Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Alexander
Hi Chloe, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I earned both my Bachelors and Masters degrees in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. I taught public school in both Minneapolis, MN and Dripping Springs, TX for six years before leaving the field to start a family. After a few years of working on social media marketing and becoming a parent to a little boy, I really missed the joy and fulfillment of education. I also was struggling to find quality mommy-and-me activities near our home in Dripping Springs without having to drive super far into the city. My little sister, who at the time was studying to become an Occupational Therapist, was doing her final Doctoral research project on something called PlayWisely in Dallas, TX. She told me that PlayWisely was absolutely incredible and that it seemed like something I would love as a mom and educator. I went to sign up my son for classes, only to see that there were no PlayWisely classes in Austin. My sister invited me to a weekend training where I could learn more about PlayWisely from the founder and I agreed to attend with no plans to actually get involved in the business. However, by the end of the weekend, I knew that bringing a license of PlayWisely to Austin as PlayWisely ATX was meant to be the next chapter of my life and career. Fast forward six months, and we opened our own storefront in southwest Austin near Dripping Springs to families with littles ages 4 months to 4 years. We have now been in business for just over a year and have welcomed hundreds of families through our doors for our brain boosting play based development classes, open gyms, sensory classes, and more!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Overall, the founder of PlayWisely has been an absolute gem and extremely helpful with giving tips and ideas of how to get started. Because we are not a franchise, we really just have access to the PlayWisely card sets and curriculum, and the rest is up to me! It was definitely overwhelming in the beginning as a full time mom and former educator navigating how to start a business. The hours were long, my son has never loved sleeping, and I was exhausted. We struggled to find a store front in southwest Austin/Dripping Springs for a while and considered giving up when we couldn’t find a place that felt right. However, once we found our beautiful studio space, we never looked back. My husband was an incredible help as well as family and friends from our community. We have felt so much love and support and are blessed to have had an overall smooth journey!
We’ve been impressed with PlayWisely ATX, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
It’s all there in our name! We are all about playing. . . wisely! Experts know that early, age-appropriate stimulation is critical to your child’s development. In fact, your child’s earliest experiences build key structures of the brain and cognitive tools used to make sense of the world for the rest of their lives.
We’ve taken the latest and most robust findings from science, academia and sport as it relates to childhood play and brain development to create an innovative curriculum that’s designed to optimize your child’s natural learning potential. We build your child’s developmental ‘tool chest’ of skills and abilities that will help them make their way through this quickly changing world.
So yes, it’s science. And, yes, it’s learning. But to your kids, it’s just plain fun! Our classes are founded in the PlayWisely method, bringing all of the key insights and research from science, education, and performance sports to help optimize a child’s natural development. PlayWisely is the first developmental play system designed to optimize each child’s natural learning and movement ability through each stage of development. The program takes advantage of the brain’s early critical wiring period from birth to age four, when learning is most efficient and fun.
The PlayWisely goal is not to create baby geniuses, but to foster a love of learning and developmental wellness that equips each child with a strong foundation to serve their future dreams and passions. No matter what a child aspires to do, the developmental tool chest of skills and abilities experienced in PlayWisely will last a lifetime.
PlayWisely’s curriculum targets children from birth to age 4 — the brain’s early critical wiring period. Our classes begin at 4 month olds; they are based on either a child’s age or stage of development. Enrollment is limited to 4-6 in a class. The class meets once a week for 30 minutes. One adult must accompany each child.
Expect to have lots of fun in a PlayWisely class! Each 30 minute class incorporates purposeful play techniques to enhance your child’s development. We start with our Cognitive Card System which is designed to teach your child and train their brain for efficient function. Then we move to our motor development curriculum where your child will develop body confidence through incorporation of age-appropriate skill experiences in eight key areas of movement:
Catching & Throwing
Kicking
Striking
Fine Motor
Balance
Strength
Translation
Rotation
What sets us apart from other businesses is we are not just a play gym. We have classes run by actual educators and moms who have degrees and real life experience teaching in schools. Classes are catered to each child’s unique needs in a clean, welcoming, small group environment where we focus on cognitive and physical development. Our card system is like nothing people have ever experienced before and is true brain food for little ones. People are always amazed at just how capable their littles ones are of learning, exploring, and challenging themselves each week at PlayWisely, all while bonding with their caregiver who can learn ideas of things to do with their little one at home.
We also offer sensory classes, open gyms, and new music classes! We are so proud to be locally woman owned by a mother and educator. Everything we do comes from the heart and we hope that you can feel that when you enter our doors.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was traveling with my family and learning through experience. I was very fortunate to grow up with a flight attendant as a mother and a father who worked in the travel industry, so we were able to explore so many incredible places together as a family. I was able to experience many different cultures from a young age which ignited my love for learning and travel early on in life.
Pricing:
- 35/class drop in
- 30/class when registered for session
- 15 open gyms
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.playwiselyatx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playwiselyatx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/PlayWisely-ATX-100094613232045/
Image Credits
Kristen Hafner photography
