Why Membership? A Guide to SPL’s Model!

Answering any and all questions about Spirited Play Lab’s membership model!

Drop-in vs. Membership

Most play spaces run as a drop-in model, where you can come any time. This model is great for the general population, when your child needs to get some energy out, or the weather isn’t ideal. We decided not to offer this model; instead, we run SPL as a membership space.

Why, you ask? Well, let us tell you!

Spirited Play Lab’s main intention is to foster community among those who often feel on the outside. When we talked with families whose children have delays or disabilities, we recognized that most public spaces felt unsafe or unwelcoming to them. So how, then, could we create an ongoing safe space for them?

Our Membership Model

Membership! When there’s a consistent group of people joining us who are committed to our space, we are closer to our dream of inclusion. Some of our members have neurotypical children and also agreed to our membership agreements around inclusion and disability. At the time of this blog being published, we have 150 member families that are either part-time or unlimited members!

Our membership is more than open play. We’ve seen families build relationships with others where their children have similar disabilities or shared interests. We’ve seen parents learn about different parenting styles and try new things on. We’ve seen children fight and have parents step in to resolve it supportively. We’ve seen parents caring for other people’s children if their parent is feeling too drained and needs some help.

In addition to open play visits, we offer our members additional services they need. 

Members have access to:

• Childcare hours, where parents can work or relax on-site while their children get attentive care from our well-trained staff. Monthly members can book up to 2 hours childcare at once.
• Monthly date nights, where parents can go step out on the town while their child enjoys some pizza and movie in our play space.
• A private Facebook group to stay connected to other parents and share resources
• One guest pass per month to bring in their community to enjoy the space too
• Free beverages and snacks!
• Monthly events related to education and/or leisure! Think Family Yoga, AAC Education Event, Ice Cream Socials, etc.
• Daily AM & PM enrichment activities, including sensory play, dance parties, and story time!

Who is the membership for?

We’d like to consider ourselves good for families of children ages 1-6 who are looking for one of two experiences:

1. Families with little ones not yet in school or are homeschooling, and need extra socialization in a nurturing community space
2. Families who are busy with school or therapy who need a safe place to unwind a few times a month

Some Additional Details…

Worried about the commitment? We’ve made it easy for you to pause or cancel with us! You can pause for up to 3 months at no charge, or cancel your membership outright when you give us 15 days notice before your next billing date. We also don’t require a minimum membership commitment; this means you can cancel within the first 3 months of joining us if it doesn’t work for you.

We’re also one of the few spaces that do not charge per child. Instead, our membership plans are family prices. So if you are having a baby soon, or you sometimes want to take 1 or 2 kids with you, it’s all good with us!

We’re really excited about the community we’re currently building, and we hope you’ll join us to experience it!