Same teacher. Same time. Same friends. Every week.
A weekly studio art class for 3–6 year olds. 20 sessions a week to choose from — Mon–Fri at Torrensville, school holidays included. From $49 a week.
Why most art classes don't work
The same kids who can't sit at one art class are calm at Mini Ivy.
You've probably tried at least one. Drop-in art at the local play café. A craft class at the community centre. A "creative kids" workshop where the parents stand in a circle and watch.
And it goes the same way. Your 3-year-old wanders off in the first 10 minutes. Your 5-year-old freezes when she can't make it look "right". The instructor is sweet but stretched. The room is loud, the materials are random, and what comes home is a smudge of glitter glue you'll throw out in two days.
That's not a kid problem. That's a structure problem.
Mini Ivy is built the opposite way: the same teacher every week, the same room, the same friends, a real lesson with a real technique, and a take-home artwork you'd actually frame. That structure is exactly why the kids who can't sit at other classes settle here in three weeks.
A day at Mini Ivy
Four sessions. Mon–Fri. Pick what fits.
9:00–10:30
Session 1
Open Exploration
Engineering hub, easels, watercolour, messy room, clay. Children pick. Best for first-timers.
10:30–12:00
Session 2
Teacher-led Lesson
Step-by-step structured project. New medium each week. Children sit, focus, finish a real artwork.
12:00–1:30
Session 3
Open Session
Engineering hub plus 2–3 rotating skill activities. Intentional, not free play.
1:30–3:00
Session 4
Group / Skill Focus
Group collaboration, deep dive on a technique, or another step-by-step project.
Not sure which to pick?
Answer 3 questions. Get a recommendation.
1. How old is your child?
2. Are they new to structured classes?
3. What are you here for?
Loss aversion
The mistake most parents make
They wait until something goes wrong.
The kids who arrive at our door at age 5 — anxious about starting school, melting down at every new place, refusing to try anything that might be hard — usually have parents who tell us the same thing: "I wish we'd done this 18 months ago."
You don't enrol your child in swimming lessons because they're drowning. You enrol them because you don't want them to. Mini Ivy works the same way.
The fix is shockingly small. One 60-minute Discovery Session. Then 90 minutes a week, every week, with the same teacher. That's it. That's the whole thing.
— Valando, Co-Founder
3 weekly options
Pick how much creative time your child gets a week.
Single session
$49 / week
For gentle beginnings
1 × 90-minute session
Same time, same teacher
Best for shy 3yos & first-timers
Double session
$59 / week
For deeper focus
2 × 90 min, back to back
Same day · same teacher
Multiple mediums in one visit
Most popularFour sessions
$89 / week
A full day of creativity
All 4 daily sessions, same day
Every medium, every focus area
For children who LOVE art
This term's spots3 left
Honest questions
"But is my child ready?"
My child is shy. Will she cope?
Yes — Mini Ivy is designed for shy children. Predictable routine, the same teacher every week, the same room she'll come to recognise. The whole point of weekly enrolment is that the strangeness wears off and she settles into a rhythm.
My child has trouble sitting still. Is this for him?
Yes — children build focus across the session, not all at once.
What if she cries at the door?
We have a settling-in plan. The teacher will gently encourage her, and if she doesn't settle within 10 minutes we bring her to you in the waiting area.
What you're really comparing
$89 a week is cheaper than what you're already spending.
Saturday play café
~$160 / month
2 hr × 4 weeks. Chaos. No teacher. No skill built.
After-school dance / sport
~$200 / month
45 min once a week. Great — but no fine motor or focus work.
Mini Ivy Fours
$356 / month
A full day a week. Real teacher. Real skills. Real artwork home.
It's more than the play café. It's about the same as one weekly extracurricular. And you get 4× the time, real teaching, and the structured routine your child's brain is actually looking for.
Zero pressure
You can leave whenever. That's the whole policy.
No contracts
Cancel anytime. We don't lock anyone in. Ever.
Free Discovery first
60 min, no card, no commitment. Decide after.
Make-up tokens
Sick day? Holiday? Token valid 60 days, no fuss.
If she cries
We bring her to you within 10 minutes. No drama.
Start with a free Discovery Session.
60 minutes. You stay. Your child joins a real session. No commitment.
Free · 60 min · No commitment
Book your Discovery Session
Daily 10:30am at Mini Ivy Torrensville. Your child joins a real session — you stay in the parent waiting area.