This week you will conduct cool experiments that involve mixing chemicals and seeing reactions happen right in front of your eyes. We will be doing more than the average homemade volcano as you will get to decide your own projects. Slime, oobleck, elephant toothpaste, electric dough – the possibilities are endless!
Can you design and build robots that can overcome challenging scenarios? Master the basics of robotics and visual coding to engineer solutions to a variety of problems. Can your robot move without wheels, can it win a race against other designs?
Build a bridge that can hold the highest amount of weight. Utilize our maker lab and supplies to build a bridge to cross a gap and allow for cars to travel both directions. Will your bridge be a suspension bridge, truss bridge, or arch bridge?
Children will build jointed claws inspired by the biomechanics of a human hand. They will explore articulation and tension as we modify the number of joints and fingers in their claws, using limited materials. Students will also work together to solve engineering challenges, from picking up a slippery marble to playing a clawsome board game.
Get an introduction to our year long mini medical school theme. Each session we explore a medical issue and how to fix it. Help heal cut wounds with sutures, glue, band-aids, or invent your own way to mend our skin.
Become a member to join the mini medical school program. It's perfect for children interested in medicine, becoming a health care worker, or curious about biology.
Our facility is located at 117 Haywood Rd. Our space is facilitated by learning engineers. They are great teachers who fan the flames of learning, inspire creativity, and spark curiosity.
When you join Sprattronics, you create the schedule that works for you. You can drop your child off for up to three hours at a time, Monday to Friday, 8AM to 5PM.
Become a founding member and come as often as you like. Participate in all of our weekly themes.
Signing up today
Reserves your spot.
Allows you to attend as often as you like for a month.
Is 100% refundable.
Is a one time payment. We will check-in to make sure you want to continue.
You can call me on my cell phone or through text at 864-735-7520
Preston Spratt, Founder
July Summer Sessions
Engineer Summer Programs
Make it Fly – July 5 – 8
How does an airplane fly? How does a glider work? What makes a kite stay in the air? These are all questions we will answer this week as we learn about aerodynamics. You will investigate how fast or slowly objects move by building a variety of designs. Use your creative skills to build objects that fly and test them out with our wind-tunnel to see how long they can glide.
*We are closed on July 4th.
Grow Lab – July 11 – 15
Become a botanist and explore the beautiful world of plants and flowers with plant science this week. Dig your hands into the soil of nature to explore the biology of plants, how they grow and how they are sustained in different environments. By investigating the process of composting and hydroponics, we will build our very own Lab garden to care for throughout the year.
Stranded on the Beach – How would you survive being stranded on a barrier island? We will build escape rafts, shelter, and ways to get food. Learn all about the barrier islands of the Carolinas through hands-on survival simulations.
Have you ever wanted to live in a LEGO world? Now is your chance! Collaborate with your team and use engineering concepts to become architects in designing and building your very own LEGO city. You will make your own LEGO character and use your imagination to create a whole new universe.
Sprattronics Learning Lab
Our facility is located at 117 Haywood Rd. Our space is facilitated by learning engineers. They are great teachers who fan the flames of learning, inspire creativity, and spark curiosity.
When you join Sprattronics, you create the schedule that works for you. You can drop your child off for up to three hours at a time, Monday to Friday, 10AM to 8PM.
Become a founding member and come as often as you like in July. Participate in all of our weekly themes.
Allows you to attend as often as you like for a month.
Is 100% refundable.
Is a one time payment. We will check-in to make sure you wish to continue.
Want to know more?
You can call me on my cell phone or through text at 864-735-7520
Preston Spratt, Founder
Greenville Summer Camp
Give your child the opportunity to maximize their potential by attending our Engineer Summer programs. Our programs are like a customizable Greenville Summer Camp.
Sprattronics Learning Lab is a colearning space to supercharge your child's potential through hands-on learning, collaborative groups, and the freedom to explore their interests. Members pay a monthly fee, and then drop their child off for up to three hours anytime Monday – Friday from 8AM to 5PM. Children have access to great science materials, weekly real world engineering problems to solve, and a facility designed to encourage creativity.
Sprattronics is designed for children ages 4 to 12.
Engineer Summer Programs
Make it Fly - July 5 - 8
How does an airplane fly? How does a glider work? What makes a kite stay in the air? These are all questions we will answer this week as we learn about aerodynamics. You will investigate how fast or slowly objects move by building a variety of designs. Use your creative skills to build objects that fly and test them out with our wind-tunnel to see how long they can glide.
Grow Lab - July 11 - 15
Become a botanist and explore the beautiful world of plants and flowers with plant science this week. Dig your hands into the soil of nature to explore the biology of plants, how they grow and how they are sustained in different environments. By investigating the process of composting and hydroponics, we will build our very own Lab garden to care for throughout the year.
Stranded on the Beach - How would you survive being stranded on a barrier island? We will build escape rafts, shelter, and ways to get food. Learn all about the barrier islands of the Carolinas through hands-on survival simulations.
Have you ever wanted to live in a LEGO world? Now is your chance! Collaborate with your team and use engineering concepts to become architects in designing and building your very own LEGO city. You will make your own LEGO character and use your imagination to create a whole new universe.
For a brief period of time you can sign up for just $150 per month and access all that Sprattronics has to offer. Your registration makes you a member, drop off your child as often as you like. Members get access to all of the summer explorations as well as the rest of the Learning Lab. Utilize our art space to create a masterpiece. Develop strategy and critical thinking by playing board games with other members Grow your child's love of reading with our cozy reading area and library, full of engaging titles.
Build a summer schedule that works for your family. Register now for Founder Pricing, $150. A 100% refund is available until July 1.
Sprattronics Learning Lab
Our facility is located at 117 Haywood Rd. Our space is facilitated by learning engineers. They are great teachers who fan the flames of learning, inspire creativity, and spark curiosity.
When you join Sprattronics, you create the schedule that works for you. You can drop your child off for up to three hours at a time, Monday to Friday, 8AM to 5PM.
This week you will conduct cool experiments that involve mixing chemicals and seeing reactions happen right in front of your eyes. We will be doing more than the average homemade volcano as you will get to decide your own projects. Slime, oobleck, elephant toothpaste, electric dough – the possibilities are endless!
Can you design and build robots that can overcome challenging scenarios? Master the basics of robotics and visual coding to engineer solutions to a variety of problems. Can your robot move without wheels, can it win a race against other designs?
Build a bridge that can hold the highest amount of weight. Utilize our maker lab and supplies to build a bridge to cross a gap and allow for cars to travel both directions. Will your bridge be a suspension bridge, truss bridge, or arch bridge?
Children will build jointed claws inspired by the biomechanics of a human hand. They will explore articulation and tension as we modify the number of joints and fingers in their claws, using limited materials. Students will also work together to solve engineering challenges, from picking up a slippery marble to playing a clawsome board game.
Get an introduction to our year long mini medical school theme. Each session we explore a medical issue and how to fix it. Help heal cut wounds with sutures, glue, band-aids, or invent your own way to mend our skin.
Become a member to join the mini medical school program. It's perfect for children interested in medicine, becoming a health care worker, or curious about biology.
Reserve your spot today, and build a schedule that works for you. By joining our Greenville summer camp, you pay one price and have access to all of the themes for the month. Drop your child off on Wednesday morning so you can take care of errands while they create flying machines to test with our wind tunnel. Plan a dinner out on Thursday, and let your child engage in science explorations at Sprattronics. Maximize your child's potential on a schedule that works for you.
Education is not one size fits all. Families and children all need different things in order to maximize their potential. An excellent option for families wanting more control of their child's learning is virtual school.
The quality of your teacher and school has a direct effect on the outcomes that your child will achieve. Everyone should have access to an excellent teacher, but that is not always the case. With virtual schools you have other options than just the teacher that your child is zoned for. If they are not enjoying school, class, or the time frame of 7AM to 2PM, virtual school could be a great option for you.
With virtual learning you have access to high-quality teachers working with a wide range of curriculums. Many virtual schools offer a more personalized learning path for students, that is flexible to work around your schedule. As a parent, you have school options of what curriculum your child will follow.
A challenge with virtual learning, can be the lack of collaboration and in-person social skills. Families may have to wildly adjust their schedules to allow for supervision of children at home. With virtual school, many only offer an all or nothing approach.
Preston Spratt designed Sprattronics Learning Lab to provide families more education options for their child. We work alongside virtual and in-person school to provide enrichment and hands-on learning. Students at Sprattronics Learning Lab collaborate with other children, build, and solve problems. Families have the flexibility to drop their child off anytime for up to three hours.
In 2021-2022 about two thousand students attended K - 8 in GCS Virtual School. The number will be about one thousand in 2022-2023.
Students will stay enrolled in their assigned school but be taught virtually. Students will receive schedules just like they do in the brick and mortar school. Most courses will be offered in the Virtual Program. If a course cannot be offered, parents will be notified prior to school starting so they can make an informed decision. Parents may request a move back to the brick and mortar school. The request will be accommodated if space is available.
Since 2000, Stride K12 has been a leader in K–12 online education, putting quality hands-on and online curriculum directly into the homes of the students and families. Stride K12 offers multiple programs, including tuition-free public online schools, tuition-based online private schools, and individual online courses.
Our tuition-free online public school offers students in grades K–12 a safe, engaging environment where they can learn in the way that works best for them. Not only will your child gain the knowledge and confidence they need for assessments like the SC PASS, they’ll build the social, emotional and real-world skills they need to meet tomorrow’s challenges. And, as their learning coach, you’ll be by their side, supporting them along the way.
K12 Private Academy worked with top educators, designers, and cognitive scientists to create a unique online private school platform that drives learning through engagement. Each grade level is thoughtfully designed to promote learning, engage students, and entice their creativity and critical thought. The methodology for online learning incorporates interactive content and expansive multimedia.
Prisma is an innovative online school for 4-8th graders who want an education tailored to their interests, abilities, and goals for the future. As a comprehensive full-time virtual program, Prisma reimagines school, providing kids the flexibility to pursue their interests alongside a talented coach and a supportive community of peers. Families must register as homeschoolers.
Tuition-based, online private school for grades K–12 open to students nationwide. We help students pursue academic excellence, develop Christian character, and discover their gifts, talents, and purpose to follow God’s calling in life.
The Virtual Learning Academy is education designed to be online. We are a virtual school for elementary, middle, high school, and adult learners to earn a degree, earn some credits, explore an interest, or gain valuable career credentials.
If your family is seeking an alternative education program, Keystone can provide a unique learning environment and flexible online courses that meet your student where they are. At Keystone, we offer full-time programs for elementary, middle, and high school students.
Students can ignite an early love of learning that combines high-quality, accredited curriculum with online learning methodology that keeps them engaged and interested.
Sora Schools is an accredited, innovative school for grades 7-12 that lets students drive their learning and curriculum based on their interests. They explore the world around them through unique project-based Learning Expeditions like "The Science of Marvel," "Revolt! Comparing Historical Revolutions," "Banned Books," and more.
Guidepost Montessori Virtual School is an online education program that provides structured, daily instruction delivered by certified Montessori guides online. With small mixed-age, virtual classrooms, Guidepost Montessori is able to personalize education. Tuition includes quarterly shipments of Montessori materials for offline, hands-on learning.
Ages: 2 - 12
Tuition: $1,200 / annual
Inspire Creativity with a Photo Scavenger Hunt
Rejuvenate from the week
Often, a week in school can zap you. The sterile rooms, the uniform classrooms, and the fluorescent lights pull all the energy out of our children. It’s no wonder they just want to veg out in front of the screen when they get home.
The best solution for this zapped energy costs nothing. The remedy is a day of surprise and mystery. We can manufacture that adventure with a photo scavenger hunt. With just a little bit of inspiration, most children will be excited to explore our beautiful city of Greenville.
By surprising your children with a list of items to find, they will be primed for adventure. Mystery will engross them as they imagine what they will find, where they will find the results, and if they will find them all.
Make your Own Photo Hunt
Think about an area you enjoy walking with your family. Maybe it’s in the neighborhood, maybe it’s a park, a school, or shopping center. Identify 3 to 5 unique landmarks on your walk. Write down your landmarks or make a little sketch of them on a piece of paper. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough to surprise your children and spark the mystery of what they will find.
Take your family out and about in Greenville, snapping photos of your children with each of the landmarks. Give yourself bonus points if you can give general landmarks that have multiple opportunities to be found.
Main Street Greenville Photo Hunt
You could save this little photo hunt on your phone or print it out. Use it as an easy inspiration to get out and about on Main St. Each of the landmarks can be found in multiple locations, there are lots of possible answers.
Let's talk about video games
Video games open the door to countless learning opportunities. Children are naturally curious and want to learn about things. Video games do a phenomenal job of keeping children engaged and providing immediate feedback. They often spark interests for our children to explore.
My son was playing the video game Subnautica last night before dinner. He was proudly telling us about how he had crafted a new submarine, much larger than our apartment, that was named The Cyclops. During our discussion we dove into the Latin roots of the word - “round and eye” like cycle and optometrist - and then busted out Edith Hamilton's Mythology to read about the Cyclops Polyphemus. Our conversation meandered into Homer and his epics, how stories are passed down through time, and then back to why the submarine might have been named The Cyclops. We could have dismissed him at the beginning, by saying leave the video game talk to kids, but instead we explored it. Many seeds of interest were planted in a short amount of time by simply talking about a video game during dinner.
Unlike consuming entertainment such as movies, cartoons, and youtube; video games are interactive. Children have to put thought into the video game and make decisions as they play. They have to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Rather than simply consuming, a video game requires thought, planning, strategy, and input.
Many parents unnecessarily see video games as a waste of time. They wish their child would do something else, but do not offer up anything more exciting than the screen. I encourage you to embrace video games as a worthwhile use of time.
Use the following talking points to connect with your child and add more value to their video gaming interest.
What game are you playing?
What is the goal of this game? What are you trying to do?
Tell me about this character. Tell me about this game.
What does it take to be good at this game?
What have you gotten better at while playing?
What are you trying to accomplish in this game? How do you think you will be able to do that?
Why do you play this game? *
*Keep an eye out on the answer to this question. Hopefully it’s about the fun, playing with friends, learning a new skill, or accomplishing a goal. Be on the lookout for gaming as an escape from reality or better than the real world. That response could indicate an increased tendency towards depression or isolation.
Healthy gaming is a productive use of your child’s time. They are spending time with a hobby that entertains them and can generate interest in a huge number of activities away from a screen.
Join us as we explore the tiny world that happens all around us. During this amazing hour each child will receive their very own pocket microscope to explore. We will learn how to easily find objects to explore, focus on the object, and zoom in. Each child will leave with a desire to continue exploring the tiny world around them.
Sign Up below for information on registering or call (864) 735-7520
