What if the solution to many childhood developmental challenges was literally right outside our windows? Naturalist and author Susie Spiegel reveals how unstructured nature play creates the perfect environment for children to develop crucial life skills that structured indoor activities simply can't replicate.
Drawing from her book "Forest Magic for Kids: How to Find Fairies, Make a Secret Fort, and Cook Up an Elfin Picnic," Spiegel shares how simple outdoor activities like mixing "potions" from natural materials or creating miniature fairy villages foster imagination while simultaneously developing communication skills, risk assessment abilities, and emotional regulation. These activities don't require specialized knowledge or expensive equipment—just the willingness to step outside and model curiosity.
Perhaps most fascinating is how outdoor environments can transform children who struggle in traditional classroom settings. Those labeled as "troublemakers" indoors often become leaders in nature, where their heightened awareness becomes an advantage rather than a distraction. As Spiegel explains, "A lot of times kids that are hyper aware—somebody who might have ADHD—they're seeing a million things outside. They're the kids spotting the cardinal because they're seeing things in a really fast and exciting way."
The good news? Nature-based play is accessible even in urban environments. From the "sliver" between buildings to cracks in sidewalks, children can find wonder anywhere with the right guidance. With simple tools like buckets, magnifying glasses, and journals, families can start small and gradually build confidence in outdoor exploration—creating not just cherished memories but crucial developmental opportunities our screen-centric world increasingly lacks.
Ready to discover the transformative power of unstructured outdoor play for the children in your life? This episode provides a practical roadmap for bringing the magic of nature into everyday childhood experiences, no matter where you live.
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Trusted dental care for healthy smiles and stronger communities—building brighter futures daily.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (00:00):
Naturalist John Muir once observed that
when we tug on one thread innature, we find it connected to
everything else.
That sentiment rings especiallytrue when we consider how
children connect to the worldthrough unstructured outdoor
play.
Today, we explore hownature-based play can spark
imagination, build resilienceand restore balance in young
(00:20):
lives.
One stick, one trail and onetreasure hunt at a time.
Welcome to the brighter side ofeducation, research, innovation
(00:41):
and resources.
I'm your host, dr Lisa Hassler,here to enlighten and brighten
the classrooms in Americathrough focused conversation on
important topics in education.
In each episode, I discussproblems we as teachers and
parents are facing and whatpeople are doing in their
communities to fix it.
What are the variables and howcan we duplicate it to maximize
student outcomes?
Today's topic calls us back tothe roots, quite literally.
(01:03):
We're exploring the power ofnature based play and how
fostering imagination throughoutdoor experiences supports
children's cognitive andsocial-emotional development.
According to a 2019 study inFrontiers in Psychology, regular
exposure to green spaces isassociated with improved
attention, reduced stress andstronger executive functioning
(01:23):
in children.
An unstructured outdoor play,where kids make up their own
games, follow their curiosityand explore, has been strongly
linked to greater creativity andcollaboration, especially in
early and middle childhood.
Yet in many schools, recess andunstructured time are becoming
flashpoints for social tension.
Educators are reporting morefrequent conflict, trouble with
(01:45):
sharing and kids struggling tojust figure out what to do
without adult guidance.
One reason may be that childrensimply aren't getting enough
opportunities to practiceself-directed imaginative play
and without those experienceschildren can arrive at recess
feeling overstimulated or unsure, lacking the tools to engage
positively with peers, and whatlooks like misbehavior may
(02:07):
really be a missed developmentalopportunity.
That approach comes to lifebeautifully in the work of Susie
Spiegel, a seasoned naturalistwith the Harris Center for
Conservation Education inHancock, new Hampshire.
Susie has spent decadesconnecting people of all ages to
the natural world and is theauthor of Forest Magic for Kids
(02:27):
how to Find Fairies, make aSecret Fort and Cook Off an
Elfin Picnic.
Her book is filled withwhimsical yet practical
activities that invite childrento slow down, look closely and
discover the wild magic allaround them.
Magic all around them.
From keeping secret notebooksfilled with maps and pockets to
going on quests for wildtreasures.
(02:47):
Susie's work is a delightfulcall to step outside, reimagine
the everyday and rediscoverchildhood wonder.
Susie, welcome to the show.
Susie Spikol (02:56):
Thank you, Lisa.
It's a pleasure to be here.
I'm so excited to talk with you.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (02:59):
Well, let's start with your book Forest
Magic for Kids how to FindFairies, make a Secret Fort and
Cook Up an Elfin Picnic.
I absolutely love the title.
I've been thumbing through itand it has brought back so many
childhood memories.
How did you come up with this?
The combination of imaginativestorytelling and the nature
exploration.
Susie Spikol (03:18):
Yeah, that's such a great question because we
don't often think of themtogether.
So I'm a naturalist, I teachpeople of all ages about nature
and I got to thinking about howI became a naturalist, and it
wasn't through science.
Actually, like, a lot ofnaturalists have a spark bird,
they fall in love with birds orsomething like that.
For me, I came to naturethrough stories like I read
(03:42):
Winnie the Pooh or the Lion, tonature through stories Like I
read Winnie the Pooh or the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or,
you know, stuart Little, and Ithought these books, where all
these great adventures happen,they happen outside.
So I was like that's where theadventure is.
So that's how I got into nature, because I was out looking for
like a secret door to anotherworld or something like that.
(04:03):
And then I found out, you know,nature is just as remarkable.
The stories, the real storiesof nature, are just as
remarkable.
So I wanted to write a bookthat really linked the idea of
imagination and creativity inthe outdoors for us as adults to
remember, that's probably howmany of us aim to be outside.
(04:24):
You know we were playingoutside, so that that's kind of
what I was thinking when I wrotethe book.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (04:29):
In my own garden I have little fairy doors
.
My mother gave my kids a bookabout making fairy doors when
they were little, so I loved itwhen I saw the things about
fairies in here.
Can you tell us how the book isorganized and how parents would
use it?
Susie Spikol (04:44):
Yeah, sure.
So the book is really designedfor parents and kids to do
together.
Like in my mind, kids reallyneed some modeling about how to
be outside and how to engage andkind of how to explore.
And parents, this is what's sogood about it you don't have to
have any like special knowledge,you don't need to know, like,
what bird is singing or whattree is nearby, you also just
(05:07):
have to use your imagination andonce you kind of kickstart with
your kids, kind of entering theworld of outdoors and imagining
and creating, they'll take itfrom there.
And so I really just organizedthe book into things that I have
seen kids be really excitedabout, from kind of mushrooms,
mysterious mushrooms what's moremagical than the idea of a
(05:28):
mushroom?
What is a mushroom?
So there's a whole chapter onmushrooms.
There's a chapter on the greenteam.
That's just things you can dowith plants and trees and kind
of thinking about trees as thekind of the earth tree.
You know we have so manystories in our world about the
tree of life.
Like so many cultures havetrees at the center of their
(05:49):
kind of creation stories.
So there's connecting withtrees and there's also making
crowns and pretending you're aking or a queen.
There's some cooking and makingthings for like a picnic, like
whatever happened to picnicking.
So I wanted to encouragefamilies to go out and picnic
together and have an Elfinpicnic, and there's even a
recipe on how to make Elf bread.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (06:11):
So could you go from?
Like any chapter, can you picka chapter?
Do you go from front to back?
You can go anywhere.
Susie Spikol (06:16):
It's a really open-ended.
You could just flip through thebook and pick something to do.
There's some handcrafts inthere, making small little like.
I call them peeps or littlepeople, gnomes or fairies,
whatever you want to call them.
There's a little bit of carving, like making a stirring stick.
If you're making a potion, youdon't even have to use a carving
(06:37):
knife, you can use a prettysturdy vegetable peeler and just
kind of peel off the end.
That's great for a young childto begin the process of peeling.
It's the whole idea of kind ofgetting your hands creating
something, inventing something,kind of imagining the loose
parts of nature sticks andstones and leaves as other
things they can become.
So it's really based inimagination and creativity and
(07:01):
play Do you have a favoriteactivity?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (07:04):
Yes, I do.
Susie Spikol (07:05):
I am really into the potion making.
For me that was a really bigpart of my childhood was kind of
having an old pot and puttingin some water, maybe just even
rainwater, and then findingleaves and pine cone pieces and
pine needles.
We would pretend the pineneedles were unicorn whiskers
(07:26):
and you know the acorn caps werefairy hats.
We'd stir it all up and we'dmush it up and then we'd also
let it set there for him, comeback to it, add mud, and we used
a lot of.
My mom didn't like this, but alot of the kitchen utensils
would end up outside.
She eventually gave us somekitchen utensils from like her.
(07:46):
When she got new ones, she gaveus the old ones.
How about you, lisa?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (07:50):
You know I have to say that the potion
making was one of my favoritechildhood memories and a
neighbor friend of mine and Igrew up together and that was
one of our absolute favoritethings to do, next to mud pie
making, and we would get a bigold pot and same thing, but we
would grab the hose, fill somewater in it and we'd pluck
(08:10):
little snapdragons and stuff andwe'd throw them into the pot.
We called it witch's brew andit was one of my favorite things
to make.
And I had recently gone to aforest school and they are
outside for long periods ofunstructured time and that is
one of their favorite things todo as well, as they have a
little potion station and theyhave brought eyedroppers and all
(08:33):
these things from home and theyjust love to do it.
So when I see things like thatand then I saw it in your book I
thought I'm not the only one.
Susie Spikol (08:40):
Yes, I think it's sort of the fundamental work of
childhood is really that type ofplay and when.
When you can do it outside, youcan be messy, so parents don't
have to worry so much about ohmy gosh, they're making a mess
in my kitchen, they're using allmy spices Just send them
outside.
You know, it's really how youlearn to communicate.
Like you and your friendprobably had a lot of
(09:02):
negotiating, you probably had to, like, figure out what you
wanted to add to the potion youwere creating.
You were dreaming.
I think that's really the workof childhood is really about
play, and Forest Magic for Kidsis sort of a celebration of that
and a reminder to us as parentsthat that is a huge part of
(09:23):
time outside.
It isn't just learning thescience of how nature works or
having to identify things.
It's really just about thatopen-endedness that nature gives
us.
The undefined landscape of thenatural world is ripe for
imagination and creation.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (09:42):
So how could people like, let's say, you're
living in an apartment or acondo or you don't have direct
access to maybe parks and woodsand forests, how could they
still use this book?
Yeah, great question.
Susie Spikol (09:55):
You know it always surprises people when I share
that I grew up in Brooklyn, newYork, because I am a naturalist
and I'm so into nature and Ilive in a very rural place now
and I think people see me andthey just assumed I must have
grown up like in the woods, youknow, but I grew up in a city
and I was one of those kids thatfound nature where I could, and
(10:17):
it's good for us to rememberthat.
Nature happens everywhere.
It isn't just in the wildplaces, it is absolutely
everywhere in the biggest cities, in the cracks of the sidewalk.
For me as a kid it was inbetween these two garages.
I called it the sliver.
I had to go in sideways becauseyou couldn't fit in this way,
(10:38):
you couldn't foot forward, andthe sliver was where I saw ants
and snails and spiders and mossand dirt and earthworms.
And I think as adults we havethis idea that nature is like
this pristine thing.
You know it's, you have to gointo nature.
But really nature is around usand it's just about finding it.
(11:01):
And so cityscapes have nature,every place has birds, so you
can look up and look at thebirds, you can see the sky, the
clouds, you can find the cracksin the sidewalk, you can go to a
park, you can go to the patchesof lawn that might be in a
neighborhood, the trees that areplanted on city blocks.
Lots and lots of cities areworking towards making more
(11:24):
green spaces in their citybecause people are realizing,
through scientific research, thecomplete benefit of spending
time outside, even if it's likejust 20 minutes.
There's so much evidence thatshows that it's really good for
us as humans.
And why wouldn't it be?
We came from nature.
That's how we evolve throughnature, so we're part of the
(11:45):
natural world and spending timein it really is healthy for us,
from lowering our cortisol,increasing our oxygen.
Lowering our cortisol,increasing our oxygen, getting
us more physically active,engaging all of our senses.
It's multi-sensory.
If you want high definition,just go outside.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (12:03):
Yeah, you talked about the sliver.
It reminded me of that samefriend and I would go between
her house and my grandparents'house and we'd make a big fat
mud pie and let them bake in thesun, and it was in between our
driveways and the sidewalk.
So this was a small littlenothing.
Susie Spikol (12:21):
I mean, really, if you think about a child,
they're small and they're kindof can be small, it can just be
a sliver between two garages, aslice of land between two homes,
a corner of a backyard.
They don't need Alaska, theyjust need a little bit and a
little bit of encouragement andmodeling from us as adults
(12:41):
around them.
I think that is what, likeoutside exploration really gives
children and we are living in aworld where kids are more and
more like glued into a tinylittle screen and there's lots
of amazing things that happen onthe tiny screen.
I'm saying there isn't, butit's not multi-sensory really.
You know it's so visuallystimulating, but outside it's
(13:05):
like you are exposed not just towhat you're seeing but what you
might be hearing, what yourskin might be feeling with the
wind, what the air might besmelling, and that's all.
That's like a secret potion,that's all going into you as a
young person and it's helpingkind of spark up your brain and
send up those synapses for youto grow and explore and find
(13:30):
adventure, make your ownadventure.
It really is a choose your ownadventure kind of world outside?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (13:35):
Yeah, in your experience as a naturalist and
educator, what have you seenchange in children when they do
spend that meaningful, longperiods of time outdoors,
especially when doingimaginative and open-ended play?
Susie Spikol (13:48):
Oh, what a great question.
I love this.
I spend a lot of time withchildren outside for long
periods of time and I do see achange from kids once they come
out.
Like recess is short usuallyand it's just run around and get
that energy out and that'sgreat.
But when you have them out fora longer period of time, they
can really go deeper into theirplay and their play becomes more
(14:12):
imaginative and there's a lotof conversation that happens
imaginative and there's a lot ofconversation that happens
between children.
So there's a lot of like socialkind of emotional development
that occurs communication,learning how to decide what
you're going to play.
There's also risk assessmentthat develops.
So how is a child know if theycan climb to the top of the rock
(14:33):
?
They have to decide forthemselves, and so having that
time outside is really essentialfor young children to develop
where their boundaries are interms of the risks they're
willing to take, and I thinkthat's really important and
that's part of being outside.
The landscape is typicallyuneven too, so they're using
their whole body to move throughit in a different way than they
(14:56):
might be on a playground withset structures.
So I think when I see kidsspending time outside for longer
periods of time.
They're going deeper, the playis more meaningful, there's a
lot more imagination andcreativity that happens in it,
there's a lot of conflictresolution that happens and
there's a lot of motor skillsthat are occurring.
(15:18):
So I'm all about it, and I hopeother people can see that and
will want to encourage theirschools or their own families to
spend longer periods of timeoutside.
And that's not even talkingabout all of the amazing
physical things that happen to achild when they're outside
physically, or any human, thevitamin D that we're getting,
(15:38):
the extra oxygen that we'rebreathing, the time in the fresh
air.
Remember like your grandparentswould be like send your kids
outside and they'll sleep like ababy.
Well, there's some truth tothat.
You know.
It is good for us to be outsideand moving our body in the
fresh air and being in thesunshine and having our senses
(15:58):
waking up.
So, yeah, go outside if youwant to sleep well.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:02):
You mentioned recess and I've seen a shift, a
change in recess time.
A lot of conflicts, a lot ofboredom.
I'm bored, I don't want to goto recess.
Can I just stay inside?
Can I bring the tablet outside?
I don't have anything to do.
And then, coming back fromrecess, it was filled with
problem solving.
Now we have a lot of issues, alot of conflict, a lot of anger,
(16:25):
a lot of frustration, and sothere were just a lot of
problems that were occurringthat it almost felt like why are
we doing this to ourselves?
How do you think thatnature-based play can help
children navigate the socialchallenges of recess more
successfully?
Susie Spikol (16:40):
Yeah, I think it's good for us to think about what
our schoolyards look like now.
They have a lot of installedplay structures which are great,
but they're also pretty rote.
And what happens is you havekids like waiting in line to
kind of use a part of the playstructure.
They want to swing, so they hadto wait in line until somebody
(17:03):
else gets off the swing.
And that's a lot of times whereyou see conflict happen and
after a while, even though thoseplay structures are really fun,
there can be like oh, I've donethe slide, I've done them, I've
gone from here to there.
I am a really big advocate forloose parts on our playground
and the loose parts are thingsthat are not nailed down, that
(17:24):
are movable, that have a lot ofcapacity for creative thinking
Sticks and boards and rocks andcardboard.
And what about if you have a lotof pavement, you know big chalk
or bubbles or jump ropes, ifyou're in a kind of traditional
play area, if you have thecapacity in your school or in
(17:45):
your neighborhood to kind ofstep out of the playground area
and step to the edges?
That's where those loose partsreally are and that's where
nature play really can happenand that might help alleviate
some of those conflicts thatwe're seeing.
But I also think we live in aworld where kids aren't outside
as much as they used to be, andif you're not outside, you might
(18:08):
not know how to be outside, andso it's really up to us, as
parents and caregivers andeducators, to model that.
And if you have fixedstructures in your play area,
you can introduce loose parts toit.
Maybe put out some pots andpans, put out some old spoons,
bring in a whole basket of pinecones or acorns or leaves.
(18:32):
I think there's ways tointroduce it into your play area
.
Great ideas.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (18:37):
You talk about how imaginative outdoor play
can empower kids who maystruggle in school or social
settings.
So what have you seen in termsof how nature-based play affects
children's confidence,especially for those who may be
feeling overlooked ormisunderstood?
Susie Spikol (18:52):
I love this question because I have seen it.
You know, being a naturalistworking in so many different
schools.
I usually go into a classroomand have classroom time and then
come back and we do some fieldstime and when I'm in the
classroom the teachers usuallysay there's always like one or
two kids that are they're goingto be trouble outside.
But what I find is that a lotof times those kids that are
(19:14):
inside, in the structure ofthose four walls, in the system
of the school, they play aspecific kind of role.
You know you hit there.
They're the kid that causestrouble.
But when you go outside, a lotof times those kids can become
real leaders.
A lot of times kids that arehyper aware so somebody who
(19:35):
might have ADHD and they'rehyper aware.
They're seeing a million thingsoutside.
They're the kids that arespotting the cardinal because
they're seeing things in areally fast and an exciting way
and they've got the sharp senses.
There's something calming aboutbeing outside too.
We'll just stop and listen anddo some breathing and looking.
(19:57):
It's kind of like tuning in andthat can help reset and help
self-regulate somebody.
Those deep breaths, breathingin the fresh air, smelling the
roses I mean the act of smellinga flower.
It smells good, but it's also adeep breath.
It's a great chance forteachers and caregivers to press
a reset button, to take a fewdeep breaths.
(20:18):
Look up at the sky what colorsare you seeing?
What birds are you seeing?
It's hard work being a teacherand a caregiver and a parent,
and so that outside time, whenthe children are busy running
and playing, it's a chance foryou also to kind of reset and
self-regulate through some deepbreaths.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (20:37):
How long do you think it takes for children
to get acclimated tounstructured outdoor play?
Susie Spikol (20:43):
Yeah, that's a great question.
It can take a while, especiallyif it's something that they've
never done before in a greatquestion.
It can take a while, especiallyif it's something that they've
never done before in their homelife.
It can feel unsettling to them.
I've been surprised over thecourse of my 30 plus years being
a naturalist, at the beginningof my career when I would ask
kids to sit on the grass, noproblem.
But now there are some kidsthat maybe have never sat on
(21:07):
grass before and it can feeluncomfortable.
So you know, we've started tobring pads with us so that kids
that might not want to sit onthe grass can sit on something
different, and it's just sort ofthinking about all the
different ways that you can helpkids kind of feel more
comfortable.
It can take a while.
You know I would start withsmall bites, maybe five minutes
(21:30):
to start with.
Then you know, really havingthat tuning into those senses,
what are you seeing?
Find five things that you hear.
What are you smelling?
What does that smell like?
It's great development forlanguage to have to put words to
what you hear, to what yousmell, to how the air feels on
you, the temperature.
(21:51):
That's all great languagedevelopment.
It's a great chance to maybehave a book that you're reading
out loud to your family or yourclass about nature.
There's a ton of mouse booksfor kids, like, have you ever
noticed how many books havelittle mice as heroes?
So just for example, somethinglike Stuart Little, you might be
reading it out loud in yourclass and then you know, when
(22:13):
you're outside and a kid is likeI'm bored, I don't know what to
do, you can be like well, whatwould Stuart Little do?
You know where would StuartLittle go?
So using literature to helpkind of plant those seeds of
imagination while they'reoutside can be really helpful
for a kid and it maybe even cangrow into sort of a bigger
project for your classroom.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (22:33):
With summer approaching, many parents are
looking for simple ways to keeptheir kids engaged, without
screens or any complicatedpreparations.
What materials would be greatto have on hand in the house so
that it could support thatspontaneous, independent play?
Susie Spikol (22:48):
Yeah, I would say maybe you could go thrifting.
Just get a few pots and pans, afew big spoons.
Some love hand lenses ormagnifiers.
You know that idea that a kidcan look through a lens and see
something small expanded.
I think it's sort of magical.
It's sort of that's where a lotof imagination can happen.
(23:10):
Just walking around with littlehand lens and I would gather up
some kind of journal materiallike a notebook, a pencil and
paper colored pencils.
Something my children and Iwould do together is we would
keep a running journal, we'd beoutside and then we would come
back and we would both draw onthe same paper what we saw and
(23:31):
experienced.
They're a great memory for usof just simple times outside.
It might be.
If you don't live in a placewhere you have backyard or edges
to go to, that might be a greatthing for you to kind of think
about before the summer.
Where can we go?
Is there a park nearby?
Is there a sliver of landnearby?
(23:52):
Is there a neighborhood we cango walking in, that kind of
stuff?
So I would gather that.
And then for outdoors you don'treally need much.
You know, sunscreen, bug spray,clothing and that can get dirty
.
It's sort of messy place.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (24:06):
So yeah, a little bucket.
We would always have like alittle bucket when we'd go on
walks and the kids alwayscollected, you know, like a
really cool rock, a pretty shellpine cone that was like extra
long or something Interestinglittle sticks and they love to
bring those back and I noticedthat, you know, even at recess
the kids would dig.
And we live in Florida andsometimes, because our area used
(24:28):
to be underwater, when the kidswould dig in the sandy soil in
the back of the school forrecess, sometimes they come up
with shark's teeth and so theywould be like here's another
shark's tooth and they were like, oh cool, so they would start
collecting those things and sobeing able to start little
collections, oh my gosh.
Susie Spikol (24:45):
I love that idea, lisa.
That is so right on.
It's just so perfect A littlebucket and maybe a cardboard box
where they're putting theircollection.
If you want to go a little bitfurther, you could get a little
cardboard box that you putlittle dividers in, so there's
like a section for the rocks, asection for if you're lucky
enough to live where shark teethare.
I think that is great and youcan keep it outside or inside.
(25:08):
Something that we would do toois we would have sort of a table
inside the house and it was ourseasonal nature table and my
kids would bring back likefeathers that they found and
that would go on the table andit would change for each season
for what we were finding outside.
It's really simple.
It's containable.
If you are worried that theymight bring something back in
(25:30):
your house that you might notwant, you can always tell them.
That's a great thing for youroutside nature area.
But you know stones and sticksand feathers and shark's teeth.
I'm really impressed about theshark teeth.
I'm jealous.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:45):
We have a we're shark's tooth capital of
the world, and so we findshark's teeth all over the place
, which is a fun thing.
Susie Spikol (25:51):
I've been looking for pirate teeth.
Maybe I should have beenlooking for shark teeth, shark's
teeth.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:56):
Yeah, is there any go-to activity?
Maybe something that is like abig hit?
You know something that boysand girls of different ages
consistently love?
Susie Spikol (26:06):
Yeah, it's definitely small world creation.
I see that across the board,from young childhood up through
what I like to call middlechildhood, which is about to
about 10 years old.
It's really like building tinylittle worlds outside, making
small little houses and smalllittle villages and different
spots in the area, and I seethat being a winner for kids of
(26:30):
all ages, boys and girls, and aproject I've done with some
schools in my area is we makethese small villages and they
become like a world.
You know Minecraft and that'ssuch a world building, but it's
flat and if you're building anactual tiny little house, it's
all your hands, it's all of yoursenses, it's fine motor skills,
(26:54):
it's gross motor skills andit's defined by the child, it's
their creation.
I just love the whole conceptof small worlds for children.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (27:04):
Where could people get this book?
Susie Spikol (27:05):
Yeah, so the book is available through all
bookstores.
Your independent bookstoreswere online sellers and I hope
people really enjoy it.
It's really meant as a guidefor families to work together
through teachers and caregiversto use as a resource.
It's just sort of the startingspot.
Who knows, you know you mightread it and be like, oh, we're
(27:27):
going to make this, but itbecomes something else and I
hope people really recognizethat that is what our kids need.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (27:34):
Thank you so much for joining us today and
sharing your passion andbringing nature and imagination
back into children's lives,which is infectious, and your
book is truly a gift forfamilies and educators to head
outside and start seeing wheretheir imaginations take them.
Susie Spikol (27:50):
Thank you, and this has just been such a
pleasure for me.
I am such a fan of your podcastand I do love that.
It is the brighter side ofeducation.
It's really good to rememberthere are so many positive
things happening in the world ofeducation and you're bringing
them to light, so I really thankyou for that.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (28:09):
If you have a story about what's working in
your schools that you'd like toshare, you can email me at lisa
at drlisahasslercom, or visit mywebsite at wwwdrlisahasslercom
and send me a message.
If you like this podcast,subscribe and tell a friend.
The more people that know, thebigger impact it will have.
And if you find value to thecontent in this podcast,
(28:31):
consider becoming a supporter byclicking on the supporter link
in the show notes.
It is the mission of thispodcast to shine light on the
good in education so that itspreads, affecting positive
change.
So let's keep working togetherto find solutions that focus on
our children's success.
Naturalist John Muir once observed that
when we tug on one thread innature, we find it connected to
everything else.
That sentiment rings especiallytrue when we consider how
children connect to the worldthrough unstructured outdoor
play.
Today, we explore hownature-based play can spark
imagination, build resilienceand restore balance in young
(00:20):
lives.
One stick, one trail and onetreasure hunt at a time.
Welcome to the brighter side ofeducation, research, innovation
(00:41):
and resources.
I'm your host, dr Lisa Hassler,here to enlighten and brighten
the classrooms in Americathrough focused conversation on
important topics in education.
In each episode, I discussproblems we as teachers and
parents are facing and whatpeople are doing in their
communities to fix it.
What are the variables and howcan we duplicate it to maximize
student outcomes?
Today's topic calls us back tothe roots, quite literally.
(01:03):
We're exploring the power ofnature based play and how
fostering imagination throughoutdoor experiences supports
children's cognitive andsocial-emotional development.
According to a 2019 study inFrontiers in Psychology, regular
exposure to green spaces isassociated with improved
attention, reduced stress andstronger executive functioning
(01:23):
in children.
An unstructured outdoor play,where kids make up their own
games, follow their curiosityand explore, has been strongly
linked to greater creativity andcollaboration, especially in
early and middle childhood.
Yet in many schools, recess andunstructured time are becoming
flashpoints for social tension.
Educators are reporting morefrequent conflict, trouble with
(01:45):
sharing and kids struggling tojust figure out what to do
without adult guidance.
One reason may be that childrensimply aren't getting enough
opportunities to practiceself-directed imaginative play
and without those experienceschildren can arrive at recess
feeling overstimulated or unsure, lacking the tools to engage
positively with peers, and whatlooks like misbehavior may
(02:07):
really be a missed developmentalopportunity.
That approach comes to lifebeautifully in the work of Susie
Spiegel, a seasoned naturalistwith the Harris Center for
Conservation Education inHancock, new Hampshire.
Susie has spent decadesconnecting people of all ages to
the natural world and is theauthor of Forest Magic for Kids
(02:27):
how to Find Fairies, make aSecret Fort and Cook Off an
Elfin Picnic.
Her book is filled withwhimsical yet practical
activities that invite childrento slow down, look closely and
discover the wild magic allaround them.
Magic all around them.
From keeping secret notebooksfilled with maps and pockets to
going on quests for wildtreasures.
(02:47):
Susie's work is a delightfulcall to step outside, reimagine
the everyday and rediscoverchildhood wonder.
Susie, welcome to the show.
Susie Spikol (02:56):
Thank you, Lisa.
It's a pleasure to be here.
I'm so excited to talk with you.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (02:59):
Well, let's start with your book Forest
Magic for Kids how to FindFairies, make a Secret Fort and
Cook Up an Elfin Picnic.
I absolutely love the title.
I've been thumbing through itand it has brought back so many
childhood memories.
How did you come up with this?
The combination of imaginativestorytelling and the nature
exploration.
Susie Spikol (03:18):
Yeah, that's such a great question because we
don't often think of themtogether.
So I'm a naturalist, I teachpeople of all ages about nature
and I got to thinking about howI became a naturalist, and it
wasn't through science.
Actually, like, a lot ofnaturalists have a spark bird,
they fall in love with birds orsomething like that.
For me, I came to naturethrough stories like I read
(03:42):
Winnie the Pooh or the Lion, tonature through stories Like I
read Winnie the Pooh or the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or,
you know, stuart Little, and Ithought these books, where all
these great adventures happen,they happen outside.
So I was like that's where theadventure is.
So that's how I got into nature, because I was out looking for
like a secret door to anotherworld or something like that.
(04:03):
And then I found out, you know,nature is just as remarkable.
The stories, the real storiesof nature, are just as
remarkable.
So I wanted to write a bookthat really linked the idea of
imagination and creativity inthe outdoors for us as adults to
remember, that's probably howmany of us aim to be outside.
(04:24):
You know we were playingoutside, so that that's kind of
what I was thinking when I wrotethe book.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (04:29):
In my own garden I have little fairy doors
.
My mother gave my kids a bookabout making fairy doors when
they were little, so I loved itwhen I saw the things about
fairies in here.
Can you tell us how the book isorganized and how parents would
use it?
Susie Spikol (04:44):
Yeah, sure.
So the book is really designedfor parents and kids to do
together.
Like in my mind, kids reallyneed some modeling about how to
be outside and how to engage andkind of how to explore.
And parents, this is what's sogood about it you don't have to
have any like special knowledge,you don't need to know, like,
what bird is singing or whattree is nearby, you also just
(05:07):
have to use your imagination andonce you kind of kickstart with
your kids, kind of entering theworld of outdoors and imagining
and creating, they'll take itfrom there.
And so I really just organizedthe book into things that I have
seen kids be really excitedabout, from kind of mushrooms,
mysterious mushrooms what's moremagical than the idea of a
(05:28):
mushroom?
What is a mushroom?
So there's a whole chapter onmushrooms.
There's a chapter on the greenteam.
That's just things you can dowith plants and trees and kind
of thinking about trees as thekind of the earth tree.
You know we have so manystories in our world about the
tree of life.
Like so many cultures havetrees at the center of their
(05:49):
kind of creation stories.
So there's connecting withtrees and there's also making
crowns and pretending you're aking or a queen.
There's some cooking and makingthings for like a picnic, like
whatever happened to picnicking.
So I wanted to encouragefamilies to go out and picnic
together and have an Elfinpicnic, and there's even a
recipe on how to make Elf bread.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (06:11):
So could you go from?
Like any chapter, can you picka chapter?
Do you go from front to back?
You can go anywhere.
Susie Spikol (06:16):
It's a really open-ended.
You could just flip through thebook and pick something to do.
There's some handcrafts inthere, making small little like.
I call them peeps or littlepeople, gnomes or fairies,
whatever you want to call them.
There's a little bit of carving, like making a stirring stick.
If you're making a potion, youdon't even have to use a carving
(06:37):
knife, you can use a prettysturdy vegetable peeler and just
kind of peel off the end.
That's great for a young childto begin the process of peeling.
It's the whole idea of kind ofgetting your hands creating
something, inventing something,kind of imagining the loose
parts of nature sticks andstones and leaves as other
things they can become.
So it's really based inimagination and creativity and
(07:01):
play Do you have a favoriteactivity?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (07:04):
Yes, I do.
Susie Spikol (07:05):
I am really into the potion making.
For me that was a really bigpart of my childhood was kind of
having an old pot and puttingin some water, maybe just even
rainwater, and then findingleaves and pine cone pieces and
pine needles.
We would pretend the pineneedles were unicorn whiskers
(07:26):
and you know the acorn caps werefairy hats.
We'd stir it all up and we'dmush it up and then we'd also
let it set there for him, comeback to it, add mud, and we used
a lot of.
My mom didn't like this, but alot of the kitchen utensils
would end up outside.
She eventually gave us somekitchen utensils from like her.
(07:46):
When she got new ones, she gaveus the old ones.
How about you, lisa?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (07:50):
You know I have to say that the potion
making was one of my favoritechildhood memories and a
neighbor friend of mine and Igrew up together and that was
one of our absolute favoritethings to do, next to mud pie
making, and we would get a bigold pot and same thing, but we
would grab the hose, fill somewater in it and we'd pluck
(08:10):
little snapdragons and stuff andwe'd throw them into the pot.
We called it witch's brew andit was one of my favorite things
to make.
And I had recently gone to aforest school and they are
outside for long periods ofunstructured time and that is
one of their favorite things todo as well, as they have a
little potion station and theyhave brought eyedroppers and all
(08:33):
these things from home and theyjust love to do it.
So when I see things like thatand then I saw it in your book I
thought I'm not the only one.
Susie Spikol (08:40):
Yes, I think it's sort of the fundamental work of
childhood is really that type ofplay and when.
When you can do it outside, youcan be messy, so parents don't
have to worry so much about ohmy gosh, they're making a mess
in my kitchen, they're using allmy spices Just send them
outside.
You know, it's really how youlearn to communicate.
Like you and your friendprobably had a lot of
(09:02):
negotiating, you probably had to, like, figure out what you
wanted to add to the potion youwere creating.
You were dreaming.
I think that's really the workof childhood is really about
play, and Forest Magic for Kidsis sort of a celebration of that
and a reminder to us as parentsthat that is a huge part of
(09:23):
time outside.
It isn't just learning thescience of how nature works or
having to identify things.
It's really just about thatopen-endedness that nature gives
us.
The undefined landscape of thenatural world is ripe for
imagination and creation.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (09:42):
So how could people like, let's say, you're
living in an apartment or acondo or you don't have direct
access to maybe parks and woodsand forests, how could they
still use this book?
Yeah, great question.
Susie Spikol (09:55):
You know it always surprises people when I share
that I grew up in Brooklyn, newYork, because I am a naturalist
and I'm so into nature and Ilive in a very rural place now
and I think people see me andthey just assumed I must have
grown up like in the woods, youknow, but I grew up in a city
and I was one of those kids thatfound nature where I could, and
(10:17):
it's good for us to rememberthat.
Nature happens everywhere.
It isn't just in the wildplaces, it is absolutely
everywhere in the biggest cities, in the cracks of the sidewalk.
For me as a kid it was inbetween these two garages.
I called it the sliver.
I had to go in sideways becauseyou couldn't fit in this way,
(10:38):
you couldn't foot forward, andthe sliver was where I saw ants
and snails and spiders and mossand dirt and earthworms.
And I think as adults we havethis idea that nature is like
this pristine thing.
You know it's, you have to gointo nature.
But really nature is around usand it's just about finding it.
(11:01):
And so cityscapes have nature,every place has birds, so you
can look up and look at thebirds, you can see the sky, the
clouds, you can find the cracksin the sidewalk, you can go to a
park, you can go to the patchesof lawn that might be in a
neighborhood, the trees that areplanted on city blocks.
Lots and lots of cities areworking towards making more
(11:24):
green spaces in their citybecause people are realizing,
through scientific research, thecomplete benefit of spending
time outside, even if it's likejust 20 minutes.
There's so much evidence thatshows that it's really good for
us as humans.
And why wouldn't it be?
We came from nature.
That's how we evolve throughnature, so we're part of the
(11:45):
natural world and spending timein it really is healthy for us,
from lowering our cortisol,increasing our oxygen.
Lowering our cortisol,increasing our oxygen, getting
us more physically active,engaging all of our senses.
It's multi-sensory.
If you want high definition,just go outside.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (12:03):
Yeah, you talked about the sliver.
It reminded me of that samefriend and I would go between
her house and my grandparents'house and we'd make a big fat
mud pie and let them bake in thesun, and it was in between our
driveways and the sidewalk.
So this was a small littlenothing.
Susie Spikol (12:21):
I mean, really, if you think about a child,
they're small and they're kindof can be small, it can just be
a sliver between two garages, aslice of land between two homes,
a corner of a backyard.
They don't need Alaska, theyjust need a little bit and a
little bit of encouragement andmodeling from us as adults
(12:41):
around them.
I think that is what, likeoutside exploration really gives
children and we are living in aworld where kids are more and
more like glued into a tinylittle screen and there's lots
of amazing things that happen onthe tiny screen.
I'm saying there isn't, butit's not multi-sensory really.
You know it's so visuallystimulating, but outside it's
(13:05):
like you are exposed not just towhat you're seeing but what you
might be hearing, what yourskin might be feeling with the
wind, what the air might besmelling, and that's all.
That's like a secret potion,that's all going into you as a
young person and it's helpingkind of spark up your brain and
send up those synapses for youto grow and explore and find
(13:30):
adventure, make your ownadventure.
It really is a choose your ownadventure kind of world outside?
Dr. Lisa Hassler (13:35):
Yeah, in your experience as a naturalist and
educator, what have you seenchange in children when they do
spend that meaningful, longperiods of time outdoors,
especially when doingimaginative and open-ended play?
Susie Spikol (13:48):
Oh, what a great question.
I love this.
I spend a lot of time withchildren outside for long
periods of time and I do see achange from kids once they come
out.
Like recess is short usuallyand it's just run around and get
that energy out and that'sgreat.
But when you have them out fora longer period of time, they
can really go deeper into theirplay and their play becomes more
(14:12):
imaginative and there's a lotof conversation that happens
imaginative and there's a lot ofconversation that happens
between children.
So there's a lot of like socialkind of emotional development
that occurs communication,learning how to decide what
you're going to play.
There's also risk assessmentthat develops.
So how is a child know if theycan climb to the top of the rock
(14:33):
?
They have to decide forthemselves, and so having that
time outside is really essentialfor young children to develop
where their boundaries are interms of the risks they're
willing to take, and I thinkthat's really important and
that's part of being outside.
The landscape is typicallyuneven too, so they're using
their whole body to move throughit in a different way than they
(14:56):
might be on a playground withset structures.
So I think when I see kidsspending time outside for longer
periods of time.
They're going deeper, the playis more meaningful, there's a
lot more imagination andcreativity that happens in it,
there's a lot of conflictresolution that happens and
there's a lot of motor skillsthat are occurring.
(15:18):
So I'm all about it, and I hopeother people can see that and
will want to encourage theirschools or their own families to
spend longer periods of timeoutside.
And that's not even talkingabout all of the amazing
physical things that happen to achild when they're outside
physically, or any human, thevitamin D that we're getting,
(15:38):
the extra oxygen that we'rebreathing, the time in the fresh
air.
Remember like your grandparentswould be like send your kids
outside and they'll sleep like ababy.
Well, there's some truth tothat.
You know.
It is good for us to be outsideand moving our body in the
fresh air and being in thesunshine and having our senses
(15:58):
waking up.
So, yeah, go outside if youwant to sleep well.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:02):
You mentioned recess and I've seen a shift, a
change in recess time.
A lot of conflicts, a lot ofboredom.
I'm bored, I don't want to goto recess.
Can I just stay inside?
Can I bring the tablet outside?
I don't have anything to do.
And then, coming back fromrecess, it was filled with
problem solving.
Now we have a lot of issues, alot of conflict, a lot of anger,
(16:25):
a lot of frustration, and sothere were just a lot of
problems that were occurringthat it almost felt like why are
we doing this to ourselves?
How do you think thatnature-based play can help
children navigate the socialchallenges of recess more
successfully?
Susie Spikol (16:40):
Yeah, I think it's good for us to think about what
our schoolyards look like now.
They have a lot of installedplay structures which are great,
but they're also pretty rote.
And what happens is you havekids like waiting in line to
kind of use a part of the playstructure.
They want to swing, so they hadto wait in line until somebody
(17:03):
else gets off the swing.
And that's a lot of times whereyou see conflict happen and
after a while, even though thoseplay structures are really fun,
there can be like oh, I've donethe slide, I've done them, I've
gone from here to there.
I am a really big advocate forloose parts on our playground
and the loose parts are thingsthat are not nailed down, that
(17:24):
are movable, that have a lot ofcapacity for creative thinking
Sticks and boards and rocks andcardboard.
And what about if you have a lotof pavement, you know big chalk
or bubbles or jump ropes, ifyou're in a kind of traditional
play area, if you have thecapacity in your school or in
(17:45):
your neighborhood to kind ofstep out of the playground area
and step to the edges?
That's where those loose partsreally are and that's where
nature play really can happenand that might help alleviate
some of those conflicts thatwe're seeing.
But I also think we live in aworld where kids aren't outside
as much as they used to be, andif you're not outside, you might
(18:08):
not know how to be outside, andso it's really up to us, as
parents and caregivers andeducators, to model that.
And if you have fixedstructures in your play area,
you can introduce loose parts toit.
Maybe put out some pots andpans, put out some old spoons,
bring in a whole basket of pinecones or acorns or leaves.
(18:32):
I think there's ways tointroduce it into your play area
.
Great ideas.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (18:37):
You talk about how imaginative outdoor play
can empower kids who maystruggle in school or social
settings.
So what have you seen in termsof how nature-based play affects
children's confidence,especially for those who may be
feeling overlooked ormisunderstood?
Susie Spikol (18:52):
I love this question because I have seen it.
You know, being a naturalistworking in so many different
schools.
I usually go into a classroomand have classroom time and then
come back and we do some fieldstime and when I'm in the
classroom the teachers usuallysay there's always like one or
two kids that are they're goingto be trouble outside.
But what I find is that a lotof times those kids that are
(19:14):
inside, in the structure ofthose four walls, in the system
of the school, they play aspecific kind of role.
You know you hit there.
They're the kid that causestrouble.
But when you go outside, a lotof times those kids can become
real leaders.
A lot of times kids that arehyper aware so somebody who
(19:35):
might have ADHD and they'rehyper aware.
They're seeing a million thingsoutside.
They're the kids that arespotting the cardinal because
they're seeing things in areally fast and an exciting way
and they've got the sharp senses.
There's something calming aboutbeing outside too.
We'll just stop and listen anddo some breathing and looking.
(19:57):
It's kind of like tuning in andthat can help reset and help
self-regulate somebody.
Those deep breaths, breathingin the fresh air, smelling the
roses I mean the act of smellinga flower.
It smells good, but it's also adeep breath.
It's a great chance forteachers and caregivers to press
a reset button, to take a fewdeep breaths.
(20:18):
Look up at the sky what colorsare you seeing?
What birds are you seeing?
It's hard work being a teacherand a caregiver and a parent,
and so that outside time, whenthe children are busy running
and playing, it's a chance foryou also to kind of reset and
self-regulate through some deepbreaths.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (20:37):
How long do you think it takes for children
to get acclimated tounstructured outdoor play?
Susie Spikol (20:43):
Yeah, that's a great question.
It can take a while, especiallyif it's something that they've
never done before in a greatquestion.
It can take a while, especiallyif it's something that they've
never done before in their homelife.
It can feel unsettling to them.
I've been surprised over thecourse of my 30 plus years being
a naturalist, at the beginningof my career when I would ask
kids to sit on the grass, noproblem.
But now there are some kidsthat maybe have never sat on
(21:07):
grass before and it can feeluncomfortable.
So you know, we've started tobring pads with us so that kids
that might not want to sit onthe grass can sit on something
different, and it's just sort ofthinking about all the
different ways that you can helpkids kind of feel more
comfortable.
It can take a while.
You know I would start withsmall bites, maybe five minutes
(21:30):
to start with.
Then you know, really havingthat tuning into those senses,
what are you seeing?
Find five things that you hear.
What are you smelling?
What does that smell like?
It's great development forlanguage to have to put words to
what you hear, to what yousmell, to how the air feels on
you, the temperature.
(21:51):
That's all great languagedevelopment.
It's a great chance to maybehave a book that you're reading
out loud to your family or yourclass about nature.
There's a ton of mouse booksfor kids, like, have you ever
noticed how many books havelittle mice as heroes?
So just for example, somethinglike Stuart Little, you might be
reading it out loud in yourclass and then you know, when
(22:13):
you're outside and a kid is likeI'm bored, I don't know what to
do, you can be like well, whatwould Stuart Little do?
You know where would StuartLittle go?
So using literature to helpkind of plant those seeds of
imagination while they'reoutside can be really helpful
for a kid and it maybe even cangrow into sort of a bigger
project for your classroom.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (22:33):
With summer approaching, many parents are
looking for simple ways to keeptheir kids engaged, without
screens or any complicatedpreparations.
What materials would be greatto have on hand in the house so
that it could support thatspontaneous, independent play?
Susie Spikol (22:48):
Yeah, I would say maybe you could go thrifting.
Just get a few pots and pans, afew big spoons.
Some love hand lenses ormagnifiers.
You know that idea that a kidcan look through a lens and see
something small expanded.
I think it's sort of magical.
It's sort of that's where a lotof imagination can happen.
(23:10):
Just walking around with littlehand lens and I would gather up
some kind of journal materiallike a notebook, a pencil and
paper colored pencils.
Something my children and Iwould do together is we would
keep a running journal, we'd beoutside and then we would come
back and we would both draw onthe same paper what we saw and
(23:31):
experienced.
They're a great memory for usof just simple times outside.
It might be.
If you don't live in a placewhere you have backyard or edges
to go to, that might be a greatthing for you to kind of think
about before the summer.
Where can we go?
Is there a park nearby?
Is there a sliver of landnearby?
(23:52):
Is there a neighborhood we cango walking in, that kind of
stuff?
So I would gather that.
And then for outdoors you don'treally need much.
You know, sunscreen, bug spray,clothing and that can get dirty
.
It's sort of messy place.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (24:06):
So yeah, a little bucket.
We would always have like alittle bucket when we'd go on
walks and the kids alwayscollected, you know, like a
really cool rock, a pretty shellpine cone that was like extra
long or something Interestinglittle sticks and they love to
bring those back and I noticedthat, you know, even at recess
the kids would dig.
And we live in Florida andsometimes, because our area used
(24:28):
to be underwater, when the kidswould dig in the sandy soil in
the back of the school forrecess, sometimes they come up
with shark's teeth and so theywould be like here's another
shark's tooth and they were like, oh cool, so they would start
collecting those things and sobeing able to start little
collections, oh my gosh.
Susie Spikol (24:45):
I love that idea, lisa.
That is so right on.
It's just so perfect A littlebucket and maybe a cardboard box
where they're putting theircollection.
If you want to go a little bitfurther, you could get a little
cardboard box that you putlittle dividers in, so there's
like a section for the rocks, asection for if you're lucky
enough to live where shark teethare.
I think that is great and youcan keep it outside or inside.
(25:08):
Something that we would do toois we would have sort of a table
inside the house and it was ourseasonal nature table and my
kids would bring back likefeathers that they found and
that would go on the table andit would change for each season
for what we were finding outside.
It's really simple.
It's containable.
If you are worried that theymight bring something back in
(25:30):
your house that you might notwant, you can always tell them.
That's a great thing for youroutside nature area.
But you know stones and sticksand feathers and shark's teeth.
I'm really impressed about theshark teeth.
I'm jealous.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:45):
We have a we're shark's tooth capital of
the world, and so we findshark's teeth all over the place
, which is a fun thing.
Susie Spikol (25:51):
I've been looking for pirate teeth.
Maybe I should have beenlooking for shark teeth, shark's
teeth.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (25:56):
Yeah, is there any go-to activity?
Maybe something that is like abig hit?
You know something that boysand girls of different ages
consistently love?
Susie Spikol (26:06):
Yeah, it's definitely small world creation.
I see that across the board,from young childhood up through
what I like to call middlechildhood, which is about to
about 10 years old.
It's really like building tinylittle worlds outside, making
small little houses and smalllittle villages and different
spots in the area, and I seethat being a winner for kids of
(26:30):
all ages, boys and girls, and aproject I've done with some
schools in my area is we makethese small villages and they
become like a world.
You know Minecraft and that'ssuch a world building, but it's
flat and if you're building anactual tiny little house, it's
all your hands, it's all of yoursenses, it's fine motor skills,
(26:54):
it's gross motor skills andit's defined by the child, it's
their creation.
I just love the whole conceptof small worlds for children.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (27:04):
Where could people get this book?
Susie Spikol (27:05):
Yeah, so the book is available through all
bookstores.
Your independent bookstoreswere online sellers and I hope
people really enjoy it.
It's really meant as a guidefor families to work together
through teachers and caregiversto use as a resource.
It's just sort of the startingspot.
Who knows, you know you mightread it and be like, oh, we're
(27:27):
going to make this, but itbecomes something else and I
hope people really recognizethat that is what our kids need.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (27:34):
Thank you so much for joining us today and
sharing your passion andbringing nature and imagination
back into children's lives,which is infectious, and your
book is truly a gift forfamilies and educators to head
outside and start seeing wheretheir imaginations take them.
Susie Spikol (27:50):
Thank you, and this has just been such a
pleasure for me.
I am such a fan of your podcastand I do love that.
It is the brighter side ofeducation.
It's really good to rememberthere are so many positive
things happening in the world ofeducation and you're bringing
them to light, so I really thankyou for that.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (28:09):
If you have a story about what's working in
your schools that you'd like toshare, you can email me at lisa
at drlisahasslercom, or visit mywebsite at wwwdrlisahasslercom
and send me a message.
If you like this podcast,subscribe and tell a friend.
The more people that know, thebigger impact it will have.
And if you find value to thecontent in this podcast,
(28:31):
consider becoming a supporter byclicking on the supporter link
in the show notes.
It is the mission of thispodcast to shine light on the
good in education so that itspreads, affecting positive
change.
So let's keep working togetherto find solutions that focus on
our children's success.
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