Register now for pottery classes and adventure camps. Adventure camp with Susan (3rd-5th'ish') is available through Highlands Micro School at https://omella.com/62e61. Pottery classes in the Highlands neighborhood are available art Susan Calkin Arts studio and include daytime Parent/child, after-school youth, evening adult classes, private classes, parent's-night-out events, birthday parties, and more. For pottery classes/events call/text Susan to discuss your ideas 303-898-6192 and check out https://www.tickettailor.com/events/edventurecolorado Susan Calkin

Hello Neighborhood Families,

If your child will be starting kindergarten next fall or you're just interested in a schooling change, I invite you to come check out Highlands Micro School. With our small class sizes, student-centered learning, focus on social-emotional growth as well as academic growth and our own shuttle bus to take us where the learning goes, we are a fantastic non-traditional schooling option.

Want to learn more? We'll be at the Highlands Farmers Market at 32nd and Lowell THIS SUNDAY from 9-1. We'll have a fun craft for the kiddos and staff will be there to chat and answer all of your questions. If you can't make it but would like to start a conversation with us, you can fill out our interest form here: https://omella.com/3gxz8

To learn more, visit https://highlandsmicroschool.com/

Highlands Micro School Summer Camp Registration is now LIVE! Sign up soon - many of our camps last year filled and moved to waitlist status! Click here to register: https://omella.com/o5b1t

Hello. My name is Susan Calkin. Maybe I've met you. Maybe you were one of my students (I'm that old now). Maybe your child was one of my students. I've been a teacher (of many grades and subjects) in our wonderful neighborhood for decades. Now, I'm branching out with a new program called Edventure Colorado.After a long career dedicated to supporting learners in mixed grade indoor/outdoor classrooms through engaging, differentiated, interdisciplinary learning opportunities, I've decided to funnel my energy and love into adventure learning! This new venture is "Edventure Colorado."
My EdVentures include after school opportunities, epic guided summer ventures (like non other!), horseback rides, unit of study enrichment and field work...and SO much more. EdVenture CO. is designed to give youth a reference point and skills for life. Our youth deserve and need the experiences and tools usually afforded during those tender ‘Stand-By-Me’ years. After COVID, much of the adult world eagerly moved on, but our kids are wanting to know how to ‘get back’ the years they didn’t get. "I still need to be a kid" is a phrase I've heard over and over again from countless students the last year. And they are right! I created EdVenture Colorado to do my part, to provide situations in which youth call on the skills they have or create the skills they need, while being wild and wonky and contemplative and serious (sometimes in the same sentence), all through awe-inspiring, confidence building, mind-blowing experiences that they will reference their whole life. EdVenture is an opportunity to be wonky as well as responsible. We learn how to advocate a need to go it alone or collaborate. These are opportunities to learn if it's reasonable to take a risk or important to hold back. It's also a time to question which Mac-N-Cheese is the best while simultaneously questioning the latest news and world topics (with support). There are important developmental seasons of life for our youth. They are eager to gain the critical social, emotional and physical skills needed to navigate the wild worlds that lay ahead. They also need to swim in their youth a bit longer without us interfering in the messy business of growing up. These epic EdVentures are designed to give all participants foundational skills through exceptionally unique 'Stand-By-Me' experiences along with life-long reference points.
In addition to after school and summer opportunities, there are also opportunities for adults, homeschool groups and teachers looking for adventure and unit enrichment.
I'll miss the classroom and my students, but I'm excited to be branching out. Take a look. To enroll or get more information, contact us at susan@edventurecolorado.com or 303-898-6192. All the best to this wonderful community.
Please see the list below and let me know what you may be interested in AS WELL AS the days/times that work best for your family. I will publish a schedule based on the input I receive in order to accommodate as many families as possible. If your child is in the neighborhood, I am also offering an after-school pick up service as some families may find that helpful. All after school classes will run 3:30 to 5:30 (or possibly 6:00) with the ability for participants to arrive/leave as needed within that time. (Participants must still clean up their work prior to leaving).

HORSEBACK RIDING LESSONS:
For students 8 and up. Lessons are $65.00 each and will run from 3:30 - 5:30pm (times will be confirmed later when schedule is built out).Times may also be prearranged in advance for homeschool classes, teachers looking for unit enrichment, individual lessons and/or groups/parties during the daytime or evenings both weekdays and weekends. Long pants and closed toed shoes are required and shoes with a heel are recommended. Riders must wear a helmet when mounted. Helmets available for use if the participant does not have one. Our riding lessons focus on the rider's safety and confidence while learning grooming, anatomy, diet, tack, ground work, riding skills and horsemanship. We have a dedicated round pen for instruction as well as open trails for exploration and skill building. (Transportation to/from can be provided if in the 80211 area. Otherwise, Pick up/drop off at 72nd and Eldridge. Arvada. Just west of the Apex Rec. Center. LIMITED TO 4 STUDENTS PER RIDING SESSION. All Ages 8 and up; Youth through adult.

BRONCS and BEER (or whatever you drink!)
Expand your portfolio of bar experiences, impressive dates, or just treat yourself to a beautiful and exhilarating afternoon by riding a horse to the tap house! Yep! Get your cowboy/girl ‘yeah-ha’ going on with this experience. We’ll tack up (catch/groom/saddle up the horses), you’ll get a riding lesson, and we’ll head up the trail (literally), across the creek, through the meadows and up to the hitching post (yes, there is a hitching post just for us!). The Colorado Tap House features an epic list of microbrews, cocktails, whiskey and the like along with non-alcoholic drinks and food trucks. This family oriented tap house has outdoor games, and so much more. Take a date! Treat your loved ones. Create your own EdVenture. After a refresher, we’ll hit the trail for our ride home. Or, if you want a longer ride, make it a day trip! After the Tap House, we’ll keep riding out Ralston Creek Trail to a lake where we’ll take the horses in for a dip before heading back to pasture. Call/Text/email 303-898-6192 to learn more and reserve a spot.

POTTERY:
Learn all elements of Hand building, Slab, Wheel throwing, Yard art, Functional and decorative works, Jewelry and High/mid/low fire glazing techniques (including stains and underglazing). Open studio format. Create unique, personal projects with professional guidance in order to move forward independently with your ideas or work through a project, step by step with a professional instructor. All glazes are lead free, dishwasher/mico/oven safe. Participants purchase their own clay through the studio. For students 8 and up. Lessons are $35.00 each and will run from 3:30 - 5:30pm (times will be confirmed later when schedule is built out). Times/lessons may also be prearranged in advance for homeschool classes or teachers looking to enhance units of study, as well as individual lessons, or group lessons/parties during the daytime or evening, both weekdays and weekends. (Transportation to/from can be provided if in the 80211 area. LIMITED TO 10 STUDENTS PER SESSION. All Ages 8 and up; Youth through adult.

MULTIMEDIA - 2D ART:
Advance your skills through instruction in a multitude of media; from watercolor, to acrylic, oil, pastels, drawing media, and more! Lessons will introduce and/or reinforce the elements of design: line, shape, form, space, texture, tone (or value) and color. These elements are the materials from which all designs are built. We will also learn to use movement, mood, tension, and color theory through prescribed as well as individual projects. This course is approached as a studio class for young artists elementary and middle school aged, interested in expanding their skills with support from a professional artist. Students may work on personal projects, or progress through each media through guided, supported instruction. For students 8 and up. Lessons are $35.00 each and will run from 3:30 - 5:30pm (times will be confirmed later when schedule is built out). Times/lessons may also be prearranged in advance for homeschool classes or teachers looking to enhance units of study, as well as individual lessons, or group lessons/parties during the daytime or evening, both weekdays and weekends. (Transportation to/from can be provided if in the 80211 area. LIMITED TO 10 STUDENTS PER SESSION. All Ages 8 and up; Youth through adult.

EdVenture Day:
Leave space for adventure! We could create art, bake, hike, build, fish, go antiquing, weld, sew...it's ALL possible when we leave time for 'what MAY! This is a day built to explore the opportunities that present themselves along the journey. It's a time to pursue wonders and curiosities with our hearts, minds and hands. EdVenture day is $35.00 and will run from 3:30 - 5:30pm (times will be confirmed later when schedule is built out). Times/lessons may also be prearranged in advance for homeschool classes or teachers looking to enhance units of study, as well as individual lessons, or group lessons/parties during the daytime or evening, both weekdays and weekends. (Transportation to/from can be provided if in the 80211 area. LIMITED TO 10 STUDENTS PER AFTERNOON SESSION. All Ages 4 (potty trained) and up; Youth through adult.

Unit of Study Enhancement:
Teachers: Are you studying a particular topic and you are looking to bring it to life? Do you want field work related to a specific concept or skill? Are you looking to enhance a unit of study with a project or outing? With decades of professional experience in Expeditionary and Project Based learning, I've got that covered! I can design field work and activities specific to your unit goals. Do you need help fleshing out a unit? I can help you there as well. Whether it is an after school EdVenture, an overnight guided excursion, or anything in-between...let's do this! Make it meaningful to your learners. ALL AGES 4 and up (potty trained!). After-school. Call/text/email to discuss the possibilities.

VOICE LESSONS:
Does your child love to sing? Is your child wanting to take their singing up a notch? Perhaps they are interested in exploring different genres. Maybe you wish they had the confidence to sing on YOUR side of their bedroom door? We are fortunate in having a recording studio next door to the very talented Ava Nicole Francis (Miners Alley Playhouse, cast member of ‘Avenue Q,’ www.minersalley.com). Ava is offering voice lessons to young artists this fall. If you are interested in working with this very talented artist, please Call/text/email to discuss your needs and arrange lessons. And… don’t forget to go see AVENUE Q! https://minersalley.com

Overnight Guided EdVentures!
This is where it all started! Epic outings designed to give youth a reference point and skills for life. A time to be wonky as well as responsible. A time to go it alone or collaborate. A time to learn if it's reasonable to take a risk or hold back. A time to question which Mac-N-Cheese is the best while simultaneously questioning the latest news and world topics (with support). Our youth deserve and need those experiences and tools usually afforded during those tender ‘Stand-By-Me’ years. Much of the adult world has eagerly moved on, while kids are wanting to know how to ‘get back’ the years they didn’t get. I created EdVenture Colorado to do my part, to provide situations in which youth call on the skills they have or create the skills they need, while being wild and wonky, or contemplative and serious, all through awe-inspiring, confidence building, mind-blowing experiences that they will reference their whole life. There are certain seasons of life that all people need in order to gain particular social, emotional and physical skills needed to navigate the wild worlds that lay ahead. These epic EdVentures are designed to give all participants those foundational skills along with an amazing reference point. Participation is very limited in order to cater to the unique needs of each group. EdVentures can also be prearranged.

My next guided adventure is…

July 31st - August 4th. Backpacking Excursion to 12 Mile Lake.
The whole adventure is an outback overnight packing adventure up to a timberline cirque lake in the Colorado Rockies Mountains. We will be four-wheeling, mapping, planning, packing, hiking, camping, cooking out, and exploring all the adventure that it leads to! Susan's obsessive tracking and Geology lessons included! 2 spots left. 3rd/fourth graders with stamina on up. Call/Text/Emails for more information. 975.00

Reading/Writing Tutoring:
Does your child need extensions and support in reading? I am a skilled and licensed teacher with an M.Ed, professional development learners with dyslexia, twice exceptional learners, and learners just needing more explicit, systematic support through Orton Gillingham and Wilson. I bring decades of classroom experience and success to bridge the gaps students experience when challenges in reading/writing impede their confidence and love for literacy. Call/text/email to discuss how we can work to support your child's specific needs.

Finally,
I want to work with families to make these experiences accessible. Please let me know if you, or others you may know, need financial help to attend an excursion or lesson. We'll figure it out together.

Susan Calkin M.Ed
susan@edventurecolorado.com
303-898-6192

Come help Highlands Micro School celebrate the arrival of spring! We'll fire up the grill and throw on some burgers (the veggie variety will be available too) and hopefully enjoy the warm weather with some arts/crafts and fun/games for the kiddos. Bring your friends-this free event is open to the community!
Click here for more info: https://omella.com/60o77