WonderLab Kids

Welcome to your neighborhood art school

in our small immersive home studio in Duckpond, Gainesville

Four children wearing handcrafted masks and standing outdoors against a white brick wall, with one child in a black dress with flowers, another in a striped shirt and denim shorts, the third in a purple shirt and denim overalls, and the fourth in a blue dress with yellow flowers.
Four children sitting on the wooden floor engaging in arts and crafts activities. One girl is reaching for a book, another girl in a white outfit is cutting paper, a boy is flipping through a magazine, and a girl in a gray hoodie is holding her head. There are scattered magazines, books, scissors, paper, and small craft supplies around them. The room has a rug, a glass coffee table, and a gray couch in the background.
Two children, a boy and a girl, are in a room with a wooden desk and large window. The girl is sitting barefoot on the desk wearing a mask with painted and glued features, holding a string attached to a mask. The boy is standing next to her, holding a decorated mask. The room has books on the desk, art supplies, and a decorative yellow wall hanging.
Two young girls sitting on the floor in a living room, with various moss, sticks, and craft supplies laid out in front of them, possibly working on an art project involving natural materials.
A child holding a white mask decorated with moss, found objects, and feathers, standing against a textured white wall.
Children drawing on large sheets of paper, working on a colorful art project with markers and crayons on a wooden table.

$35 Per Class - $120 / mo (Payment Via Venmo @luminous-arts)

A calm, consistent rhythm each week: Opening circle, Studio making, Short movement & snack break, Continued work, Closing reflection

Explore Our Schedule of Classes

What We Make and Imagine Throughout the Year

Projects often unfold across several weeks, allowing children to develop ideas, collaborate, and see their creations grow.

Mythical creatures and stories

Dream worlds and imagined places

Circus-inspired characters and sets

Art inspired by earth, water, fire, and air

Patterns, symbols, and visual games

and more

One month we’re building life size paper mache mushrooms, the next we are designing the set for a handmade pupper theatre

In WonderLab, we don’t make individual art projects — we build worlds, guided by the children's imagination as much as the teacher’s.

Late Spring Semester (Mid April - End of May)

  • Mondays after school 3:15 - 5:00 pm → Hearthlight Village School (Lake Butler) Step Up Direct Provider (Ages 6-9)

  • Wednesdays 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm → at Wonderlab Base Camp (Ages 6-9)

    Interested in joining another class time? We work intimately with parents to schedule class times that work for you. Leave us a note in the registration form

A page titled "Artistic & Cultural Literacy" with text discussing children's introduction to art in age-appropriate ways, including drawing, working with lines and shapes, observing nature, and engaging with cultural traditions. The page features a black-and-white portrait of a man with a mustache and slicked-back hair in the bottom left corner.

What Children Actually Learn at Wonder Lab

Across the year, children build three interwoven skill sets:

A yellow page with text about hands-on studio skills, featuring a small black and white image of a man in the bottom left corner.
A yellow page with black text discussing relational, emotional, and cognitive skills, emphasizing learning to be in relationships. It lists children practices like speaking about ideas, listening attentively, holding complexity, respectful feedback, noticing rather than judging, building worlds together, developing pattern recognition, and strengthening emotional regulation. A small black-and-white photo of a man in the bottom left corner.

Registration Form - We will reach out within 24 hours

 
A young child with a side cut and ponytail, wearing a red and gray hoodie, sitting on a wooden floor, cutting a plant leaf with small blue scissors, surrounded by papers, magazines, and a toothpaste advertisement.
Child sitting on hardwood floor cutting out a magazine page of a penguin from National Geographic with scissors, with a yellow sock visible on their foot.
A young girl showing her colorful drawings to another girl sitting beside her in a cozy room.
A young girl with dark hair and a beige headband is lying on the floor, drawing with a pen on a large sheet of paper. The floor is cluttered with magazines, papers, and art supplies. In the background, there is a sofa, a window with lush green trees outside, and a wall hanging with a red and beige pattern.

WonderLab for Homeschool Coops

WonderLab is also available as a visiting creative program for homeschool co-ops and learning communities in the Gainesville/Alachua area

We custom-design our studio education for your micro school based on the age and interests of your students

→ Download the WonderLab Homeschool Co-op Teaching Guide (PDF)

Common Questions from Parents

  • Wonder Lab is a studio-based creative education. Most art classes focus on short projects or outcomes.

    We focuse on:

    • sustained studio practice

    • slow, intentional making

    • imaginative world-building

    • observation and reflection

    • meaningful relationships with materials

    Children are invited into a culture of making — not a series of activities.

    We are also a small home based studio with an emphasis on intimacy and community, hoping to grow a tight knit community of creative kids and families.

  • Often, yes.

    Wonder Lab is intentionally calm, small, and relational. Many children who feel overstimulated in loud or fast-paced environments thrive here. Sharing is always invitational — children are never forced to perform or speak before they’re ready.

  • We structure our class time so that kids have open unstructured play/game time paired with focused making sessions. This is often supportive for children that require higher stimulation.

    If after a few classes we observe that this learning environment is not supporting your child’s needs, we will discuss whether or not to continue in the program with a parent.

  • While Wonder Lab is not affiliated with any single method, it shares core values with contemplative, child-centered approaches such as Waldorf and Montessori — including respect for rhythm, imagination, hands-on learning, and intrinsic motivation.

  • Yes — in age-appropriate, story-based ways.

    Children are introduced to artistic traditions, cultural patterns, and historical ideas through narrative, imagery, and making — rather than memorization. This helps them understand art as a living, human practice across time and cultures.

  • Absolutely.

    Wonder Lab is not about talent or performance. It’s about learning how to see, experiment, and trust one’s ideas. Many children who arrive believing they “aren’t creative” discover confidence through sustained, supportive practice.

  • Because Wonder Lab is ongoing and process-based, children can re-enter easily after an absence. While missing a class occasionally will not disrupt the class rhythm or your childs learning speed, we do expect on-going commitment from our families out of respect for ther community we are seeking to create.

    We ask families to communicate in advance within 24 hrs of class time, save for last minute emergencies.

  • Class sizes are intentionally small (typically 4–8 students) to preserve intimacy, safety, and meaningful guidance.

    When a class fills, we maintain a waitlist.

  • Wonder Lab is designed as an ongoing commitment.

    Creative depth and community develop over time, and children benefit most when they attend regularly.

    Enrollment is monthly, with the expectation of continued participation across seasons.

Meet Your Teacher

Young woman with dark hair tied back, wearing a sleeveless striped top and a crossbody bag, standing outdoors on a dirt path surrounded by greenery.

Wonder Lab is guided by Lila — an artist and educator devoted to creative development through play, imagination, and craft.

Lila began formal artistic training at a young age, studying classical ballet for over 14 years alongside immersive studio art education. She studied at The Cooper Union and later Drawing and Painting from Carnegie Mellon University.

Her teaching is strongly influenced by the IDEA Russian Art School in Brooklyn, where creativity is cultivated through games, mythological storytelling, imaginative world-building, and exposure to rich visual culture — allowing skill and craft to emerge naturally over time.

With over 10 years of study in yoga, wellness, and leadership, Lila brings principles of presence, rhythm, and emotional regulation into the studio.

At Wonder Lab, these influences come together to create a learning environment that is playful yet grounded, imaginative yet disciplined — a place where children develop confidence in their own way of seeing and making.