"Spinning too fast on the merry-go-round and flying too high on the swings" are healthy for children, according to Angela Hanscom, an occupational therapist and mother of three. She founded TimberNook to give children the opportunity to play outdoors in the woods.
"Kids need to spin in circles," she tells Karen D'Souza, an EdSource reporter. "They need to go upside down because inside the inner ear are these little hair cells, and when we move in rapid ways, the fluid in the ears moves back and forth, stimulating those hair cells and developing what we call the vestibular sense."
TimberNook is in 10 schools now, says Hanscom. One private school in New Hampshire started two hours a week of "TimberNook times," increased it to four hours and "took their half an hour of recess and went to an hour, on top of their four hours of TimberNook time." Academic learning improved, even during the pandemic. "The headmaster said, we’re seeing joy, we’re seeing kids more resilient, stronger, able to figure out their own problems."
Some educators feel there isn't enough time in the school day for free play, and some parents fear their children need to start playing sports at a very early age, says Hanscom. Children are overscheduled in organized activities, leaving little time to play on their own. In addition, "screen time . . . is replacing a lot of good old-fashioned playtime. The kind where children are digging in the dirt for hours, rolling down hills, developing the muscles and senses for healthy child development."
Hanscom is the author of Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children.
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