Tinkergarten Announces New Summer Programming With Camp Tinkergarten

NORTHAMPTON, Mass., June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tinkergarten, the leading provider of outdoor early learning experiences for children, announces their new summer program - Camp Tinkergarten, bringing a summer of wellness for kids. Officially kicking off June 20, Camp Tinkergarten provides families with a free guide to eight full weeks of purposeful play at home, including playful, outdoor learning activities and insightful resources for parents on how to get the most out of their summer.

Camp Tinkergarten provides families with eight weeks of easy, enriching and fun outdoor play activities this summer. Activities are designed for four age groups: babies, toddlers, preschoolers and elementary aged kids, and each camp week is centered around a different core Tinkergarten skill, including skills like persistence, creativity, focus, and empathy. The program puts a special emphasis on bolstering social and emotional skills for kids. Each weekly activity guide includes easy descriptions of how to set up and support kids with the engaging activities, a toolkit of suggested materials, read alouds and songs to enhance learning, and a schedule to help parents manage the day to day. Parents and children are able to track their child's progress on a printable "trail map" and celebrate weekly milestones with Tinkergarten's online community.

"To counterbalance the uncertainty and stress of these times, we wanted to help parents use summer to give their families a fresh start. Even without the camps and travels we may have planned, we can still bring  the sweetness of summer we all remember from our childhoods into our homes this season. So, we've made it easy for parents to give their kids eight weeks of wildly fun, enriching outdoor play activities—basically, setting up summer camp at home" said Meghan Fitzgerald, co-founder and Chief Learning Officer of Tinkergarten. "Our program focuses on all eight of our Tinkergarten skills, with a strong emphasis on developing social and emotional skills through play. Children can learn to express themselves, solve problems, nurture their passions, set and achieve goals and enjoy all of the restorative benefits of play and time outside."

"All important learning for young children, including social and emotional development, takes place within the context of play. Play is exploration. Play is trying things out and seeing what happens. Play is developing a sense of mastery," said Jack P. Shonkoff, MD, Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard. "Opportunities for playful interaction between children and adults build the neural connections that constitute the architecture of the developing brain."

Camp Tinkergarten starts on Saturday, June 20, but parents can join at any time, as each week is independent of each other. To celebrate the end of camp, on August 15, Tinkergarten will host "The Great Tinkergarten Camp Out/Camp In," a national virtual event complete with sing-a-longs, read alouds, games and easy ways to make camping as a family fun and memorable—whether you camp in the wild or just in the living room. To register or learn more about Camp Tinkergarten, visit tinkergarten.com/camp.

About Tinkergarten
Tinkergarten® is the national leader in outdoor play-based learning that helps families make the most out of the critical window of early childhood development. Through expert-led classes in all 50 states and Tinkergarten at Home virtual play, this rapidly expanding movement makes high-quality early childhood development accessible to all. Backed by a growing technology-enabled network of instructors, Tinkergarten classes are designed to provide families with an outdoor curriculum that fosters curiosity, confidence and self-direction. Tinkergarten's creativity-driven method is rooted in research and proven to help kids six months to eight years old develop a range of essential physical, cognitive and social-emotional skills necessary to thrive in today's dynamic world. To join a local Tinkergarten class or sign up for Tinkergarten at Home at tinkergarten.com - or follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Tinkergarten