THE 360-HOUR HEAD START · AGES 5–7 · ONLY 12 SPOTS
A Summer That Feels Like Play. Learning That Doesn't Slide.
Spark Summer opens our Spark Studio day to twelve 5–7 year olds. Your child gets a real summer — building, exploring, and playing outside with friends — and, without a single worksheet, eight hours a day of practice in the skills that make kindergarten and first grade go smoothly.
Dates: [SESSION DATES] · Hours: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM · Where: Hyde Park, Tampa
THE SUMMER QUESTION
You shouldn't have to choose between a real summer and a ready learner.
Summer slide is real — five to seven is when reading and number sense click into place. So is the need to just be a kid. And if your child is heading into kindergarten or first grade this fall, there's a third worry: Are they ready?
Kindergarten readiness, practiced all day long.
Kindergarten teachers look for far more than ABCs. They look for four kinds of skills — and a learner-driven day gives children real, repeated practice in all four, from drop-off to pick-up. Not drills. Just the natural rhythm of a day where kids are trusted to do things for themselves.
Academic skills
Letter sounds. Recognizing and writing their name. Recognizing numbers. Counting with one-to-one correspondence.
Where it happens: Core Skills with Montessori math materials, Waseca, and BOB Books; POP Core games like phonics bingo and skip-counting; and Storytime, where learners choose to read aloud, listen, or read on their own.
Self-help skills
Opening their own lunch. Buttons and zippers. Using the bathroom independently. Walking in and out of school on their own.
Where it happens: All day, every day. Spark learners manage their own lunch and snack, eat and use the restroom when their bodies say so, care for the studio at Close, and arrive and leave as capable people, not passengers.
Communication skills
Sharing ideas and needs clearly. Listening and following directions the first time. Reading social cues. Working out simple conflicts.
Where it happens: The daily Socratic Launch, studio roles like Timekeeper and Kindness Keeper, and Guides who coach learners through disagreements instead of solving them for them.
Social-emotional skills
Sharing. Taking turns. Naming feelings. Collaborating.
Where it happens: Tribe Games, team games after Storytime, partner builds in Maker's Space, and hours of free play with friends.
The result: eight hours a day of practice that feels like play — so the first day of school feels familiar, not scary.
With just twelve learners, every child is known — and every child gets the reps.
A DAY AT SPARK SUMMER
Here's exactly how the balance works.
Ninety minutes of focused reading and math. The rest of the day is play with a purpose — and every block builds a readiness skill.
8:00–8:30 · Drop Off — Learners walk in on their own and ease into the day with open-ended play, inside or out. Practices: self-help, social-emotional
8:30–8:50 · Launch — A Socratic discussion around an open question like "What makes someone a good friend?" Learners also claim studio roles like Timekeeper and Kindness Keeper. Practices: communication
8:50–9:20 · Tribe Games — Team challenges, relays, and partner puzzles. Practices: taking turns, collaborating, communication
9:20–10:05 · Maker's Space — A Weekly Big Build or Daily Mini-Challenges with real tools. Here, "it didn't work" is the beginning of the story. Practices: fine-motor skills, collaboration, persistence
10:05–10:20 · Snack — Learners open and manage their own snack, then head outside. Practices: self-help
10:20–11:05 · Core Skills — Self-paced reading and math with Montessori materials, Waseca, and BOB Books — letter sounds, writing their name, recognizing numbers, and counting with one-to-one correspondence. Practices: academic
11:05–11:50 · Storytime & Games — Read aloud, listen, or read alone — then the whole tribe plays one game together. Practices: academic, taking turns
11:50–12:20 · Lunch — Unpacking their own lunch, opening their own containers, cleaning up, and real conversation with friends. Practices: self-help, communication
12:20–1:05 · WOW in the World — A hands-on exploration built around what the tribe is curious about: a bubbling experiment, a collaborative art piece, or a story about a hero who made a difference. Practices: communication, collaborating
1:05–1:50 · POP Core — Guide-led games like phonics bingo, skip-counting, and time-telling races. Practices: academic, listening and following directions
1:50–2:35 · Play — Unstructured, child-directed play. Forts, games, imagination. Practices: sharing, negotiating, working out conflicts
2:35–3:15 · Summer STEM — Summer-themed science and engineering challenges: [STEM THEMES]. Practices: collaborating, counting and measuring
3:15–3:30 · Close — Learners care for the studio together, then reflect: What did I make? What was hard? What am I proud of? Practices: self-help, naming feelings
3:30–4:00 · Pick Up — One last run around while families arrive — then out the door on their own two feet. Practices: self-help
No screens. No homework. No worksheets for their own sake. Just a full day of doing things for themselves.
THE DETAILS
Twelve spots. One great summer.
Dates: [SESSION DATES — 9 WEEKS]
Hours: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday–Friday [CONFIRM]
Ages: 5–7, rising kindergarteners and first graders [CONFIRM AGE CUTOFF]
Tuition: [PRICE PER WEEK / FULL SESSION]
Lunch & snack: [MEAL POLICY]
Location: 1309 W Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33606
Questions parents ask
Is this summer school or summer camp?
Both — and that's the point. Spark Summer follows the same play-based day as our year-round Spark Studio. Your child spends most of the day building, exploring, and playing, with focused reading and math woven in so it never feels like a chore.
Will this really help my child get ready for kindergarten?
Readiness is built through practice, not worksheets. Every Spark Summer day gives your child hours of real reps in the academic, self-help, communication, and social-emotional skills kindergarten teachers look for — at their own pace, with a Guide who knows exactly where they are.
My child is heading into first grade. Is this still a fit?
Yes. First grade asks more: reading on their own, number sense that sticks, and the stamina to manage their own work and time. Core Skills are self-paced and mastery-based, so a learner still mastering letter sounds and a learner reading chapter books work side by side — each on their own next step. And the independence Spark builds is exactly what first-grade teachers wish every child walked in with.
Is it only for Apollo families?
No. Spark Summer is open to any 5–7 year old. It's also a wonderful way to experience learner-driven education if you're curious about Apollo year-round.
Will there be screens?
Not as part of the day. Spark is a hands-on studio — the occasional short group video is the exception, not the routine.
Who leads the day?
Our Spark Guides. We don't call them teachers — a Guide's job isn't to hand over answers but to ask the questions that help learners discover them.
Give them a 360-hour head start. Only 12 spots.
Questions? Reach Beth Ann at BethAnn@TheApolloAcademy.com or (678) 787-5446.