Discover one mother's new creative haven for children: The Tally Town Kids Club
Paige Lewis grew up in Tallahassee and remembers visiting Lake Ella Motor Court Swimming Pool in what is now midtown Tallahassee as a kid and hanging out in the park.
Now, she rents a cottage there and hosts the Tally Town Kids Club to serve as a creative space for kids ages 5-12 to participate in art, cooking and science classes.
"I think kids are looking for somewhere to belong and something fun to do that's no pressure," Lewis told the Tallahassee Democrat.
The Tally Town Kids Club cottage at 1656 Legion St. was previously home to The Sharing Tree, another local kids' social group, before it moved to a different location.
The 58-year-old mom has a background in teaching and as a pediatric nurse and lived in Virginia and Alabama for 28 years before moving back to Tallahassee in 2022 to care for her parents.
Lewis decided to continue a passion project she created in Alabama called Cleveland Street Kids Club, but with a goal of targeting the larger community of Tallahassee.
"I had the Cleveland Street Kids Club because I lived on Cleveland Street. I did that for about three years, and it was really a success. It was a small town, with nothing much for kids to do and people loved it," Lewis said of her original kids' club in Headland, Alabama.
She originally started the Alabama club for her 10-year-old daughter Quincy, and her friends, who wanted to do "artsy things."
The crew started as a group of five kids in 2019, and by the time she left Alabama in 2022, she had a total of 94 students attending classes regularly.
Lewis said her Lake Ella cottage is twice the size of the backyard studio she had in Alabama. She says the central location and history of Lake Ella drew her to rent the cottage and start the club.
“This is much bigger, which allows us to do more,” Lewis said. “This has always been a dream of mine, and this is a fun job.”
After opening Tally Town Kids Club in September, Lewis has been able to host a backyard bonfire, offer exclusive homeschool classes and help parents find low- to no-cost activities for kids on the weekends.
She now offers four classes a week. The classes are $25 each which includes a meal after class, supervision and supplies. Different class activities include homemade butter and waffle making, painting with magnets and science projects learning about static electricity.
"This gives parents something that their kids can do that they don't have to feel guilty about. They're not dumping their kids somewhere, they're providing an opportunity for their child to grow in a different area while they go get something else done," Lewis said.
Classes are held on Fridays through Saturday, and exclusively for homeschool students on Monday afternoons. She also hosts classes at Maclay School for its afterschool program three times a week.
Ariel Nosso, a mother to a homeschooled student who attends the Monday classes, said she discovered the club on Facebook and her son loves it.
“The positive impact of these classes is greater than I would have ever thought. My son is schooled virtually, from home, and the interactions, learning, and fun he gets from these classes has benefited him greatly,” Nosso said of her son, Noel.
Nosso said her son came home from the first class excited to go back and learn more.
"My son typically enjoys staying home and it has been hard to find something he consistently enjoys. Now, he begs me every week to attend as many classes at Tally Town Kids Club as possible," Nosso said.
For parents looking to sign their kids up for classes, Lewis can be reached at (334) 435-2038 or on the Tally Town Kids Club Facebook page.
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Alaijah Brown is with the Tallahassee Democrat and can be reached at abrown1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Spotlight: Tally Town Kids Club, a new creative space at Lake Ella
