Age Ranges: Do you take pre-K? 6th grade? Where does my rising 3rd grader go? 

We will accept rising kindergarteners into our programs, provided they will be 5 by September 1st. Rising 6th graders are welcome (and common!) in our grades 3-5 programs, and we scale our curriculum accordingly. Rising 3rd graders can technically go in either place, depending on the needs of the child. Please do NOT put your rising 3rd grader in a full day of either Summer Studio or Imagination Stage. If they need a full day of programming, please pick an age group and stick with it!

How Does Lunch Bunch work? 

Lunch bunch is an add-on item to bridge the morning and afternoon programs. Initially, Lunch Bunch will ONLY be for full day families. If space allows, we will open spots to extend your child’s half-day program by one hour. This program is limited in size, though we will make every effort to provide proper staffing so full day students can be accommodated. Families provide their own lunches.

How many weeks can I sign up for? 

Technically, you can sign up for all 8, however, we don’t advise it. We’ve found that 3 weeks is a good maximum for our programs. We change curriculum weekly — the themes, stories, projects are different week to week, but the overall structure is the same. We have had studio kids for as many as 5 weeks, but in general 1-3 weeks is the sweet spot. 

Are there sibling discounts? 

We have a family membership discount that gives you 10% off every program for every family member. If you buy a family membership for $90, that will still provide a savings for two kids in one week of program (and then you get a discount all year long!). 

How do I go to an art show AND a theater show at 11:30 if my kids are in both programs at the same time? 

If you have a child in both programs, come at 11:25 for a special “sneak peek” of the art show, then take your artist to go see their sibling’s show next door. After the show, come back to the Big Yellow House to collect all of your child’s art. We promise, it works!

Do the programs do anything together? 

We go outside for snack and play every day as a team. That means Imagination Stage and Summer Studio see each other each day for about 45 minutes. Lunch Bunch is a single program, so if you have two  kids at FYA for a week they will have lunch together. 

We really want program A for week Z but there’s only room in program B. Can you squeeze them in? Please??

Sigh….we really wish we could. The truth is that, in order to provide the quality programming we do for your child, the level of training/support for our High School staff that we insist on, and the lack of room in our building, we max each program at 15. We will make an occasional exception if siblings are registered and only one is on the waitlist, but that is a case by case basis depending on staffing and the number of kids in the program. 

But there’s only room in Imagination Stage and my kid isn’t a “theater kid!”

We’re going to ask you to trust us here. We’ve heard that statement dozens of times in the 3 years we have been running Imagination Stage, and 100% of the time, at the end of the week, the family is happily surprised at how much fun their child had. 80% of the time (we looked it up!) the child returns for another week! Again, we do NOT allow children to be in a full day of either Summer Studio or Imagination Stage.

How much do the programs cost?

Each half day program is $260/week, and lunch bunch is $50/week. Programs are added a la carte, so a full week of programs from 9-4 pm is $570. Member price is $513/week for a full day. Please see below for more financial information. 

Do you offer financial assistance? 

Yes. We do our best to accommodate financial constraints. Our Arts for All Program will begin accepting summer applications on March 20th. Financial assistance ranges from 10-80% of tuition depending on need and available funds. 

How about early bird/late pickups? 

While we understand that some families need fuller day, our program is not designed to be longer than 9-4. In order to keep the quality of programming at the level we insist upon, and to minimize staff turnover, we keep our program to a 7 hour day. Studio kids can be dropped off no earlier than 8:55 and must be picked up by 4:05 or families risk additional fee

Our plans have changed! Can I cancel/switch weeks? 

If there is room in another program, we can make ONE SWITCH with no fee. If a cancelation is requested up to 21 days prior to start date, we will provide a full refund minus a $25 processing fee per program (lunch bunch doesn’t count as a program). Within 21 days of the start date, we will provide a 50% refund unless we can fill the spot, in which case you will receive a refund minus $25 processing fee per program. Within 3 days of start date, there are no refunds or exchanges. This means cancelations for 50% refund must be made before Thursday at 5 pm the week before your program starts.