In honor of Earth Day, Day Program participants at Studio Arc gathered broken old crayons and melted them to create new crayons, and then delivered them to Stepping Stones School for a coloring session together.

A group of seven Day Program participants visited the school on April 22, stopping first at the Preschool classroom, then Transition Kindergarten, and then the Primary classroom. At each stop, the adult consumers sat down with students in the class and colored Earth Day-themed pages together. Prior to the visit, the children had learned about the concepts of “reduce, reuse, recycle,” and about the process of melting. When it came time to color with the new crayons, the children were excited to work on their masterpieces and the adult consumers were happy to guide them and chat with them. It was such a positive experience for all involved that the school and studio plan to make such visits a monthly occurrence.

The Arc of Essex County’s Stepping Stones School is a Department of Education approved private school for students with disabilities serving children ages 3-10. The school, based in Fairfield, NJ, is designed to meet the developmental and educational needs of children with cognitive impairments such as Down syndrome and other students with similar educational and developmental needs. For more information, or to request a virtual tour and assistance with an out-of-district placement, contact Robin Moses, Director of Early Childhood and Education at (862) 210-8781 or rmoses@arcessex.org.

Studio Arc provides visitors with opportunities to engage in a wide range of visual and creative arts classes. If you are interested in learning more about the exciting and fun activities offered at Studio Arc, contact Director of Day Services Creative Programming Angela LoSapio at (973)535-1181 ext. 1231 or alosapio@arcessex.org.