Pump It Up
Are you familiar with this place? This is a company that provides the kind of play space I would have dreamed of as a kid! It is basically an indoor bounce house, with wall-to-wall inflatable fun for kids to enjoy. Pump It Up has locations all across the country, so do a quick check to see if there is one in your neck of the woods.
Since my whole family got to be together for Labor Day, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to go check out Pump It Up, as we were given pop in play passes for such a purposes. Pop-in-play is something that every Pump It Up location offers during much of the week. It is basically a time to drop by, pay a very reasonable fee ($6 per child, parents FREE!) and start bouncing! On the way over, I wondered if we were making a terrible mistake by brining such young children (4 and 15 months) to a giant bounce house. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!
We had A BLAST! Not just the kids; Tim and I were bouncing and laughing, too! I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as fun if it had been crowded, but it really wasn’t, and there were quite a few other toddlers and preschoolers there playing, as well, so that made for great company!
If you haven’t been to Pump It Up yet because you assumed your kids were too small, I want to encourage you to give it a try (assuming that your little ones are walking/running, of course!). We were surprised by just how much we enjoyed it, and we’ll be visiting again sometime this fall, for sure.
Save Childhood, Support Imagination
In addition to offering an absolutely fabulous space for kids to play, Pump It Up is also running a great campaign called Save Childhood, Support Imagination. The goal is for parents to strive to dedicate 1 hour each day to engage in imaginative play with their kids. Check out the website, and please consider signing the Imagination Declaration. You’ll also find some really cool resources for encouraging imaginative play with your children!