefs, artistic practices, communication, documentation and knowledge transfer systems, technology and tools, defense and security, resource management, legal codes, forms of governance and social organization.
During Phase Two students become citizens of their civilization, now gamified and under duress. To defend their "pueblo" (people), participants will need to honor (or adapt) their cultural institutions, values and doctrines, preserving their heritage, history and integrity while responding to threats of all kinds.
This is the 10th year-long learning game I will help create; games are the most potent context for learning. Gamified curricula foster natural language and vocabulary repetition, along with high levels of motivation and focus while simultaneously building discernment, resilience, grit, collaboration, communication, decision-making, resource management, problem-solving and strategy-formulation skills.
Sumergido <> Submerged
Spanish, Strategy and Enterprise
Thursdays, 5:00-5:45 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 8-13)
Winter classes begin on January 8, 2026
A full academic year commitment is expected.
With strategy, collaboration, and hard work a team of scuba divers (Buceadores) will attempt to establish an underwater vacation resort on a planet in a distant galaxy. Working alone, in pairs, or in teams, the entrepreneurial Buceadores will earn conchas (shells) to make tactical purchases, hold auctions, trade goods, and collect inventory to build a cohesive business plan and pitch a proposal to the Empresario in charge of the project.
The unpredictability of the Empresario will not be the only unknown variable: we aren't quite sure what lurks in the waters of the Sumergido project. There will be surprises.
Conducted entirely in Spanish, this Spanish simulation game builds practical, everyday vocabulary, speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills.
Spanish, Strategy and Enterprise
Thursdays, 5:00-5:45 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 8-13)
Winter classes begin on January 8, 2026
A full academic year commitment is expected.
With strategy, collaboration, and hard work a team of scuba divers (Buceadores) will attempt to establish an underwater vacation resort on a planet in a distant galaxy. Working alone, in pairs, or in teams, the entrepreneurial Buceadores will earn conchas (shells) to make tactical purchases, hold auctions, trade goods, and collect inventory to build a cohesive business plan and pitch a proposal to the Empresario in charge of the project.
The unpredictability of the Empresario will not be the only unknown variable: we aren't quite sure what lurks in the waters of the Sumergido project. There will be surprises.
Conducted entirely in Spanish, this Spanish simulation game builds practical, everyday vocabulary, speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills.
Animal Adventures
Spanish, Games and Art
Thursdays, 4:05-4:50 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 5-8)
Winter classes begin on January 8, 2026
Enrollment is per calendar month.
With a new animal featured each week, humor, music, movement, art, and interactive play provide a powerful context for effective and engaging language acquisition. While the class also has a Spanish reading component, children who are not yet literate will not be at a disadvantage; this class has a highly auditory, visual and kinesthetic approach to language acquisition.
Memory Melody
Each week the children will learn a new memory melody. This is a chunk of rhyming language relevant to the animal of the week (e.g. La jirafa perdio sus gafas...the giraffe lost his sunglasses.) Each secret message has an accompanying memory melody (a catchy, sticky tune). The memory melodies speed up the acquisition of nouns, adjectives and verbs which will, in turn, allow us to practice sentence building.
ART AND GAMES IN SPANISH!
During each class we engage in both a topic-relevant art/craft project and a game, both of which are designed to foster language acquisition. Each game requires the repetition of the secret message as part of the play. The relaxed and focused time provides us with an ideal opening for natural vocabulary acquisition.
Spanish, Games and Art
Thursdays, 4:05-4:50 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 5-8)
Winter classes begin on January 8, 2026
Enrollment is per calendar month.
With a new animal featured each week, humor, music, movement, art, and interactive play provide a powerful context for effective and engaging language acquisition. While the class also has a Spanish reading component, children who are not yet literate will not be at a disadvantage; this class has a highly auditory, visual and kinesthetic approach to language acquisition.
Memory Melody
Each week the children will learn a new memory melody. This is a chunk of rhyming language relevant to the animal of the week (e.g. La jirafa perdio sus gafas...the giraffe lost his sunglasses.) Each secret message has an accompanying memory melody (a catchy, sticky tune). The memory melodies speed up the acquisition of nouns, adjectives and verbs which will, in turn, allow us to practice sentence building.
ART AND GAMES IN SPANISH!
During each class we engage in both a topic-relevant art/craft project and a game, both of which are designed to foster language acquisition. Each game requires the repetition of the secret message as part of the play. The relaxed and focused time provides us with an ideal opening for natural vocabulary acquisition.
Reading Readiness (ENGLISH)
Thursdays 2 p.m.-2:45 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Thursdays, 6 p.m. - 6:45 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Winter classes begin on January 8, 2026
Rolling admissions. Enrollment is per calendar month.
With funny puppets, engaging imagery for visual learners, rhyming, and word games, we will play with word groups and learn about their functions. This class also helps build hand strength, fine motor skills - each week we work on the hand-eye coordination needed for writing and effective pencil grasp.
The primary goal of the class is to inspire a love of reading and excitement about letters and literacy.
This class is appropriate for all children who have shown an interest in letters and their sounds. It is also designed for children in non-English language immersion programs, and children for whom English is not a first language.
Thursdays 2 p.m.-2:45 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Thursdays, 6 p.m. - 6:45 p.m., in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Winter classes begin on January 8, 2026
Rolling admissions. Enrollment is per calendar month.
With funny puppets, engaging imagery for visual learners, rhyming, and word games, we will play with word groups and learn about their functions. This class also helps build hand strength, fine motor skills - each week we work on the hand-eye coordination needed for writing and effective pencil grasp.
The primary goal of the class is to inspire a love of reading and excitement about letters and literacy.
This class is appropriate for all children who have shown an interest in letters and their sounds. It is also designed for children in non-English language immersion programs, and children for whom English is not a first language.
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