Your child came into the world with an incredible desire to explore, construct, create and connect. You might call it playing. But to your child, it's serious business. Play is the building block of all future learning. That's why it's important to stimulate your child with a wide range of playful activities, and to constantly vary your child's play materials. Create new and interesting challenges for your child, and you'll see her mastery of fundamental skills expand exponentially.

A-Ha! is a unique parent-child workshop that presents a broad range of powerful play experiences rich with learning opportunities. Created with child-development experts from Harvard, The Brazelton Institute, and several Reggio Emilia-inspired schools, the A-Ha! Workshop honors a child's intrinsic drive to master his environment. At the same time, our workshop helps you become an even more effective play partner. You'll see how to build on your child's initiatives, broaden his experience and deepen your connection with him — all through play.

Your child is an eager, active learner on a perpetual quest to gather information. When she explores objects, ideas, and situations that interest her, she's drawing her own personal connections and conclusions. The more fun her play is, the more excited she is to learn.

The engaging play experiences in the A-Ha! Workshop are designed to heighten your child's interest and help him become a self-confident, independent learner. As he goes about his work, he's pursuing his innate curiosities and developing important academic, social, and emotional skills. Our goal is to maximize his developmental potential and amplify his cognitive, lingual, physical, social & emotional intelligences. A-Ha! Enhances this experience through a process we call "enriched play."

• Observing and following your child's lead
• Building on her emerging interests, questions and ideas
• Finding balance between too much challenge and too little stimulation
• Respecting her unique profile of strengths and needs
• Providing multiple ways for her to express herself
• Turning everyday play into a learning opportunity
• Reinforcing parents and caregivers as a child's partner in learning

In each A-Ha! Workshop, your child is presented with unique play materials designed specifically to intrigue. This might include blocks, miniatures, dress-up accessories or a variety of props that stimulate the child sense of wonder.

In one workshop, for instance, a mountain of clay is arranged in the center of the room. Naturally, the clay beacons your child. Within moments, he is touching, climbing, and exploring its cold, damp surface. Instantly, your child formulates his hypothesis about the clay. He notices it's strong enough to climb on, and yet soft enough to put his finger through. Before long, he's poking an object into the clay, unveiling its irony. And then he understands: clay is soft and malleable and yet hard and strong. His discovery is completely empirical. It unfolds organically, leaving a deep impression in the mind of your child.

Participating in the A-Ha! Workshop actually helps the parent become a better play partner for their child. How? By modeling ways you can further enrich your child's experience and providing specific tools that help you better support her development.

In the clay example, you'll be at your child's side verbalizing her discoveries, confirming her observations and inspiring deeper learning. Perhaps you'll provide poking tools for further experiments, or point out her foot's impression in the clay. Most importantly, you'll follow your child, rather than lead her — a rare occasion for role reversal that has positive impact on your child's self-esteem.

The A-Ha! Workshop experience will help you gain lasting insight to:

• read your child's behavior— her goals, strategies and theories
• respond to your child with unobtrusive interactions that enrich her experience
• reflect on the broader patterns & meanings of your child's unique personality and potential

Moreover, partnering with your child through enriched play creates shared memories and deepens the bond with your child.

The A-Ha! Workshop was developed by a group of individuals who recognize that play is the critical path to all early learning (see About Us). We are committed to bringing parents and caregivers the highest standard of support for their crucial role in fostering their child's ability. It is our profound hope that parents will realize the amazing qualities of enriched play and embrace it as the most important, valuable, natural learning tool available.

Enroll now in a Workshop near you!