Why We Love Great Play of Redmond

of Redmond may appear like another children's gym, but let me tell you...they are definitely not your average children's gym! From constantly changing structured class activities, interactive helpful play and positive guidance from not just one coach, but three, to an Open Gym that promises to please, this experience will never be boring.

When you first walk into Great Play, you are greeted by one of the cheerful coaches behind the desk, and of course my eyes immediately go to the interactive wall. My statement, "Wow, that's a really cool wall!" The response, "Just wait, it gets better."

So, I'm literally asking myself how their cool photo wall, assuming then that it was static, could get better? We found ourselves learning a lesson of patience, anticipating when we could go in. Yes, us moms get just as excited as the kids do when there is a new place to check out (inner child for the win). We then heard the music start and the gates were opened. My daughter squealed with delight and ran barreling into the gym as fast as she could muster, with mom fast behind.

We were in a warm up phase, and the gym was set up with two slides, a trampoline, several obstacle courses and balls. This is a toddler's dream! She's busy climbing and maneuvering herself between obstacle after obstacle, and it was then I realized how amazing this initial setup was for problem solving and allowing troubleshooting for young minds.

The music stopped and we were asked to sit in a circle and sing the welcome song. The interactive wall changed to show Buddy, Great Play's mascot, welcoming us with a wave, and words scrolled on the wall. As we began to sing in a circle with other moms and their children, there is a great group dynamic beginning to emerge. Smiles are on the children's faces, and the moms are busy adoring their children's reaction.

As we went around letting the children introduce themselves, there is a flurry of activity going on around us, as the other coaches are busy recreating the gym into something new. After our meet and greet we warmed up by doing some fun exercises with clapping and singing. My daughter had so much fun doing her hyper turns with jumping. We all have our own unique style of warm up exercises to add into the mix, and a toddler's style is no exception!

We moved into group activities, the first was to hold a ball in a scoop and balance it in your hand and walk across the gym to the bucket while keeping the ball intact. Wash, rinse and repeat until the balls are gone in your bucket. Balancing and coordination was key here, and our children are so amazing on how quickly they pick this up!

Our next activity was to play with buddy on the interactive wall. The wall changed to show Buddy on one wall panel, and a bunch of shapes and colors on the other side. Following instructions to listen and wait for the coach, we worked with our kids to find a specific color and shape. So we're looking at patience, listening skills, team work, color and shape recognition on top of physical activity with different musical auditory response and more visual stimulation as the wall switches from side to side to engage movement between each step. There is a lot going on, especially for our little sponges that absorb as much as they can.

As we move into stations, the children are given a choice of three different activities. There are new obstacles including a balance beam, a soccer station for kicking balls, as well as throwing beanbags at the interactive wall to pinpoint a specific object. As my daughter was on the balance beam she struggled with her balance, and the coach at that station actually worked with my daughter and showed her different techniques to master her goal. This really impressed me!

Then, something magical happened, the coaches created a balloon pit with the magic bubble machine. All the little ones stared in wonderment and gave happy yells as the balloons and bubbles went over and around them. This is a mini magical land, and they need to make the area bigger, because this mom wants in too!

After Bubble Land disappeared, a big toy box was brought out and dumped on the floor. My daughter runs over to play with the other kids, unaware of the constant bustle of activity of the other coaches. My daughter, as most toddlers will, put a toy in her mouth. The coach was alert and kindly told my daughter that the toys weren't for eating while handing her a new object for distraction, and the coach took the toy to a bucket.

It was then, that a new realization dawned upon me. They made great efforts to keep things cleaned and sanitized. I looked around, and I mean really looked around with an eagle eye view most of us moms use with a toddler. The floor was cleaned prior to the class (not even one speck of dust), there were no stray objects laying around, the coach at the desk was grabbing cleaner to clean everything around her (including the bathrooms), and I couldn't help but ask the coach sitting next to me if this was normal procedure. She told me that it was standard procedure and that they clean during and after every class. I was shocked! This was by far the cleanest and most sanitary establishment that we had been to...ever. Their standard of clean had me reevaluating my home standard, and of course, you're laughing! I am, too.

My daughter’s next joyous event began as she pulled me away from the toys to the swings of champions. The swings are secured to a high ceiling allowing for a very long swing. My daughter of course was very upset when her turn was up. I was planning on taking her outside to calm down and was directed by the coach at the desk to the room off to the side. The younger kids call it the "Puzzle Room," and my daughter forgot her woes and immediately went to one of her favorite activities that we do at home. We put together two puzzles and rejoined the class for music time. The kids were given long ribbons to twirl as we sang a song for our cool down. We sang the buddy song, waved goodbye to buddy and went to put our shoes on so we could get a buddy sticker.

As we were preparing to leave, I pulled one of the coaches to the side to talk more about the Great Play experience, and I found that I was speaking with the owner, Coach Marie Maxwell. Simply put, she is one remarkable woman that you will never forget. My daughter absolutely adores her, and she loves to mimic her. Of course, I have no problem with this, as Coach Marie likes to lead by example. I also love the fact that she’s been involved in Great Play every step of the way. She knows what she’s talking about when she lets you know that is really a “safe” kids gym. The way that they have activities structured down to the flooring that actually reduces injury (38 percent shock absorption rate). She really loves what Great Play is about (and believe me, it shows).

Our first experience recaptured in this post, has not been our last. The experience was memorable enough to remember in detail, and we incorporate a lot of the activities into our indoor and outdoor play. We have been enjoying what Great Play has to offer for the past year, and we're looking forward to the years that are to come. This is a children’s gym that masters so much cognitive and physical abilities into one class. My daughter continues to amaze in more ways than one.

Thank you, Great Play. We adore you! 

PS: Don't forget to check out Parents Night Out!! This is for kids ages 3 to 8!