Austin Moms Blog | Inspire Big Brains with WonderLab Learning

My time with WonderLab and the revelation that followed…

I graduated with my bachelor’s from Texas State University in 2008, the year that has likely gone down as one of the worst possible years to attempt to enter the workforce. Like many other Millennial’s, I went through my school years living in a fool’s paradise. I had believed that good attendance and straight A’s would be my guaranteed golden ticket to a future t.v. spot on MTV Cribs.

It didn’t take long after walking across that stage for me to realize that the real world that awaited me was nothing like the easy peasy, fall-into-your-lap, “sit back and watch and see how a childhood worth of studying paid off” kind of reality I had envisioned in my head every time I would chose to stay in my dorm with my nose in a book on a Friday night.

It’s the kind of realization that makes you look at those whom have achieved great success with their passions and question what was it that they did different? Who, if anyone, was there to encourage them to stray from the beaten path, to take the “gamble” of pursuing what they truly love over a seductively comfortable, yet unfulfilled, career path?

I have motherhood to thank for giving me a good kick in the butt. I spent most of my pregnancy in panic-mode, bartending at a burger joint in San Marcos until I was almost 8 months pregnant. But if there’s one thing I learned the moment Dre looked at me for the first time, was that that “gamble” to fulfill my passions and to make this tiny stranger one day proud of me, would  be every bit worth it. Ten months after that life-changing introduction, I got my first true career job as an editor and in-house writer for a local publishing house and my first novel was published a couple of weeks after my 25th birthday. That high I felt was something so incredibly liberating that I vowed to make sure I would do whatever it took as a mother to nurture and help Dre develop his passions and interests once he started to express them.

WonderLab sent Dre home with this inspiring shirt!
WonderLab sent Dre home with this inspiring shirt!

And for this reason, my recent trip to WonderLab far exceeded my expectations. In fact, I honestly had no idea what to expect from the learning center. While the website is full of great information, it was my opportunity at WonderLab that really added value to my understanding of their mission and purpose. Founded by former schoolteacher, Temp Keller, the learning center serves as supplemental learning for upper elementary and middle children.

WonderLab was created to bridge the gaps between public and private institutions, homeschooling, and conventional learning centers that often focus on ”learning to know” facts and figures.

As WonderLab explained to me, their goal is provide each child with one-one-one planning to meet the goals they want to achieve, whether that be learning to build a clock, developing their passion for baking, or expanding their interest in rocket science (all of which are goals that were created and achieved by actual WonderLab members).

Our Mission: To reignite the love and boundless wonder of learning in both students and parents, by motivating a new generation of inspired learners to explore their unique strengths and gifts, chart their own educational path, and become deliberate, inspired, and effective learners.

via wonderlablearning.com
via wonderlablearning.com

During my time at WonderLab, my son and member, Pepa played in the laboratory. The educator instructed my son to use any of the materials he could find in the lab (cotton balls, paper, tape, Popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, etc.) to build a boat he thinks will be able to float then told Pepa to do the same and for them to both help each other, if they felt the need. They sat there and played during the whole meeting, and it was refreshing to see these two children engage in such free play. You could practically see the wheels in their little heads turning as they worked on their project. I can’t wait for Dre to be old enough so we can fully benefit from Wonderlab’s membership options; however they are considering workshops for the younger kiddos too!

WonderLab also provides several workshops as a part of their Saturday Inventor Workshop Series, each running from 9AM-noon.

Do you have a child at home interested in software? Planes? Rockets? Film? Music? Cars? Trains? Boats? Electricity?

These will all be covered in WonderLab’s workshops in the next couple of months.

JANUARY 24       CODE IT    (software)
JANUARY 31       SOAR IT    (planes/rockets)
FEBRUARY 07    FILM IT      (video)
FEBRUARY 14    PLAY IT     (musical instruments)
FEBRUARY 21    ROLL IT     (cars/trains)
FEBRUARY 28    SAIL IT       (boats)
MARCH 07           LIGHT IT    (electricity)

Do you have a homeschooler? WonderLab Learning also offers Homeschooler Tuesdays workshops

How do you feel about WonderLab’s model? If you’re the mother of younger children, would you be interested in signing them up for a special-edition workshop geared for early elementary-aged children?

Sponsored By: WonderLab Learning

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