While we’re saddened that we have to wait a little longer to welcome everyone back and start playing at 600 W Cermak, we wanted to give you the very first look at our new location. Imagine all the fun we’re going to have in here when it’s all finished!

Know that we are working hard in order to see you soon and we’ll update our grand reopening date as soon as we’ve crossed all our remaining “T”s and dotted those last few “I”s. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed for the latest updates or check back every few days for new posts.

We thank you for your continued understanding and support,

Sherri and Jo

It’s strange to think that only four short years ago, Room2Play was but an idea looking for a home.  Sherri and I met at a mother’s support group and developed the concept for Room2Play out of a common need for our own young sons.  As mothers, we wanted a place that could provide not only a safe learning environment, but an outlet for childrens’ creativity in the form of dramatic play, art, music and dance.  Room2Play was launched as a facility for parents, grandparents and caregivers to enjoy with their children, much in the same way that we enjoyed it with ours.  In essence, it was born out of family…out of our own, out of the communities’ and out of yours.

Over these last few years, we’ve watched as our children have grown and seen the ways in which they’ve developed and the new ways in which they are learning and creating.  It only seems appropriate, then,  that we find ourselves going through our own “growing up” period.  You’ll notice that we’ve expanded our curriculum to fit a wider range of ages.  We’ve added new programs for pre-Preschool age children and have tweaked our other programming to be just as appealing to the slightly older, more discerning child.

Our other, most obvious change is our location.  Our new space at 600 W Cermak is smack dab in the center of the growing Chicago Creative Industry District, which is quickly giving a dramatic facelift to an underused part of East Pilsen.  When development is complete, our neighbors will be an assortment of artists, designers, producers and entrepreneurs.  It’s a group that we’re very excited to be a part of as we continue to teach the power of creativity and play in a well-rounded development.  We’re looking forward to helping create a new community and reach out to many new “urban mamas” just like us who could use a safe, open play space for the children.

But even as we work on creating a new community, we also want to remind you that despite a fresh coat of paint and a shiny new location, we’re still just as committed to you, our Room2Play family, as we’ve ever been.  Without the families who have supported us thus far and all of our regular kids, we would not have even had the chance to continue moving onward and upward like we have.  We hope that you will join us in continuing to provide the premiere learning environment and play space in the South Loop.  We hope that you will continue to grow with us, play with us, and discover with us all the wonderful happenings that are coming with our reopening.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have some leaping to do…but if you haven’t already, be sure to book mark the blog and check back every few days for more updates, events and anecdotes than you can shake a stick at.  Do we have some stories to tell!

It’s finally time to play again!  That’s right, after months of scaling impossible hurdles and dodging countless obstacles, Sherri and I are proud to announce that we’re officially reopening our doors on January 4, 2010 at our new location: 600 W Cermak. 

While it has been a long road to this point, we are strong believers in the idea that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  To that end, we have a lot of new flavors of lemonade to share with you all, and we’re feeling revitalized and more excited than ever about the slate of new programs and activities we have to offer in our new space.

During these bizarre times, we’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response from you, our Room2Play friends and families, and we wanted to just take a moment and thank you again for your continued support.  Room2Play would be nothing without you, and we hope you will join us in January to help us continue promoting the power of PLAY and the ARTS.  In response to your feedback, we have expanded our fun, learning-focused programming to include drop-off services for special events and expanded arts programming for the following age groups: 2-4 year olds,  5-8 year olds,  9-12 year olds.  Our new classes cultivate the whole child, gradually building many kinds of literacy while developing intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication.

Check out our Learn page for a taste of our first wave of class and event offerings at our new site.  Remember: registration opens on December 1!

If you have something that you and your family would be interested in, don’t hesitate to leave a comment with a suggestion.  We’re a family at Room2Play, after all, and it’s important to us that you have a say.  Consider this our version of a virtual family meeting.

We’re counting down the days until we swing our doors open wide again and we hope you are too.  And we’ll be in touch again with regular postings and newsletters keeping you up-to-date on our progress.

Sign-up NOW and reserve a space!!! Classes begin January 11, 2010

Till we play again,

Jo Sanders
Co-Owner, Room2Play

Visit Room2Play April 22nd, Earth Day, to learn more about Earth Day!

We will have Jen Khatchatrian, Founder of Chicago Green Families and also author of Eco Chic Organizer speaking at 11am about how to engage city kids in the green movement (recycling, composting, water and energy conservation) and what opportunities there are in the city for education, support and networking.

You can build a Plan Toys Eco Home puzzle while you’re here! Take the puzzle and a Monkey Pencil home with you! Trust us, they’re super cute. We look forward to celebrating this important day with you and thank you for your continued support of the environment. Don’t forget to wear green and/or brown that day.

Click here to RSVP.