November 3rd – 7th

This week’s theme is The Human Body at FamLab!

We’ve got a bunch of fun activities around the lab for you to explore with your kiddos!

Why not join us for Reading Lab on Wednesday? Kids share about what they’ve been reading in a book themed show and tell style while Ms. Christina teaches about a literary component – it’s a fun circle time feel that checks all the boxes for reading comprehension.

Ms. Christy is subbing in for Ms. Tiffany this week for Art Exploration Lab – In Wednesday’s class we’ll be following along with a really cool video project of drawing an eye with a color wheel iris. Join us!

Our Curiosity STEAM Lab this week is making hand models with cardboard, straws, and string – THEN kids will see if they can complete some challenges with their working cardboard hands. It’s a little crafty, and a lot of fun all mixed in.

Also on deck is Apple Pie Slime on Thursday at 3pm (tix required.) We’ll make apple and cinnamon scented slime with apple charms. These actually make great gifts, too! We provide each student with a jar for their slime that they can decorate with their own product sticker and apple themed stickers. familylearninglab.org/slime 

Friday join us for Discovery Science Lab – we’ll be making a 3d poster of the elements in our blood, then following it up with a model of how our heart valves work to pump blood throughout our bodies.

See all the events for this week at familylearninglab.org/events

**I want to say a special thank you to everyone for your patience with seeing all the events online. Feels like I’ve been scrambling to catch up ever since I opened, but I’ve discovered some new tech that will help me get those events online much sooner! Yay! Thank you so much for bearing with me just a little bit longer 🙂

Thank you all so much for being a part of the FamLab family!

Want to know what themes are coming up for the year? See below for the whole year’s plan.

October 27th – 31st At FamLab

 Join us this week for some non-stop pumpkin themed fun!

See the full calendar with more details here.

 

First, A Few Housekeeping Notes:

Please remember that our Code of Conduct is extremely important to us. Because we have limited capacity and a very small staff, following our house rules is essential to maintaining a friendly, safe, and supportive environment for everyone.

All children in our center must allow every child the opportunity to freely participate in activities and classes, and hear, and understand teachers and staff at all times.

Safety and conduct:
Children who cause injury to others, run, or damage property will prompt a conversation to help determine whether FamLab is the right fit. While our hearts wish to welcome every child, our Code of Conduct is a firm guideline that ensures safety and respect within our unique learning environment.

Adult-to-child ratio:
To keep our space welcoming and balanced, we must maintain a higher ratio of children to adults in the center. While we understand that some families require additional support adults, please do your best to limit extra adults whenever possible.

• One adult per family is free.

• Two adults are included in Family Passes.

• Additional adults are $5 each.
  We reserve the right to enforce or adjust this policy as needed as our capacity grows.

Classes & Activities Are Designed For Children

Our programming is designed for children ages 4–16. We encourage parents to paint, learn, and explore alongside their children — that’s what makes FamLab special! However, during structured classes, we ask adults to sit separately so kids can participate and connect with peers their own age. Children are always welcome to sit with their parent if they need a break and may rejoin the group when ready.

Thank you for helping make FamLab the very best it can be for our homeschool community!

This Week @FamLab!

🎃 This Week @FamLab! 🎃
🧡 Pumpkins! 🧡
Drop in anytime — $10/child day pass
(Bring a friend who’s a first time visitor THIS WEEK and they’ll get in for just $5 per child!)
📍6916 Sunrise Blvd Suite I | Citrus Heights

🍂 Here’s what’s happening each day this week: 🍂

All Week:
🌅 Morning Meeting (Mon–Thurs 9:15a)
📘 Power Hours: Core Work Study Time (Mon–Thurs 9:30–11:30a)
✨ Sensory Play Open (Mon–Thurs 11:30–3p & Fri 9–3p)

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MONDAY 10/27 🎃
➗ Math Mania (12:00–12:30)
🥪 Lunch & Learn (12:30–12:00)
✏️ Wacky Writers: What Were They Thinking? (1:00–1:45)

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TUESDAY 10/28 🍁
🧡 Kinder Hour (10:30–11:30)
🎃 Pumpkin Playdough Station
🗺️ GeoQuest: Wyoming (12:00–12:30)
💻 Virtual Field Trip: Yellowstone National Park (12:30–1:00)
🎨 Art Exploration Lab (1:00–3:00)

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WEDNESDAY 10/29 🍂
📖 Reading Lab (12:00–12:30)
🍑 Read Aloud: James & the Giant Peach (12:30–1:00)
🎨 Art Exploration Lab (1:00–3:00)
🧴 Process Art: Shaving Cream Pumpkin Prints (2:00–2:30)

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THURSDAY 10/30 👻
🧡 Kinder Hour (10:30–11:30)
✂️ Kinder Craft: Goofy Pumpkins (scissor skills!) (11:30–12:00)
🥪 Lunch & Learn (12:00–12:30)
🧪 Curiosity STEAM Lab: Pumpkin Activity Day (1:00–2:00)
🕸️ Afterschool Slime Labs: Spider Slime – $8 (3:00–4:00) (must pre-register, sells out)

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FRIDAY 10/31 🕷️
📚 Spookley Story & Square Pumpkin “Cookie” Decorating (10:30–11:00)
🧪 Discovery Science Lab: Barfing & Exploding Pumpkins [Elephant toothpaste & dry ice] (11:30–12:30)
🏆 Costume Contest – goodie bags for kids in costume (12:30–1:00)
🍿 Social Fridays: Popcorn & It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
Also, Trick or Treat Bag Decorating (1:00–3:00)
🐉 Homeschool D&D Adventure Class – $10 (1:00–3:00)

🎃 Pumpkin Painting & Carving!
Bring your own pumpkin and carve and decorate with your family at our tables — we’ll clean up!
Free for current families, otherwise $8 per painter. (3:00–5:00)

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🧠 Next Week’s Theme: Human Body! 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️

October 20th – 24th At FamLab

 

Join us this week for some farm themed fun!

See the full calendar with more details here.

 AROUND THE FARM – OCT 20th–24th @ Family Learning Lab
Drop in anytime — $10/child day pass
 6916 Sunrise Blvd Suite I | Citrus Heights

 

 

 Here’s what’s happening each day this week:

 

 

 All Week:
Morning Meeting (Mon–Thurs 9:15a)
Power Hours: Core Work Study Time (Mon–Thurs 9:30–11:30a)
Sensory Play Open (Mon–Thurs 11:30–3p & Fri 9–3p)

 

 

 MONDAY 10/20
Math Mania (12:00–12:30)
Lunch & Learn (12:30–12:00)
Wacky Writers: Story Tiles (1:00–1:45)
MyClub Meetup FREE! Kids Clubs for Homeschoolers (2:30–3:30)

 

 

 TUESDAY 10/21
Kinder Hour (10:30–11:30)
GeoQuest: Montana (12:00–12:30)
Virtual Field Trip: Glacier National Park (12:30–1:00)

Art Exploration Lab (1:00–3:00)

 

 

 WEDNESDAY 10/22
Reading Lab (12:00–12:30)
Read Aloud: James & the Giant Peach (12:30–1:00)
Art Exploration Lab (1:00–3:00)
Process Art: Fork Painting (2:00–2:30)
Afterschool Art & Play – $8 (2:00–4:00)

 

 

 THURSDAY 10/23
Kinder Hour (10:30–11:30)
Kinder Craft: Paper Plate Pigs (11:30–12:00)
Lunch & Learn (12:30–1:00)
Curiosity STEAM Lab: Egg Drop Challenge (1:00–2:00)
Afterschool Slime Labs: Ghost Slime – $8 (3:00–4:00) (must pre-register, sells out)

 

 

 FRIDAY 10/24
HST Day (8:30–3:00)
Guided Craft: Farm Animal Portrait Hangings (10:30–11:00)
Discovery Science Lab: Worm Farms & Worm Anatomy (11:30–12:30)
Open Mic (12:30–1:00)
Social Fridays: Tabletop Games, Popcorn & a Movie (1:00–3:00)
Homeschool D&D Adventure Class – $10 (1:00-3:00)
Afterschool Open Paint – $8/painter (3:00–5:00)

 

 

 

 Next Week’s Theme: PUMPKINS!
Pumpkin-themed arts & crafts, Pumpkin Activity Day, “Barfing Pumpkin” Science & more!

October 13th – 17th @FamLab

Join us this week for Community Helpers theme!

We’ve got lots of fun on deck for this week – including Read To A Dog, Minecraft Pixel Perler Art, Glow In The Dark Slime, and Moms Craft Night. See everything on our Calendar by clicking here.

We also have a lot of news as we’ve re-worded & branded our product offerings and pricing to settle in for a fantastic year:

Simplified Class Options

To make things easier for everyone (especially our charter families):

* Join any single class for just $40/month

* Or grab an All Class Bundle (monthly or 3 month pack for a discount) — includes open co-schooling time any day we’re open!

* Private homeschoolers get 30% off classes and bundles when purchased in store.

* Drop In Passes are NOT changing – come in any day for $10/child to try all the day’s programming.

* Current members, pass holders, and enrolled students, nothing is changing for you! We’re simply calling things by clearer names at the same price points. Any concerns, reach out

Better Pricing for Big Families

Buy 10+ Day Passes and they’ll now drop to $6 each, sharable among siblings!

Kids 2 and under are now free with a paying sibling (just make sure a waiver is on file).

And when we’re not near capacity, we may waive the extra grownup fee.

Thursday Workshops = Curiosity STEAM Labs!

We’re diving deeper into fun, hands-on STEAM projects every Thursday afternoon in our Curiosity STEAM Lab.

Now an Approved Vendor with Visions Charter!

We’re thrilled to be a partner with Visions Charter School! Visions families, welcome to the Fam!

All Things Fall, Cont’d! Oct 6th – 11th

We just couldn’t let go of Fall quite yet – It’s All Things Fall AGAIN – this upcoming week @Family Learning Lab!

Here’s what’s on deck for the week:

• M-Th Co-Schooling 8:30am, come enjoy a quiet place and change of scenery for schoolwork
• Monday: Book Club, MyClub (free!) 2:30
• Tuesday: Kinder Hour, GeoQuest, Art Exploration Class (Kusama inspired Pumpkins)
• Wednesday: Wacky Writers, Art Exploration Class: Candy Still Life, Process Art: Apple stamping
• Thursday: Kinder Hour, Kinder Craft: Puffy Paint Apples, Curiosity Labs: Apple Pie In A Jar (cooking intro), Afterschool Slime Labs ($8) Ghoulish Slime
• Friday: Science Friday: Density Jars, Open Mic, Guided Craft: Patterned Apples, Kids D&D (please pre-book, class now fills up), Popcorn & A Movie
• Saturday: Join us for free crafts and sensory play at our Fall Fun Day and help us reach the local community!
• Saturday Night: Family Paint Night – textured paint pumpkins and ghosts on black canvas.

See all events by clicking here.

Big News! It’s the return of FREE MyClub TODAY! Monday the 6th at 2:30pm!!

We want to do more for our homeschool community, so we’ve decided to bring back our free MyClub format! Families are invited to join us for an hour of club hangout time in a super comfy environment that’s great for all kids, shy or outgoing! Kids will get to form their own clubs, visit other clubs, and just hang out with friends over shared interests. All families must have a waiver on file and sensory play and art lab will not be open for MyClub attendees.

NEW Volunteer Positions With Complimentary Classes & Passes!

I’m reaching (exceeding?) the limit of what I can do myself and I really need to start building some teams here to make FamLab everything it can be for our homeschool community! If you’re interested in earning free classes and passes in exchange for volunteering, please let me know. 🙂

Messaging / Descriptions Are *Slightly* Changing

Thank you all so much for your patience as we work out our programming and messaging. We are not taking anything away, only adjusting and fine tuning how we present our offerings to our customers. We are hopeful that the changes in progress will help us form great vendor relationships with even more charters. We hope to have our new shop all neat, tidy, and updated within the week. (Also, *please* let us know if there’s anything we should add to our programming to make FamLab even better for YOUR family!)

New Charter Vendor!

We are now vendors with Visions! We are thrilled to be partnering with an additional charter! If you have friends with Visions please help us grow by spreading the word. Thank you!!

“New” Class – Curiosity STEAM Labs

Our Thursday afternoon workshops are now called Curiosity STEAM Labs. They will be focused on a STEAM tied concept and will be available as a class that can be purchased with funds. And of course, they’re still available as part of our memberships, class bundles (formally All Class Pass) , and drop in rate.

✨ Curiosity Labs ✨
A high-energy STEAM workshop where kids dive into hands-on projects that spark imagination, teamwork, and discovery. Every week is something new, surprising, and fun—because learning sticks best when it feels like an adventure!

At Curiosity Labs, we use exciting, kid-approved activities as gateways to real learning. Each project connects to science, technology, engineering, art, and/or math, while also giving kids the chance to collaborate, follow step-by-step instructions, and share ideas in a group setting. The themes rotate weekly and often tie into what we’re exploring at the center, keeping things fresh and inspiring. Whether it’s experimenting with slime, testing out a “Patient Zero” activity, designing a game, or growing hydroponic plants, Curiosity STEAM Labs combines the thrill of “crazy fun” with those golden moments of learning that kids remember.

Join us for our FREE Fall Fun Day Saturday Oct 11th!

Join us for a free and fun day of Fall themed crafts, play, & prizes! Swing by the lab and come say hi – we’d LOVE to see you! Our Fall Fun Day will be a bit smaller of an event than I’d hoped, I simply don’t have a large enough volunteer crew yet. But we’ll still have some outdoor crafting fun! If you’re able to volunteer for this event, please reach out! Thank you 

Family Paint Night & Moms Craft Night

Our Family Paint Night & Mom’s Craft Nights are now live on the calendar and shop and available to book. Join us for some crafty, artsy, fun!

Family Learning Lab dreams of being a school experience for your homeschool kids.

Many of our families are catching the unique vision of FamLab – we’re providing a school type experience for homeschoolers that want community and classroom experiences, but don’t want to give up their homeschool goals and lifestyle. Lockers, class jobs (soon class pets!), games, gentle classes – we’re providing something new and unique for homeschoolers. Co-schooling is a new concept and it will take time for people to understand something new. In the meantime, we’re developing after school programs and public facing paint nights to bring connection parent involved learning to more families while helping us being financially healthy and stable. This should help us persevere through the changing seasons as we develop our homeschool community. Along that note, FamLab is for YOU! If you have ideas for things you feel your kiddos are missing out on please share! We literally exist to address every pain point of homeschooling that we can. What’s missing from your kids’ school experience? Let’s fill those gaps… together!

That’s all for now! Hope to see you all this week… @ The Lab!! 🙂

-Christy

All Things Fall! Sept 29th – Oct 3rd

It’s All Thing Fall this upcoming week @Family Learning Lab!

Put out the pumpkins! Jump in some leaves! We’re celebrating All Things Fall at Family Learning Lab this week!

Join us for fall themed trivia each morning at Morning Meeting for a chance to win extra Reward Coins. We’ll study Nevada in GeoQuest and take a virtual field trip to Hoover Dam on Tuesday. Tiffany’s Art Exploration Class this week will be completing two amazing projects – Tuesday will be Van Gogh inspired 3d sunflowers and Wednesday students will get to make paper mache apples. We’ve got even more Fall Fun packed into Kinder Hour and other fun activities like fall sponge painting process art, forest animal leaf craft, and a gooey Pumpkin Oobleck workshop on Thursday. And our first After School Slime Lab will be Thursday at 3pm! (After school programming is not included in regular passes and memberships, pre-booking required. ) This is a fantastic way to get your non homeschool friends into the center, too!

Friday Fun includes a Leaf Chromatography Experiment. This is a longer experiment, it will take about an hour start to finish – so we may do the walking rainbow experiment in the middle as we wait for our leaves to release their colors. Open Mic is always a hit – why not join us this week!? (We’ve even dared to dabble in some karaoke and it’s been great!)

Kids will get to use sticks to make trees in our art lab this week and use a variety of items to add leaves, like cotton balls in paint, tissue paper, or even real leaf stamping. Or elevate the project with more advanced painting techniques.

Annnnnddd…… For ALL of October Ms Emily will be running her D&D Adventure Class EVERY Friday!! Sign up for those spots asap as it has booked out every class!

For now, we’re also running popcorn and a movie Friday afternoons while we regroup to make Fridays even more awesome in the near future. On deck for the 3rd is the Peanuts Movie. Kids are welcome to come in their snuggly jammies and slippers and watch the movie with friends at 1pm!

Volunteers needed for our Fall Fun Day Saturday Oct 11th!

Do you love FamLab and want to see it succeed, grow, and serve more families? I could really use some help for our Fall Fun Day! From 10am to 2pm I’m planning on having some free crafts, sensory play, and games with prizes in our parking spaces to bring people in from the community and advertise our holiday and afternoon programs. To be honest, I’m feeling hesitant because It really needs about 5 adults to make it work, especially so we can have sign waivers on Sunrise. If you’re interested in helping for 2 hrs either 10 to noon or noon to 2 could you please reply to this email and let me know? Or text me 916-996-4115. I’m feeling shy about marketing the event until I’m confident I can pull it off. 🙂 You’re very welcome to bring your kiddos!

Family Paint Night & Moms Craft Night

We are very excited to be putting together some holiday paint nights for families and some for moms! I’m a little behind in the advertising on these, but I would LOVE to paint with more families soon! We will be doing a family paint night on October 11th and on Friday the 17th moms are invited to make Fairy House Pumpkins! (they’re so stinkin cute I seriously cannot wait!!!) Tickets for both those events should be available early this week.

FamLab Families are just the BEST!

I want to share that we have officially met all our expenses for September! This is pretty flippin fantastic considering we are BRAND NEW!! And it’s all because of YOU! We have the very best most wonderful families in our FamLab community and I’m completely overwhelmed by all the positivity, the support, the fams that get it, love it, and share it with anyone who will listen. What the what!?! I’ve been just floored by all of you and I don’t know how to express the huge love and thankfulness I feel for you all! And your kids! What! These are some amazing kiddos here! We introduced the reward store and they’re all into it – I’ve had kids mopping and sweeping, watering the flowers, dusting, helping with pricing items all to earn more coins. What a HUGE help they’ve been! I’m always so impressed by their patience, their amazing respect and they way they interact so well with each other!

That’s all for now! Hope to see you all this week… @ The Lab!! 🙂

-Christy

This Week At FamLab: Shapes & Symmetry

Join us this week at Family Learning Lab for our Shapes & Symmetry week!

See all the week’s events with additional info by clicking here: https://familylearninglab.org/events/month

• Tangrams galore!
• Sensory Play reimagined: MORE popcorn kernels plus STEM play too!
• Art Lab change: Prepped craft trays, just grab and go get crafting
• NEW Art Class format! These projects are BEAUTIFUL you really do not want to miss them. Tuesdays: Zentangle pattern leaves and Wednesday Square Illusion Doodles. Now open to younger kids with a parent helper.
• Process Art with shapes on Wednesday at 2pm
• NEW Kinder Craft every Thursday at 11:30. This week: magnetically flying butterflies.
• Thursday 1pm workshop this week we’ll be painting lasagna noodles, then breaking them and using them to make mosaics
• SCIENCE FRIDAY this week we’ll be making kaleidoscopes with mirrored card.
• We’re now guiding the week’s art project Friday afternoons at 12:30, followed by Social Fridays – we’ll fire up the popcorn machine and play tabletop games and have a G rated movie playing. On non-D&D days we’ll convert the flex lab into a movie theater!

UPCOMING *NEW* CHANGES & ADDITIONS!!

Beginning in October we will be adding:

• 1st & 3rd Mondays FREE MyClub from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. Invite your friends!
• 2nd & 4th Mondays Life Skills Workshops 2pm (think budgeting, grocery shopping, interviewing, checking your car’s oil, etc…but of course, FUN!)
• D&D will be every week during October
• New afterschool programs (to help us bring in vital income to stay open!)
  • Wed 2pm-4pm publicly advertised art & play session
  • Thur 3pm Slime Labs $8
  • Friday 3:30pm – 5pm After School Open Paint – $10 includes one item to paint

***We have been approved as a vendor with Visions! Currently working on paperwork. 🙂

SAVE THE DATES!

Sat Oct 11th 10a-3p

Fall Fun Day

(VOLUNTEERS NEEDED)

Sat Oct 11th 630p

Family Paint Night

Fri Oct 17th 7pm

Moms Craft Night

Fairy House Pumpkins

It’s Weather & Clouds Week!

This week we’re learning all about weather and clouds! Such a fun lineup for littles through teens. We’re adding some extra fun as well so be sure to take a look at the whole schedule – we don’t want you to miss out on any of the fun! Capital Therapy dogs are back on Wednesday with the pups so kids can read to a dog. Ms. Tiffany is bringing some amazing art projects for your kids to do in Guided Art. Oh, did I mention CLOUD SLIME!?!? Yeah, we’re doing it! Movie day, cloud in a jar, D&D oh and FREE MyClub is back too! Hope there’s something fun on our calendar that  your families will love!

Reward Store Opens!

The FamLab reward store opens this week! All co-schooling families will receive one reward coin per child each day. Grownups may give coins to kids at their discretion – for finishing schoolwork, being kind, an easier transition when it’s time to leave – whatever works for you! Kids can spend their coins in our reward store at any time to buy a prize.

Kids want to earn more coins? We now have classroom job cards! Kids can earn additional coins for helping out with a classroom job, when available.

Family Learning Lab Considers Proposal For Adding Inclusive Children’s Art Program

A core part of the mission for Family Learning Lab is to address the paint points of our homeschooling community. We have been made aware by multiple families that there is a significant need for programs that are inclusive for kids of all abilities. Many of these families have turned to homeschooling in order to meet their children’s specific needs, but find themselves at a loss for appropriate social activities for their children. And while we aim to be an inclusive space for all families, we understand that some big behaviors can hinder the ability of other students to study. Still, we feel there may be a way to offer our space to help families in these situations.

While we don’t have any special training, licensing, or deep understanding of how to best support and care for children with varying abilities, we do have big hearts that desire to address the unmet needs of families in our community. Our already established family learning model works well for all types of families because we simply come alongside parents and caregivers and work as a team to provide what we can to support homeschooling kids.

Because of our unique position in the homeschooling community, we have outlined a new program that will provide process art experiences and social opportunities for kids of different abilities.

PROPOSAL: Process Art Social Club

We are excited to announce our proposal for a 6-month pilot program: the Process Art Social Club, held Wednesday afternoons from 2:00–3:00 PM at Family Learning Lab. This program will offer up to 12 children ages 5 to 16 a gentle, welcoming space to explore art, share laughs, and connect with others in a low-pressure, relaxed environment. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to attend alongside their children and participate as needed.

Each week, children will get to explore and experiment with a different type of process art. This typically involves using a unique material or object to paint with on mixed media paper. This provides and excellent starting base for creative expression and students will be allowed to take their projects further as their interest and ability guide them.

Because we are not a licensed special needs center, we want to be clear about the environment we’re offering. Children attending this program should be able to:

• Sit at a table for a short period of time

• Follow basic instructions (with or without the help of their parent/caregiver)

• Participate in a shared creative activity in a group setting

• Allow other participants to share, interact with others, and feel welcome

We will do our best to accommodate a variety of needs through our flexible format and caregiver participation.

Most importantly, we are committed to making all families feel welcome, seen, and supported.

How You Can Help Us Launch This Program

This program will not start until it is fully funded. Program cost will be $10 per participant, unless excess donations are received in which case the price will be adjusted accordingly.

We are currently seeking donations and sponsorships to bring this program to life and make it accessible to as many families as possible.

Program Costs:

$200 – Classroom Tempera Paint Set

$140 – 4 bulk packs of Mixed Media Paper 

$300 – Additional materials such as clay, sensory tools, etc.

Cash Donations, In Kind Donations, Store & Amazon Gift Cards are all welcome.

All donors will be gratefully recognized with social media shout-outs, “Sponsored by” mentions on event promotions, and thank-yous in our weekly print and email newsletters.

Want to make an even bigger impact?

Additional donations will be applied towards our $10 per child program fees to bring the cost down even more for participants:

• $576 donation brings the program costs down to $8 per participant
• $1440 donation brings the program costs down to $5 per participant
• $2880 donation makes the program free for participants!

Interested donors are invited to contact Family Learning Lab at [email protected]