{"id":214574,"date":"2026-06-09T13:45:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/214574\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T13:45:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:45:34","slug":"lehigh-valley-native-launches-early-childhood-enrichment-program-for-infants-through-age-6-eat-sip-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/214574\/","title":{"rendered":"Lehigh Valley native launches early childhood enrichment program for infants through age 6 | Eat, Sip, Shop"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>WHITEHALL, Pa. \u2014 A Lehigh Valley entrepreneur and community figure \u2013 best known as the owner of 7 Deadly Spins Fastpitch and The Hitter\u2019s Edge sports training facility in Whitehall Township \u2013 is debuting her most personal venture to date.<\/p>\n<p>Alexandra MacLean Valenzuela, a former star pitcher at Northampton Area High School (\u201909) who continued showcasing her softball chops at Bucknell University (\u201913), is launching CHAMP Academy\u00a0\u2014 a credentialed early childhood enrichment program for infants through age 6\u00a0\u2014 at The Hitter\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"champ academy.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive lazyload full blur\" width=\"1229\" height=\"1686\" data- data-\/><\/p>\n<p>             <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6a26eece7a4d4.image.jpg\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"274\" width=\"200\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Screenshot<\/p>\n<p>                                    CHAMP Academy<\/p>\n<p>CHAMP Academy will host an open house 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 10, at The Hitter\u2019s Edge, 3679 Eberhart Road, Whitehall, according to a news release.<\/p>\n<p>Guests will be able to tour the facility, meet the educators, try a sample class and lock in a founding member rate. All families are welcome, and no registration is required.<\/p>\n<p>CHAMP Academy delivers seven distinct weekly classes built around five developmental pillars: Confident, Holistic, Academic, Mindful, and Play.<\/p>\n<p>Every membership includes access to all seven classes, taught by credentialed early childhood educators in a purpose-built movement space.<\/p>\n<p>CHAMP Academy is the program that Valenzuela wishes existed when she was building her business and her family simultaneously.<\/p>\n<p>As a Lehigh Valley native who has spent years serving the local sports community through The Hitter\u2019s Edge and 7 Deadly Spins, she identified a consistent gap: \u201crobust programming for older athletes, and very little of substance for the youngest children in those same families,\u201d the release states.<\/p>\n<p>CHAMP Academy is her answer to this void.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBig kids have practice,\u201d Valenzuela said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow little kids have CHAMP. I\u2019ve been in this community a long time \u2014 I know these families. They want more than just drop-off play. They want real programming, real teachers, and a place that takes their youngest kids as seriously as their older ones. That\u2019s exactly what we built.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Every CHAMP Academy membership includes access to all seven weekly classes \u2014 featuring seven different ways to learn through play:<\/p>\n<p>Baby Champs: Gentle, sensory-rich experiences for infants that bond babies with caregivers and support early development.Messy Makers: Hands-on, sensory-rich art where open-ended creative stations let little hands get gloriously messy and big imaginations run wild.Mini MVP Play: Free play with a purpose \u2014 a rotating mix of toys, independent exploration, and connection with other kids.Quiet Moments: A gentle, calming class featuring soft crafting paired with a sensory wind-down in a dimly lit space with gentle music.Tiny Tastebuds: A multi-sensory food adventure where kids sniff, peel, stamp, and taste their way through flavors, textures, and curiosity.Story Explorers: Read-aloud adventures with songs, movement, and hands-on play \u2014 kids sway, wave, and breathe their way through every story.Rhythm &amp; Rhyme Music: A joyful, high-energy music class where little ones sing, shake, drum, and dance.Sing-alongs, hands-on instruments, and full-body movement build early language, listening, coordination, and confidence.<\/p>\n<p>Founding member pricing, available on the first 15 spots per tier, locks in for life as long as the membership stays active.<\/p>\n<p>Memberships feature no long-term contract \u2013 \u201cjust real programming, on your schedule,\u201d the release states.<\/p>\n<p>Founding rates include:<\/p>\n<p>4x a Month: $89\/month \u2013 Best for single child, one consistent weekly routine.Unlimited: $149\/month \u2013 Best for single child, 2\u20133 visits per week.Family Unlimited $189\/month \u2013 Best for families with 2\u20133 kids, ages 0\u20136.<\/p>\n<p>Classes, 45 minutes each, are led by a credentialed educator and assistant, and class sizes are limited to a maximum of 15 children.<\/p>\n<p>For the latest Champ Academy updates, follow the business\u2019 pages on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61589846993063\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/champacademykids\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Instagram<\/a>. Info: <a href=\"https:\/\/champacademykids.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">champacademykids.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>                            <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHITEHALL, Pa. \u2014 A Lehigh Valley entrepreneur and community figure \u2013 best known as the owner of 7&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[93994,119,121,120,93995,93997,93998,157,93996,44803,93999,6569,1654],"class_list":["post-214574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-alexandra-maclean-valenzuela","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-champ-academy","tag-early-childhood-enrichment-program","tag-eberhart-road","tag-lehigh-valley","tag-local-sports-community","tag-pitcher","tag-the-hitter","tag-whitehall","tag-whitehall-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}