#MomCrushMonday Series: Meet Courtney Gault, Founder of Greenwich Play
1. When did you start Greenwich Play and why?
Greenwich Play started when my neighbor approached me for guidance with her four-year-old. I was four months postpartum with my first son, had just moved to a new town, and was about to start the search for a job. My neighbor was looking for help with her daughter’s literacy development because she was extremely interested in learning to read, but the preschool she attended provided no early reader support. I worked with her daughter once a week, playing fun games about horses, ballerinas, and sailboats (her three favorite things). I used her interests to bolster her literacy skills and love of reading. I slowly took on more students – both gifted and talented, and those who needed extra support – and almost always simultaneously found myself guiding parents on ways to create more open-ended, imaginative spaces in their homes.
2. What services does Greenwich Play offer and how does it help your clients?
The pandemic was an opportunity for us to pause and evaluate what our parents were really asking for, and how we could best provide that guidance in a safe way. Since we couldn’t see students in person, we pivoted our services to offer parents Behavior Guidance and Play Space Design. We always tell our parents that; a properly conceptualized space reinforces the skills critical for healthy development and can have a noticeable impact on a child’s behavior. Through Play Space Design, Greenwich Play creates environments for children at home that promote healthy social, emotional and communication skills. Our play spaces encourage children to be free thinkers, imaginative, flexible and confident. We specialize in conceptualizing multifunctional spaces that meet everyone’s goals and needs in the family. Greenwich Play provides you with highly personalized shopping lists of products and materials curated with only your family in mind, while offering and offer meaningful, unique resources that will reflect your family’s current interests and needs.
Our Behavior Guidance services help parents navigate their child’s unique, and often complicated behaviors, through personalized play programs. We specialize in remediating unwanted behaviors, implementing schedules, establishing healthy routines, and reaching developmental goals. We also address other behavioral concerns like sleeping issues, sibling dynamics, general anxiety, and a lot ofmany other common early childhood problems. Whether a family is using us for Behavior Guidance, or Play Space Design (or both), we customize our services to provide an individualized experience.
3. Please share a time when you felt like Greenwich Play was making an impact in the lives of your clients.
I like to think we have an impact on every client that comes our way! My favorite clients are the ones who are convinced no one on Earth can help their family. One of my first play space design clients during the Covid-19 pandemic was certain we didn’t understand her vision “over the internet.” She was concerned we didn’t understand the unique (and frustrating) layout of the room she was hoping to transform, and worried about her two children’s completely different interests and capabilities. She couldn’t see how her daughter and son could play harmoniously in one space. I love nothing more than a skeptic, and (of course) we pulled off creating the most magical space for her family.
4. What healthy habits can be established with your services?
No matter what service we are hired to provide for, it is our mission to make the experience fun and engaging, while at the same time reinforce the skills that are critical for a happy and healthy life. Whether we have been hired to create and assist with routines and schedules for a child with difficulty making transitions or asked to design a space that integrates sensory development activities, we work with our families to create a completely personalized experience.
5. What is your favorite song lyric? Why?
Kacey Musgraves “Biscuits”
Just hoe your own row and raise your own babies
Smoke your own smoke and grow your own daisies
Mend your own fences and own your own crazy
Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy
I think we can all use a reminder every now and then to be accountable for our actions, mind our business, and embrace our insanity. Whenever I hear Kacey Musgraves sing these lyrics, it makes me smile.
Courtney holds a dual Master’s of Science in Early Childhood General and Special Education, as well as a Master’s of Art. When she’s not helping other families, you can find her with her family bike riding around Riverside, or at the playground. Follow her on Instagram here.
