greenwich play

Let me tell you a little story about The Dessert List.

In our home, everyone automatically starts dinner off on The Dessert List. This means, at the end of the meal, my children get dessert. Great, right?

Well, certain things can happen over the course of the meal that can kick them off the list real fast.

Think not eating enough dinner, not sitting nicely, saying something inappropriate…. These things will get them off faster than they can say, “ice cream.”

But, the best thing about The Dessert List is that there’s always a chance to make it back on before the meal is over. There’s always a chance to turn it around.

This approach to dinner etiquette and rewards works for our family. It puts the control entirely in the hands of my children, and let me tell you, there’s nothing they want more than to be on that list at the end of dinner🍦

Give it a try, let me know how it goes!

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We believe in creating play spaces that are both visually appealing and support healthy development. It can be both! ⁠
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It takes the perfect blend of thoughtful design, educational details, and functionality to cater to the chicest and most discerning tastes (of all ages). And it always helps to have clients who trust your vision and are just simply the best!⁠
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If you're dreaming of a unique play space that sparks creativity, click the link in our bio to discover more about our process, shop this post, and more. ⁠
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A zipline can be a therapeutic activity for a child, teaching personal boundaries and capabilities in a safe and supervised environment. ⁠Additionally, transitioning from the platform down the zipline and executing a precise dismount requires meticulous motor planning. ⁠
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Running a small business is a lot like riding a zipline. You plan how to get started, take a leap of faith, ride the wave, and pray for a smooth landing. (Take away the safe and supervised environment because you are diving in head first blindfolded!)⁠
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While Instagram has a way of making everything look easy and fun, the truth is that the leap of faith you need to take is terrifying, the wave you have to ride is practically endless, and that smooth landing you pray for? It doesn't exist. ⁠
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So why do it at all? Following the exhilarating experience of speed and height, a child's zipline journey culminates with a sense of accomplishment and pride. ⁠
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The same sentiment applies to small business owners. The journey is nothing short of an exhilarating experience, culminating in absolute joy and achievement.⁠
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At Greenwich Play, we aim to create spaces that will influence purposeful play experiences.⁠
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Our top three considerations?⁠
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1 • Clear allocation of space.⁠
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2 • Developmentally appropriate materials, storage, and design. ⁠
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3 • Functional organization.⁠
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A purposeful play space is an area in your home specifically designed for your child’s age and developmental needs.⁠ In this space, your child can play freely and safely without intervention. ⁠
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This space is fun, welcoming, and organized. It contains age-appropriate, easily accessible play materials for your child to engage with and explore. ⁠
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Not sure where to start? The link in our bio has tons of info 👆🏻⁠
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Your playroom organization is only as good as your labels (yes, you need labels!). ⁠
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Labeling in a way your child can understand provides opportunities for them to work on their problem-solving skills. They also practice sorting, classifying, and learning to be responsible for their belongings.⁠
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Visuals offer children a fast and immediate way to grasp concepts and ideas. A picture can instantly convey a message, while words must be processed sequentially for comprehension.⁠
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Appropriate labels open the playroom to a world of possibilities and provide your child with numerous opportunities to develop critical early childhood skills. ⁠
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Comparable labels on the market all have their disadvantages. Trust us, we’ve tried them all. So we set out to make our own.⁠
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Our clear adhesive labels are thoughtfully curated and divided into meaningful categories. They are reusable and applicable to any bin, magnet, or clip.⁠
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✨️Shop the link in our bio now or at greenwichplay.com/shop👆🏻

Your playroom organization is only as good as your labels, and the ones currently on the market all have disadvantages. ⁠
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From fonts that are practically illegible (also, most little kids can't read) to visuals that are downright hideous, there has never been a label that fits our aesthetic and the function of a purposeful play space.⁠
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We found ourselves making custom labels for every project, and those pretty little labels were never up to the task of surviving grabby little hands.⁠
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I spent over a year developing these labels and have always had unwavering faith in their capability to transform lives. I hoped that someday I would be able to offer them to everyone, client or not.⁠
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I am excited to announce the full collection of our Kid-Friendly Playroom Labels is now available in our S✨️H✨️O✨️P or at greenwichplay.com.⁠
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Which color is your favorite? Let me know!

ꕀ play. just play. ꕀ

🥶mother [nature] knows best🥶This week at a consult I found myself explaining how children use outdoor playgrounds differently than indoor gross motor systems. The client felt her family wouldn’t use an indoor climber or swing because they had an outside jungle gym. ⁠
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Mother Nature was like, “Hold my beer, let me introduce you to February in New England.”⁠
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It’s currently TWO DEGREES and my kids have already dumped out every toy and exhausted the game “jump from the top step.” They’re going bonkers and we haven't even had breakfast yet.⁠
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Indoor gross motor systems like climbers, rock walls, and swings are an amazing escape from cold weather, but also the average day when someone needs a little extra time to get the wiggles out.⁠
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We can expertly recommend a gross motor setup that works for your price point, your space, and your family. Set up a consult to learn more about how can transform a single corner into a magical gross motor getaway. ⁠
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🌿client love🌿When a client says something like this, it reminds us that what we're doing has a meaningful effect on the development of children. ⁠
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With the Greenwich Play Room opening this spring, we hope families take the opportunity to experience the impact of purposeful play. ⁠
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Because it’s so easy to overlook your child’s space. We highly recommend you don’t. ⁠
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🌿soothing swings🌿The lyrics to Rock-A-Bye Baby are kind of horrifying, but the act of rocking a baby is a fool-proof way to send them off into slumber. It’s such an effective strategy that some of the highest-grossing baby products on the market are rockers. But why does rocking work so well?⁠
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When I was pregnant with our second son, I was still experiencing post-partum anxiety from my first pregnancy. With most medications and supplements unsafe to use, I found myself swinging on our playroom swing every single day. Literally. It brought so much calming relief, it is still a tool I often use to unwind and decompress. A grown-up rocker, if you will!⁠
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The rocking sensation is soothing because it triggers the part of the brain that controls our calming reflex. We recommend a swing in almost every playroom because they help regulate your child’s nervous system in a way that almost nothing else can. ⁠
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The repetitive back-and-forth motion of swinging helps activate the part of the brain that calms nerves, just like rocking. I’m here to say it not only helps children regulate their bodies and minds, but it also does wonders for stressed-out parents, too 😏⁠
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🎁gift guide🎁Are you still searching for the perfect present? Head to the link in our bio, where we're sharing our must-haves this holiday season and every season!

🎸rocking flexibility🎸How quickly does your child change their mind? Their favorite toy went from this to that overnight. They hate the food they used to eat exclusively. Sound familiar? 🫠⁠
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As moms and educators, we understand the fluctuating preferences of young children, and it's precisely why all of our spaces start with solid foundations. So when your child decides to ditch the trains and move on to the laser tag, their space supports the transition. ⁠
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Remaining flexible is one of the most significant skills you can model for your child, and it's also one of the hardest. Oftentimes, as we go through discussing, designing, and installing a play space, the needs and wants of the family change. And so, remaining flexible is an essential part of the process.⁠
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This playroom took almost a year to bring to life (more on that soon), but if you can believe it, that awesome little neon sign was a last-minute addition. It's like it was always supposed to be there!⁠
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🎄we are so excited to join First Light tonight in front of the soon-to-be Greenwich Play Room!

Find us in the igloo at the end of Sound Beach Ave where you can…
❄️enter to win a

⛄️make a festive holiday frame + take a picture with our snowmen

🍫grab some candy

👋🏻say hi!

We can’t wait to see everyone tonight!

🚫👹You know what we're cooking up in here? It's a little something we like to call Greenwich Play Anti-Monster Spray™️ and we’ll be passing free samples out this weekend Greenwich Moms] Halloween Greet & Treat! ⁠
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Sometimes little kids struggle separating the real from the pretend, resulting in nightmares and scary thoughts. Halloween brings these moments out more than usual, which can make this time of year difficult.
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That's why we developed Anti-Monster Spray (AMS for short). It's for the moments when your child is having a tough time - whether it be from a scary costume or an overwhelming event - AMS will quite literally diffuse the situation. ⁠
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If you can't seem to locate AMS on Amazon, do not worry, creating your own is simple. Actually, it’s preferred. What’s the magic potion?

🧴take a small spray bottle

💧fill it with water

🟣drop in some calming lavender oil

💫VOILA: Anti-Monster Spray 🚫👹

The lingering lavender smell will remind your child that the monsters can’t get near. It will also calm their senses and hopefully put an end to the scary thoughts.

⁠If you’re local, join us on Saturday 10/29 at the annual Greenwich Avenue Greet & Treat. Greenwich Moms] is bringing the Ave to life with a Kid Zone, Family Halloween Costume Photo Contest and trick-or-treating. Businesses along Greenwich Avenue will have special in-store promotions and goodies for all!

We’ll be passing out free bottles of our extremely exclusive Greenwich Play Anti-Monster Spray™️… come grab one and say hi!

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🌿confidence costumes🌿There is so much talk about Halloween in my house right now, and something tells me if you're reading this you can relate. But children not only love Halloween for the tricks and treats. The costumes, of course, are the main attraction. ⁠
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Dress-up - or pretend play - is essential for children. The act of pretending builds social and emotional skills, and fuels a child’s ever-expanding imagination. Pretend play is how a child actively practices communicating real-world situations (and sometimes the not-so-real world, too, we hope!). ⁠
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Pretending to be someone else builds confidence, teaches empathy, and gives children permission to be anything or anyone they want. Why would we limit that to only one day? ⁠
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An added bonus with dressing up is that it encourages children to practice putting on and taking off clothing or costumes, working on buttoning, zippers, and all sorts of fine motor skill development.⁠
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Creating pretend play spaces is a job we take seriously . When a child realizes they can be whoever they want to be through make-believe, it gives them a boost that can last a lifetime. ⁠
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One of the greatest things you can do for your child is foster an environment in which they feel safe to explore their imagination, and not just one day a year, but every day!
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🌿open-ended toys makes for open-ended play🌿I was doing my nightly sweep of the house, picking up random objects my kids had left, like breadcrumbs, and returning them to their rightful homes. On my way to the playroom, I got distracted and set this pretend phone on a bench in the hallway. ⁠
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My boys found it there this morning and proceeded to take turns making phone calls, dialing, and having pretend conversations with their friends. It was the sweetest they have been with each other in a long time.⁠
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Few things hold both of their attention for very long, especially not killing each other or fighting. What always does? A random item they stumble upon, just as they did this morning.

🌟It's seemingly mundane moments like this that demonstrate the power of open-ended toys.⁠
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Depending on who the child is, what's going on in the world around them, and what is inspiring them at that moment, one open-ended toy can be so many different things on any given day. You would also be surprised by how much you can learn about your child just by listening to their interactions with open-ended materials. ⁠
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🔨Don't be fooled, my little guy definitely smacked my older son over the head with the phone to end this successful play session, but I know a win when I see one. ⁠
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This was a win🏆
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🌿"When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower."🌿 courtney gault | MS Ed, MFA] is not another interior design firm (in fact, we wouldn't call ourselves that at all!). So, who are we? ⁠
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We are educational experts, creatives, and parents, who are dedicated to our clients and their family’s ongoing happiness and growth. And we firmly believe that healthy development in children starts with their space at home❣️
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As caregivers, we want to give our children as many opportunities as possible to create, experiment, and independently navigate their world around them. But, if the space in which they play and learn does not function to meet their specific needs, then it doesn’t matter what materials you provide, your child can fall short of meeting their full potential because of distractions and lack of inspiration.⁠
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Don't fret! We are here to help. Below are a few of the courtney gault | MS Ed, MFA] goals for successfully achieving spaces that inspire creativity and support healthy development in children.⁠
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• Children feel confident and comfortable selecting their own materials and activities. ⁠
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• Children are able to independently put things away and clean up after themselves (when age-appropriate). ⁠
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• Children are empowered to participate in the planning and executing of their play because they know where everything is, and what is accessible to them.⁠
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If you find your child isn’t engaging in a meaningful way, dont buy something new to distract; change the space. The ultimate goal is to create a space for your family at home that will naturally inspire purposeful play. ⁠
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For more personalized help, book an intro consult in our stories above 📞🔝⁠
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❄️winter is coming❄️It's not a coincidence that we receive an increased number of inquiries as soon as the weather starts to turn. Concerned parents are beginning to think about how to keep their children engaged and entertained during the long cold months ahead. We like to think this is where truly excels. ⁠
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Most of the toys you can purchase in-store or online hold very little worth when it comes to playing with any intention. That's why they don't hold your child's attention for very long. ⁠
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But, creating a space just for them, where they will easily be able to navigate and explore, is how your child will have the most successful play interactions, and stay the most engaged.⁠
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An open-ended space will not only keep your child engaged for hours, days... actually years... but it will also offer important developmental opportunities. ⁠
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Children are given the freedom to strengthen their language and social skills in the process of play when they are given an open-ended environment.⁠ They practice making choices, exercising flexibility, and compromising. ⁠
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If you're not sure where to start, like we said above this is where we truly excel. Link in bio to book a free consult call. We can't wait to hear how we can change your space.

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❣️Local friends❣️Donate new and gently used books to The Big Picture] all of October to celebrate . ⁠
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Your books will go directly to WelcomeBabyUSA], who will provide low-income new mothers and their babies with our donations. ⁠
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Help these moms give the gift of early reading to their own children. Added bonus, every time you donate get $5 towards a project to do The Big Picture] or at home!⁠
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Not local, but want to help? No donation is too small, head over to WelcomeBabyUSA] to learn more about how you can help.⁠
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🌿the importance of books🌿When our first son was born, I didn’t have that moment where I laid eyes on him and we fell in love. In fact, I think my initial thought when I saw his little face was, “Thank god I’m not pregnant anymore!” Don’t get me wrong, he was everything I had dreamt he would be, but we didn’t have an immediate bond. ⁠
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One of our first nights home, bleary-eyed and exhausted, we snuggled on his rocker after bathtime and started a small board book - his first book. As every page turned, I felt a bond growing between us, and on the very last page, I just looked at him and knew: we had fallen in love over this little book. ⁠
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WelcomeBabyUSA]]] is an organization that provides low-income mothers a package with everything they need for the first four weeks of their baby’s life (incredible, right?!). This package contains necessities, not luxuries - critical items needed to support a newborn’s healthy growth and development, thus reducing the physical, financial and emotional consequences low-income families face.⁠
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Regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or age, access to a book is a necessity for so many reasons. For me, access to a book was critical in the first four weeks of my child’s life because it afforded us the opportunity to connect. ⁠
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has donated a copy of the classic 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘵𝘦 to every WelcomeBabyUSA]]] package that goes out (over 1100 boxes a year!).⁠ We believe that literacy is a necessity, not a luxury, and now you can help, too ⤵️⤵️⁠
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❣️Local friends❣️Donate new and gently used books to The Big Picture] all of October to celebrate National Book Month. Your donations will go directly to WelcomeBabyUSA]]] new mothers to help them create connections with their newborns. Added bonus, every time you donate get $5 towards a project to do The Big Picture] or at home!⁠
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Not local, but want to help? No donation is too small, head over to WelcomeBabyUSA]]] to learn more about how you can help.⁠
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🌿table talk🌿Around this time every year, when the pumpkins start to come out and the leaves are just turning, I am often approached by preschool parents concerned about "kindergarten readiness." And every year, I always find myself asking, what does it mean to be "ready for kindergarten" anyway?⁠
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The traditional definition of "kindergarten readiness" is that a child can recognize and write their own name, identify letters of the alphabet, use and hold scissors, count and recognize numbers, rhyme, play well with peers, etc., etc., etc.⁠
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We always suggest having a multi-purpose play table in a playroom because it not only fine-tunes the "skill set" listed above, but more importantly it provides a designated area for your child to create, problem-solve, and expand their play. ⁠
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Preparing your child for everything is not a realistic version of life. However, providing them with space to acquire the skills necessary to not just be ready for kindergarten, but also ready for life after, is something we strive to achieve in every one of our playrooms.⁠
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🌿fresh start fall🌿There are two times of year that we recommend purging and organizing kid spaces:⁠
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1. after the holidays
2. back-to-school

A purge can bring clarity and make way for new ideas to develop over the course of the school year. Playrooms, family rooms, bedrooms and basements are a few of the spaces that we like to evaluate every fall. These are the areas of the home that get really lived in over the summer, and are most likely not in the shape you would want them to be in for the start of school.

It's also important to consider that what your child liked to do in the spring, may be nowhere on their list of things they want to do now. Hence the real need for a purge this time of year!⁠
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If you don't know where to start, ask yourself the following:⁠
❓️What is this? ⁠
(No, really, sometimes we have no idea what something is)⁠
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❓️Who is it for? ⁠
(If no one in your house is going to use it, it shouldn't be there)⁠
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❓️Where does it go? ⁠
(Every material has a home within your home)⁠
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Once you have purged and gone through what you have, you can properly sort, categorize and make space for new additions.

If you don't want to do it alone (and we don't blame you!), head to the link in our bio to find out more about our playroom organization services, and what makes us different from anyone else!

✨✨well give you a BIG hint: our educational expertise plays a major part in our organization techniques✨✨
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When we say we can bring the world to your basement, we mean it 🌎️💫⁠
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Did you know climbing up a ladder or swinging from monkey bars helps improve your child's handwriting grip and overall hand-eye coordination? ⁠
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Incorporating gross motor play into your child's space not only helps to get all of that energy out but also greatly improves strength and coordination. Even more, it can instill confidence in your child, and encourage them to take risks and make good decisions. ⁠
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We are firm believers that open-ended gross motor materials hold more value than almost anything else in a playroom, and are worth the investment. ⁠
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This school year, support your child's academic development at home by incorporating gross motor activities into their play.⁠
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Hi! I'm Courtney (the one on the right) and I'm the Founder + Chief Play Officer of courtney gault | MS Ed, MFA]. This summer I focused on completing projects, working on next steps (they're big!!), and spent lot of time with my two little boys.⁠
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I am so proud of this little company and everything I have done to date, but always envisioned courtney gault | MS Ed, MFA] to be comprised of a group of talented, fun, inspiring people - a team of like-minded individuals with a similar passion for and drive to create purposeful family spaces within the home. ⁠
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The first of many exciting announcements I have up my sleeve is the addition of Courtney Van Naarden (yes, another Courtney! She's on the left and goes by CVN for clarity's sake!). ⁠Like so many women, CVN took a professional pause to start a family, and never really felt like going back to the “corporate world” made sense for the life she now had. It was also during this time that she developed new passions for things like early childhood (hello two little boys) and interior design (hello new empty house). The fun and functional space she created for her own children had such a positive impact on them, it inspired CVN to want to bring that joy and purpose to other families’ homes. ⁠
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I could not be more grateful to have CVN by my side for the next phase of ⁠ich_play. As VP of Marketing + Make Believe, she’s pretty much saved my life and is helping to elevate this little company to a whole new level.

Say hi! And don’t go too far… we have another exciting announcement coming later this week 🤗

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