Crib to College 2023

CRIB TO COLLEGE

AN

EDUCATION AND ACTIVITIES GUIDE GEARED FOR YOUR CHILD’S SUCCESS

Inside:

Lucy Creatives Emphasizes

Creativity, Artistry in Music

Lessons

Local Boys & Girls Clubs

Provide Financial Education to Students

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Campus Connections

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Lucy Creatives Emphasizes Creativity, Artistry in Music Lessons

By Shawn Raymundo

At Lucy Creatives, a music and arts school in Downtown San Clemente, studio founder and teacher Meagan Wade looks to help steer her students’ musical journeys where they can learn who they are as an artist.

“We really focus on … creativity, artistry, and how important that is for the children,” she says, adding: “It’s all about developing the artist, and that’s kind of what we do here.”

Wade explains that while she wants her students to learn how to play the notes of their instruments, such as piano and ukulele, it’s important to her that they begin to understand what genre and style of music and art vibe with them.

“With everything we do, we don’t want to just teach music,” she says. “We also want to help them become the artists that they are and they just so freely show as children.”

A San Clemente native, Wade attended Our Savior’s Lutheran School, which emphasized music.

“Everyone in the school was in the play, and (in) the musical, everyone sang, like no matter what; and so, my siblings, all of us, we can all sing, and we’re all musical,” she says of her musical upbringing, adding: “I think it was because we were just like, in that environment from a very young age.”

In about second grade, Wade began learning to play the piano, and when she was 7, she got her first guitar—which she displays in the classroom and allows her students to play.

“Now, all my students play that guitar, so it’s very full circle,” she says. “But, yeah, that’s where it all started. ... I’ve been playing music my whole life and singing, and singing in, like, choir, singing in bands.”

Shortly after Wade graduated from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa with a general music degree focused on voice and piano, she was approached by a handful of moms who had created small learning pods at their homes for their children to continue learning together during the pandemic. They asked if she would teach the kids music.

“They were able to keep it small and controlled while the kids couldn’t be at school. … I kind of

See CREATIVES on page 5

Expert Knowledge

Crib to College

Raising your child from those stages of infancy to the moment they walk across the stage at graduation is a task unlike anything else—and you don’t have to do it alone.

Beyond immediate friends and family, communities offer a wealth of coaches, experts, and mentors who are more than willing to contribute to developing your child in various ways to maximize their potential.

South County is no different. In our latest edition of Crib to College, we’ve compiled a catalog of resources for local parents to sift through, concerning topics from after-school activities to alternative methods to attending a four-year university.

We spoke to the founder of Lucy Creatives, a studio in Downtown San Clemente that serves young artists and musicians through a handful of classes.

Along with an expected assortment of programs that can spark students’ interest in the arts, sports, and STEM, the Boys & Girls Club of Capistrano Valley provides classes to those seeking to understand the nuances and impacts of their future financial decisions.

We also dove into how local community college districts are endeavoring to show their value as low-cost options toward transferring to a four-year university.

The unfortunate reality is that parents’ workdays don’t end at the same time as their children’s time at school, which can leave them scrambling for safe, enriching ways to occupy their children’s time before going home.

On the bright side, we’ve highlighted plenty of fun programs provided by the cities, the school district and local organizations that can satisfy any child’s needs.

After School Program

Campus Connections:

South Orange County Community College District Shares Lesser-Known Benefits of Attending Community College

By Breeana Greenberg

ommunity colleges offer students an opportunity to continue their educational journey without paying university costs, whether straight out of high school, after a gap year or in mid-career.

While it’s widely known that community college tuition is significantly less expensive than four-year universities, South Orange County Community College District Chief Communications Officer Letitia Clark explained that the district is working to destigmatize the community college experience and spread awareness for the benefits it offers.

Tuition at all California community colleges is the same at $45 a unit, Clark explained.

“If you’re taking a full load, it’s usually less than $600 a semester, and so you’re probably spending less in a year of tuition than some four-year universities cost per unit,” Clark said.

Through starting their undergraduate education at a community college, students can often complete their degree with little to no debt, Clark noted.

“We partner with the four-year universities to ensure that we offer all of the core requirements, so, essentially, a student not only can but should start with the community colleges to get all their core requirements, so at least they’re saving on just the base level requirements before you even enter into a specific area or major,” Clark said.

“You can take all these core English, math, science courses at the community college level and again, at that very competitive tuition rate, and then you can easily transfer,” Clark continued.

South Orange County community colleges also have robust foundations to raise funds for student scholarships, Clark explained. The scholarships often help students with their tuition once they’ve transferred to a four-year university after attending a community college, Clark said.

“If you started at community college, you do well, your grades are good and you look into scholarship opportunities, the community college foundations can actually help students get money to transfer to, let’s say, their dream school,” Clark said.

Clark added that community college students have the ability to transfer to top-tier colleges.

“In fact, it’s probably a little easier for students to get in as a transfer student, because, es-

sentially, the line is shorter,” Clark said. “The line is shorter to get into UCLA or USC as a transfer student than it is as an incoming freshman.”

High school students can also complete a significant portion of their core requirements through dual-enrollment programs.

“We partner with high schools all over the region to allow high school students to take those core community college courses while they’re in high school, so by the time they finish high school, they could have several credits under their belt; or if they join a program early enough, they could actually earn their associate’s degree before they finish high school,” Clark said.

Clark noted that the community college district is working to spread awareness about its educational opportunities available to residents and to eliminate the stigma “that community colleges are somehow less than or inferior to a four-year degree.”

“Community college is such a great option to start to save money to receive the core requirements that you need, and we are really working to create a campus environment at all of the community colleges that feels like that college environment, with a lot of activities, clubs, resources,” Clark said.

“You’re going to find that, especially in California, there’s so much investment made into capital improvements so that it feels good to be on campus,” Clark continued.

Community colleges offer resources and support to help their students overcome challenges, Clark said.

“It’s such a nurturing environment here that if they don’t have the study skills, if they don’t have peer groups that can help in creating a conducive learning environment … there are so many resources to help with child care, with food, with extra money, so that the burden isn’t so great that it can’t be overcome,” Clark said.

In addition to costing significantly less to attend a community college, Clark noted that campus administrations have made an effort to recruit highly skilled faculty through competitive wage and benefit packages.

“The classes that people are taking at the community college level, particularly in California, are going to just be very high-level because of the faculty that are teaching them,” Clark said.

During the pandemic, Clark noted that community colleges saw a dip in enrollment; however, enrollment data are trending near pre-pandemic numbers.

More than 14,000 students are enrolled at Irvine Valley College and more than 23,000 enrolled at Saddleback College, Clark said.

“You look around, the parking lots are full, classes are full; we’re not experiencing the uptick with canceling classes because we don’t have enough enrolled,” Clark said. “We are really seeing a great uptick in enrollment.”

CLINICS ARE FILLING UP QUICKLY!

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Irvine Valley College now has more than 14,000 students enrolled. Photo: Courtesy of the South Orange County Community College District

Saddleback College has more than 23,000 students enrolled following a decrease in enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo: Courtesy of the South Orange County Community College District

just started teaching; I had some little curriculum that I created,” she recalls, later expounding: “I was just creating these workbooks, because I couldn’t find any that I liked online; they weren’t pretty, and I like everything to be beautiful.”

As an artist and musician, Wade finds it important that the pages the kids use to learn are both inspiring and beautiful to them.

“I started creating a workbook, and just using that with the kids as I taught them over COVID,” she says. “And then it just spread, like word spread. And here I am; it just grew and grew and grew until I had so many little classes and students that I needed a space.”

Though Wade didn’t necessarily plan on becoming a teacher, it was those closest to her who believed she would be great at it and encouraged her on that path.

“Interestingly, my parents were always telling me, ‘You’d be a great teacher, you should be a teacher,’ but I didn’t really feel like, I don’t know, I didn’t know if that was my path,” she says, adding: “I’m definitely someone who likes to do multiple things. I like to record music, I like to play live. I also love to teach. I like to create the curriculum and like to create the whole thing.”

Rather than teach in a traditional classroom setting at a school, though, Wade’s creative drive led her to launch her own music school, Lucy Creatives, at 131 Avenida Del Mar, in the spring of 2022.

“I’m too creative, and I think outside of the box. I wouldn’t have been able to thrive in that environment,” Wade says. “But here, what I love the most … I love creativity. That’s what drives me. And so I get to be creative every day.”

Classes offered at Lucy Creatives include Musical Theater Dance, Moon Ukulele, Beginner’s Piano, Little Creatives and—Wade’s favorite—Songwriter’s Club.

“It’s just so inspiring to hear the kids write these songs, and see also their faces light up, and they just are so proud that they wrote a song,” Wade says. “And then their parents are so proud; you know, it’s just so cool.”

As part of Wade’s “outside-the-box” thinking, she incorporates art and dance into the musical curriculum. As an example, during the ukulele class, the students will learn the parts of the instrument by coloring on a sheet and designing the “ukulele of their dreams.”

“So, they’re way more invested in learning, because they created their dream ukulele design, and then their brains remember the parts so much easier, and we play games and make it really fun to remember,” Wade explains.

She utilizes the same coloring technique to learn songs that they sing together.

“They’re not going to learn a song in an hour unless it’s fun for them. So we do the same thing. They color this in while we sing the song and listen to the song, and they create their little art,” she says, pointing to one of the coloring sheets. “Then, by the time they’re done coloring, they know the song, and then we go over and play it on ukulele.”

St. Anne School

“Everything we do is creative in that way, so that it actually sticks for the kids and they’re not just like, ‘Here’s the chorus, here’s the lyrics, play the song,’ ” she says. “I try to make it a fully immersive experience.”

The classes are generally 45 minutes to an hour long. Wade keeps the class sizes small, to about eight or fewer young students. She notes that about 5 years old is a good time to start learning.

And while Wade is the main teacher, she does have a dance teacher and an art specialist who help with the courses, and a few songwriters who come in on a rotating basis to also teach.

“Everything’s very creative, and there’s a playful approach to a lot of things, which is different to a lot of other ways of teaching music,” Wade says, adding: “I want them to be inspired and go home and write their own songs.”

More information about Lucy Creatives and signing up for classes can be found at lucycreatives.com and on the studio’s Instagram, @LucyCreatives.

Lucy Creatives, a music school in Downtown San Clemente, takes a creative approach when it comes to instructing young artists and musicians how to play instruments such as guitar, piano and ukulele, as well as singing and drawing. Photo: Courtesy of Lucy Creatives

A Parent’s Guide to After-School Activities Saved by the Bell:

By Clara Helm

With students back in school this fall, parents often struggle to find activities their child can participate in once the bell rings.

Toward that end, the school district, various organizations and the cities of San Clemente, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano all offer extensive after-school programming.

A host of athletic activities including skateboarding, soccer, swimming, gymnastics, tennis, cheerleading and golf classes are available through the three cities’ recreation departments.

Swim lessons are a great way to keep kids busy after school while also learning life-saving skills. In San Clemente, kids can participate in K.I.S.S. private swim lessons, and more advanced swimmers can join K.I.S.S. Stroke and Conditioning Group Classes.

The lessons for beginners or advanced swimmers run Monday through Thursday at the San Clemente Aquatics Center from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

For a child who likes to move and groove, dance classes are a great way to get out their after-school energy.

Kids can learn dance fundamentals and proper technique in San Clemente’s beginner ballet class, suitable for new dancers between the ages of 4 and 6. The classes start at 3:10 p.m. and end at 4 p.m., ideal for after school drop-off.

They can also participate in Dana Point’s dance basics class for 6- to 10-year-olds that meets every other Thursday from 4-4:45 p.m. In the class, boys and girls can learn body placement, positions, basic turns and jumps.

For kids wanting a more themed after-school dance experience, they can participate in classes such as San Clemente’s Pop Star hip-hop classes or San Juan Capistrano’s beginner and intermediate ballet folklórico classes.

Musically inclined students can participate in beginner and intermediate guitar and ukulele lessons through the cities of San Clemente and Dana Point. Kids ages 8 and up can learn simple chords and new songs in the after-school classes.

Another after-school creative outlet can be found in Sandy’s Art Studio for Children and Teens in San Clemente, which has two classes for kids ages 5 to 10 and one class for kids ages 10 to 15 every Tuesday.

The art exploration classes, ranging from 1:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. time slots, allow students to explore creative techniques such as sketching, printmaking, sculpture, watercolor, painting on canvas, and more mediums.

Kidcreate Studio in Dana Point also offers weekly art education classes for parents seeking a consistent art program.

There are also many activities that cater to kids’ specialized interests, which challenge them to learn new skills. San Clemente’s recreation department offers after-school computer coding, game design biology, and CPR classes for students.

In partnership with the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD), Saddleback College offers the Before and After School Enrichment (BASE) Program, which lets students take a variety of onehour classes right after school ends.

The BASE classes are held at CUSD elementary schools, and scholarships are available for children who would like to participate in the program.

With classes ranging from academic chess to writing workshops to Spanish language learning, elementary-aged students can engage in interactive activities before heading to another after-school program or going home.

“Parents really appreciate having their children be able to explore the different classes,” said Arron Searcy, assistant director of Community Education at Saddleback College. “Whether it’s a dance class, a Broadway class where they’re doing musicals, a coding class, or a chess class, it gives kids a variety of different things to try.”

For busy or working parents who can not pick up their child the moment

See AFTER-SCHOOL on page 7

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South Orange County entities and organizations including Saddleback Community College offer after-school programming for kids of all ages, from art explorations to homework help, for parents to choose for their child. Photo: Courtesy of Saddleback Community College

Local Boys & Girls Clubs Provide Financial Education to Students

By C. Jayden Smith

As children mature into adolescents and then teenagers who want to go out to restaurants and shop with friends, or who desire to start adulthood on the right financial track, it can be difficult to find time for conversations about managing money at home. For families in South Orange County, local Boys & Girls Clubs provide resources that teach children about how money works, about making sound decisions with money and setting themselves up for future success.

Gabriella Littlejohn, area director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capistrano Valley, spoke about the “Money Matters: Make It Count” program that the national organization, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, has sponsored for nearly 20 years.

“We’re trying to just kind of prepare them for life after high school and into their young adulthood, with teaching them about how to balance a check, the importance of saving money, (and) how to reach financial goals within your life,” Littlejohn said.

Like with other Boys & Girls Clubs, the Capistrano Valley club—headquartered in San Juan Capistrano with branches in Aliso Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita—has leaned heavily on local experts to contribute to executing Money Matters.

With one Capistrano Valley board member as the CEO and owner of a local financial services business, according to Littlejohn, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley brought in officials from said member’s company to assist in teaching the youth.

Additionally, Partners Bank of Mission Viejo has collaborated in making the information the club presents “tangible and digestible,” as part of a concerted effort to help people at various stages of their lives understand important information concerning finances.

“It just really is having these people in the field come out working with our kids, answering questions that they may have, even (for) things that you think might be common sense,” said Littlejohn. “For a lot of our families, there’s a lot of fear around, like, opening a credit card or opening a checking account.”

Outreach is especially important for families whose first language isn’t English and who may be unfamiliar with available services that can increase their chances for financial prosperity. Littlejohn emphasized that all people should be empowered to take control of their own finances, without fear.

The organization tries to put on the Money Matters program twice a year, with 90-minute classes.

The focus is on having one summer session. The timing of the other session tends to rotate around the spring, fall and winter, depending on the rollout of other programs.

Littlejohn said Money Matters takes six to eight weeks to complete and is available to ages 11 and up, adding that the organization has taken in its fair share of particularly astute fifth-graders.

WE HAVE A PLACE FOR YOU

The program’s influence from the classrooms at the Capistrano Valley clubs and into the community has been through a grassroots form of growth.

“We have found that we’re most successful (when) we are bringing those teachings to our youth, and then we’re sending them home with the information,” said Littlejohn. “Whether it’s in their native language, if it’s Spanish, if it’s English, they can then take that tangible information back home with them. So, those soft skills or those new kinds of teachings are then discussed at home.”

She continued, saying that the concept of saving every 10 cents of every dollar you earn can be easy to hear, but actually thinking about saving for the future can be difficult to grasp. That further places an importance on students going home and discussing their ownership of their finances with their parents.

For a lot of children in their clubs, according to Littlejohn, money isn’t often talked about at home.

“They’re feeling like their situation is, ‘It is what it is,’ and that they’re stuck, when they really have power and control of what that narrative looks like for themselves, for their families, and for the future,” she said.

More information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley’s programs can be found at bgccapo.com.

school ends, after-school programs at the school or nearby are a great option.

At Truman Benedict Elementary, parents who have students with different school-end times can participate in the GAP Program. The program keeps elementary school children engaged and safe during the dismissal gap between elementary and middle school (1:55-3:25 p.m.).

The Boys & Girls Club of the South Coast Area in San Clemente and Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley in San Juan Capistrano provide after-school programs until 6:30 p.m. for kids ages 6 to 18.

Many buses from local schools also have stops at the organizations. The clubs give students a place to complete homework, interact with peers, and be involved in creative activities.

What sets the after-school program apart, said Terry Hughes, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of the South Coast Area, is that it is an inclusive, safe environment that creates lasting connections.

“What kids need is relationships with adults who care about them outside of their home, and we build with them these deep and lasting relationships that last a lifetime, not just with their peers, but also the directors and staff who really care about them,” said Hughes.

At Fairmont San Juan Capistrano, we view each student as unique, so we prioritize a personalized approach to their learning. Low student-to-teacher ratios, coupled with differentiated instruction, allow our gifted and caring teachers to meet students right where they are — academically, socially, and emotionally. We invite you to visit our campus and learn what the gift of a Fairmont education could mean in the life of your child.

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AFTER-SCHOOL from page 6

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