
SUCCESS STORIES
Creative Arts * Creative Education * Creative Therapies
Early Start's Twinkle Tots A Virtual Success
May 2021
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Despite the fact that “Twinkle Tots” was not hosted in an in-person classroom setting, the virtual experience through Zoom still provided my son, Caleb, the opportunity to interact, thrive, and enjoy. Ms. Claudia did a great job with her teaching skills in trying to engage my son in her virtual class through music, conversation, and asking him questions. As time went on, he developed an affection for his teacher and began interacting with her. Ms. Claudia’s patience and kindness was really appreciated especially since my son, being two years old, is at the stage where he can get very fussy, yell, and scream. Caleb understands both English and Spanish and therefore it was great that the program incorporated them both into the lessons in order to continue Caleb’s bilingual learning. At this time Caleb is non-verbal, but through this program he was introduced to art which helps enhance his motor skills through painting and coloring. From day one, Caleb immediately enjoyed the paints and began experimenting on paper and sensing how it felt on his hands. There have been times when he has wanted me to join him in making his art and that is a wonderful experience to see as a parent—showing me Caleb’s ever-evolving social skills. I have come to learn that Caleb’s favorite part of the class is the art projects, especially when he is able to use the dot-dot paints. Whenever I lay out construction paper out for him now, he knows it is art time and loves to scribble with his crayons as he waits for class to begin. I have always been an advocate for the arts and for music, and now as a parent this definitely strengthened my love and beliefs for them. I want to make sure that my son continues to grow and develop with art and music.
OCCTAC Early Start Program Offers A Summertime Creativity Break for Young Students
July 2020

Even the youngest OCCTAC students have transitioned to online learning and activities. This July, our Early Start & Pre-K Coordinator, Claudia Maravilla, adapted the annual summer program for virtual learning with the “Summer Storytime” 4-week interactive program based on the art and literature of beloved children’s author Eric Carle. Here are what some of our Early Start parents had to say about this year’s program:
“As a mom I’m so thankful for the art class that Miss Claudia is having this summer. My son had brain surgery last year at the age of 3. His recovery has been amazing! Therapeutic art has helped him tremendously with his recovery. We have watched him really enjoy expressing himself through art. He gets very excited when it’s time to join our Zoom class. He gets his art material ready by himself and even reminds me that I need to print out the activity for that day. As a family we just love to see how much he loves this art class. We would love for this class to continue as we know how much he enjoys it. Thank you so much Miss Claudia!”
– Maria Delgado
Early Start Sparks Imagination
July 2020

“As a parent I am very passionate about making sure my children are learning and engaged. I am extremely thankful for this summer story time class, especially during these hard times, as it
became an inspirational class for my 3 year-old boy. Miss Claudia taught the class so creatively that it sparked my child's imagination and creativity. She animated the stories well for all the children and my son was always focused and participating. Every morning my son, Elijah, would look forward to the class and ask me, “is it time to see my friends and do art?” My son was a premature baby and had some skills delay, but I have seen how this class has helped him with his social and fine motor skills. I hope this class continues as it has supported my child’s artistic learning. I have seen a tremendous growth in this learning and would like to continue a similar class with all my other children.”
– Patty Lopez