The Olympic Games are just around the corner in Paris, and we know the whole family will be coming into the city to enjoy them. A 100-meter semi-final? A badminton singles match? A show jumping competition? You’ve got your tickets, but no solution yet for your children during these few days or weeks in the capital…?
That’s why this summer, The Garden Academy is opening its doors wide – very wide – to welcome all children into a fun-filled summer environment, an immersive English playspace, within a program facilitated by native English-speaking education professionals. For the 2024 Olympics in Paris, our three schools located in the heart of the capital (Paris 7th, Paris 15th, Paris 5th) will become summer camps for all children, English-speaking or not, aged 3 to 10.
The Garden Academy will therefore remain open all summer long, offering 9 weeks of fun, themed courses, all in English!
One Week, One Theme
You can enroll your kids all summer long, as each week they will discover a new theme, new activities and a variety of indoor and outdoor games. The themes chosen are always inspired by the children and current events. This summer, the 9-week courses will focus on robots, pirates, the Olympics (of course), literature, the circus and animated films. The kids will have fun playing and learning with other kids from all around the world and there really is something for every child and every interest!
Highly International Courses
The Garden Academy’s English immersion summer camps are not just for English speakers; they are also for bilingual children and English language learners, with all language levels accepted and a teaching team that adapts to every profile. As a result, The Garden Academy brings together a multitude of nationalities and families from all walks of life in its summer camps for children (and also in its year-round school programs). That’s why we limit the number of kids in each group, in order to maintain a high-quality environment that enables our team to listen carefully to the children’s needs, making sure they are having fun, they are engaged and enables each child to blossom and make the most of his or her days at The Garden Academy whilst learning English. International families who are coming to Paris for a short time can send their kids to The Garden knowing that they will be in a safe, positive learning environment whilst the parents are out working or enjoying the Paris life. Now, it’s not your standard daycare, The Garden programs are for those families looking to immerse their kids in an English environment and work on developing their understanding of the English language whilst having fun!
Learning through play
During these camps, kids take part in five workshops a day, discovering as much as possible on their own. Groups by age and level of English enable each child to develop at his or her own pace, and enjoy the week to the full! The vacation camp program is a fun extension of our core curriculum. It incorporates a theme of that time and moment whilst still keeping in mind the educational goals for kids of all ages. The kids will have a fun time playing a game or completing an activity whilst being immersed in an English environment. The team uses all sorts of different games from cards, books, board games, to educational and creative games for preschoolers and older kids alike, with the aim of combining learning whilst having fun and playing either individually or as a team. There are many different types of games for kids, such as cooperative games, strategy games, card games or games of skill: these games are fun and ensure all players are stimulated. Our team of international teachers are committed to offering an enriching play time, where the aim is to work together, or to challenge their ability to think, concentrate and remember. For the youngest children, we also work on fine motor skills through creative activities and educational games, leaving them as much autonomy as possible (cooking, gardening, construction games, etc.).
The Garden Academy’s summer camps enable children of all ages to discover new skills, open up to others, boost their self-confidence… all while having lots of fun!
A Focus on the Benefits of Play
Individual and group play encourages communication and collaboration between children, improving their social skills and their ability to work in a group. Games also help kids to learn and follow rules, and develop their ability to strategize, like to win the treasure hunt or a puzzle competition, for example. They stimulate the imagination and encourage critical thinking and problem-solving, values that are at the heart of active pedagogies. Games also develop memory, concentration and recall.
They are a fun way to create or strengthen bonds with the teaching team and other children, encouraging positive communication.
Games help children manage their emotions when they lose a game or, for example, they are unable to solve a puzzle.
Whether social, outdoor, group or individual, play offers many benefits to kids, in terms of social, cognitive and emotional development, and this facilitates learning. We have a classroom environment and games that suit kids of all ages. The philosophy of the Reggio approach to education is to allow for the environment to contribute to the kids’ education. Whether that be a kitchen corner, a library corner, messy arts station or a construction station, the child can create their own imaginary world! In addition to the environment we endeavor to have games and toys to engage kids of all ages and interests whether it’s a puzzle, cards that develop their strategic thinking, coloring in and drawing which develops their imagination or playing with magnetic toys that trains their fine motor skills. This creates a fun and engaged environment for the kids whilst they develop their understanding of the English language.
Montessori Workshops
The Garden looks to foster a community or family in France based around children learning and developing in a positive environment. Many English, French and other international families join us within any one of our programs (preschool, kindergarten, after school activities, vacation camps) because they want this English / bilingual immersion experience but also because of the use different teaching practices like Montessori & Reggio where the kids are learning about life and developing their skills within a fun music or art class activity.
The team of teachers are trained to allow children to gain autonomy, sharpen their critical sense and progress at their own pace. During their time in the program the kids will develop their curiosity and autonomy by being exposed to a wide range of activities. Our teaching team invites children to take part in fun educational games based on art, science, music, song or reading. The games and workshops are varied, creative and based on the week’s theme. Several months before the course begins, the supervisors choose the theme, select the games and activities and prepare the materials. The theme stimulates the kids’ imaginations and makes The Garden Academy camps even more fun!
Your child will play with color, music and movement whilst also developing their language, counting and math or their written and drawing skills. In the classroom, the goal of the environment is to allow the kids to use their imagination within different settings, whether it be playing chef in the kitchen, reading a book in the library or building a town and railway in the construction corner. The kids have the liberty to choose a fun game or activity at any time and we have something suitable for all ages. Our team uses many Montessori materials and toys, such as educational books, stacking games, logic games… the principle is always the same: to combine fun and pedagogy, while allowing the child to make his or her own experience in English!
Outdoor Games
No matter the age or size, baby, toddler, preteenager or even adults who doesn’t love to be outside and in a park!? Particularly in summer, the kids at The Garden Academy take advantage of the parks and gardens several times a day to play games, do sports and share a moment in the great outdoors. The pedagogical team invites the children to play with outdoor toys and games (balls, marbles, skipping rope, chalk, kites…) to create an ideal moment of recreation for the children’s well-being and ability to concentrate and memorize. The kids have a moment to play individually and use their imagination or as a team and play a game of soccer, tag or anything else they can imagine. Being outdoors and having a fun time, playing a game of tag or scoring goals in a match! Playing outdoors not only helps kids learning about their body and movement, it is also a great context for the kids to develop interpersonal skills whilst working as a team or experiencing the highs and lows of some friendly and fun competition. The parks to which the kids go to in complete safety are equipped with infrastructures dedicated to the youngest: swings, slides, sandbox, jungle gyms in which the kids can climb a ladder… weather permitting, they can also picnic on the lawns of the parks to enjoy the surrounding nature.
Our 3 Centers and their Neighboring Green Spaces
Are you planning on coming to France or Paris this year and want your child to learn languages within a program that immerses them in an English environment? The Garden Academy offers multiple vacation camps at all three locations in Paris throughout July and August. They run from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6m., at the following addresses:
– 7, rue Valentin Haüy, Paris 7: this 135m2 two-story space is located 50 meters from the avenue de Breteuil, its children’s park and two pools with water jets. Children can play on the swings, slide down the slides and visit the farm animals in their enclosures on the Avenue de Breteuil lawns.
– 17, rue Théodore Deck, Paris 15: this 135m2 space is just 20 meters from the Clos Feuquières square, with its playground, sandboxes, mini-football pitch and drinking water fountains. It also houses a community garden.
– 44, rue du Fer à Moulin, Paris 5: this 140m2 space is located opposite Square Théodore Monod. This enclosed space allows kids to play safely in the facilities provided. Shaded by tall trees, this green space is the ideal place to cool down in the height of summer in the French capital.
Each family must provide their child with a lunchbox, consisting of a water bottle and a balanced meal. Organic snacks are provided each afternoon.
The price for a week of full-day camp is €500; the price for a half-day course is €300. For children up to the age of 6, you benefit from a 50% tax exemption.
To register your child for The Garden Academy vacation camps, please contact the management via this online form, giving your contact details and the desired center. The team will get back to you to answer your questions and finalize the registration.
