Happy Outdoor Families

Welcome back to Playtime! This is the segment of the podcast designed for kids to listen to outside, with their grown ups. This week we are continuing with the theme of cooking and will be making a delicious nature soup. The supplies you will need for today’s play activity are…a large sized pot, bucket, or similar container, another smaller container to collect ingredients, some water, and a space where you are able to collect various natural materials like leaves, twigs, rocks, and so forth. Today we are going to be making soup - pretend cooking play, and especially play that involves water, is incredibly satisfying for young kids and involves a lot of behaviors that are stimulating, and promote learning. So, give yourself a pat on the back for providing some great sensory play today and supporting your child's imagination and the development of their brain!

Background music: Walk by ikson: http://www.soundcloud.com/ikson​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/szEfp07r5Cg

In this episode, Dr. Thomas Mather is here to teach us what we need to know about ticks. This interview is packed full of information that will help you to be more prepared should you encounter ticks while you are spending time outside. From learning about what ticks live in your area, to prevention, to how to remove a tick and what NOT to do, Dr. Mather covers it all. It may not be fun to think about encountering ticks outside, but this information is so important and I hope that it is helpful for you!

Some of the resources mentioned in today's show:

TickEncounter.org - find tick field guides, tick identification tools, and other great resources for your area

Permethrin spray - https://amzn.to/3c6uNqH

Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic​Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0  Free Download / Stream:  https://bit.ly/acoustic-folk-instrume...​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/YKdXVnaHfo8

Welcome back to Playtime! This is the segment of the podcast designed for kids to listen to outside, with their grown ups. This week we are making a campfire to cook a fabulous feast. The supplies that you will need for today's playtime are sticks - you don’t need to gather these together - in fact the search for sticks is part of the fun! But some nature spaces don’t have a lot of sticks naturally, so I list this in case you are in a situation where you might need to bring in some sticks from outside your normal play space. You will also want to have some leaves, and other nature objects to be used for imaginary food play. Some plates, and a pot or pan are also great additions to this play.

This week I mention Tinkergarten as a fun option for joining an outdoor play class! See the links below for more information:

Join my virtual Tinkergarten classes: https://tinkergarten.com/leaders/emily.isenbarger?&tga=2b2a57b86ac0

Or - find Tinkergarten classes in your area: https://tinkergarten.com/home?&tga=2b2a57b86ac0

Background music: Walk by ikson: http://www.soundcloud.com/ikson​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/szEfp07r5Cg

This week I am sharing an interview with Hailey Terry, an avid hiker, backpacker, and mama to a busy one year old boy. We talk about the transition to motherhood, the importance of still getting out and doing the things you love with your babies, and some practical advice for getting out and hiking. I really enjoy following along with Hailey on her blog and on Instagram, and she was so much fun to talk to! I know you are going to love this interview and maybe you’ll feel encouraged to get out on a hike this week.

Find Hailey's blog here: https://haileyoutside.com/

Find Hailey on Instagram: instagram.com/haileyoutside

Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic​Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0  Free Download / Stream:  https://bit.ly/acoustic-folk-instrume...​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/YKdXVnaHfo8

Welcome back to Playtime! This is the segment of the podcast designed for kids to listen to outside, with their grown ups. This week we are playing like animals! I'll offer some clues and see if your kids can guess who we are going to play like today (emperor penguins!). We will imagine we are penguin parents bringing water and food back to our babies. We will be thinking about what tools are most useful for transporting water from one container to another.

The supplies that you will need for today's playtime are two large containers, such as a soup pot, plastic bin, or similar. One container will be empty, and one will be filled with water. The only other thing that you will need today is a variety of tools. You will want a few things that would be useful for moving water, such as cups, spoons, bowls, or any kind of scoop, as well as a few things that would not be helpful. Your kids will have the opportunity to think about and choose which tools they can use to transport the water from the full container to the empty one.

Enjoy your playtime!

Background music: Walk by ikson: http://www.soundcloud.com/ikson​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/szEfp07r5Cg

I talk a lot on this podcast about getting outside with your kids. But today I want to switch gears a little bit, because outdoor time isn’t only beneficial when we take our kids along. Getting outside with other adults is such a great way to spend our time and feel closer to one another. So, inspired by the information shared by Dr. Izenstark on last week’s show about how nature activities can strengthen relationships, I decided to do an episode all about outdoor dates. If you don’t have a spouse or significant other that you can plan an outdoor date with, all of these fun ideas would be just as fabulous to do with a friend! And what a fun way to strengthen any adult relationship in your life.

In this episode I talk about some of the reasons you might want to take your dates outside, and I share a number of ideas for outdoor activities you could try with you significant other - some at-home ideas, some simple and low-budget away from home, and some ideas for when you have a little more time and a little money to spend on a bigger day-long adventure. I hope you find something that you're excited to try!

Links from the show:

Kubb (Swedish lawn game): https://amzn.to/3p4NH6y

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: https://amzn.to/3c54xNy

Eight Dates: https://amzn.to/3p9tPzh

Other notable mentions:

In this episode, I mention four apps: 

The Gottman Card Decks app, for conversation prompts with your spouse

The Merlin Bird ID app, for identifying birds by sight

The BirdNet app, for identifying birds by their call

The Geocaching app, for trying out geocaching in your area!

Two research articles regarding trying new and exciting activities together:

https://berkeleysciencereview.com/2012/01/couples-who-play-together-stay-together/

https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/02/14/try-something-new-together-research-shows-engaging-in-self-expanding-activities-rekindles-the-sexual-desire-of-long-term-couples/

Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0  Free Download / Stream:  https://bit.ly/acoustic-folk-instrume...
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/YKdXVnaHfo8

Welcome to Playtime! This is the segment of the podcast designed for kids to listen to outside, with their grown ups.This week is all about using our eyes to spot colors and other things in our nature spaces. We will be playing a special game of hide and seek and learning about how some animals have a special hiding tool - camouflage! 

The supplies you will need today: a few animal toys, ideally one or two that are brown or green - that will blend in with the natural environment, and one or two that are a bright color that will easily stand out. If you don’t have animal toys - no worries! I suggest bringing along a few rocks, or pieces of wood or even just some small pieces of paper - paint/color them, with one or two being colors that will blend in with your nature space, and one or two being brighter colors that will stand out. These will be our hide and seek friends for the day!

Background music: Walk by ikson: http://www.soundcloud.com/ikson​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/szEfp07r5Cg

Listen in this week to an interview with Dr. Dina Izenstark. Dr. Izenstark is an assistant professor in the child and adolescent development department at san jose state university. Her research explores the impact of time spent in nature on children and families, and how family-based nature activities can promote strong family relationships. I loved hearing more about Dina‘s research findings and what she hopes will come of her studies! 

If you would like to learn more about Dr. Izenstark and some of her publications, Check out her bio page here: https://www.sjsu.edu/education/faculty/dina-izenstark.php

Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic​Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0  Free Download / Stream:  https://bit.ly/acoustic-folk-instrume...​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/YKdXVnaHfo8

Welcome back to Playtime! Today, we are introducing a very special play material - mud! That means that today is potentially a messier play day, depending on how excited your child is to dive in. As you are preparing to listen together, be sure to wear clothing that is ok to get dirty. In the future we will circle back to mud plenty of times in various play scenarios, but today is all about simply getting comfortable and interested in using mud as a tool for play. Supplies: area with dirt that can be loosened or bring some loose dirt, container of water, a stick and/or shovel or similar tool (for loosening dirt and mixing mud, especially if you or your child do not want to fully immerse your hands), and a towel/extra water for rinsing off hands. It can also be fun to gather some small nature objects like rocks, nuts, or small sticks to incorporate into play. I will be suggesting making a hand print with mud, which could be done on a surface like a sidewalk, patio, fence, tree...but if there is not a spot outside that you want a muddy handprint you could also bring a few pieces of paper to make some muddy art. Background music: Walk by ikson: http://www.soundcloud.com/ikson​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/szEfp07r5Cg

Welcome to episode 10! Today's episode outlines some of the reasons why mud play is so great for all of us. Listen in to hear about some of the benefits of getting muddy and ideas for how to play. 

A few interesting articles for further reading:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/antidepressant-microbes-soil.htm

https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/dirt/2019/04/03/science-mud-healing-power

https://www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/mud-play

Intro/Outro:

Acoustic/Folk Instrumental by Hyde - Free Instrumentals https://soundcloud.com/davidhydemusic​Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0  Free Download / Stream:  https://bit.ly/acoustic-folk-instrume...​Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/YKdXVnaHfo8