Rain or Shine Mamma

There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes

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Outdoor Learning Is HOT – and Tinkergarten Is Recruiting!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Read my full disclosure policy here.
December 5, 2017 By Linda McGurk

It’s a chilly November morning in Terre Haute, Ind., and few people are out on foot in the light drizzle. But on the city’s east side, scenic Hawthorn Park is buzzing with activity. Here, half a dozen children and their moms are standing together singing the “Come to Tinkergarten,” a familiar tune that signals that their weekly class is about to begin. “We like to get outside a lot, but it’s nice to have another reason to get out when the weather gets yucky,” says Claire Plowgian, one of the moms, about the Tinkergarten class.

I first heard about Tinkergarten a couple of years ago and was instantly fascinated by the concept. The Massachusetts-based company trains leaders to hold outdoor classes in natural places in their communities, such as public parks, on a regular basis. The classes offer opportunities for children from 18 months to 8 years old to learn outdoors, both through free play and pre-planned activities. Besides connecting  children with nature, the overarching goal of the program is to help kids develop a number of important skills, such as empathy, collaboration, creativity, resilience and problem solving.
Tinkergarten leader Marissa Northam does a "lantern walk" with her class. Tinkergarten leader Marissa Northam does a “lantern walk” with her class.

Truthfully, I was a bit skeptical at first. I wondered if the classes would be yet another adult-led, structured “enrichment activity” that parents enrolled their kids in just to check outdoor play off the list. And why pay for classes where children do something as elementary as playing outdoors?

Going on a bear hunt

Fast-forward to last month and I’m watching seasoned Tinkergarten leader Marissa Northam enthusiastically lead a group of about a dozen kids through a lantern walk, an imaginary bear hunt and some games at Hawthorn Park. Just like in Scandinavia’s forest schools, the activities are more invitations to play than anything, and when a couple of the younger kids trail off nobody pressures them to rejoin the group. Once Marissa opens up for free play, a group of three girls immediately grab some sticks and start “fishing” among the leaves, while some of the younger kids take turns rolling down a grassy knoll. Meanwhile, Marissa and the parents stand back, observe and chat, intervening in the children’s play as little as possible.
Tinkergarten leader Marissa Northam uses a sheet to create a tunnel for the children in her class in Terre Haute, Ind. At Tinkergarten a sheet becomes a tunnel for the children to play in.

“Our mission is to make sure kids get an opportunity to explore outdoors and see nature in a different way than they would at a playground,” Marissa explains. “It’s also a gentle way of teaching parents how to get outside with their kids, even in the winter.”

Creating opportunities for outdoor play

A few decades ago, classes that encourage children to play and explore outside probably would’ve been redundant. Today is a different story. Since its inception in 2012, Tinkergarten has grown rapidly to meet demand and now has over 900 leaders offering classes in 45 states and reaching a total of over 80,000 children. It’s a sign of the times that unstructured outdoor play experiences are so scarce for some kids in today’s society that adults – or in this case, Tinkergarten – have to make a conscious effort to create them. And for some children, playing and using their imaginations outdoors takes some getting used to.

Three girls pretend to have found a bear in a tree. Three girls pretend to have found a bear in a tree.

“I can see a big difference in the kids now compared with the first class,” says Marissa. When we opened up for free play in the beginning they were shy and didn’t know what to do. Today they’re working together and have fun playing.”

Even though each Tinkergarten session is only an hour and fifteen minutes long, the activities seem to inspire families in profound ways outside of class as well.

“I see it as planting seeds. We don’t always see the results here, but then parents will tell me months afterwards that their child is outside more, or is wanting to do things at home that they did in class, like feeding the squirrels.” says Marissa. “Some kids don’t have other kids in their neighborhood, so this becomes a community for them.”

Mommy-daughter activity

Jennifer Schwab, a mom in Marissa’s class, says that both she and her 5-year-old daughter Emerson are enjoying their weekly outing with Tinkergarten. “It’s a nice mommy-daughter date activity for us,” she says.
Kids singing and playing at a Tinkergarten class in Indiana. Kids singing and playing at their Tinkergarten class in Indiana.

Recently, Tinkergarten raised $5.4 million in investment capital to expand the business and defray the cost of the classes for low-income families. That means that Tinkergarten needs new leaders to join the team. More than half of the leaders are former educators, and although teaching experience is not a requirement, having previous experience from working with children is definitely a plus. Those who are selected go through an online training program and become part of the Tinkergarten community. Once the leaders are ready to start a class they can set their own schedule and make $300-$1,000 per 8-week session, depending on their location.

“We’re looking for candidates who are passionate about connecting children with nature and demonstrate strong skills engaging and supporting play for children and adults,” says Meghan Fitzgerald, Tinkergarten’s co-founder.

Back at Hawthorn Park, Marissa and her group of kids close the session by singing the “Goodbye Song,” a treasured weekly routine. “I put a lot of free time into this, but I do it because I really believe in the mission,” Marissa says before packing up her class materials and heading home.

Psst. If you’re interested in becoming a Tinkergarten leader, you can apply here.

Psst 2. I did not receive any compensation from Tinkergarten for writing this post. I just believe in their mission and think that they can be one of many solutions to the lack of outdoor play for kids today.

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Learn with Nature, Outdoor Learning, Parent with Nature 2 Comments

Comments

  1. HEIDI says

    January 21, 2020 at 11:11 pm

    Hello. I just applied to be a leader. I received an email saying I will have a video interview. I’m very nervous about it. Am I speaking to someone live? Is there any way to prepare for the questions asked? Also I know Tinkergarten has gained in popularity recently. How difficult is it to obtain a leader position? Has it become very competitive? Appreciate the help. Thank you

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      January 28, 2020 at 11:44 pm

      Hello Heidi!
      I don’t think you need to stress about this – just be yourself and you’ll be fine:) I’m not sure how hard it is to get accepted but I know they’ve needed a lot of leaders before, so my guess is that you should have a good chance. Good luck!

      Reply

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Rain or Shine Mamma

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A school in Sydney bans the children from using the playground before school, saying the decision was made to "support positive classroom behaviour and learning." But did anybody bother to actually look into the research on the benefits of outdoor play, both in terms of children's ability to focus and their academic performance...? The parents aren't happy about the decision and I understand why. ... See MoreSee Less

Bondi school parents slam decision to ban outdoor play before class

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A decision to restrict students from using the playground before school started has sparked an angry response.
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📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚A few years ago, I did a poll in my social media channels to see what topic you’d like me to explore in my next book. One of them won by an overwhelming margin: the Nordic outdoor tradition friluftsliv. Well, I heeded your call. I’m pleased to share that it’s now possible to pre-order The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day from just about any place that sells books! The Open-Air Life is for anybody who is longing to lead a simpler, happier and less hurried life. It shows you how to channel the power of nature connection to improve your physical and mental health, as well as your relationship with both other people and Mother Nature. Plus, you’ll learn a few party tricks, like lighting a campfire without matches and cleaning water on the go. At a time when more and more people are starting to appreciate why they should spend more time outside, this book will show you how, with a decidedly Nordic twist.I must say that I LOVE this dreamy cover that the designers at @penguinrandomhouse created. What do you think? Pre-order The Open-Air Life here to support local book stores: bookshop.org/a/79880/9780593420942 ... See MoreSee Less
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Friends, I'm thinking about putting together an outdoor napping guide and would love some input. What would you like to know about this practice? What tools would you need to get started? Hit me with your questions!👊🏼😊 ... See MoreSee Less
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It’s TICK season…🕷 (I know that’s a spider emoji, but you get the idea😅)A lot of people freak out at the sight of these blood suckers and understandably so, considering the diseases they can harbor. But they too are a part of nature and if we want to keep venturing outside during the warmer months (I definitely do and I suspect you do too) we must come to terms with them.If you want to know more about tick prevention, I just wrote a pretty detailed post about it on my blog. Head over to rainorshinemamma.com to learn more and share this post with others who worry about ticks!👌🏻________________________#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #ticks #tickprevention ... See MoreSee Less
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4 weeks ago

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I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal meeting, yes, but still…I take pride in being dependable and prompt, and I hate to be flakey. I’d like to think that it was because I got distracted when my daughter called from my mom’s house and said she was running a fever, but in reality I got sidetracked well before that. Weekends are my time to zone out from schedules, emails and social media, and spend more time outside, especially this time of the year. So I missed a meeting. But I gained a quiet paddle through pastel waters as the sun slowly descended below the spruces on the horizon. __________________________#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #sup #standuppaddle #sweden #sweden_photolovers #sweden_images ... See MoreSee Less
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Linda Åkeson McGurk
There are a lot of good things about tech, but exc There are a lot of good things about tech, but excessive screen time is taking a toll on children’s physical and mental health today. Many apps and games have built-in mechanisms designed to make them highly addictive and children are even more susceptible to them than adults, since their brains are not fully developed🧠Screens are so ubiquitous in our lives today that it takes conscious effort to balance them with experiences IRL. 

For the past few years, our family has experimented with screen free or screen reduced Sundays. I’m not going to pretend that it’s easy. But if the goal is to increase quality family time outdoors and encourage the kind of creativity that arises from a healthy dose of boredom, it does work🌳

Some other tips to foster a healthy screen time culture in your family are:

✅ Learn how to use the parent controls on your kids’ devices and set age-appropriate limits.

✅ Have certain times or spaces that are always screen free, for example around the dinner table, in the bedrooms and so on, and be sure to be consistent. 

✅ Create a buy-in for the kids by letting them help plan screen free activities for the whole family.

What’s your biggest obstacle when it comes to keeping screen time under control?
________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #screenfreesunday #friluftsliv #outdoors #greentime
That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This qu That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This quote is from Meet the Wild, a new picture book by Lindsay Kellar-Madsen of @the.madsen.littles. Inspired by the outdoor learning and play culture in Scandinavia, Lindsay wrote the book to invite children to explore nature all year round, regardless of the weather. 
I personally love the message and sweet illustrations in this book❤️ If you have a little one in your life, you can buy the book by backing Lindsay’s Kickstarter campaign. Check out her Instagram for details!
_________________________
#meetthewild #picturebook #outdoorplay
📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚 A few y 📚📚📚Book Cover Reveal📚📚📚

A few years ago, I did a poll in my social media channels to see what topic you’d like me to explore in my next book. One of them won by an overwhelming margin: the Nordic outdoor tradition friluftsliv. Well, I heeded your call. I’m pleased to share that it’s now possible to pre-order The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day from just about any place that sells books! (Link in bio)

The Open-Air Life is for anybody who is longing to lead a simpler, happier and less hurried life. It shows you how to channel the power of nature connection to improve your physical and mental health, as well as your relationships with both other people and Mother Nature. Plus, you’ll learn a few party tricks, like lighting a campfire without matches and cleaning water on the go. At a time when more and more people are starting to appreciate why they should spend more time outside, this book will show you how, with a decidedly Nordic twist.

I must say that I LOVE this dreamy cover that the designers at @penguinrandomhouse created. What do you think? 

@tarcherperigee @penguinrandomhouse

#theopenairlife #rainorshinemamma #coverreveal #bookcover #friluftsliv #friluftslivbook
I took my kids on an overnight paddling trip last I took my kids on an overnight paddling trip last weekend and it started out with sunshine and rainbows☀️🌈 Swipe to the last video to see how it ended➡️ 

We had set out to explore the northernmost island in our local lake and while we cruised up there with decent tailwinds, the wind picked up overnight. Going back the next day, we faced strong headwinds the entire time🌊 

For nearly three hours, we paddled in choppy waters, with waves sometimes so high that they splashed into the canoe. We had no choice but to paddle nonstop - if we stopped, we immediately started drifting backwards😩

The thing about being outdoors is that you’re never fully in control of all parameters - trips like these always involve a certain amount of risk. The weather can change quickly, and not always according to the forecast. What we can control is our reaction to the challenge, how we act on it and what we learn from it.

While none of us was happy about the situation, the girls did pull together and did an amazing job paddling💪🏻 And while they both vowed to never go paddling again, I told them that this will make a funny story later in life. They weren’t convinced at the time but I think they’ll come around eventually😅 

Do you have any stories of getting in over your head to share?😃
_____________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #openairlife #paddling #paddlingwithkids
Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know tha Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know that’s a spider emoji, but you get the idea😅) 

A lot of people freak out at the sight of these blood suckers and understandably so, considering the diseases they can harbor. But they too are a part of nature and if we want to keep venturing outside during the warmer months (I definitely do and I suspect you do too) we must come to terms with them.

If you want to know more about tick prevention, I just wrote a pretty detailed post about it on my blog. Head over to rainorshinemamma.com to learn and share this post with others who worry about ticks!👌🏻
________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #ticks #tickprevention
I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal me I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal meeting, yes, but still…I take pride in being dependable and prompt, and I hate to be flakey. 

I’d like to think that it was because I got distracted when my daughter called from my mom’s house and said she was running a fever, but in reality I got sidetracked well before that. Weekends are my time to zone out from schedules, emails and social media, and spend more time outside, especially this time of the year. 

So I missed a meeting. But I gained a quiet paddle through pastel waters as the sun slowly descended below the spruces on the horizon. An hour to myself to just be one with the lake, the light and the promise of the summer that still lies ahead☀️
__________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #sup #standuppaddle #sweden #sweden_photolovers #sweden_images
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wiet This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wietinghannah, you’re our winner!🎊

📚📚📚GIVEAWAY📚📚📚

Have you heard the term "ecohappiness"? If not, this is your chance to learn more! 

Author Sandi Schwartz and I have teamed up to give away a copy of her book "Finding Ecohappiness," an inspirational manifesto and practical guidebook for families to get outside and enjoy nature together. Packed with ideas for outdoor activities like animal yoga, forest bathing, sit spotting, float therapy and nature art, this book is definitely one to add to your collection📕 

How to enter👇🏼
✅ Like and save this post
✅ Follow @rainorshinemamma and @getecohappiness 
✅ Comment by completing this sentence: "To me, being in nature is..."

This giveaway closes on June 4 and a winner will be selected shortly after that. You must be 18 and live in the US or Canada to enter. This giveaway is not associated with or sponsored by Instagram. 

Good luck!🙌🏽

#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #ecohappiness #findingecohappiness #naturebooks #goodreads #naturelovers #ecotherapy #getkidsoutside
Having scientific reasons and explanations for doi Having scientific reasons and explanations for doing things is good and there are any number of ways free climbing benefits our physical and mental health. But sometimes you’ve just got to trust your guts, feel all the feelings and enjoy the joyride🙌🏻🌳

What makes you feel joy in nature?
____________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #treeclimbing #onewithnature #vitaminn #friluftsliv #optoutside
I’m not going to lie - there are times when my c I’m not going to lie - there are times when my children’s dawdling drives me nuts. Like when they take 45 minutes to finish breakfast even though we’re running late . But I also envy their ability to be completely unhurried and present in the moment, and I realize that it’s a quality that I need to protect🐌

As parents, we need to make space for our children to play, get bored, dawdle, wander, wonder, create, sleep in, be wild and free and watch the clouds go by. Let them be where they are and not push them to achieve arbitrary milestones or condition them to think that a packed calendar is the key to success and happiness.

As always, Ginny of @1000hoursoutside is on point🙌🏻
_____________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #1000hoursoutside #quote
Did you know that camping for as little as two nig Did you know that camping for as little as two nights straight can help you reset your circadian rhythms and improve your sleep for several weeks afterwards? That's because the natural light helps the body regulate melatonin, a hormone that tells the body when it's time to get up and go, and when it's time to rest and recuperate🌗 

My melatonin levels weren't top of mind when @jeanetteosterman and I started our challenge to sleep outside at least once a month for a year. But I must say, I rarely sleep as soundly and feel as energetic as I do when I sleep under the skies.

Have you ever tried sleeping in a camping hammock? I bought my first one a few years ago and I ❤️ it!
_________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #openairlife #sleepingoutside #camping #campinglife #hammock #sleepingoutsidechallenge #freshaireveryday
Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and fe Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and feel like you're constantly negotiating/fighting/fretting over your child's screen time👋🏼 

Well, you're not alone😰 

Since 2011, when mobile internet had its breakthrough, teens' and tweens' screen time has increased dramatically. At the same time, physical activity has decreased significantly. The WHO recommends that teenagers get at least one hour of physical activity every day, but in reality 85% of the girls and 78% of the boys globally don't meet the target.

Making outdoor activity a normal part of your daily routine can help  your tween or teen get the exercise and fresh air they need  and lay the foundation for lifelong healthy habits. I'm the first to admit that it isn't easy, but then again, nobody said parenting would be a cakewalk🤪

Hang in there and check out a few of the strategies that help me balance screen time with 'green time'. Do you have any tips to share?
______________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #parenting #parentingteens #parentingtweens #getoutside
“I’m not thrilled about looking older. But wha “I’m not thrilled about looking older. But what unsettles me the most about the 40s is the implication that I’m now a grown-up myself.”
- Pamela Druckerman

Forty-four laps around the sun today and I still find that the passing of time is one of life’s greatest mysteries.
_______________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #aging #44 
@pameladruck
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