Imagine this: A quiet, soothing space decorated in refreshing mint greens and calming neutrals. Soft music is playing in the background, and the air carries the scent of freshly brewed coffee and just a whiff of lavender oil. Are you getting a massage at a spa? Nope - you're picking up your child from playgroup, and the place is FULL of kids.
Newbury's Harmony Natural Learning Center - formerly Play Makers in Rowley - is the improbably calm and relaxing location for children's programs focusing on cooking, art, and outdoor exploration. We asked owner Chrissy Rupp to share her thoughts on natural learning, the "deep flow of play," and the brand-new space that makes it all possible.MK Newburyport: What was Play Makers and how did it come about?
Chrissy: I was working as a play professional in a hospital's in-patient playroom, helping children going through a very stressful experience to develop coping skills through play. While I found working with the families very fulfilling, I felt that the medical establishment had little respect for what I did. So I started to wonder: How can I build a place that offers really high-quality programming for children while supporting parents at the same time?
We opened Play Makers in the spring of 2010 with the aim of providing a place that honored play from a more natural perspective and encouraged our community to connect with the natural play/learning concept. It's a triad model: independent play skills, reconnecting with child, and confident leadership (discipline) by parents. It's the balance among those three concepts that enables learning and creates harmony within the family.
MK: Why move to a new location?
Chrissy: Play Makers was a great place for us to start, but we quickly realized that it wasn't enough. There was the lack of outdoor space, for one thing. We were also looking to get a little closer to our parent community. We really wanted to provide a mix of drop-off programs and parent-inclusive classes, and we didn't have the right facility to support that.
We purchased the space in Newbury in December of 2013, began construction in April of last year, and opened in October. Now, instead of a leased location, we've moved to an ownership situation with Harmony Natural Learning Center. It's a lot more sustainable.
MK: What were you able to accomplish during nearly six months of construction?
Chrissy: We gutted the existing building right down to the studs! A new addition on the back doubled the square footage, which now accommodates a large cooking studio, an art studio, and two smaller play studios - one for infants and toddlers and one for older children. One of the best features of the new space is that all these areas open onto a central living room, where families are invited to stay, have a cup of coffee, and connect with other families.
The new center is situated on a gorgeous acre of land, including a nature trail and a gated discovery garden for our youngest kids. This spring we will be planting a large organic garden.
MK: Sounds like you've been busy!
Chrissy: It was absolutely nuts! I general-contracted the entire thing while Amy [Pertl-Clark, director of operations] managed the programs in Rowley. While all that was going on I moved my own family from our house in Haverhill onto the new property and had a baby!
MK: How have you been settling into the new facility?
Chrissy: It's been great! We can now offer a daily variety of parent-inclusive classes and drop-off programs for young toddlers and preschool-age children. We also offer programs for parents. Any parent whose child is currently enrolled is welcome to one of our Parent Teas, where we discuss the philosophy of balance in parenting that creates harmony. It's also a chance for parents to talk about anything within their family dynamic that they might need help with.
The shift in physical space has really helped us elevate our parents' understanding of what natural learning means. We have a lot of parents asking us how the place can be so peaceful, even when it's full of kids. In fact, we are doing very specific things behind the scenes to allow the kids to get into the deep flow of play.
MK: The "deep flow of play"?Chrissy: As I brought in more staff from various professional backgrounds we began pulling from the major educational philosophies around natural play - Montessori, Waldorf, and RIE - to build a strong idea of how children learn when the adult gets out of the way and allows a child to get into a deep flow of play.
Adults experience "flow" when they are deeply engaged in an activity. It works the same way with kids. And we've found that the more a toy does for a child (battery-powered lights, noises, etc.) the less actively engaged they are in their play. That's why we focus on the sensory and experiential - cooking, art, and outdoor exploration.
MK: Is that why it's so quiet? It's like a spa in here!
Chrissy: We hear that all the time! But beyond the music and color scheme it's really about how we are structuring our time with the children to enable a sense of calmness instead of escalation, or over-stimulation. During the children's transitions - from indoor to outdoor, or art to cooking, for example - we make sure to "breathe them in," using a lot of eye contact and low, quiet voices to get the kids to connect as a group. Once they are connected we "breathe them out" into freedom to go outside or do their art and get a little messy.
A lot of times a child might have behavior issues because they don't know they're over-stimulated - their little gas tanks are on empty. The intentional use of breathing in and breathing out maintains the delicate balance, or harmony. That's our goal - for both children and parents.
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Harmony Natural Learning Center is located at 67 Newburyport Tpke. (Rte. 1), Newbury. The center offers a range of classes for children under 7, including special programs for school vacations and summer break. It also hosts private birthday parties. Visit the center's website for details, and to register online.
NOTE: Macaroni Kid Newburyport received compensation in exchange for publishing this article.
