Children today spend more time indoors than ever before, and the consequences are showing up in their development. Pediatric occupational therapist Rebekah Highlander says she has seen the impact firsthand in mental and physical health declines.
That realization led Highlander to TimberNook, a nature-based program for children that promotes child-led outdoor play as a foundation for development. The program was founded by another pediatric occupational therapist, Angela Hanscom, author “Balanced and Barefoot.”
“She saw that there were challenges in her kids’ lives and the lives of the kids she was serving, and that the outdoor environment was a wonderful facilitator of growth and development,” Highlander explained. Considering the indoor era of PlayStations, televisions, and computer screens, Hanscom wrote, “This deep decline in outdoor play concurrent with an increase in sedentary behaviors negatively affects children’s development and overall health.”
Highlander agrees. Today she runs TimberNook Loudoun County and weaves its child-centered philosophy into her therapy practice, True Life Connection. “Being outdoors gives a child a sense of something bigger than themselves,” she said. “The outdoors provides the perfect balance of sensory information our body needs to organize information and calm ourselves. That prepares our brains for engagement in new or challenging tasks. When kids are outside and they're down-regulated, the front part of their brain—the part that works on cognitive function and problem solving—can kick in and work better because they're not overwhelmed by sensory information.”
Play the TimberNook Way
“The TimberNook way is child-directed outdoor play,” Highlander said. “The key principles are giving kids extended time outside, giving kids space from adult expectations, using the environment as a facilitator for child development, utilizing ‘loose parts’ with multiple affordances—which are the amount of possibilities a toll or toy provides—and allowing children to work through natural consequences.”
Loose parts might be logs, stones, or sticks—open-ended materials that invite creativity, cooperation, and problem-solving. In Highlander’s view, outdoor environments offer more than fresh air; they support real developmental work.
“One kid found this really large, long but thin stick, and he tried to pick it up on his own, and he couldn't,” Highlander recalled. “So he asked someone else to help him. They started playing tug of war, and then it became a new game they created. Then other people saw what they were doing, they discussed who’s on what side. They were listening and getting sensory input through their hands. They were getting social interaction, gross motor skills, fine motor skills—they're getting so much.
“When you're outside, you don't get the over-stimulation to the sensory system,” she added. “You also don't get the under stimulation where your body’s constantly seeking that information.”
Who Is TimberNook For?
“TimberNook is for every kid,” Highlander said. Her programs include children with developmental delays as well as those in the general public. “We get to watch how those kids work through things and interact together and learn together, and it's really beautiful.”
TimberNook Loudoun County serves kids aged 4 to 13 and offers
· Summer camps: July 14-18 and July 28-Aug. 1 The day camps are 4–6 hours daily, five days a week, and cost $340 for the full week.
· Year-round weekend programs: 3.5 hours over two days, $85 per session.
Through her True Life Connections program, Highlander also offers one-on-one therapy in nature-based sessions with customized goals.
Tips for Encouraging Outdoor Play
“There are statistics that say kids used to spend four to six hours daily in outdoor play, and now our eight- to 12-year-olds are spending that amount of time on their screens,” Highlander said. “When you think about the benefits of the type of outdoor play I’ve been talking about, when kids aren’t giving their brains and bodies that information, their brains don’t reach their maximum capacity for growth and development, and they don’t reach their full potential.”
For that reason, Highlander suggests that parents advocate for more outdoor recess time for their schoolkids.
Getting kids outside doesn’t have to be complicated. You can find a variety of free and paid online resources that allow you to track time outside, and HeadStart.gov also has information about nature-based learning and outdoor play and exploration, including the publication Nature Clubs for Families that you can use at home.
Highlander encourages parents to overcome their own fears to allow children to explore with some independence. “Age-appropriate independence now equals safer children later,” she said. “Even if it makes your heart feel a little fluttery.”
She also suggests providing some loose parts for kids to include in their play. “You don’t have to create lots of sensory tables or sandboxes or things you see on Pinterest,” she said. “Just provide some bricks, small tires, safe boards, and some sheets and see where that takes them.”
But don’t be afraid to just let kids be bored, too, Highlander noted. “You don't have to constantly be putting some entertainment in front of them,” she said. “Boredom sparks creativity.”
Learn more about TimberNook Loudoun County at timbernook.com/timbernook-locations.
The Great Outdoors
Outdoor play in natural settings can support
· Gross motor skills
· Fine motor skills
· Cognitive skills
· Social skills
Having space to work out ideas also can inspire creativity, a sense of wellbeing, and cooperation.
“Being outdoors gives a child a sense of something bigger than themselves," says TimberNook Loudoun's Rebekah Highlander