Events & Family Activities

At RVA, we highly encourage curiosity and exploration—in this spirit we welcome all kids and families to participate in our monthly family activities and other events.

~ Open to ALL Kids & Families ~

FREE Family Lessons & Activities!

Once a month, RVA invites you to bring the family or drop off your kids as we host an activity, exploring a different topic or theme with hands-on interactions that all ages will enjoy. Come join us 3:00pm - 5:00pm one Saturday each month:

• Jan. 7^th   ~  Mediaeval Battles: Agincourt
  


• Feb. 4^th   ~  Analogies and Syllogisms
  


• Mar. 3^rd   ~  Celebrate Pi Day
  


• Apr. 14^th ~  Logic Games: Sudoku, Perplexus, etc...
  

Come experience a taste of the unique, elevated teaching approach we offer at RVA, and share in our discovery of fun subjects.

•  Here are Last Year's Family Activity Days...
  Last Year's Family Activity Days
  

  May 14 - Logic Games: Sudoku, Perplexus, etc...

  

  Sudoku can be a challenge, but try it using colored beads instead of numbers—for some bright children, this opens up the whole thinking process. Perplexus is a 3-D maze that must be turned and twisted to solve.

  All the games we played with helped teach thinking while having fun.

  April 23 - Analogies and Syllogisms

  

  Analogies are a way of comparing items and are often found on standardized tests, but they can also be fun to solve. We'll be looking at one-level and two-level analogies.

  Syllogisms come to us from ancient Greece and are another tool to sharpen thinking skills. They can also get rather silly:
  
  All books are purple;
  All purple things can jump;
  Therefore, all books can jump

  March 19 - Celebrate Pi Day

  

  International Pi Day is March 14 (3/14), which also happens to be Einstein's birthday.

  We measured circumferences and diameters of various circles, including Julian Pies, then sang Pi Day carols while enjoying our pie!

  February 19 - Mediaeval Battles: Agincourt

  We had great fun trying on RVA's collection of chain mail and discovering how heavy a mediaeval sword really was. We also watched a movie and discussed the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, when the English were outnumbered by the French 5 to 1 and still won.

  January 22 - Tongue Twisters and Riddles

  We explored exactly what what makes tongue twisters so hard to say and tried our hand at classic riddles and lateral logic puzzles. We got to play with the words we use every day and created our own.

  December - Holiday Art

  Kids will have the chance to make holiday cards and/or ornaments. Choices include Indian finger weaving, pin-point window art, macrame, and plastic canvase weaving.

  November - Matrix Logic Puzzles

  Matrix logic puzzles reinforce deductive reasoning skills, but are also just a whole lot of fun. (surf here if you're not sure what these puzzles look like.) This kind of thinking is particularly important in science, though it's useful in all aspects of life.

  October - Probability Games

  We explored probability and chance by playing with dice, including 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, 10-sided, 12-sided, 20-sided, and 30-sided dice. The children began to understand, rather than merely memorize, how probability works, and prizes given for winners of each game.

FREE Family Arts & Crafts!

New this year, RVA will be offering arts & crafts activity days, free to all kids and families — come join us for arts & crafts on these Saturdays from 3:00pm - 6:00pm:

• Jan. 21^st and Feb. 18^th
  


• Mar. 17^th and May 26^th
  

Are You Considering RVA?

Your child is welcome to attend RVA for a day to experience for her/himself
how interesting, engaging, and educational a day is for our students.

We want you to come to know RVA well. We welcome you to schedule a time for visiting RVA, which may be arranged by calling our office at 858.564.9622. There is no set length for visits, but experience shows that you should allow for an hour or so.

Join Our Bab-athons

Babylon-5 is a sci-fi show from the '90's, but the show also generated a strategic collectible card game (CCG). At RVA, a group meets every other Sunday from 10:00am - 4:00pm to play the CCG, watch episodes and generally hang out and have fun.

•  Jan. 15, 29
•  Feb. 12, 26
•  Mar. 11, 25
•  Apr. 8
•  May  20

You're welcome to come for an hour or the whole day, whatever you'd like.