“I’m late, I’m late. For a very important date,” cries the White Rabbit in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” But, don’t you be late and miss out on Youth Theatre Company’s (YTC) summer production of the beloved classic.

"It is so important to introduce the arts to children in their first five years of life,” says First 5 coordinator Cindy Schultz. “Exposing children to hands-on art projects and music helps so much with their language development and abstract and cognitive skills, not to mention physical coordination.”

An accomplished piano teacher, Cindy coordinates the First 5 Contra Costa program, which is offered free of charge to parents and children, ages 3-5, in San Ramon, Concord and Antioch.

“We know that the development of a young child's brain is a work-in-progress and that growth in the early years is quite dramatic and can establish patterns for life-long learning. That’s why this program is so important,” Cindy adds.

Imagine being a wizard with special art powers. What kind of kingdom would you create, and what kind of fun creatures would populate it?  According to teacher Lisa Taft, students in “Gizmos, Gadgets and Games” created a jungle out of a cardboard box. “They took the corners of a box and made a tree. Each day they added something new to the tree, including a monkey made from a sock and a parrot,” Lisa explains. “Then by the end of the week, they had discovered that they could put the corners of the box together and make a forest. They took turns sitting in the middle and playing with the animals they had created.”

In another camp, Lisa’s students used recycled objects to make a space station complete with tiny Christmas tree lights. ‘Once again, the children decided to work together and combine their individual space stations into a town. Sometimes they get so involved in what they’re making or stories they are creating, that they don’t want to stop and go outside to play,” she says.

Lisa who has a PhD in art history, has taught both adults and children.