Puyallup area readers, have you heard about the kids’ art classes offered at the Fred Oldfield Center at the fairgrounds? The beautiful art you see in this post was all done by kids in their classes! Really! Besides being super convenient, these are really affordable classes, and as you can see, these are not macaroni wreath projects!

Your kids will learn real art techniques as they draw, paint, and sculpt with instruction from real artists. [Read more…]

Good news if you’re still looking for a fun and affordable preschool near Kent or Renton! Our friends at Benson Hill Cooperative are returning as sponsors this month, and they do still have spots!

Benson Hill is a not-for-profit school offering  classes for children from Birth-6 years. Great news whether you’ve been looking for a quality mom and me class to do with your baby, or a place to help your preschooler prepare for, “Big school.”

Their large, bright classrooms are the perfect places for children to make friends and learn through play. Kiddos enjoy art, a children’s library, a drama room, block play, large indoor/outdoor play areas, and much more. In case you’re wondering, the kiddos in the pic above are pretending to be snakes! How cute is that? Below you can see the natural playground area.

Because co-op paents take turns helping out in the classroom, the tuition is super low, and the adult to child ratio is great. Experienced teachers guide the classroom, and you get to have an active role and enjoy parent education opportunities. I met some of my dearest mom friends through a similar program years ago, and I just loved every day I was able to watch my boys learning, playing, and growing.

The school is convenient for families through out South King County and  just a short drive from Renton, Kent, Covington, Maple Valley, Auburn, and Tukwila. Good news-they’re peanut free!

You can also learn much more about the school at their website (Truly-there is some Serious cuteness here, and I was So Impressed with the class descriptions and their teachers’ bios).  Their Owls class is full, but you can join the wait list. Other classes do have spots, but in my experience, they go fast when mid-August rolls around, and moms and dads suddenly realize they need a preschool!

So, head here to contact them now. You can get answers to all your questions and find out about class openings and registration information.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Sponsors support the site, and I do hope you’ll mention Sounds Fun Mom when you check them out!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. We’re Thrilled to have the amazing, play-based preschool at the CMOT joining our team this month!

Big, big news if you’re a Tacoma area parent looking for a magical, play filled preschool for a bright and curious kiddo!

The Children’s Museum of Tacoma now has TWO Tacoma area locations for their preschool Powered by Play!

Yep, in addition to their campus at the downtown museum, they’re now offering this innovative program at the Hoyt Early Learning Center campus in the Proctor District!

And, truly, can you imagine a more magical preschool than one run and designed by the team at our beloved Children’s Museum?

Did I mention you get a free museum membership with your enrollment? I know! Here’s a little more about Preschool Powered By Play-all the contact details you’ll need are at the bottom of the post!

About Preschool Powered by Play

The Children’s Museum of Tacoma’s Preschool is inspired by the best in early childhood education and by the Museum’s mission to honor children and champion play.

we believe in the innate capacity of children to wonder, hypothesize, investigate and direct their own learning. Facilitators listen, observe, and provoke thoughtful investigations to follow the emergent interests of children within the Museum and carefully designed play-based classroom.

PRESCHOOL FEATURES…

• 3-day per week classes for children ages 3 – 5 year old during the academic year Sept – May.
• CMT Campus offers weekly use of full Museum environment, and Hoyt Campus offers monthly use of Museum. Both locations utilize weekly outdoor play areas.
• 1:6 adult to child ratio with inclusion of parents in cooperative options and celebrations.
• Documentation of child’s growth and development over academic year.
• Commitment to whole family learning.
• Classes facilitated by experienced Museum early learning educators.
• Museum membership included with enrollment.

Oh, and if you have a 2 or 3 year old? The Hoyt campus has a toddler program!

If this sounds like your dream preschool, too, you’ll want to check it out for yourself soon. You can get much more information, including upcoming open house dates, at their website here.

Enrollment is now open at both locations for the 2016-2017 academic year. For more information, or to inquire about availability, contact Shannon Rojecki at srojecki@playtacoma.orgor 253.627.6031 ext. 228.   I would call soon, because in my experience, spots at quality preschools tend to go fast once the calendar turns to August. You’ll feel much less frantic if you check out your go-sees now!

This is a sponsored post. Our sponsors make this site possible. We are very grateful when you mention Sounds Fun Mom when you check them out. Thanks for doing that! 

Updated 10/2017 -If you’re wondering about Tacoma Waldorf, or looking for a Waldorf program for your child, you’ll be glad to know that they are offering ongoing enrollment in their early childhood programs as of this writing. They also have a beautiful new campus.

Read on for more of our original post on this unique Tacoma option you’ll want on your list of go-sees!

Choosing the right school for your child is a huge decision!

If you’re a Tacoma area parent, and you don’t feel like you’ve found that, “Right fit,” yet, you might want to consider a Waldorf Education.  You particularly owe it to yourself to visit Tacoma Waldorf if you feel like your child would be bored or held back from her full potential in a more traditional school setting, or if you have a child you would describe as sensitive or more empathetic than others her age (that’s all good stuff in the right place)!

You’ve likely heard of Waldorf, but if you haven’t been to a Waldorf school, you probably don’t know what makes it unique or how it differs from other approaches.

Developed by Rudolf Steiner in 1919, Waldorf education is based on a developmental approach that addresses the needs of the growing child and maturing adolescent. Waldorf teachers believe it’s as important to educate a child’s heart and hands as it is to fill his mind.

What does that look like in a school day? Well, Waldorf students are much more likely than students in a, “Regular,” school to be engaged in creative and artistic activities. These aren’t seen as, “Extras,” but as important parts of every day.

Rather than just accumulating facts, Waldorf students are taught to think, reason, examine, and question, while an equally high value is placed on creativity and imagination.

Children learn to read, write, and do math; they study history, geography, and the sciences. However, they also ALL learn to sing, play a musical instrument, draw, paint, model clay, work with wood, speak clearly, act, and work harmoniously and respectfully with others.

At Waldorf the teacher moves up each grade with his/her students, and the class becomes a true family.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. When you get in touch with our friends at Tacoma Waldorf School, please thank them for their support of Sounds Fun Mom!

Looking for a baseball or softball camp for the kids this summer? Grand Slam Baseball Camps have fun baseball camps for kids planned for Tacoma, Renton, Sumner, Puyallup, Olympia/Lacey, Gig Harbor, and more locations around the Sound.

I’m especially pleased to have Grand Slam back as a sponsor this year because this is a camp I can personally recommend to you.

My big kid’s very first experience with baseball was at the Grand Slam Camp in Sumner several years ago, and  I’m happy to say he loved it! Everyone on staff is a high school coach and/or has played college or professional ball. They’re great role models for the kids, and they are athletes who truly  love the game. Their goal is to make sure  the kids love it, too, and yours will benefit from their highly skilled and specific instruction, regardless of their current level. It’s instruction you just won’t find at a typical sports day camp. Also? It’s really affordable, especially for a specialty camp.

They run both baseball and softball  camps all over the South Sound, and the price is very reasonable. If you have boys or girls interested in baseball or softball-whether they’re seasoned veterans or just starting out-I encourage you to check them out.

Disclosure: I was so impressed with Grand Slam that they were the first camp I approached about being a sponsor way-back-when. I’m so pleased to have them back again. If you check ’em out, I do hope you’ll tell them you’re a reader. Thanks for that!

Thank you to MyIR for presenting this post! We know planning your kids’ summer can be stressful, but One thing you DON”T have to worry about is scrambling around for your kids’ shot records, IF you use MyIR!-a totally FREE and secure way to make sure you always have them when you need them! 

Are you ready for summer? Are your kids?

If either of those questions just made your gulp a little, you need our Summer Camp Guide!

Whether you need a safe and fun place for your kids every day, or you just have a couple weeks when you’d like the kids to be somewhere else (We get it!), our guide can help!

You’ll again find our camps organized by themes and specialty. You can see the whole camp guide by clicking on the graphic in the sidebar or in the menu bar. If you hover over, “Summer Camps,” in the menu bar you can also go straight to the category that interests you most!

And, don’t forget to sign up NOW for MyIR to make registering for all your activities this summer and fall much easier! What’s MyIR? It’s a new site for Washington State families. It’s a completely secure and easy way to keep track of your family’s immunization records. You can even download and print them whenever you need to!

We’ve been talking a lot of preschool here lately, and today I’m delighted to welcome Kent Meridian Co-Op back to our sponsorship team.

If you’re looking for a school in the greater Kent area, they do still have spots for next year!

In addition to their preschool classes, they also offer mommy and me classes for babies and toddlers-the only parent and child classes I know of in the South King County, Kent area. What a great way for your little one to have fun and gain social skills while you make friends, too!

At Kent-Meridian, loving, experienced teachers create a safe and warm environment where children learn through play and exploration.

Parents get to part of the learning, too, through classes taught by parent educators and time spent in the classroom. If you’re a long time reader, you might remember that I did co-op with each of my boys and loved it. They had a great time, and I made lifelong friends.

You can check out the school’s detailed listing in our preschool directory, or visit their website for much more information.  You can find registration forms on their website or contact their friendly registrar at : 253-951-1115  or via Email:registrar@kmcoop.org  You can also like KM Co-Op  on Facebook and see some of the fun stuff they do! Pro tip: If you join now, you can go to their organized playdates in the summer, so your kiddo can make friends with her future playmates. It’s GREAT to have activities and playdates to look forward to in the summer months. Hint, Hint! 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I would LOVE for you to mention Sounds Fun Mom when you contact any of our great advertisers. They’re what keeps this site up (literally)!