I KNEW this going into yesterday. We were invited to a very dear friend's party yesterday. Her daughter is 6 months older than my Turtle. We RARELY get to see each other because she's moved out-of-state. When I heard the party was going to be at Pump-It-Up, I was guarded but hopeful. I have to say, regardless of a few snags, I was very happy with how well yesterday went!
In all reality, I did set myself up on Saturday. Saturday morning was our monthly CoderDoJoKC meet. Peanut and Bullfrog LOVE going, although, sometimes I think that Peanut likes it more. She has really gotten into coding and has begun to build some pretty complex things in Scratch. This is the second month she has taken 1st place with her project, so she submitted it for Scratch Mastery. That will be presented next month.
CoderDoJo is all about trying to get children to get into coding, and our group has grown to having 100 kids PLUS a waiting list EVERY month. It is so awesome to see every month and watch the children learn. However, it is also very taxing on my son with his sensory issues.
So, I shouldn't be surprised that if he was already melting down before noon ... that 2pm wasn't going to be much better. However, I knew that it would be WORSE if he didn't go with us to the party.
We ended up getting there about 15 minutes late (my bad because I needed a power nap to tackle my anxiety-induced exhaustion). The first room was the BEST for all FOUR of my children. There was a slide (Turtle's favorite), a bounce house with basketball goals, and an obstacle course. It had something for every age range. LOVED it! There was also enough space that it didn't feel like ALL the kids were bunched together.
However, after 40 minutes ... we left the room where sensory children all got along. The next room was not as much fun for the younger children. There was a slide ... but it required you to pull yourself up through several layers of netting. This meant my wonderful son was NOT able to go up ... nor Turtle (who was irate at that concept). My son has issues with things that do not have sure footing. This includes walking and standing on nets. He tried a few times, but it all ended up with meltdowns. The other things to play with was a large bounce house, Nerf ball shooter, and an interactive floor mat. This room was met with doom.
I ended up having to take Bullfrog out before the play time ended. He just had enough and everything was causing meltdowns. He didn't want to leave, but I saw the warning signs and I didn't want him to completely lose it at the party. When I was taking him out ... the most awesome thing happened ... one of the employees asked him if he was okay. When I explained that he's just in sensory overload, he said this:
Bullfrog took a few minutes to recover, but he was able to enjoy the remainder of the party. I know that if I had not pulled him out and put him in the quiet room ... that wouldn't have happened."I totally get it. I have Asperger's and some days are harder than others. Aspie fist bump for making it this long."
So, why do I feel that Pump-It-Up is great for sensory children?
- Several activities in every room so it divides up the groups of people
- Keep people moving so boredom doesn't occur
- Routine kept, without feeling like there's a schedule
- Large party rooms that allow children to sprawl
I do wish that there was an ability to reserve only one play room ... or have the ability to go back and forth. Especially considering ages and activities available. I didn't like the fact that two of my children weren't able to do much of anything in the second room. It was also difficult dealing with the strong emotions from Bullfrog when he just wanted to go into the room that had things he could enjoy.
Overall ... it was a great birthday party. I am so glad I was able to see friends and celebrate another year. It is also showed me a location that I could throw a party at for my children in the future, without having to be super stressed about all the details!
Looks like a great party!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience. Birthday parties are hard enough without managing children with sensory challenges. Sounds like you found something that works.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see that you found something that works well for kids with sensory challenges.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see that you've found something that works for sensory challenged children. Looks like fun.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to any of the kids' party places, and our birthday parties were always simple family affairs with maybe a couple of the birthday person's friends. But I'm glad you've found something that comes close to fitting everyone in your family. :) I was especially touched reading about the employee with Aspergers. What a blessing his words were at a time that could have been much worse!
ReplyDeleteYou had a great party despite all the obstacles. Good thing is you now know your children so well and plan ahead of time to avoid worse things that might come. You are doing a great job.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part it looks like everybody had a really good time Heather!
ReplyDeleteAnd I gotta tell you, I think that ladder with the net or is it the other way around,
I think trying to climb it would have caused me to have a mini meltdown too!LOL!
The slides definitely looks like where I would have spent the majority of my time too!
What a really cool outlet for kids and it gives the parents a much needed temporary break too!
That is a unique place and one I never knew about. Making this aware to more people can start something amazing. I believe if you inquired with other parents about the room situations. Then, got together to write the people who can make changes. That will happen. Just do not stop doing what you do!
ReplyDeleteHeather, you are one of a kind. I love your consistent attitude of gratitude. That is the only way I live positive. Be blessed!
Coding classes for kids. I love it! There was nothing like that when mine were young. My own interest in computers rubbed off on my oldest son and his maths skills soon took him way ahead of me. He went on to get a first class honors degree in Software Engineering. My youngest who has sensory processing issues just loves his ipad. That and headphones are constant companions when we are at noisy places such as restaurants.
ReplyDeleteThankfully when we were at Play Centres like this, when it came to the more difficult equipment he'd eventually just watch. That was after quite a few rescue attempts when he got to the top of something and refused to come down. I'd get lots of amused looks, especially in McDonalds, where I had to contort myself to get up there :-)