Episode 121: Developing the 7 Senses Through Outdoor Play with Jena-Ponti-Jauchius

Children  0:00  
We think you should know that Imperfect Heroes podcast is a production of Little Hearts Academy USA.

DJ Stutz  0:09  
Welcome heroes and heroines to Episode 121 of Imperfect Heroes - Insights Into Parenting, the perfect podcast for imperfect parents looking to find joy in their experience of raising children in an imperfect world. And I'm your host DJ Stutz.

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So today we have this truly exceptional guest joining us. Her name is Jena-Ponti-Jauchius, who is an internationally recognized landscape architect and a nature play expert. And for over two days, Jena has been designing nature based play learning and therapeutic environments for children of all abilities and diversities. And she's not only a designer, but she's also a dedicated teacher who educates early childhood professionals, other educators and parents on creating sensory rich natural play and learning spaces to nurture young minds, bodies and spirits. And in today's episode, we go on a journey through the world of the seven senses. Oh yeah, you heard me right. Seven senses. She shares a wealth of insights and practical tips for parents helping them harness the power of the great outdoors to inspire their kids and support their holistic development. And we explore how children can develop all seven of those senses as they grow and learn in their natural environment. And that's not all, Jena has a fantastic free gift for our audience. So be sure to check out the end of the episode to get in on the PDF download that she is generously offering to help you on your parenting journey. So whether you're a seasoned pro, or brand new parent, this episode is bound to provide valuable wisdom and inspiration for you. Let's dive into the world of nature play and sensory development with Jena-Ponti-Jauchius. There's so much to learn. So let's get started. 

Welcome, everyone. And thank you for joining us at Imperfect Heroes podcast. And if you are listening to us on the podcast, I want to let you know that we are also live with the video on YouTube. And we also post it on Rumble. So on Rumble the channel is Imperfect Heroes on YouTube, it's Little Hearts Academy, USA. And that's my business side of things. And so you can always find lots of information there. And so I hope that you'll take a minute to hit the Follow button, like button, leave a comment, all the things and we can reach more families and more parents that way. And so I hope that you'll think about that and see our beautiful faces as we talk about a great topic and it's something that I have always felt very strongly about is that children learn so much outside. And in fact, I would take my classes outside every chance I got and we'd find a little place away from the playground, you know, which is being used pretty much all day. But we could find different grass places that the furlough school site at school and investigate and learn and even just breathing the story. Outside is so enchanting and exciting and the kids really love the experience. So today I have with me, she is an expert. She is amazing. And her name is Jena-Ponti-Jauchius.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  5:14  
That's right, yeah, just thought

DJ Stutz  5:15  
about it. And I'm like. But anyway, Jena is an expert at creating sensory rich outdoor spaces. And the thing for us to remember is, it's not just for schools, it's not just teachers who need to do that. Parents, please take whatever you have, whether it's a balcony on an apartment, or public area at a complex, or your own backyard, and look at the things that you can do to make that more enriching, and engaging and inviting for our kids. So Janet, it's so good to see you talk to us a little bit about what you do. Yeah,

Jena Ponti Jauchius  5:54  
Well, first of all, thanks for having me, DJ, I just, I'm so honored to be here having a conversation with you. So your audience knows, my background is I'm a landscape architect, and nature play expert. And for 23 years now, I've been designing children's outdoor play learning and therapeutic environments. And just in the last, probably four years, I've shifted gears. So now, rather than doing just design work, I actually teach folks whether they're early childhood professionals, educators, or parents how to create sensory rich, natural play and learning environments, wherever they are, kids are so at home right at school, that their learning center wherever it is, yeah. And so I really come at things from a sensory approach, because that is really getting down to the foundational level of how kids experience the world, and how they learn and how they play, and how they connect, whether it's with you, or they're adults connecting with their peers and siblings connecting with nature and connecting with themselves. Yeah,

DJ Stutz  7:00  
yes, absolutely. They start learning about their place in the world, when they go out into the world. And they're not doing it all VR on screens or whatever, you're actually participating. And that's the best place for them to learn. I feel like you should have a show like on HGTV or Magnolia or one of those and outdoors faces or Yes, please. Yeah, wouldn't that be great, but I think there's anything out that that's really addressing that. And then the sensors connecting it to our sensors, and the sensors that we have. And you talked about something about there are seven senses. And so why don't you talk to us a little bit about that?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  7:42  
Yeah, so people always think or tend to think that kind of starts and stops at the classic five senses, right? sight, touch, smell, and sound. And we are so familiar with those. But there are actually more physical senses that we all have that children have that are equally important in our ability to navigate our environments and to thrive in our daily lives. And so there are two more than addition to those five, there are two more that I always talk about. And one is our vestibular system. And that is located in our inner ear. And it has to do with where our understanding where we're at relative to gravity. So are we upside down? Are we right side up, or are we sideways. And so for kids, activities that stimulate the vestibular system are like swinging or spinning, rolling, running, walking, crawling all of those big movement climbing, balancing those big movement activities, where they're really kind of testing where they are relative to the gravitational pull. And it's really important for kids to get the right type of vestibular stimulation and the right intensity, because they all need different levels. And I can talk about that in a minute. Because it helps give kids a number of things, including good body confidence so that they can move in all these big and different ways. And then the seventh system I talk about is our proprioceptive system or proprioception, it's a big word. This one's really fascinating. Because of the seven, it's the only one that's fully internal. It doesn't require any external outside information to have it work properly. And so this is our body awareness system where it tells us where like our limbs are at relative to our core or the rest of us, or where our bodies are at relative to the things around us. And so for a child, this might mean you know, a school aged child, they're going into their school, they're walking the hallways, they're navigating turning corners, going into the classroom walking around the different desks to find their seat and sit down. That is driven by their proprioceptive system. The other thing it has to do with is the use of force or pressure to do an activity. And so like coloring with a crayon, you have to use a certain amount of force. If you use too much, it's gonna break. And so the example I give there is I'm thirsty, there's a paper cup of water in front of me. And so it's my proprioceptive system, my brain that communicates to my joints and ligaments and muscles all the way down to my fingertips, how much pressure my fingers need to pick up that paper, cup of water without splashing, or without a lot of follow through my fingers. And so proprioceptive activities can be really ranging from big body movements, climbing, balancing, hopping those sorts of things, to smaller movements, like using garden tools, or tying your shoes or even pushing a wheelbarrow pulling a wagon sort of thing. So there's a lot of activities that are playing learning based that can really give kids lots of stimulation and information and input that will really feed all seven sensory systems, which in turn, very importantly, balances their nervous system.

DJ Stutz  10:59  
That is so amazing. And so now I start thinking back on, I knew more about without the words, so your connection with gravity, and how your body moves. It's what makes us dizzy when we spend, right. It's and it's what helps us to have that sense of writing ourselves. And, and then it gives us confidence, I think when we feel confident that we know exactly where we are and how we fit in. And so we're not falling constantly. Yeah, right. And the other one, though, I think about you mentioned crayons, because we used to teach that in kindergarten, so much crayons are fantastic parents, but it's hard to get off the wall. But so use the right paint, but But you they can learn in kindergarten, if you do a crown very lightly, it's a lighter color. But if you want a darker shade, you can put more pressure on it, and you get a push, you don't want enough that it's going to break. And so you're teaching them all these different levels. And there's all different levels of pressure. Right? Absolutely. You can use for that. Yeah, so that is amazing. And so when they're looking at our outdoor areas, right? We want to look at each sense, all seven? And how are they going to address those? So what are some of the things that you do as you're looking at an area? Let's take a really small area, because some people live maybe in an apartment, and all they got is a balcony? Yeah. So what are some things that we can do there?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  12:43  
Okay, well, so what I would tell parents who are working with a balcony space is, since the space is so small, you're going to be really intentional about what experiences and activities you're going to provide for them. And so you want it to be as irresistible as possible, right? Get them off their screens, get them outside. And so you really have to look at what do your kids love to do? What can they do and get lost in and spend hours focused on this thing? And then once you have that in mind, how can you bring that and make it suitable to an outdoor setting. So there are a lot of kids who really love to play with Legos, right? So loose parts play that sort of thing. It's really, adults who do too. Yeah, it's really easy to take something like that outside, you've got some bins, you've got some shelves, and just a comfortable place to sit and play, maybe you need to add a little shade to it. So that's something and you can create a natural loose parts kit, you don't have to use Legos and Matchbox cars, you can collect branches and stones and leaves and feathers and flowers and seed pods and whatever it is when you're out on a walk. Or if you're at the beach, just collect a few loose parts, right natural materials that the kids can then have their own loose parts kit at home and use it outside. And then it's a whole different sensory experience than using plastic or other manufacturing toys. It gives them a it's more it's multisensory, loose parts can hit all seven senses, especially so the one it may not hit might be taste, but hey, you know, kids like to taste most things. So I always throw that one

DJ Stutz  14:20  
like that pine cone. And they do. They do? They do? Yeah,

Jena Ponti Jauchius  14:27  
they want to, they want to see what a rock looks like what they're gonna they're gonna like it right. So right. It's all seven senses. And so really with something that's very simple and very inexpensive. You can feed your child's nervous system in really profound ways. And so that would be one example for a balcony situation. But I would say no matter what space you're working in, you want to start with what your kids love to do, and translate that to making it suitable for outdoor situations.

DJ Stutz  14:56  
Right. So there's so many things that You can do and I'll tell you that I'm also certified to be a director of a large childcare. And you can always sort of forget all certify for that, you know, that's one of the things is that and even in kindergarten, we were required to have nature a slave bins. And so we had to have bins with feathers and rocks and pine cones and branches or sticks or whatever. And so if you are a parent, and you are maybe considering a childcare center, that's one of the things you can look at is how do you bring that into the classroom? And then how do you spend your outside time?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  15:40  
Yeah, yep, yeah. And sensory bins are amazing. They're good for all kids. But they're particularly useful for kids experiencing neurodiversity. Like a child who might have tactile defensiveness, maybe they don't like to touch a lot of things or, like the tag on their shirt really bugs them. And so they're really hesitant and uncomfortable about touching new things. And so something like a sensory bin can allow them to explore, you can put in the things that you know, they like to interact with, but then add a few things that push the boundaries and push that comfort bubble for them to try and touch new, because the world is full of things that may be uncomfortable. And so if they can develop some of those coping skills, and learn to expand their comfort zones, and that sort of thing, it's just going to help them in their daily life. And as they grow up into adults.

DJ Stutz  16:31  
Yeah. So I have a grandson that is the high level of the spectrum. He's, he can make friends and stuff, but they'll have friends over playing and he'll be off in the dirt line in the dirt. So his sensory is that dirt piece, right? Yeah, just the funniest thing. You'll see his friends on one side of the backyard playing and they're still lying in the dirt. Just having a good time. I think you're so right in understanding what brings them joy, what calms them down, what engages them all of those pieces, and then incorporating that into whatever it is that you have to Yeah, yeah, absolutely not allowing that. I know some parents like to see their son line in the dirt and just like yes, he's seven year old boy, and he gets to get dirty.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  17:22  
That's right. And yeah, Have you have you heard of the concept of grounding or earthing? Talk to me about that. So I've known about this for a long time, I just finished a really fascinating book written by a cardiologist called grounding. And so the Earth has a frequency and it gives off energy. And so way as electrical beings will pick up the energy and basically the earth will recharge us by Bare feet on the ground or laying on the ground, sitting on the ground or leaning against a tree, we actually take in the Earth's energy and it recharges our system. And it's actually the fastest way to balance one's nervous system. And that might be what he's done. That might be what he's doing. It just feels good. It does.

DJ Stutz  18:05  
They live close to Lake Tahoe. They're in Reno and South Korea. So they're up at Lake Tahoe several times a week. And that's him. He's the one that's digging down and feeling the warmth of the sand. He'll talk about that that warm sense. Do you need a blanket buddy? No, I'm just playing on it. And so yeah, I think being aware of that, and then not stopping our children from doing those activities that are going to help them with their balance and their spatial awareness. How close the mind to this person or that desk or whatever it is. That takes them to reaching out challenging themselves. I've seen parents who their kindergartener is walking along out in the parking lot, you know, and you know, you have those cement. Oh, stops or stops. Yeah. And the kids will be walking along on that, you know, doing their balance thing. I'm thinking Yeah, buddy. And they're like, Oh, you're gonna fall cut off there. Yeah. Yeah, please. Don't try to trace. Oh,

Jena Ponti Jauchius  19:14  
that's one of my favorite things.

DJ Stutz  19:15  
I know. I know. I mean, even as all the fat go out to my grandkids place. My son has his beautiful pine tree that was just awesome for climbing. It's just got these perfectly spaced branches. And the kids will get like 2025 feet up in the air. I mean, really high and they're like Nate and Tom, my grandkids call me Naina. And so yeah, I'll sign up with them and my sounds like you're gonna kill yourself. Hopefully. What a way to go.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  19:49  
Oh, my goodness. It feels good to take those sorts of risks. Right? Yeah, yeah. And they need to thank you. They need to the world and be a very challenging place and requires all of us to engage with it at different levels throughout our lives. And if kids can really be given the gift of the time and the opportunity and the space to really challenge themselves and to take what they see as risk, that's giving them a huge gift, now and into adulthood, and they definitely aren't with the mentality our society is in now, they definitely don't get a fraction of the risk taking opportunities. Because you know, and children naturally will kind of tailor their perceived sense of risk, they might tone it down based on what they are perceiving. There are yes, those kids that will always find the highest thing to jump off of, right? Always. Yep. But for the most part, most kids will really tailor their, what's the word I'm looking for? Just what they choose to do, based on how risky they see the environment. And so, right, it's really good to allow them to really challenge themselves mentally, emotionally, socially, physically. So important.

DJ Stutz  21:02  
I agree. At the last school I taught before I retired, we had our playground, and then there was a grass area. So the school fields were at a kind of a higher level, but it was a sloping, it wasn't a steep, it was a sloping thing. And the kindergarteners loved going out there and just rolling down that hill. And so the two other teachers that I worked with, they were like, Oh, they're gonna get dirty, they turn and I'm what you turn into a grass monster. That's amazing. I don't know if it saved me all worried, and the kids would get up and they'd be a little like, Woohoo. I'm like, can you do that again? Yeah. And so I think giving them those what do you have an inclined area that they can roll down? And if it's not with grass on it, what are some things you can roll down and get the ball down and see how far it'll go? Or whatever. But you're there learning all of those seven senses when they're out there? And so, yeah, I just love that. So parents, like kids take some risks, you know, and a boo boo here and there is okay. Yeah. Yeah. What are four?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  22:12  
What are the little ways that you can start saying yes to their activities? And instead of saying, no, no, no, don't do that. They're saying, yes. What are the like, expand your comfort zone? We were just talking about comfort zones? How can you expand on it'll benefit your kids?

DJ Stutz  22:26  
You're so right, you're so right. Okay, so let's move on. Let's say you live in a apartment, but maybe you have a park close by, so you're not the one designing it. But you're going to look at it, and maybe see what opportunities are there at the park that you can take advantage of? Do you have any advice for us there?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  22:48  
Most parks offer quite a bit for the seven senses, grass for running and rolling and, you know, trees shade, you know, that's a shady place to have a picnic. You know, there's always a playground, I've the traditional American playgrounds are really lacking for like a full sensory experience and extremely lacking for natural pneus. So I would say use those as kind of a tool to fill in some of those gaps. Like, you know, the swings and that sort of thing. We definitely want kids to be swinging and doing those things as much as possible. They're great for climbing. But maybe they're an area that has some boulders that they could play around on maybe there's some Yeah, plantings that they can interact with, and you know, smell some of the flowers or whatever. So yeah, I mean, it's, it's really about looking through a different lens, when you're looking at your children's daily environments and looking through that sensory lens. And you really start to see value that isn't there on the surface, you know, when what first meets the eye, when you really start looking and watching your kids interact with their environments, you will start to appreciate the sensory value, the multi sensory value of any place that they're in. And you'll also likely start to notice where there might be gaps. And so if you see some gaps, how can you then fill it like an example might be a backyard space has a play structure and maybe a swing set, and some plantings, but there's no edible garden space. And if you don't want to do an edible garden space, which I think are one of the most brilliant play and learning features for kids, maybe at least put a picnic table out there so you can have meals outside. Yeah, so just you'll start to see, you'll start to notice what the gaps might be, especially if you're in tune because most parents are very in tune with their kids needs. You'll start to see what might be lacking in their daily experience when you think about each of the seven senses. Yeah, and

DJ Stutz  24:49  
that's so valuable and I love that you brought up the edible garden space too. I remember when my oldest daughter was just a little teeny weeny and we just outside a quarter Lena Get up oh, by. Oh, very hard. Well, my son, we were in Post Falls. And my son was born at that quarter Lane BootMii County. And anyway, it was very forested, of course, and, and all of that. And we had a strawberry patch that was kind of behind the grass area when went out there, and she's just covered in red. And she's like, 18 months old, you know, but we've let her out. And if, which is what you did back then, and we still did, but she was just covered in red, and she'd eaten probably most of the strawberries. Yeah, yeah, we had some interesting bathroom experiences after that. But the thing was, we had a neighbor and the neighbors weren't that close together. But we weren't that far either. Not city close, but she was she'd gone through those. The next week. She was over in the neighbor's yard eat all their stuff.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  25:59  
You know, by their smell. Yeah.

DJ Stutz  26:01  
Yeah. But she was willing to try. And she was like a great eater, though, generally, because she had that adventurous spirit engaged by that opportunity to eat things that were outside, you know, our green beans eaten, and our peas and stuff. And I didn't get after her for that. Well, we have to talk about you know that she's only 18 months old. So we like, no, no, that's Laura's yard. And they were very cool about it. But but having that sense of adventure. Yeah. And especially with food. You know what I mean? Yeah. So she was just a great eater growing up. And that I think was a big part of that. And understanding how joy comes from nature. And not so much of the sugar stuff. Yes. Her adventure. Wasn't the candy as much as it was going out. And yeah, grazing. Yeah, grazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So what a fun thing. So I would really encourage our parents to if you have a chance, and even if you're on a balcony, you could do tomato plant.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  27:04  
Oh, yeah. Church me out there. Yeah. I mean, new binding cucumber. Yeah. There's

DJ Stutz  27:11  
all kinds of opportunities that are out there. If you really sit down and look at what are the possibilities? Yeah, yeah. Right. I'm wondering about now maybe a average sized backyard. Now we're getting a little more space. Right. Yeah. And so that's when you start getting into the home swings that. I know. My mom never liked us to have a sandbox because of cats. Yeah. Yeah. But now the lovers you they do read or whatever. Yeah.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  27:42  
I've seen successful sandplay in those big round horse troughs. And then they just pop over. And they they use a couple of logs for steps to get up into it. But it's contained, they poke a few holes in it for drainage. And if it's when the child is done with sandplay, it can become a raised garden bed. Yeah, he loves

DJ Stutz  28:03  
or place for new chicks.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  28:07  
Or a big a big new sensor, like a huge sensory bin, maybe you pile some leaves in there. And, you know, that sort of thing. So yeah,

DJ Stutz  28:15  
yeah. All kinds of things. And so we're going to recycle things as our kids grow out of maybe that interest. Yes, the sandbox isn't the big deal anymore. So now we're gonna move it on to another useful purpose.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  28:29  
Yeah, yep. That's, that's tailored to them. So an example in my own garden, I've got a large yard, but I've made a corner of it into a kid's sensory garden. And we had a little mud kitchen area that I have. So I have eight year old twins now. And when the older twin was younger, she that she that was like she loved, that's what she loved to do. And now that she's a little older, and she's kind of getting away from maybe the the small kid, mud kitchen aesthetic. We've worked, we're transitioning this space, like the structures are still there, the water is still there. But we're moving the old accessories out and bringing in tools and making it a makerspace. And so it's just evolving. As my kids grow, and their developmental needs change and their interest change. It's so easy. And that's one of the concerns I hear from parents a lot is like, Well, my kids are only going to like this for a couple years. And then what do I do? Well, the beautiful thing about natural plane learning is that the space can grow with them and evolve with them. And it just sometimes is just a matter of changing out the accessories that you use, giving them to maybe a neighbor who's got young kids, and that sort of thing. That's beautiful, give and take and sharing. Sure. So yeah, that's it's so easy to have your outdoor space evolve with your kids.

DJ Stutz  29:44  
Exactly. Exactly. And as you go out there, and I think, well, I don't think I know that it's really important for your kids to have a long time outside without you hovering over them. So it's important for them to have that time But it's also important for them to have some time with you out there and engaging with them and watching them. Well, what are they playing with? What are they not playing with now, oh, that used to be the favorite, and they haven't touched it in over a week or two weeks, or whatever, you know, yeah. And so, as you get watching, you're going to notice those things as to what they're interested in, and how we can maneuver that water is a huge thing for kids. They dig it big time. Yeah, you can get a water table and have it outside, they've got some great ones for outside, what are some other ways that we can bring water into the environment for play,

Jena Ponti Jauchius  30:36  
I mean, the simplest is just a hose and a fun sprinkler or a watering can or a bucket, slip and slide sort of thing. I mean, you can do water play so easy. And if you don't have a space to dedicate to like a water table, or even a fountain, if you have a little bit older kids, then something just wear that hose and accessories or tools that they can play with the water in that space for the time and then maybe things get put away when not in use. So I would say that would be the easiest way. I've been talking with my girls about how we want to include water in our sensory garden. And we've talked about kind of a fountain scenario, granted, I have older kids, and you maybe wouldn't want to use a fountain for the younger kids, there's bird baths. Again, with the younger kids, you'd have to worry about them, maybe drinking the bird poop water. So you'd have to kind of think about that right for your space and your kids or not. So those are the choices that you have to make. But yeah, I would say that, you know, my kids are so happy with a hose and a couple different watering cans, they'll go on water, all the flowers, when their friends come over, that's what they want to do, too. And the water cans actually really beautiful illustration of proprioception. Because if you have a child who needs children with neurodiversity, he's tend to be hypersensitive or hypo sensitive in one or more senses at the same time. And so this would be an example of, you know, I would say, with kids, all kids, give them options for a range of intensity of sensory stimulation. So an example of using the watering can and proprioception would be, if you have a child who needs a lot of sensory of proprioceptive stimulation, they really want to use their muscles feel that water and can as much as they can hold as much as Yes. And that is giving their body a tremendous amount of information to go on. And if you have a child that gets too much, they're hypersensitive, they're getting too much stimulation already, they still want to use watering can maybe just feel a little bit and do it over and over again, so that they can just do a light version of that. And so that's just one of the ways to really not just have the sensory value of the space, but to really give depth and make it really tailored and appropriate for the kids that are in your care or for your own kids.

DJ Stutz  33:01  
Right. And I know when my kids were like, just when they were just starting to walk, if we're watering the lawn in the backyard, and it's a hot summer day, out, we'd go It didn't matter if we didn't have a pool, you know, you just go out in those sprinklers and run. I remember growing up in Los Angeles, so I'm the oldest of seven, and I have five brothers. And when my parents would water the lawn, we'd rush out that we play tag on it. And we had friends who had pools, we didn't have a pool. But you know, you couldn't always go to a friend's house to show on a hot day. Totally, we would just go and just lay games and stuff. And so I think that for all ages, there's a water sensory piece in even newborns when they're taking the bath. You know, and their bath experience. You can calm a very upset baby very often. Let's say it's 100%. But very often you can call him an upset baby with a nice warm bath. Right, you know, and soothing sounds and we're doing all this. Yeah, yeah. Another thing I think that is great for I'm sorry, I can't remember the name of it officially. But you know, the pressure thing?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  34:11  
Oh, proprioception pressures.

DJ Stutz  34:13  
There you are, one of the things that we would do is take tubes. And they could be PVC. They could be metal, they could be wood, whatever. And you drill holes and then hang them. Oh, another use you can use for a swingset that isn't getting used much anymore. Uh huh. And just hanging. And then the kids could learn how you know, they have mallets and, and if I'm touching hard or soft, or you know how I can make different sounds? Yeah, like the pressure that I'm using on that. And then it brings music outside as well. And yeah, creation and innovation and all those things. But that was a fun thing.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  34:52  
Yeah. So just to talk about that for a second and looking at that as a multi sensory play and learning features. So you've got sight and because it's a stroke Sure big structure lines and that sort of thing. Sound would be a big thing. Not so much taste, but definitely touch. What am I missing? sight, touch, taste, smell, hear? Not so not so much smell. But like you said, the vestibular and proprioception because they're walking around it. And they're using tools to make the sound and they're interacting with it. So it's really amazing. Because oftentimes, when I talk about the seven senses, people get kind of overwhelmed thinking they have to do so much. And they have to add all these things into their space. But in reality, the play and learning features are multi sensory. And so what's the sensory stimulation that they offer? And what they don't offer? How can you give that in another way through another feature or activity? So yeah, you can actually do some really amazing spaces with a very small amount of space, but really intentional features.

DJ Stutz  35:53  
Yeah, yeah. In fact, as you were talking about that, I just had to, like, have visions in my head, even if you were in an apartment with the balcony, they have the bars have paintings from between the bars, they let them hit it and make noise and stuff that's not going to take up any room on your balcony. And yet it brings that peace in. So yeah, if you

Jena Ponti Jauchius  36:16  
have kiddos who are artistic, you could weave jute twine, like it's like it's a loom. And then when they go out on their walks, and they bring back leaves and blades of grass and feathers, and they can weave those into this new outdoor loom that you've made for them love that nature looms, and it changes with each time they go out and bring things back, which can change with the seasons, you can take it down so easily and do something else. So yeah, it's really fun. These things don't have to be permanent. And it's kind of fun if they change out over time. Different things to do.

DJ Stutz  36:49  
Exactly, exactly. And engages them up. Sometimes they'll get bored. You know, it's same old thing. But yeah, sure. So they like to change it up a little bit. So much great information. And I know that you've got some things that are available to our listeners, do you want to talk to us for a minute about what you've got available?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  37:11  
Yeah, so listeners can find me at my website. En is for nature play.com. I'm also at Facebook. So just search for Anna's furniture play, you'll find my business page, I'd also invite your listeners to join my private Facebook group called sensory rich nature play. And so if you just look for that group, that's where kind of all the activity and the fun ideas are happening. But I do have some resources I put together on this because I've heard from a number of folks, including occupational therapists, that this information is out there, but it's out there in so many places. And the work I've done is the first time it's all been put together in a one one package of information resources. I have several ebooks, I have a on demand course teaching folks how to build a sensory path, which is a path made out of different materials. It's really amazing. So I teach folks how to build a path out of log cookies, which are slices of logs. Stone mosaic, I teach you how to build a really easy stone mosaic and then oh my gosh, I'm blanking on the old flagstone how to install flex on so how do you how do you make this into a path. And then I have and also, I have an in demand course that's available that talks about children's seven senses, how natural play and learning spaces when their sensory rich and intentionally done, how it feeds children's nervous system in all the different ways and how to go about creating your own sensory rich nature play area, whether you're starting from scratch, or whether you have an area already kind of going as a play and learning space with and how you can enhance that space in all the right ways tailored to your unique kids needs and interests. Yeah, and so that's all you can find all of that all of my courses and ebooks from my website. That sounds so

DJ Stutz  38:57  
fantastic. And we're gonna have all of that information down in the show notes. So take the time to go down the polls. To look at the show notes, click on some of the links. And while you're down there, be sure to click follow. leave a rating and review five stars is the appropriate number of stars. And help us get our word out to more people and to grow our audience. Jenna, I am so thrilled that you took the time to come and visit us today. You have so much great information. We could go on this for so much longer. Before we go I have my standard question. We know that there are no perfect parents, but some parents just may seem a little more successful than others. How would you describe a successful parent?

Jena Ponti Jauchius  39:44  
I love that question. And I would say a successful parent is a parent who is present with their kids who really makes the time to pay attention and to be with to give their undivided attention as often as possible. Throughout the day, that goes so far in a child's self confidence and empowerment, and all of those wonderful value, their sense of, of self value that goes so far, and not to mention how much you will learn as being a careful observer of your child, you will learn so much from them because they're our greatest teachers. So I would say, our presence they are.

DJ Stutz  40:23  
Yeah, I mean, if you want to learn about joy, watch a kid.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  40:27  
Yes. They do it right, don't they? They do.

DJ Stutz  40:31  
I think that curiosity, kindness, all of those feelings, if that's just amazing. Ah, I love it. I love it. I love it. So just go again, and check her out. And Jenna, I love what you're doing. Thank you so much for all of this. And I'm sure we'll talk again sometime.

Jena Ponti Jauchius  40:51  
I hope so I had so much fun DJ, thank you so much. Thank you.

DJ Stutz  40:58  
And if you want to learn more about Jena, and how she can help your kids have more fun outside, just click on the links in the show notes. And don't forget the free download that she's offering to my listeners. It's called Nature Play Their Way. And the link is in the show notes. And while you're there, hit the Follow button to make sure that you are getting in on the amazing episodes that we have each week. And if you like what you hear in today's podcast, be sure to rate and review and tell a friend. And you can do this, whether you listen on Apple, Spotify, or some other platform, or if you just listen from the Imperfect Heroes podcast website. And so if you're on the website, just at the top, click on reviews, and then you click on leave review. It's that easy. 

So before we wrap up, though, I want to share an exciting opportunity with you. Starting November 13, I am hosting the 5 Days of Service Challenge. The Holidays aren't just about decorations and parties. It's about reaching out to others, teaching our children about the joy of giving and creating meaningful experiences as a family. And this challenge is going to be a little different from our past challenges. Each day, we're going to work together to plan a service event that truly matters to your family. It's going to be designed by you and your kids, your spouse, you're going to work together to do something that is age and developmentally appropriate for the people who are in your family. And then on Thursday, we're going to put that plan into action. And we're going to follow up on Friday with the reflective session. So join us in spreading kindness and joy this holiday season is a chance to be someone superhero or their special angel. Keep an eye on your email. And we can't wait to embark on this heartwarming journey with you and your loved ones. You can pre register now. And guess what the link is in the show notes. And of course you can also find the link on my website, www. littleheartsacademy usa.com. And don't forget to check us out on YouTube and Rumble. And next week, my guest is Katherine Reed. I think that's a perfect name for what she does read and we're talking about homeschooling. So if you're already homeschooling, or maybe you're just kind of thinking about it, this is a great episode for you. So check it out and see and until next time, let's find joy in parenting.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai