Chris Stack of The Wonder Room stands among some supplies thatoffer countless ways to spark a child’s creativity.
The sign at 896 Saratoga Road welcomes visitors.
Busy hands and endless possibilities at The Wonder Room.
Many parents know expanding a small child’s mind has everythingto do with exploration, social interaction and play.
In Ballston Lake, there’s a new place for kids to explore their creative minds — and those of their parents and caregivers. The Wonder Room is a world full of opportunities for children aged three to eleven to nourish their creativity through the arts, cooking and playing.
Owner Chris Stack renovated a house on Saratoga Road (Route 50),into the 1,500 square feet of endless creative possibilities and opened for business on Jan. 28. Stack and Creative Director Lauren Cohen both have over 20 years in teaching and bring that vast knowledge from the classroom to The Wonder Room.
“We just wanted to create a space where kids could come and play thoughtfully,” said Stack.
Cohen said, “It’s not like a playground where the kids just run through. We were hoping that the kids would focus on each individual space, and they have. We think that kids really learn best by having time and space to explore. We set up a whole bunch of stuff for them to explore so that whatever it is that catches their interest, they can really spend some time there.”
The Wonder Room is not a daycare center. Rather, it is a place where children and their parents or caregivers are offered informal spaces that inspire the imagination. There is a warmth and hominess when you arrive and there is always somebody to greet you. Many options await guests among the blocks, books, colored paper and toys.
Programs are available, as are staff members to assist visitors in becoming familiar with all that is offered. Programs include activities surrounding quarterly themes. The theme for this quarter and lasting until April is “Going Places,” and is centered around travel. Along with activities for the kids, there are also programs and things for the adults to do.
“We have the ideas and the parent will tailor that to whatever they think their child may be interested in,” said Cohen of a “make it and take it” program in which adults actually make a toy or book with their child in mind.
An upcoming make it and take it will be a travel snack mix. Parents can include the ingredients they think their kids would like or would want them to try.
There are also themes for each day of the week, like messy Mondays and social Saturdays. On messy Mondays, for example, children and theirc aregivers are invited to play and create with clay, shaving cream and bubblest o name just a few of the possibilities. When was the last time you got to watch a huge bubble float about and wondered when it was going to land or pop? Here’s your chance.
At The Wonder Room you’ll also find a toy-lending center that gives visitors benefits much like a library. Toys, games, puzzles, resource books, book bags and more are available.
Stack earned a degree in special education and taught at the preschool level in Johnstown and the Saratoga Head Start Program. She has also worked at the Department of Health within the early intervention program.
Cohen’s degree and teaching experience is in secondary social studies education. A stay at home mom for the last several years, she has had the opportunity to be involved with the Saratoga Independent School, The Children’s Museum at Saratoga, and Saratoga Reads.
There is parking for about a dozen cars in The Wonder Room’s parking lot, which allows for anywhere from ten to twenty children to explore the wonders which Stack and Cohen offer.
On Thursday, March 1, there will be a free open house from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Drop in play and the creative art studio will be open all day. Learn about drop-off programs including Wondergarten (Kindergarten EnrichmentProgram – ages 4-6 – beginning March 7), Summer Enrichment Programs (ages 4-6),and The Wonder Room School (ages 3-5 – beginning September 2012). There is adiscount of $10 off of a Wonder Room Family Membership for anyone who registers a child for a program at or before the open house.
You can find The Wonder Room on the web at thewonderroomschool.com for more details about hours of operation and programs offered.
