Children’s Learning Adventure offers many activities as well as intimate learning environments in its 33,000-square-foot facility at 8300 RM 620.

By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

Children’s Learning Adventure, offering child care and educational opportunities for children ages 6-weeks to 12-years-old, opened on Aug. 6 in Four Points at the Trails at 620.

“We feel this site is well located to accommodate parents in Four Points, southwestern Cedar Park and the greater Lake Travis area. Parents who are invested in their children’s education are our ideal clients, and we are excited for the opportunity to work with parents and children in this area,” said Dan Petersen, vice president of development.

The new Four Points facility is the second location in the Austin area, the other one being in Cedar Park. With 37 locations in seven States throughout the country, the company employees about 80-100 full and part-time workers at each location.

The building is 33,000-square-feet, of which 10,000 or so is dedicated to older children. Additionally, CLA has a 35,000-square-foot outdoor playground with equipment designed for children of different ages.

“Although the building is large and impressive, the learning environments within CLA are intimate and comfortable for children of all ages, and are specially designed to maximize learning by providing authentic activities and tasks,” Petersen said.

CLA’s curriculum guided program begins with its youngest clients, 6-week to 12-month-old infants, providing interactive attention in seven content areas: routines and repetition, talking through transitions, read to me, mealtime chatter, tummy time, relaxation and rest and everyday play.

For the next group, toddlers between 12 and 36-months-old, the CLA program is designed to assist in the essentials of early brain development through the concepts of attention, bonding and communication.

In the area of attention, activities focus on observation and facilitating the interest of the child. Within the communication component, teachers incorporate sign language and Spanish into singing, reading and daily learning.

CLA teachers of preschoolers and pre-kindergarteners use the Lifetime Adventures curriculum, a thematic study to develop emergent skills through interactions in the environment and planned learning activities.

Specifically, it offers academic lessons in literacy, math and science as well as instruction in behavior and “construction,” defined as building skills and creativity through hands-on experience.

“It is important to note that a typical early childhood learning center provides educational activities solely within a single classroom, with the only deviation being outdoor time. However, research has proven that exposing children to different learning environments can raise a child’s IQ,” Petersen said.

Consequently, CLA children enroll into primary classrooms and rotate into specialty classrooms to reinforce learning concepts.

Last but not least, CLA after-school care for children in kindergarten through 6th grade, offers enrichment programs in science, math, art and fitness.

Extracurricular options like dance and karate as well as summertime camps are also available.

“CLA began with the belief that children have an unlimited capacity for learning. Our goal was to create a curriculum and facility that was educationally enriching, mentally stimulating and just plain fun for children,” said Petersen.

For more information or to schedule a visit, go to the CLA website at childrenslearningadventure.com.