DC is our Classroom
For the past 14 years, Casa Lala has carefully honed a signature program in which we are outdoors as much as possible, exploring and (re)discovering our beautiful city, learning to love it and everyone in it.
We are firm advocates of the benefit of outdoor play. We also believe in small actions with big impacts, and that shaping a generation of adults that take care of one another and of our planet, starts right in our Casas: our homes, schools, our city.
WHAT IT IS
DC IS OUR CLASSROOM is more than just a random program of field trips. It is
a carefully developed extracurricular curriculum, adapted by age group, with learning through play and social emotional development at its heart. It is rooted in the Montessori belief of following the child, and in Forest school’s belief in the wonders of outdoors play.
This program of AVENTURAS (adventures) takes place in all our week-long camps (summer, winter, February and spring camps), and in many of our One Day Camps, for ages 3 to 12.
The location of the aventuras varies, depending on the time of the year, weather, and theme. We go to farms, parks, playgrounds, theatre plays, outdoors kids concerts, workshops, museums, mini golf, bowling, temporary exhibitions... everything from the Aquarium to the Zoo. We scoot, run, climb, jump, slide, discover, question and laugh with our amigos. If there is a tree, we will climb it, if there is a flower, we will stop to smell and analyze it, if there are funny clouds we will lie down to observe them, if there are leaves we will make a big pile and if there is a puddle we will most definitely jump in it. We might get scratches on our legs and dirt on our hands. And we will have a great time. It is a privilege of our work to witness the friendships that blossom in these camps.
For our older amigos (ages 7 to 12) — particularly during Summer Camp — we take the program further in order to nurture this age group’s natural curiosity about how the world works. We blend outdoor play with explorations around the city, turning each week’s theme into a hands-on learning adventure. Depending on the topic, children participate in workshops and meet experts directly in their environments — embassies, factories, farms, supermarkets, libraries, hospitals, studios, and beyond. They learn from professionals such as historians, doctors, architects, artists, librarians, and chefs, gaining a real-world understanding of the world around them. Whenever possible, our journeys include using public transportation, teaching children how to navigate the city safely and confidently. In select camps, each child also manages a weekly budget, keeping their own ledger to learn the basics of financial responsibility and decision-making.
HOW WE GET AROUND
To travel to our various destinations we use LAS JUANCHAS, our beloved Casa Lala vehicles. They are colorful, joyful, music-filled moving classrooms: our programs are designed so that our adventures start right when we get on them, not when we arrive at our destination. Each one was lovingly designed in-house and named after a special person in the Casa Lala family and journey. If you spot us around town we would love for you to come and say hi!
