Get Outside With Kids

Connect your kids to nature with music, with Sara Ernst, musician, author, and illustrator

You know that a catchy song can stay in your head for days! So why not harness the power of music to connect to nature?
Today’s guest Sara Ernst sings, writes and draws about nature to help kids get outside and learn about the world around them. Tune in to hear: 
How to find wild places wherever you live
How nature treasure hunts can inspire your kids to spend time outside
What on earth an “ootheca” is and why Sara wrote a song about them!
How Sara’s musical journey evolved from a simple desire to connect kids to nature
Find Sara and her books and music at wildpicklepress.com and on Instagram @wildpicklepress
Other episodes we mentioned in this episode: Taking kids’ education outside, with Lauren MacLean, teacher and children’s book author | Get Outside With Kids
Listen to the other music we talked about in this episode, including Snoop Dogg’s Affirmation song and the Treebies. 
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

How to organise your kid’s clothes to save money, save the planet, and do less laundry, with Kaili Sutton from Coast Kids Reshop

Dressing your kid in the right clothing means that they will get outside and stay outside. But what about all the holes, stains and rips that happen in the meantime? 
Today, we’re talking about all of it to Kaili Sutton, from Coast Kids Reshop. Kaili is a mom who also happens to live in a tiny home. Tune in to hear: 
How to organise your kid’s clothes to save money and do less laundry
How to care for the clothes that you do have and make sure they really last
Which items stand the test of time, and the items that you should invest in for your kids
Why a fleece onesie is the answer to the question you didn’t think to ask!
Find Coast Kids Reshop online and follow Kaili on Instagram!
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

How an educator from Ecuador is changing kids’ lives in Canada, with Maria Jose Obando from Little Paws Outdoor Classroom

Getting outside in the rain can be hard enough with one kid, but this week’s guest works outside with entire groups of little kids every single day in the rainy city of Vancouver! 
Maria Jose Obando from Little Paws Outdoor Classroom is originally from Ecuador but she fell in love with the outdoors in Vancouver and decided that she wanted to work in the forest everyday with preschool aged kids. Tune in to hear: 
How growing up in a country with a high degree of actual criminal risk has influenced Maria’s approach to risky play with kids
How to prepare kids to get outside (and have fun) in the rain
What we can learn from how little kids remember challenging days
A lot of sweet, muddy stories of kids exploring the outdoors!
Check out the environmental education programs offered by Little Paws Outdoor Classroom in Vancouver! And find them over on Instagram @littlepawsoutdoorclassroom
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

How to vacation with kids: an honest account of the good, the bad, and the tantrums, with Jennifer Kolbuc and Kate Le Souef

If you’ve been thinking about going on vacation with your kids, you might want to listen to this!
Many kids thrive on routine and schedule, as well as the comfort of knowing exactly what to expect at all times. But what happens when you’re in another country and everything is different or unpredictable? 
Don’t worry, we’ve got you. We’ve already made all the messy, sandy mistakes on vacations with kids, so that you can learn from where we went wrong!
Tune in to hear: 
How being away from home can affect different kids
Why vacations aren't always relaxing for kids
How to set your own expectations and avoid disappointment
What we'd each do differently before our next vacation
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

Pelvic health is core to getting outside with your kids, with Lacey Forsyth, pelvic health physiotherapist

Your pelvic health is core to almost everything in your body! But pelvic floor challenges can hold a lot of women back from participating in life, particularly after having kids, so on today’s episode we are talking about all of it with Lacey Forsyth.
Lacey is a pelvic health physiotherapist, and the Founder and CEO of Bump Physio & Co, a boutique physiotherapy clinic that treats clients at all ages and stages. 
Tune in to hear: 
What your pelvic floor is, who might experience challenges with it, and the times in our lives when it can be a more common issue 
How you’d know if you had a problem with your pelvic floor
The best way to 💩 (seriously, we’re talking about it!)
How to safely wear your baby after giving birth
How your pelvic floor can hold tension, anxiety, and emotion
What pelvic floor physiotherapy actually is and how it can help you
Follow Lacey @bumpphysiomom
Follow Bump Physio @bumpphysio.co and the online store @bumpgoods
Find out more at www.bumpphysioco.ca and www.facebook.com/bumpphysio.ca 
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

How to get outside with your kids when you live far from your hometown, with Kate Le Souef and Jennifer Kolbuc

Do you live far from your hometown? Maybe you and your kids live across the country or around the world from where you grew up (or from the place that feels like “home”). 
We get it. We both live far from our family and our home towns. So this week we’re talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly of living far from home, and how it can all affect how and when we can spend time outside with our kids. 
Spoiler alert? There are actions you can take right now to make it a little easier on yourself. Because you’re an awesome parent and deserve to be living your best life.
Links to past episodes we mentioned in today’s episode: 
Why getting outside is good for your health, with Dr. Melissa Lem, family physician and director of Canada’s national nature prescription program | Get Outside With Kids
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

Children need fresh air, sunshine and water: how outdoor time can transform education, with Nicki Farrell from Wildlings Forest School

Today’s guest Nicki Farrell was motivated by the mental health crisis in teenagers to create her amazing business Wildlings Forest School with her business partner Vicci Oliver. Nicki and Vicci offer all kinds of programs in nature for preschool and school aged kids in southeast Queensland, Australia, and have even developed a course to help you start your own nature school!
Listen to hear: 
How kids can learn just as well (and probably better) when they are outdoors
Why we should reframe “risky play” as “play with risk” and what that shift in language can do for your mindset
How educators can incorporate nature into the classroom in really easy ways
How you can be the squeaky wheel and ask your school to make changes to help your kids get outside more
Find out more about Wildlings Forest School at Wildlings Forest School and on Instagram at @wildlings_forestschool
Links to past episodes we mentioned in today’s episode: 
Why getting outside is good for your health, with Dr. Melissa Lem, family physician and director of Canada’s national nature prescription program | Get Outside With Kids
Why movement and outdoor play are essential to your kid’s development, with Angela Hanscom, pediatric occupational therapist | Get Outside With Kids
Exploring with kids in the ‘80s, from the Aussie outback to the Canadian prairies to the Kenyan savannah, with Sue and Peter Le Souef | Get Outside With Kids
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

How our obsession with kids’ sport has become serious business, with Linda Flanagan, author of Take Back the Game

Note: audio issues on this episode have been resolved! Happy listening :) 
As parents, we hear a lot about the benefits of kids living active lifestyles. And sports are one way that we are encouraged to introduce our kids to this idea. But what happens when we take it too far?
We are thrilled to be joined today by the amazing Linda Flanagan, author of Take Back the Game: how money and mania are ruining kids’ sports - and why it matters. She takes us through how we got to a place where sports participation has become an obsession and the impact that this can have on your family.
Tune in to hear: 
How kids’ sports have evolved over the years from local and relaxed to hyper focused and stressful
Why organised sports can get so intense and how this can have negative effects on kids and parents
How you can set boundaries to avoid sports taking over your family’s life
What you can do to encourage your kids to be active, without being obsessed
Find Linda (and more information about her book) at lindaflanaganauthor.com, on Twitter and on Instagram 
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

Why getting outside is good for your health, with Dr. Melissa Lem, family physician and director of Canada’s national nature prescription program

Have you ever wondered why you feel better outside? Sure, the fresh air feels nice, but what is actually happening in your body? And how can you maximise the health benefits of nature in your everyday life? 
Today we have all those answers, and more! We are joined by the amazing Dr. Melissa Lem, who is leading a national movement to connect health and nature. Melissa is a family physician, the founder of Canada’s national nature prescription program, and a mama to an active kiddo, and she’s based right here in Vancouver. 
Tune into this fascinating episode to hear: 
The evidence that proves nature is good for your health
How you can maximise the health benefits of nature (and what type of “nature” is best)
Why healthcare professionals have the power to help your family create healthy habits
How Melissa creates time outside with her kid everyday
Find Dr. Melissa Lem on Instagram and learn about the Parks Prescriptions program at www.parkprescriptions.ca 
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!

Welcome to Get Outside with Kids in 2023!

Get Outside with Kids is the podcast that helps you have more awesome adventures outside with your kids! 
Tune into this minisode to hear sneak peeks of the show in 2023. You have been telling us you want to hear from experienced parents, medical professionals, authors, and educators, so we know you’re going to love the guests coming to your ears in the coming weeks and months, including: 
Dr. Melissa Lem, a family physician who started Canada’s first nature prescription program
Linda Flanagan, author of Take Back the Game, a fascinating analysis kids’ sport
Nicki Farrell, an outdoor educator from Wildlings Forest School
Deep and Tanvi Desai, adventure parents who take beautiful photos through In Two the Sunset
Plus many more!!
As always, we’ll have loads of messy, muddy mistakes to go with it, because we like to keep it real. Parenting isn’t supposed to feel lonely. Join our conversations and laugh about all the times that things go wrong in the pursuit of outdoor adventures!
Connect with us on Instagram for more tips @getoutsidewithkids
Check out our website for our favourite gear to get outside!