Greet the summer with Sponge! Join us at Playdate Café in Lynnwood on Saturday, June 21 from 12-2 pm to celebrate the summer solstice. Known as the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere, cultures around the world mark the date with festivals, bonfires, feasting and celebrations. We’ve got a special Latin dance performance planned plus music and dancing for the whole family. The fun continues as children enjoy summer-themed crafts, sample tasty snacks, and join in the fun of Spanish and Mandarin mini-language classes. We hope to see you there!

When: Saturday, June 21 from 12-2 pm

Where: Playdate Café 4114 198th St SW Lynnwood, WA 98036

RSVP to events@spongeschool.com or call 206-227-7138

25 hours per week all in language–at your level–there’s no better way to learn.  But sometimes it’s hard to imagine what the day would be like. We can tell you about all the fun you’ll have cooking, crafting, doing drama, singing and playing games.  But trying it out is really the best way!

We’ve created a mini-camp workshop for kids 3-8 years old.  We’ll be cooking with Weiyu in Mandarin and crafting with Enid in Spanish.  It’s from 4-5:30 pm on Sunday, May 4th at our Mount Baker location.  We want to give you a taste of the fun we’ll have this summer.

We hope kids will bring their friends and their parents (with their questions)!  RSVP to events@spongeschool.com.

I have a new piece up on the Parent Map blog today.  It’s about TV shows for kids from around the world.  Listening to native speakers is one of the best ways to learn a language.  But we don’t always have a native speaker with us. But international media provides some great opportunities.

Of course, there’s also the fun of watching a good show.  And, you get some good cultural tips, too. My boys  wanted to try ladoos, the Indian sweet that empowered Chota Bheem, and they were thrilled to try anpan, the Japanese red-bean bun after which  Anpanman is modeled.  In my day, the hero at spinach!  (Fortunately, my kids like that, too.)

Enjoy 8 Cool Kids’ Series from Around the World!  (And, if you have other favorites, do send us an email at info@spongeschool.com.  We love to keep a running list of the good ones!)

Sponge Summer Camps are now posted on our website!  Our camps are for Pre-K and K-2 grade and will be held in multiple locations.  We’ll be exploring heroes and folklore from around the world.  A great chance to get 25-50 hours of language in this summer!

New this year:  French and Japanese camps, and aftercare for K-2 students at all locations!

Hola, Ni Hao Lynnwood!  We are very excited to be offering classes at Playdate Cafe in Lynnwood – starting March 4th. Check out our Spring schedule here.  We’ve got Spanish and Mandarin for children newborn through age 5.  We’d appreciate your help in spreading the word.  Please tell your friends!

Families can stay and play before and after their class and enjoy a $1 off the play admission fee.  The creative play space is super fun, and the café offers wholesome and delicious meals and snacks.

You’ll find us at: 4114 198th Street SW, Lynnwood, Washington 98036

Namaste means hello in Hindi.  Hindi is one of the official languages of India.  It’s the native language of more than 250 million people.  We’re very excited to be offering Hindi classes in our Spring Session.

Shilpi, our new Hindi teacher, is looking forward to meeting her kids and families and helping everyone get to know Hindi language and Indian culture in a fun and engaging way.

We look forward to seeing you in class!
At our Bellevue location:

Hindi M – A 55-minute mixed age class for children 0-4 years and their caregivers:  Mondays 10:30 am

Hindi Just Kids (3-5 years) – An 85-minute class for kids ready to come on their own:  Mondays  9 am and/or Saturdays 1pm

Hindi Just Kids (K-2nd grade) – An 85-minute class for early elementary: Saturdays 2:30 pm

At our Redmond location:

Hindi M – A 55-minute mixed age class for children 0-4 years and their caregivers:  Sunday 9 am

Hindi Just Kids (3-5 years) – An 85-minute class for kids ready to come on their own:  Sundays 10 am

Hindi Just Kids (K-2nd grade) – An 85-minute class for early elementary:  Sundays 11:30 am

Hindi Just Kids (3-5th grade) – An 85-minute class for older elementary:  Sundays 1:30

Happy 2014.  It’s the year of the horse this year.  Horses are bright and energetic and communicative.  The year should bring opportunities for growth and improvement.  Sounds good, doesn’t it?

We’ve got two great celebrations planned for the Lunar New Year on first weekend in February.  We hope that you’ll join us at one or both.

On Saturday, February 1 at our Bellevue location, we’ll be throwing beans at funny ogres!  We’ll drive bad luck away and welcome good fortune.  It’s a Japanese custom to welcome the spring  We’ll have mini-classes, dancing, crafts, food and more from 2 pm – 4 pm.

Join us on Sunday, February 2 for Chinese New Year fun at our Seattle location.  We’ll have Mandarin mini-classes, horsey crafts, music, food, traditional red envelopes, and more.  Please save 10 am – 12 pm for our celebration.

Daily Candy has a great list of the best kids’ classes from coast to coast.

There’s one Seattle-area option on the list.  Can you guess what it is?

We hope you’ll join us at Sponge for great fun and learning–Mandarin, Spanish, French or Japanese.

See the full Daily Candy slideshow here.

We are very excited to announce that we’ll be offering classes again in Redmond–starting in November!  We have found a beautiful space at Positive Ally in Redmond Ridge.

We’re putting together plans for a Grand Opening Party on November 2nd with classes beginning on November 7.  You can see a full schedule of classes here.  We’ve got Spanish and Mandarin for children newborn through 5 years.  Send us an email if you’d like to try a class.

And, please help us spread the word!

Our Redmond classes will be held at:  22330 NE Marketplace Drive, Suite 121, Redmond, WA

We hope you and your friends will join us at a free cultural event in October at our Bellevue center.  We are thrilled to welcome Master Lei Zhou from Seattle Shaolin Kung Fu Academy. Originally a warrior monk from the renowned Shaolin Temple in China, Master Zhou is an award winning Kung Fu master and teacher. He will do mini-classes for children. There will be Mandarin language mini-classes as well, taught by one of our amazing native Mandarin-speaking teachers.  Creative crafts and cookies round out the fun!

WHEN:

Sunday, October 6th from 12 –  2 pm

WHERE:

Sponge, Bellevue.

13219 NE 20th Street, Suite 203

Bellevue, WA 98005

RSVP:

We’d appreciate an RSVP.   Please call 206-227-7138 or email events@spongeschool.com.