We are so excited to welcome our families back to Toddler Camp as well as introduce new faces to our program. We have new afternoons sessions for our preschoolers plus tons of morning fun for the tots!
Find your local group, view the schedule and sign up TODAY!

We are lucky to have an amazing staff ready to entertain you this fall!

Meet Jenell – Assistant Toddler Camp Director andGroup Leader

Jenell Manzi has worked with children of all ages at summer recreational camps, Sunday schools, indoor play spaces and theatres. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Theatre and a minor in vocal performance from East Stroudsburg University in PA, where she studied children’s theatre and performed in several plays for young audiences. After college, she was a stage manager and performer in various children’s theatre productions at Shawnee Playhouse in the Poconos, Princeton Summer Theatre and Surflight To-Go, an educational touring theatre. She is a recipient of the Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Jenell has always enjoyed the arts and loves sharing her talents with children.

Meet Megan – Education Director & Group Leader

As a “Professional At Make Believe,” I’ve been creating interactive, play-based, curriculum for over 10 years. After studying Theatre Education in Boston, I graduated from Emerson College with a degree in all things artsy. I’ve served as Education Director for The Beverly Hills Country Club, Theatre Director for the YMCA, and most recently as Arts Coordinator for LAUSD.

Meet Lou – Music Specialist

Lou Stratten, has been taking families on spirited musical adventures that are delightfully filled with active participation and loads of fun! She has been selected in several books over the years as a performer who has amazing rapport with young children. With her imaginative and magical music curriculum, be prepared to join in! She’s been spotted at the Getty Museum, as a Master Storyteller, she has been the much anticipated subject of two separate articles in the School Library Journal for her award winning debut album “Lou Stratten” and her book “Hello, I’m Sir Frettirick!” and on her cable TV program, “The Fretti and Lou Show,” now available on her youtube channel SCP_Shaggy Creature Productions, as a SAG Signatory Producer. She is known as an excellent entertainer with children. With her BA in Music and Theater, as well as certificates in Early childhood and Interventions teaching, Lou is devoted to giving and sharing her gift of music, she also has donated her talents to many special causes. She is now spreading her talents by teaching other teachers her gift!

Meet Jen – Reggio/RIE Expert & Group Leader

Born and raised in Los Angeles County, Jen has always enjoyed working with children. While attending Cal State Fullerton, she worked as a Behavioral Therapist for a child with autism. Concurrently, she organized numerous events for children as the Community Service Co-Chair for the Resident Student Association. After graduating with her BFA in Art and working in the design field for two years, she turned her focus to teaching, working as a summer camp art and photography teacher.

It is from these experiences that she decided to focus on early childhood education. While taking classes at Santa Monica College, she taught at a small preschool in the Southbay. Her continued passion to provide children with an environment rich in possibilities led her to Christopher Robin Preschool in West Hollywood in 2008. She worked collaboratively with a team, teaching two to five year olds following Reggio inspired and Socio-Constructivist principles. In 2012, she joined the Sunflower staff, teaching in their afternoon Reggio Inspired program for two to six year olds.

After six years as an early childhood educator, her desire to support children individually grew, and she decided to prepare for a career in occupational therapy. She is currently taking her final classes to receive her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education, as well as prerequisites to apply to an occupational therapy program. She also works as a behavior therapist for Inizio Interventions and toddler educator in a Reggio and RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) based program at Wild Poppy Studio in Santa Monica.

During her free time, she enjoys karaoke, dancing, going to music shows, paddle boarding, road trips, traveling, organizing potluck meetups with friends, designing organized systems and environments