Summer 2026 Group Class Schedule
Virtual and in-person group and private classes.
Registration is open now. Spots are limited.
Summer enrollment is per calendar month in June, July & August.
To enroll or inquire, please email or contact me via the form on the website.
Want private classes, not group?
Please reach out to be placed on a waiting list.
Wishing you a light-hearted summer!
Janel
Spanish, Music & Motor Skills
Caregiver & Me, in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Note: For the in-person class, an must be present with your child.
Tuesdays, 9:30 - 10:15 a.m.
Tuesdays, 1:15 - 2 p.m.
Summer classes begin on June 9, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
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, in person, Palo Alto, CA (Ages 0-6)
Note: For the in-person class, an must be present with your child.
Tuesdays, 9:30 - 10:15 a.m.
Tuesdays, 1:15 - 2 p.m.
Summer classes begin on June 9, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
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.
Crazy Conundrums
Spanish Conversation, Ethics & Situational Problem Solving
Day and Time: TBD (12-18 years)
Summer classes begin the week of June 8, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
Conducted entirely in Spanish, this class is designed to foster lively conversation as we analyze and strategize responses to real and imagined ethical dilemmas or preposterous and impossible situations. We will explore topics with known, predictable outcomes and ambiguous situations in which consequences need to be intuited, projected or imagined. To stretch and build vocabulary, each week's dilemma will intersect with a wide range of contexts (social, familial, business, health, political, internet, etc.)
Spanish Conversation, Ethics & Situational Problem Solving
Day and Time: TBD (12-18 years)
Summer classes begin the week of June 8, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
Conducted entirely in Spanish, this class is designed to foster lively conversation as we analyze and strategize responses to real and imagined ethical dilemmas or preposterous and impossible situations. We will explore topics with known, predictable outcomes and ambiguous situations in which consequences need to be intuited, projected or imagined. To stretch and build vocabulary, each week's dilemma will intersect with a wide range of contexts (social, familial, business, health, political, internet, etc.)
¿Cómo como?
How do I eat?
Spanish, Food, and Vocabulary (and appetite!) Building
Thursdays, 4:05-4:50 p.m. (5-8 years) in-person
Summer classes begin on June 11, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
Using fun and funny imagery, food art, and games, this in-person class focuses on building food vocabulary and basic conversation skills for talking about (and asking for) food.
Any foods actually served will be cleared with parents for health and allergenic considerations.
With a heavy emphasis placed on verbalization and natural acquisition methods, children will also learn how to express food and drink needs and preferences.
The course is designed for verbal, visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners, and will include a hands-on art and creativity component.
How do I eat?
Spanish, Food, and Vocabulary (and appetite!) Building
Thursdays, 4:05-4:50 p.m. (5-8 years) in-person
Summer classes begin on June 11, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
Using fun and funny imagery, food art, and games, this in-person class focuses on building food vocabulary and basic conversation skills for talking about (and asking for) food.
Any foods actually served will be cleared with parents for health and allergenic considerations.
With a heavy emphasis placed on verbalization and natural acquisition methods, children will also learn how to express food and drink needs and preferences.
The course is designed for verbal, visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners, and will include a hands-on art and creativity component.
Material Matters
Spanish, Design Thinking & Art
Thursdays, 5:00-5:45 pm., in person, Palo Alto, CA, ages (7-12)
Summer classes begin on June 11, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
As a point of departure for building functional vocabulary, in this Spanish art and design class we will study the unusual materials used by a range of well-known (and lesser known) artists. Each week we will look at the properties of a unique material through the lens of artistic exploration. For example, the work of sculptors Herb Williams (crayons) and Molly Gombardella (pencils), Janina Mello Landini (rope), Georgie Poulariani (scrap metal), Steve Martin (wire), Linda Biggers (eggshell), Jane Perkins (repurposed plastics), among others.
In this way, we push back at functional fixedness* and simultaneously expand our creativity and language skills.
2D and 3D Building/Art in Spanish
Exploring the design potential of the week's featured art material, in each class we will make art or engage in design thinking of our own. I place a heavy emphasis on open-ended creative experimentation and ask students to fully embrace the inevitable reality of mistake-making and mishaps in the creative process.
*Note: Functional fixedness in psychology is a type of cognitive bias that blocks people's ability to use an object for something other than its originally intended use.
Spanish, Design Thinking & Art
Thursdays, 5:00-5:45 pm., in person, Palo Alto, CA, ages (7-12)
Summer classes begin on June 11, 2026 and run in June, July & August.
As a point of departure for building functional vocabulary, in this Spanish art and design class we will study the unusual materials used by a range of well-known (and lesser known) artists. Each week we will look at the properties of a unique material through the lens of artistic exploration. For example, the work of sculptors Herb Williams (crayons) and Molly Gombardella (pencils), Janina Mello Landini (rope), Georgie Poulariani (scrap metal), Steve Martin (wire), Linda Biggers (eggshell), Jane Perkins (repurposed plastics), among others.
In this way, we push back at functional fixedness* and simultaneously expand our creativity and language skills.
2D and 3D Building/Art in Spanish
Exploring the design potential of the week's featured art material, in each class we will make art or engage in design thinking of our own. I place a heavy emphasis on open-ended creative experimentation and ask students to fully embrace the inevitable reality of mistake-making and mishaps in the creative process.
*Note: Functional fixedness in psychology is a type of cognitive bias that blocks people's ability to use an object for something other than its originally intended use.
Literacy Play Class (ENGLISH)
Tuesdays, 4:45 - 5:30 p.m. (4-7 years) in person, Palo Alto, CA
Thursdays, 2 - 2:50 p.m. (4-7 years) in person, Palo Alto, CA
Thursdays, 6:00 - 6:50 p.m. (4-7 years) in person, Palo Alto, CA
Summer classes begin on June 9 and 11 respectively and run in June, July & August.
With funny puppets, engaging imagery for visual learners, rhyming, and word games, we will play with word groups and learn about their functions.
The primary goal of the class is to inspire a love of reading and an openness to 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.
