2019 Golden Teddy Awards — Camps + Classes

Winner: Creative Dance Center

Ever a perennial favorite with voters, Seattle’s Creative Dance Center captured this year’s top spot. The CDC’s internationally recognized teaching methodology — called brain-compatible dance education — fosters an environment in which the brain is ready, willing and able to learn. Or, as one parent writes: “Rooted in research, [there’s] no fancy leotard required, just great dance with amazing teachers!” CDC offers numerous options for school-age children and teenagers, including ballet, modern, hip-hop and adaptive dance.

Finalists

Parents and kids love that Premier Northwest Kids classes combine yoga, nature and art. Currently, themed enrichment classes for children (ages 2–6) and their adults are offered in Snohomish, Lynnwood and Mukilteo. Founder Sophia Lewis bases her curriculum on 10 years of work experience in early-childhood education and her love of nature exploration. She’s onto something — one parent notes that the yoga-art classes have helped her daughter develop a great love for yoga and all things creative.

At Bellevue’s Russian School of Mathematics (RSM), math equals fun. Beyond lots of votes, parents let us know that this program’s passionate teachers inspire confidence in students to understand math at a deeper level. RSM provides after-school math enrichment, tutoring and test prep for kids in kindergarten through high school.

At Sponge, children from newborn to 4 years old learn languages with their caregivers, and an array of classes are available for kids in preschool (age 3) through fifth grade. Your kids can learn Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), French, Japanese and German at multiple locales in the Greater Seattle area and on the Eastside.

Whether your child is new to theater or took to the stage at an early age, Wedgwood Drama Studio meets students where they are; its classes are appropriate for stage newbies and veteran performers alike. Parents rave about the warm, welcoming creative staff that teaches dramatic art classes at several North Seattle elementary schools.