Fall Programs 2021 (E-Learning and Enrichment Programs)

2021 FALL PROGRAMS : Scroll down for important registration info

Dear Parent,
We understand these are scary and stressful times, and that our children have been deprived of much over the last year (we are parents too), being away from school, their friends, youth sports, support groups, etc, and we also realize the importance of inching out of isolation and moving forward for our children's mental health, if only in baby steps. We at Eco Adventures hope to fill that void. We will be offering camps, homeschooling classes, after school programs, birthday parties and Feeding Frenzy privtae tours, Jungle Expresses and Open Plays for enrichment thereby filling a need that many, parents have requested, ensuring that their children receive some vital in-person learning opportunities, and in a SAFE and secure manner.

In saying this, we are confident that Eco Adventures has had a successful camps and learning sessions in 2020-2021. We know what works and what doesn’t. We have ample spaces to spread out both inside and outside. Unlike many of the larger venues, with multitudes of kids, we operate on a very small scale. We have added extra staff just to sanitize. We are confident that Eco Adventures is taking every step to offer you and your child the safest enrichment experience during these unprecedented times.

Here is our key to success with our safety and FUN model:

IMPORTANT PROTOCOL AND PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES WE ARE TAKING TO ENSURE A SAFE HEALTHY FACILITY. THIS MEETS CDC GUIDELINES AND MD DEPT OF HEALTH YOUTH CAMP GUIDELINES.
1. Small group sizes: Eco Adventures will only be accepting a limited number of children for enrichment programs and comprehensive cleaning protocols and procedures.
We are not allowing parents inside the building and limiting the number of people that come into the building. Everyone will wear masks.ALl of our staff is vacinnated.
2. Sanitation: The facility will be thoroughly disinfected throughout the day.
Children will have their own supplies. Any shared items will be disinfected.
4. Pre-screening- temp checks: Every child will be screened/have their temperature taken before admittance each day. Any child running a fever or showing signs of illness will not be admitted.
3. Hand washing: will take place numerous times a day, upon arrival, between moving areas, end of the day, before lunch if applicable, after animal touching in addition to other sanitizing procedures.
4. Outdoor time: Whenever possible, we will be rotating kids from outside activity time to inside- depending on the weather.

In addition to the enhanced safety protocols listed above, you can still expect all the fun and educational experiences for your children that you have come to expect and rely on with Eco Adventures programs. While it may be hard to compete with other places that can take more participants and have less overhead, please keep in mind that your child will be getting unique much needed hands-on experiences over 80+ animals in our collection but activities in STEAM/sciences and the natural world that we know no one else can offer! In the end, what is important to us is that your child has a FUN and SAFE learning environment during these trying times. Once part of our ECO family...always part of our ECO family - and we hope for years to come. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions, or concerns.

Mei Len Sanchez-Barr and Dr. Brady Barr
Directors

Schedule
Program	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pre K Open Play Pods	10-11:30am email to book
FULL E-learning Enrichment Programs	everyday of the week
Home School		11-noon	11-noon	11-noon
After "School" Program	4:00- 6 pm	4:00- 6 pm	4:00-6pm	4:00- 6 pm	4:00- 6 pm
Keeper Apprentice	any day of the week- email to book
Parent and Me Classes		9:30-10:15am
Open House Sept 11th 1:30-2:30pm must email to RSVP

Programs and Prices at a Glance

FALL CAMPS 2021

_____________________________________________________
FALL PROGRAMS

_____________________________________________________
Pre-School Pandemic OPEN PLAY PODS for Parents and children $150 for up to 10 people after 10 people $10 per person

Starting this Fall, back by popular demand, we are bringing back our pandemic pods. What exactly is a Pandemic Pod? A Pod is a group of friends that you feel comfortable with during these uncertain and dangerous covid times. A group of friends that you KNOW, have been with throughout the pandemic, and you deem safe to interact with. Put together a group, a POD, of kids and parents, that can safely interact together at Eco Adventures. You can meet once a week, twice a week, or as many times as you wish, for your kids’ enrichment and enjoyment/learning experience. What a way to get a group of youngsters together to satisfy that vital social interaction their young lives need, while you have the peace of mind knowing that your entire pod is a familiar and safe group. Eco Adventures stringently follows all local and state-mandated guidelines surrounding the virus. In addition, all of our instructors have been vaccinated, providing a safe educational experience for your entire group. Each Pod session will be for 1.5 hrs and include live animal interactions each time and may include, crafts/experiments, games, fossil dig, and open playtime in our award-winning rainforest setting.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pre-school Parent and Me Classes (ages 3-5): 45 mins, $20/class for parent and me, $7/extra sibling $7, 10 families max =$120 for 6 weeks Small group sizes , storytime, meet animals, play games, make crafts in a safe setting,

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday Safaris Mini Camps Oct 2nd 2 hrs $40 (ages 4-7) 10-12:30
Come Monkey around ...Kids will need a day to unwind and have some fun with our Saturday Safaris! Morning time, they will be provided with our mixed usual themes full of fun, games, crafts, animal interactions, feeding, demos, fossil digs, and more!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Keeper Apprentice Program (ages 9+) 10am-12:30pm Tues, Wed, on weekends $65
Wonder what it is like to be a zookeeper? Who hasn’t, right? This highly personal program is led by one of our credentialed animal keepers, to pull back the curtain on all involved in animal husbandry. This in-depth experience is for the older students who are serious about learning animal husbandry and medical care of animals. Students will tour the facility and learn specific information and needs of our special animal collection. Students will get to not only encounter animals in our behind the scenes animal room, but assist with animal care, food prep, training, & cleaning. This is a very hands-on experience like no other, with interactions with numerous endangered species! Whoever gets to interact with an endangered species in this day and age? YOU DO, in this extremely elite camp, the ultimate insider experience.
**Space is very limited, with only three select participants per day!! Perfect for aspiring Jr. Assistants. Please bring lunch and masks. Call to register.

Keeper Apprentice After School Classes Tuesdays 4:30-6pm 4 weeks classes $25 per class
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Homeschool Classes (ages 5-13): See Homeschool Tab

$20 per class for 6-week session =$120 Max of 14 students
$20 per class for 6-week session = OWN POD Call to reserve date and time
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After School Programs - see After School Tab

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING E-LEARNING PODS AND COVID SAFETY :

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

REGISTRATION:
** please email us with your registration. In order to make it as safe as possible , we and trying to keep the groups small. Weekly/session commitments are preferable. Call to inquire about single day drop ins.
Option 1: FORM YOUR OWN POD with same age/grade of kids Option 2: BE PUT IN AN EXISTING POD.

**Registrations can be week to week. For full week/ partial week commitments is 6 weeks at a time session. Payment plans are available. Contact us.
**Space is extremely limited. Increased prices reflect the limited capacity of keeping small groups for safety, sanitation/extra staff costs, and logistics. Unfortunately, we cannot take credit for these Fall programs unless there is space availability. (call us the day before) Credit can be used for any virtual programs, birthday parties, private feeding frenzies, and when we resume to normalcy with “live” school. The ½ day schedules of M-Tues and Thurs-Fri are designed for COVID safety by trying to keep from introducing new children into a group every day. Wednesdays can be single days.

WHAT TO BRING:
**Own chrome/computer, headphones with microphone, log in instructions/passwords etc
**Snack and peanut free lunch , water bottle
**Own basic supplies (glue bottle, pencil/pen, markers, scissors)

WE PROVIDE:
**Each child will have a table of their own and partition to decorate and personalize their own space.
**Instruction, tech support, organizational assistance as needed for E-learning classes and parent communication
**Each child pics an "emotional support" animal habitat to have in their area which they will be in assisting with taking care of
**FUN activities before and after with a pop to cool off in the afternoon!

REQUIREMENTS /POLICIES AND SAFETY:
**Children must bring their own computer/chrome book/headphones and some school supplies. (list will be emailed)
** Must wear masks inside. Many activities can be done outside. Do not have to wear masks outside unless we are not able to social distance.
** If there are more than one pods, there will not be intermixing of pods. Each pod has their own learning areas, bathroom and area for virtual learning every day.
**We are relying on your honesty and good judgment during this pandemic. If you commit to our programs, we trust that if you go out of state, attend large gatherings/events/vacation, go out of the state, or are around people that do not practice good measures (do not wear masks, etc)…you must contact us as it may affect the dates of participation. Thank you for your understanding!
** If your child gets sick, we cannot allow him to participate in the program. Your child must be fever free, symptom-free for at least 24 hrs before coming back to our programs and/or with a doctor’s note. If tested for COVID, must have Covid lab test results. We are flexible with allowing your child to make up the days they were absent. However, if you have to cancel due to sickness, you can receive credit only.
**Our policy is CREDIT only for ANY reason at this time for these programs. Refunds are only given if we have to cancel due to low participation numbers. Credit does not expire and can be used for inhouse programs such as birthday parties, Feeding Frenzies, Virtual Programs, Lunch and Learns, future camps, etc etc...based on space availability.
**Please see Frequently asked Q & A for more procedures from camps 2021.