Biweekly Community Spotlight:
Growing Together Through Early Learning
Back to the Beach
In June, Parent-Tot held its 5th annual Summer Kick Off party — back by popular demand, complete with giant bubbles and bubble activities! This beloved annual event marks the shift from our Parent-Tot program meeting inside weekly at LIFRC to gathering at Odlin Beach every Friday. Parents and caregivers with children aged 0–5 bond over the weekly joys and the speed bumps of parenting. New islanders and visitors are welcomed into the fold as their kids cultivate real friendship skills right there on the sand. Littles work together to build a giant sandcastle with a moat, or navigate sharing, sometimes for the first time, the ferry boat or sand excavator.
The signs of a good “Tot” time have simply shifted with the season: from an empty coffee pot and toys scattered across the playroom in winter, to sandy, happy kids waving goodbye as they head home exhausted for lunch and naps.
“Thank you for holding this every week — it encourages us to get out the door and meet people.”
While Odlin Park is already part of our weekly rhythm, we were also invited to co-host a special celebration of the park’s 100th birthday in June. LIFRC Early Learning programs joined in for “Painting in the Park,” where the community gathered to paint whatever they saw or felt while in the park.
LIFRC Early Learning Manager Katy Hill brought developmentally appropriate, child-centered activities to the day, including “Rolling Nature,” where children rolled items found in nature through paint in a tray — a gentle starting point before launching into their own creative spin.
Found fern fronds and fallen leaves became paintbrushes. Sticks rubbed in campfire charcoal became tools to etch drawings of local plants. A few participants even gathered sticks and long pieces of grass to craft their own picture frames, completing their very own piece of Odlin art.
Camps: My Colorful World & Seed to Sprout to Sea
In addition to our drop-in programs, two preschool-aged camps have already taken place this summer: My Colorful World and Seed to Sprout to Sea. Using art and nature as avenues, both camps focused on building social-emotional skills like what it means to be responsible for ourselves, our families, and our Earth, and how to persevere through hard moments.
Both camps drew on research-backed early childhood best practices. Visual schedules let children easily see what the day’s routines would look like, taking the anxiety out of “what comes next?” Kids loved being able to walk their parents through their day at pickup by showing them the schedule themselves.
Each morning began with circle time and a simple, joyful song: “(Child’s Name) came to play today” — going around until every child had their moment. By day two, all the campers had joined in and were singing it throughout the day.
Instructors found that quietly noticing and naming moments of responsibility or perseverance soon had campers doing the same for one another. A simple observation, “I saw you try really hard at that” rippled outward. Before long, children were excitedly announcing things like, “Guess what! I was responsible this morning when I helped my parents make my lunch!” Parents shared that their children brought those skills home proudly, sparking further conversations for the whole family.
Creativity and discovery bloomed in both camps. Kids mixed paint colors and mediums, watched watercolored vinegar bubble up with baking soda, and used items found around the park to build the perfect bird nest or nature flag. With the emphasis always on the open-ended process of creating rather than the end product, campers felt confident exploring the world around them and crafting something entirely their own.
Local experts came in to share their passions and knowledge — about seaweed, local shells, and the creatures that call them home. The Blue Heron Canoe family, a multi-tribal group, shared stories and taught campers about local plants. A walk through the woods with a plant and tree scavenger hunt sheet became as exciting as a treasure map as campers delighted in being able to identify Oregon Grape or Douglas Fir cones!
“Thank you for such fun summer activities to bring families together, and for all you do for the community!”
Diving Into the Salish Sea
Just this past week, 156 people showed up with enthusiasm and curiosity for the Salish Sea Dome experience, brought to Lopez by Friends of the San Juans. Learners of all ages exclaimed with “oohs” and “aahs” as they entered the “giant blueberry” and dove beneath the surface of our local sea, watching larger-than-life salmon and herring swim all around them in a planetarium-like experience. Have you ever seen a jellyfish float past your face and felt genuine awe at how gracefully it moves through the water? Several little ones even brought their sea creature stuffies along to swim beside them.
One young visitor said it perfectly: “I loved it because it is exactly what I like. I am all about science!”
Friends of the San Juans showed two short films, both emphasizing the deep interconnectedness of humans and our environment, closing with this: “Together we can make this place extraordinary — shorelines, wildlife, and community. The Salish Sea ecosystem will only survive through connected, activated local communities.”
Thank you for being part of ours!
Summer Isn't Over Yet!
We have a whole August ahead — more Parent-Tot Fridays at the beach and two more camps for pre-kinders and preschoolers. We would love to see you there! Sign up for our Early Learning monthly newsletter by clicking here or email katy@lifrc.org for more information.
Deep gratitude to San Juan County Health & Human Services, Friends of the San Juans, and funding from San Juan County Cultural Access, Wellpoint Insurance, and the Lopez Thrift Shop for making these programs possible.