Opened inOctober 2014, Artenia Beast’s Academy of Play and Whimsy is dedicated to the schooling of the young creator, inventor, and haver of grand ideas. Beginning with two year olds who have honed the essential adventuring skills of walking with confidence and greeting others with tremendous joy, Artenia Beast’s Academy nurtures young world explorers in the essential skills of embracing the possibilities of life. Children between 2 and 5 years old spend their days immersed in play, adventure, and community. Whether studying the properties of the basic elements in the science lab, deepening their connection to the color blue in our artist studio, or trekking across wild landscapes in the outdoor play space, the children ever strengthening their spirits, voices, and bodies. We nurture each child’s inheritance of adventure and passion. We share the work of nose wiping. We hug, laugh, and sing songs. We listen to magical stories and tell them. We extend each day as an offering of space, moments, and support so that each child might make of it what they will. Artenia Beast offers full and part time care for children 2-5 year olds. Our Credo
Play and playfulness are the heart of learning in early childhood. Children learn best through loving, authentic relationships. We do away with shy, bossy, naughty, tomboy and labels that confine who a child is becoming. We believe the label girl or boy tells us nothing about the play a child desires or the possibilities they hold. Fill a child’s day with moments to build, play and discover and you will not be able to hold her or him back from reading, science, and life-long learning. We believe teacher is guide, researcher, nurturer, and playful partner. Children need space and time to hear the whisperings of wonder and to follow where curiosity leads. Nature should come in large doses and daily. Who is Artenia Beast? Born to a rather dull family that ran an accounting dynasty in Plodding, Ohio, Artenia Beast developed her own passion for adventuring at the tender age of three when she breached the milk door of the family home and discovered the thrill of wandering, scaling walls, and hand carving flutes from river reeds. Returning home that night with a missing tooth never clearly explained, Artenia devoted the remaining days of her childhood to claiming experience and fraying her parents’ rather delicate nerves. After four decades of world wandering, Artenia’s mind turned back to the days of childhood with the realization that there was no shortage of dull adults ever weighing down the planet. Determined to do her bit to change this trend, Artenia envisioned an Academy of Play and Whimsy where each child’s inheritance of adventure and passion was properly nurtured. Touring modern schools, she quickly diagnosed an obsession with the alphabet and the creation of lines of children- a condition that had resulted in a complete disregard of such essential life skills as fording swift streams and capturing the hues of a sunset on canvas. Artenia Beast ensures each child's day offers endless opportunity for exploration. She also develops essential life skills such as proper response to encounters of wild bears, the raising of tents, and the fundamentals of catapult construction. Artenia Beast's Academy of Play and Whimsy will be located at 5265 H Street, Sacramento. We lease our space from The Table, a progressive Methodist congregation. Our school began with two large classrooms opened in October 2014. We will expand to 4 classroom serving 40 children in the year ahead. The outdoor play space will also be greatly expanded and in the months ahead will transform into a magical space where children explore, create, and grow close to the natural world. Artenia Beast will be directed by the same creative team behind Art Beast Children's Studio in midtown Sacramento. Artenia Beast will of course be advising our efforts from far flung corners of adventure and mischief. We will be offering full and part time care for children between 2 and 5 years old. Artenia Beast's Academy of Play and Whimsy is a licensed child development center operating under license 343620093
