I became a parent in the early 2000s, right at the peak of the Baby Einstein epidemic.   The working theory at the time was that the combination of bright colors, moving geometric shapes, and classical music would spark brain development in babies and toddlers.   As with many other “fad” marketable strategies, the evidence […]

By Jillian McCalvey I built my first house at nine-years-old. Not alone of course. Building something as complex as a house takes nothing short of a community. So, I enlisted the help of my two closest friends: Grace and Olivia. We quickly got to work on our “masterpiece” and chose a perfect plot between two […]

I broke both occupational therapy and TimberNook down to their fundamental cores and made an important realization: TimberNook is not only a form of occupational therapy, but it is occupational therapy in its truest, most meaningful form.

The evening glow is settling in. As the trail dips down, I feel a cool pocket of air around me. The trees are bursting with new growth, and I see three deer bounding up a hill in the distance.  There is hardly anyone else around even though I’m in a park in the middle of […]

In 2019, I would have said that in an increasingly overscheduled world, play is even more important. Now, just 4 months later and in the midst of a global pandemic, I repeat the same message, and for a similar reason– play brings joy.  The benefits of play are no secret. Children learn about the world […]

By Elizabeth Wilkins & Angela Hanscom The woods are unusually crowded with adults. As a TimberNook provider, I am used to being one of only a few adults in the forest. However, today we have our parent/child group out exploring the space. The parents appear just as eager as the children when entering the natural […]

Growing up, the neighborhood kids and I had a special place where we liked to play. We called it, “the dirt field” and that is exactly what it was — a large wide-open space of red clay with a small patch of trees on the backside of a neighboring farm. We loved it, because it […]

By: Jenna Trumbull We have all known that child. The one whose parents spend every morning convincing them to come. The one who spends the day with tears in their eyes, quietly observing from the sidelines. They become overwhelmed and shut down when they have to participate, and they have constant “sore tummies” or headaches. […]

By Jade Rogers Jade is a pediatric occupational therapist and the director of TimberNook Elgin in Ontario, Canada. She talks about why she feels TimberNook is a form of occupational therapy and what lead her to this program in the first place. Learn more about Jade’s work at TimberNook Elgin here:  When I first became […]

By Angela Hanscom Three young boys and two girls scramble up a large dirt hill, almost in unison. One boy gets to the top first and screams, “King of the hill!” Another child laughs and playfully pushes the boy aside, “No. I’m king of the hill!” Each child takes a turn trying to be king […]