Last weekend I had the honor of hosting my very own play tent at the SoCalMom’s 6th Annual Great Big Family Play Day in Los Angeles! And boy was it a perfect day to play!
With over 7,000 people in attendance, Dr. Kim’s Play Zone was created to be a place for families and children to freely play in a semi-structured environment during the event. As a play therapist, I envisioned a colorful space for sensory play, self-regulation play, imaginary play, and fun! I also wanted an area for children (or parents) to go if they became over-stimulated from the event, so I planned a darker, quieter closed off area of the play tent just for this purpose. And everything I dreamed about came to life!
But I couldn’t have done it without SoCalMoms and everyone on their crew. A huge thank you goes to CEO and Founder, Tracy Fredkin, for believing in me and supporting me in helping more families play! She founded SoCalMoms in 2013 as a free community for parents to connect and discover the best local resources and activities happening near them. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to have hosted this play tent and I appreciate everything they set up and provided me for the day including the structure, chairs, tables, linens, blocks, and a sensory water/sand table that was the biggest attraction of the day!
They even made me an incredible custom banner to place in my tent!
The weather was absolutely perfect and the location of my tent was so big to accommodate dozens of families at once in the best location where I was central to everyone including the stage where live music was playing all day!
The play tent also wouldn’t be possible without the play tent sponsors included North States, Smart Noggin Toys, The Manhattan Toy Company, and Pacific Play Tents. I would also like to thank Z Dough for donating over a dozen homemade scented play dough!
North States provided the ABC Play Mat and the Superyard® Colorplay® Ultimate Play Yard! Babies, Toddlers, Children (and parents) of all ages used both products to play, rest, feed, and even take a short nap on!
The company was even kind enough to give a Play Yard away to one lucky family during the event raffle!
Smart Noggin Toys provided dozens of developmental baby toys that were sprinkled around the entire play tent! The children loved the NogginStik® Developmental Light-up Rattles and the NogginSeek™ Peek & Seek Rattles!
The Manhattan Toy Company provided some adorable stuffed dinosaurs for the children to cuddle with and love! They mostly lived on the play mats but they received lots of hugs from so many children throughout the day!
Pacific Play Tents provided multiple play tents, tunnels, and a parachute for the children to hide and seek play! At one point in the day, the children put together multiple tunnels inside a tent and made an entire obstacle course!
Z Dough provided scented homemade play dough that was a BIG hit with parents and children alike. Parents loved the strawberry and lavender ones and the kids loved the grape and blueberry ones! There was literally someone playing at that table the entire day uses their senses to smell, play, and create!
If you want to see the event come to life, I invite you to watch my IGTV video on Instagram or Facebook! And if you live in the Bay Area the Great Big Family Play Day is coming to you on August 11!
All photos taken with permission from parents. Extra consideration was taken to protect the identity of the children in the photos.
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