Early Childhood Programs
Arts for Learning Early Childhood Programs@4x

The way we engage children in the first years of their lives has a profound impact on future learning and success.

As the Maryland affiliate of the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts, we know that decades of practice and research prove that integrating the arts into early learning experiences contributes to greater school readiness for our youngest learners in the domains of social and emotional, physical, cognitive, and linguistic development.

Our Early Childhood programs bring learning alive by connecting performing arts strategies with core subjects such as language, literacy, science, and math. Using a two-generational approach, we aim to build the confidence and skill set of caregivers and educators to use these strategies in their day-to-day lives and classrooms long after the artist is gone!

Wolf Trap Residencies

Baby Artsplay!™ residencies provide hands-on music, movement, and drama experiences that parents, caregivers, and early childhood educators can use daily in order to set their young learners on a path toward kindergarten readiness.

Literacy and STEM-based residencies train early childhood educators to effectively integrate the arts in their classrooms and provide joyful, active learning experiences that encourage critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration.

Wolf Trap Residencies

Early Childhood Residencies@2x

Theme-based Residencies

A theme-based residency is a series of five student-centered workshops that focuses on creating engaging, interactive arts or arts integration experiences for children in Pre-K or Kindergarten.

Theme-based Residencies

Early Childhood Theme-based Residencies

Assemblies + Workshops

Inspire and motivate your students with a live, interactive, and educational arts assembly performance designed for children ages birth-6.

Children and caregivers will find inspiration in our interactive workshops, where artists engage children ages birth-6 and adults in hands-on creativity to support the learning of any topic.

Designed specifically for early childhood educators, these workshops focus on building the confidence of educators to use developmentally appropriate, arts-integrated strategies to support the learning of literacy, math, science, and SEL. As an approved MSDE trainer, A4L can offer Core of Knowledge hours for these workshops.

Special Programs + Events

Each year, Arts for Learning hosts a series of professional learning workshops for early childhood educators and child care providers with our Wolf Trap-trained artists. Participants will learn simple strategies for integrating the arts into their classroom and daily home routines through engaging theatre, music, and dance activities.

Maryland-based arts and early childhood organizations are teaming up to celebrate April as the 'Month of the Young Child!' This expanded event, inspired by NAEYC's Week of the Young Child, highlights the vital role of the arts in early childhood education. Join us each April for a variety of events designed for early learners and families.

“The residency was amazing! The lessons were so well thought out and easy to understand! Students were HIGHLY engaged throughout the whole residency. I’ve got so many fun ideas and great perspectives! Loved the scarfs, drums, and elements of dance book.”

—Somerset County Kindergarten teacher

Maryland Wolf Trap

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