The magic of an authentic childhood comes from the wonder of the experiences, not the walls they take place in. The best classrooms are fields, forests, and slides climbed from the “wrong” side.

In this joyful chat on Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler and Kisha Reid are talking all about the spirit of authentic play. Where children lead, adults listen, and the magic of discovery unfolds in every muddy footprint.

Kisha, founder of Discovery Natural Learning Center and Play, has spent 30 years helping children grow through connection, curiosity, and courage. From her home base on a 300-acre retreat center, she invites kids, and the adults watching them, to rediscover what childhood can be: full of risk, laughter, and endless “what ifs.” 

Together, she and Rusty explore how educators can nurture real play anywhere, whether on acres of open land or in a small patch of yard.

Listeners will hear how Kisha builds trust through observation and relationship, how she works with licensing to defend risky play, and how true learning happens when we stop hovering and start believing.

Top 3 Takeaways from Episode 18 with Kisha Reid:

Links:

discoverynaturallearning.com

@discoverynaturallearningcenter on Facebook

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

Even if everything’s broken, that doesn’t mean the play is over! And that’s the beauty of it. It’s not destruction, it’s deep learning. When we let kids take things apart, we’re helping  them put the world together in their own way.

This episode of the Play Nature Podcast is the second half of Rusty’s conversation with Teacher Tom Hobson. Listeners will get immersed into the world of junkyard playgrounds, loose parts, and freedom-filled learning. 

Together Rusty and Tom explore how children learn by taking things apart, testing limits, and transforming “trash” into treasure. It’s a celebration of curiosity, connection, and creativity, the kind that grows from hands-on discovery and messy, marvelous play.

Tom shares stories from his playground, a place full of wood scraps, traffic cones, trophies, and treasures. This is where kids explore, build, break, and begin again. He reminds us that every stick was once a branch, every rock once part of a mountain, and every loose part is an invitation to create. 

Top 3 Takeaways from part 2 with Teacher Tom:

So, say yes to the broken, the wobbly, the weathered, and the wild. Gather your scraps and start your own version of a junkyard playground. Let the children move, stack, glue, and build their dreams. Because when we trust them with freedom, they find wonder in every why, and see beauty in the broken toys.

Links:

teachertomsworld.com

Teacher's Tom's FREE Resource for Play-Based Settings

Connect with Tom @theteachertom on Facebook | on Instagram | on X |  @thomsas-hobson on LinkedIn

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

Remember the feeling of running outside barefoot, pockets full of Band-Aids, heart full of imagination? That’s where this episode begins. Rusty sits down with the legendary “Teacher Tom” - Tom Hobson to talk about the golden age of play, when kids roamed free, built their own worlds, and learned through scraped knees, laughter, and discovery. 

Together they ask: What happens when adults step back? What do kids gain when they’re trusted to lead? How do we bring back the magic of self-directed play?

In this first part of their joyful two-part conversation, Teacher Tom shares how he built a “junk playground”. It’s a wonderland of wood chips, sand hills, and hammers. It is where where children create, experiment, and cooperate. 

You’ll hear stories of turning asphalt into a woodland, adding workbenches and saws for preschoolers, and transforming a church yard into a living classroom full of freedom, risk, and delight. 

Top 3 Takeaways from part 1 with Teacher Tom:

Thanks for joining Rusty & Tom for this peek inside a co-op school where parents become play allies, not play police. This is part one of a two-episode journey into play, purpose, and the power of saying yes. Make sure to come back for part two!

Links:

teachertomsworld.com

Teacher's Tom's FREE Resource for Play-Based Settings

Connect with Tom @theteachertom on Facebook | on Instagram | on X |  @thomsas-hobson on LinkedIn

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

The leaves are turning. The ducks are splashing. The creek runs low. Fall is here! Do you feel it in the air? Can you see it in the trees? Can you smell it in the crisp breeze? 

This episode of the Play Nature Podcast invites you to pause, marvel, and jump right into the season with joy and curiosity. Host Rusty Keeler takes us creek-side to share top tips for fall nature play: sit spots that slow us down, planting trees and bulbs for seasonal surprise, straw bales for forts and circles, and leaf piles that spark instant delight. 

Rusty is also inviting you all to participate in by National Play Day coming up on September 20th. He has a quick interview with Pat Rumbaugh who shares how her Play Day is a great example of Dreaming Big, but Starting Small.

It’s a playful celebration of autumn’s abundance and a reminder to dream big, start small, and never stop.

Links:

letsplayamerica.org

ipausa.org

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Share this episode, rate and review the show, and email Rusty! [email protected]

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

We’re here to let you in on a little secret. Strong, confident kids don’t come from a classroom. They are created outdoors! Play is the work of childhood, the language of imagination, and the foundation for lifelong skills. Yet too many children spend their days sitting still. 

Why does this matter? 

Because movement, messy play, and nature aren’t just fun—they’re essential for healthy development. In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, Rusty chats with Angela Hanscom—pediatric occupational therapist, founder of TimberNook, and author of Balanced and Barefoot. 

Angela is on a mission to restore real, unstructured play to kids’ lives. She shares why outdoor play is more than recreation—it’s therapy in disguise—and how TimberNook grew from a simple idea to a global movement.

Top Takeaways from Angela Hanscom as she developed TimberNook:

Links:

timbernook.com

@timbernook_global on Instagram

@TimberNook.Camps on Facebook

Barefoot and Balanced by Angela J. Hanscom

The Real Reason Why Kids Fidget by Angela Hanscom (HuffPost article)

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

Play isn’t just the giggles and games—it’s a protective shield for growing hearts and minds. When kids lose play, they lose more than fun. 

In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast, Rusty Keeler goes deeper into why children are more anxious and less joyful, and what we can do to turn the tide.

Rusty welcomes back Dr. Peter Gray, our favorite play professor and champion of childhood freedom. This time, they dig into what’s really behind the rise in kids’ anxiety and depression—and no, it’s not just the phones. 

Peter points to the pressure cooker of modern education, where rigid standards and endless testing are crowding out curiosity, movement, and joy.

Top three takeaways for part 2 with Peter Gray

Watch Rusty and Peter talk about the playfulness of a Sudbury School on Rusty's Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrtiVT1JDMQ

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

Play is serious stuff. It’s how kids make sense of the world, grow their brains, build friendships, and show us their natural brilliance. When we step back and let play lead, magic happens. 

In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, we’re celebrating the joy, wisdom, and wildness of children’s play, just as it is. Host Rusty Keeler sits down with Deb Curtis, a longtime champion of childhood and co-author of The Art of Awareness. With stories straight from the classroom and a heart full of curiosity, Deb reminds us that children are already wired for empathy, fairness, and deep learning—no adult scripts required.

Here are three big takeaways from the conversation with Deb:

Make sure to check out the YouTube video where Deb and Rusty discuss pictures of toddler play and playscapes from Deb's program over the years: youtube.com/watch?v=O2BG239oqYs

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

Play is not just fun—it’s essential. It’s how children explore, create, stumble, and soar. It’s how they learn to be brave, solve problems, and build their world. 

In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast, we dig into the deep roots of play and why letting kids run wild (in a good way!) may be the most important thing we do for their growing brains.

Rusty is joined by Dr. Peter Gray—play researcher, freedom fighter, and author of Free to Learn. Peter is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College, but he speaks fluent playground. He talks about what real play looks like, why it’s fading from childhood, and how that’s affecting kids everywhere. 

Spoiler: play isn’t optional. It’s nature’s secret weapon.

Top three takeaways from part one with Peter Gray:

Come back for part 2 with Peter Gray on an upcoming episode of the Play Nature Podcast! 

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

Ready to splash, dig, and grow your way through summer? What if a simple water fight could bring more joy than screen time? And who says adults don’t need nature-play too?

In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler with his feet in the creek, shares five favorite ways to get outside and feel the season. Think water play, plant love, melting ice, and loose parts. These aren't just kids' ideas—they’re for the whole family (yes, grown-ups included). There’s even a surprise bonus tip for the truly wild-hearted.

So gather your buckets, your sticks, and your curiosity. Whether you're growing basil or just growing memories, this episode will inspire you to turn off the screens and turn up the wonder. Dirt optional, joy guaranteed.

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

“We have really strong relationships with our children and our families, and that's what allows the adventures to come.” --Cameron Sprauge, Head of Nurseries-Stramash Social Enterprise

What if the secret to raising resilient, creative, confident kids was… play? Real play. Outdoors. With sticks, mud, and a whole lot of autonomy. 

In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast host Rusty Keeler and his guest get curious about how wild play spaces help children build skills for life—and why a scraped knee might just be part of the plan.

Meet Cameron Sprague: nature play champion, outdoor educator, and all-around muddy-booted legend. From the forests of Scotland to the joyful chaos of Stramash Outdoor Nurseries, Cameron shares stories from his journey into nature-based education. Together they 

Rusty and Cameron talk about planting trees, trusting children, building with pallets, embracing risk, and growing outdoor play from the ground up. They share visions for a world where children belong outside—rain or shine.

Top 3 muddy gems from Episode 9:

Catch the conversation where Cameron and I look at some pictures of his original "field of dreams" on my YouTube channel @rustykeeler: youtube.com/watch?v=n0UFbz8Or-4

Links and Resources:

Balance and Barefoot by Angela J. Hanscom

Follow Cameron @cameronsprague on Facebook &  X | @Cameronsprague02 on IG

Puddle Patter with Stramash Outdoor Nurseries on Spotify

vimeo.com/stramashoutdoor

ISO 4980:2023(en)

Benefit-risk assessment for sports and recreational facilities, activities and equipment

20 Ways to Create Outdoor Play Environments for the Soul

Rusty’s Nature Play Design Masterclass

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide