Creative Playrooms was born in 1968 when a mother sought child care for her three young children.  Her choices were limited and she came away from her search disheartened by the lack of affordable quality care.  With steely determination, Joan Wenk applied for a small business loan and found a promising site on Broadway in Maple Heights,  Together with her life-long friend, Shirley Jeric, they opened Maple Heights Creative Playrooms on April 1, 1968 with five children in attendance.

After 40 years, Creative Playrooms has grown into the largest privately owned child care corporation in Ohio, and the 14th largest in the nation. Creative Playrooms has schools in Solon, Westlake, Strongsville, Parma, Stow, and Independence in addition to its original Maple Heights location.