There’s a new playhouse causing buzz around the Midlands. Busy Bees Playhouse opened earlier this month in Lexington. It’s an all inclusive sensory play space that founder and CEO, Ikeiya Blakely, says was needed in the community.
“If your kids have autism or a sensory disability, anything like that, they come here, they can be who they are,” Blakely said. “They don't have to apologize for who they are.”
She said the playhouse includes many sensory aspects, like a calming room and objects to touch and feel on the walls.
“It’s for kids of all abilities,” she said. “Neurodiverse kids is the biggest thing.”
Blakely worked with young kids on the autism spectrum as a registered behavior technician in Columbia. Between her career and having five kids of her own, the Lexington native was inspired to start Busy Bees.
“Different parents would tell me, besides their kids going to therapy, they didn't really have anywhere their kids could go,” she said. “I just wanted to give back to where I was raised.”
Blakely made the playhouse entirely bee themed, but that wasn’t just a random choice. It’s a reflection of her lifestyle.
“People tell me all the time, I work two jobs, real estate, and then as a register behavior tech at the same time while raising kids, they're like, oh, you're so busy,” she said. “That's where the name Busy Bee's Playhouse came from.”
Opening Day brought in families and supporters, including Dr. Reuben West. He is an envoy for I Change Nations, a global organization that honors humanitarians. He came to the grand opening to both support Blakely and present her with a global award.
“I believe the Busy Bees Playhouse is going to give the community resources. And that's exactly what people with autism need,” West said. “They need to explore, see what they like, see what they don't like. And then it will give the parents an idea of how they can arrange their home in a way that would benefit the child as well.”
He said that Busy Bees is an opportunity for parents of special needs children who don’t exactly know where to turn next.
“There are some facilities that are medically inclined that provide support for children with autism and those things. But once you leave, then where do you go? Then what do you do on a daily basis? How do you move forward?” he said. “But this place is a place where they can explore with their senses. It has different textures, different lightings, different feels.”
Busy Bees will also have weekly classes for kids, like speech therapy and occupational therapy. Its one-and-a-half hour sessions are capped at 16 kids at a time to uphold a relatively calm atmosphere.
Carissa Waddell was a mother at the playhouse’s opening who brought her 2- and 3- year- old daughters. She said the playhouse is what she needs for her young kids.
“It's inside, and that's what a lot of moms are looking for,” Waddell said. “We're looking for something more so that's inside versus outside, especially towards the winter when it gets cold.”
Busy Bees is only for kids ages six and under, due to the size of the building, but Blakely says there are plans in the future for age and building expansions.
“When the people next door’s lease is up, we will be expanding,” she said. “Hopefully at the end of this year, next year, we'll go up to age 12.”
Her goal right now, though, is to help the kids that they do have room for.
