Pre-School

Joppa Flats Education Center vacation programs offer a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities while we keep minds active and hands busy during school break. Each session offers a different theme, with art activities, experiments, group games, and scheduled family presentations for everyone. It's free-flow learning for the whole family. Come once or make it a multiple-day adventure; drop in for an hour or stay all day for a vacation activity that suits your family schedule.

Ooch (aka Brett Outchcunis) is a life coach and motivational speaker who has geared his presentation towards teaching kids life skills that will last them a lifetime! Using music, magic, dance, storytelling and yo-yos - Ooch connects to kids on their level and encourages them to explore themselves as they face the challenges of growing up to discover their true inner potential!  Recommended for children in K-8th. No registration necessary, free and open to the public, so bring a friend.

Maritime Gloucester invites kids in pre-k through first grade to a vacation week session about Plankton - part of a week full of educational sessions during February vacation! What is plankton? Many sea creatures begin their lives as tiny, floating beings.  Children will be introduced to the plankton found right in Gloucester Harbor, from miniscule lobsters to high-speed copepods.

The Museum of Science hosts a special planetarium presentation geared to engage kids ages 6 and under in the world of Astronomy! Elmo and Big Bird team up to introduce young children to the start in Big Bird's Adventure: One World, One Sky at the Hayden Planetarium in Boston! Follow along with Big Bird, Elmo, and their friend from China, Hu Hu Zhu, as they take you on a journey of discovery to learn about the Big Dipper, the North Star, the Sun, and the Moon.

This parent/child program is designed for the creative, curious, and active preschooler. Each 90-minute session offers a structured series of activities including original songs, movement, dramatic play, hands-on science, and a thematic snack. You'll receive coloring pages, song lyrics, vocabulary, a fun fact sheet, and a suggested reading list in an electronic goody bag! This week we'll be focusing on eagles and their annual migration to the Merrimack River estuary!

Maritime Gloucester invites kids to a vacation week session about amazing creatures lived in the ocean millions of years ago - part of a week full of educational sessions during February vacation!. Children will learn about mega-sized sharks, sea scorpions bigger than people, dinosaur-like sea lizards and other prehistoric animals that once lived in Earth’s ancient seas.  They will construct and color their own paper prehistoric sea creature to take home.  A story will be read about horseshoe crabs, a “living fossil” older than any dinosaur, and we’ll examine horseshoe crab exoskeletons.

Winter is the perfect time of year to go out in search of owls. We'll learn about these fascinating birds through a story and hands-on activities before we head out for our adventure. We'll warm up by the woodstove with a cup of hot chocolate and cookies after our hike.

Is spring on the way, or are we faced with another six weeks of winter? According to legend, Punxsutawney Phil foretells the impending weather each year. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If not, spring is near. Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary celebrates this ritual with a fun afternoon of activities for kids and families!

Meet children's author April Jones Prince as she reads from her book, What Do Wheels Do All Day? [Illustrated by Giles LaRoche]. Free and open to the public, this program is designed for toddlers through age six and their caregivers. Enjoy an art project and other interactive activities relating to the book, followed by a book signing and snack. For more information and to RSVP online, visit the website or call.

Sawyer Free Library hosts a puppet show that tells the story of Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the beautiful. The story is an old russian folk tale of a young woman named Vasilisa who uses a magic doll to weather the trials posed upon her by a witch named Baba Yasa who lives deep in the woods.  Your kids will love this wonderful fairy tale, told by 'Round the World Puppets that's full of fantasy and fun!