Ep 17 | Everything is Broken (and That’s Okay!) with Teacher Tom Hobson
Even if everything’s broken, that doesn’t mean the play is over! And that’s the beauty of it. It’s not destruction, it’s deep learning. When we let kids take things apart, we’re helping them put the world together in their own way.
This episode of the Play Nature Podcast is the second half of Rusty’s conversation with Teacher Tom Hobson. Listeners will get immersed into the world of junkyard playgrounds, loose parts, and freedom-filled learning.
Together Rusty and Tom explore how children learn by taking things apart, testing limits, and transforming “trash” into treasure. It’s a celebration of curiosity, connection, and creativity, the kind that grows from hands-on discovery and messy, marvelous play.
Tom shares stories from his playground, a place full of wood scraps, traffic cones, trophies, and treasures. This is where kids explore, build, break, and begin again. He reminds us that every stick was once a branch, every rock once part of a mountain, and every loose part is an invitation to create.
Top 3 Takeaways from part 2 with Teacher Tom:
Broken things are great teachers!
Junkyard playground inspire freedom and imagination
Loose parts=loose minds (in the best way!)
So, say yes to the broken, the wobbly, the weathered, and the wild. Gather your scraps and start your own version of a junkyard playground. Let the children move, stack, glue, and build their dreams. Because when we trust them with freedom, they find wonder in every why, and see beauty in the broken toys.
Links:
teachertomsworld.com
Teacher's Tom's FREE Resource for Play-Based Settings
Connect with Tom @theteachertom on Facebook | on Instagram | on X | @thomsas-hobson on LinkedIn
Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs
Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide
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Ep 16 | Building a Junkyard Playground with Teacher Tom Hobson
Remember the feeling of running outside barefoot, pockets full of Band-Aids, heart full of imagination? That’s where this episode begins. Rusty sits down with the legendary “Teacher Tom” - Tom Hobson to talk about the golden age of play, when kids roamed free, built their own worlds, and learned through scraped knees, laughter, and discovery.
Together they ask: What happens when adults step back? What do kids gain when they’re trusted to lead? How do we bring back the magic of self-directed play?
In this first part of their joyful two-part conversation, Teacher Tom shares how he built a “junk playground”. It’s a wonderland of wood chips, sand hills, and hammers. It is where where children create, experiment, and cooperate.
You’ll hear stories of turning asphalt into a woodland, adding workbenches and saws for preschoolers, and transforming a church yard into a living classroom full of freedom, risk, and delight.
Top 3 Takeaways from part 1 with Teacher Tom:
Freedom is the foundation of play
Create environments that invite exploration
Play builds more than skills, it build people.
Thanks for joining Rusty & Tom for this peek inside a co-op school where parents become play allies, not play police. This is part one of a two-episode journey into play, purpose, and the power of saying yes. Make sure to come back for part two!
Links:
teachertomsworld.com
Teacher's Tom's FREE Resource for Play-Based Settings
Connect with Tom @theteachertom on Facebook | on Instagram | on X | @thomsas-hobson on LinkedIn
Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs
Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide
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Ep 15 | Seasons of Play with Rusty: Tips for FALL Outdoor Fun
The leaves are turning. The ducks are splashing. The creek runs low. Fall is here! Do you feel it in the air? Can you see it in the trees? Can you smell it in the crisp breeze?
This episode of the Play Nature Podcast invites you to pause, marvel, and jump right into the season with joy and curiosity. Host Rusty Keeler takes us creek-side to share top tips for fall nature play: sit spots that slow us down, planting trees and bulbs for seasonal surprise, straw bales for forts and circles, and leaf piles that spark instant delight.
Rusty is also inviting you all to participate in by National Play Day coming up on September 20th. He has a quick interview with Pat Rumbaugh who shares how her Play Day is a great example of Dreaming Big, but Starting Small.
It’s a playful celebration of autumn’s abundance and a reminder to dream big, start small, and never stop.
Links:
letsplayamerica.org
ipausa.org
Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs
Share this episode, rate and review the show, and email Rusty! [email protected]
Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide
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Ep 14 | Why Children Need Nature Play More Than Ever with Angela Hanscom, OT, TimberNook Founder
We’re here to let you in on a little secret. Strong, confident kids don’t come from a classroom. They are created outdoors! Play is the work of childhood, the language of imagination, and the foundation for lifelong skills. Yet too many children spend their days sitting still.
Why does this matter?
Because movement, messy play, and nature aren’t just fun—they’re essential for healthy development. In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, Rusty chats with Angela Hanscom—pediatric occupational therapist, founder of TimberNook, and author of Balanced and Barefoot.
Angela is on a mission to restore real, unstructured play to kids’ lives. She shares why outdoor play is more than recreation—it’s therapy in disguise—and how TimberNook grew from a simple idea to a global movement.
Top Takeaways from Angela Hanscom as she developed TimberNook:
Play builds brains. Kids need big, bold movement—rolling, spinning, climbing—to develop critical sensory systems like balance and body awareness.
Nature is the ultimate therapy gym. No weighted vests or spinning boards needed when the woods provide everything kids crave for healthy development.
Step back to let kids step up. When adults give space, children create, problem-solve, and discover their own sense of self through adventurous, meaningful play.
Links:
timbernook.com
@timbernook_global on Instagram
@TimberNook.Camps on Facebook
Barefoot and Balanced by Angela J. Hanscom
The Real Reason Why Kids Fidget by Angela Hanscom (HuffPost article)
Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs
Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide
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Ep 13 | What’s Really Hurting Our Kids: Peter Gray on Why Phones Aren’t the Problem
Play isn’t just the giggles and games—it’s a protective shield for growing hearts and minds. When kids lose play, they lose more than fun.
In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast, Rusty Keeler goes deeper into why children are more anxious and less joyful, and what we can do to turn the tide.
Rusty welcomes back Dr. Peter Gray, our favorite play professor and champion of childhood freedom. This time, they dig into what’s really behind the rise in kids’ anxiety and depression—and no, it’s not just the phones.
Peter points to the pressure cooker of modern education, where rigid standards and endless testing are crowding out curiosity, movement, and joy.
Top three takeaways for part 2 with Peter Gray
It’s not just screens—school stress is a major player in kids’ declining mental health.
The loss of autonomy and play in schools is leaving kids overwhelmed and underpowered.
There are brighter paths—like Sudbury schools—where kids are trusted, free, and thriving.
Watch Rusty and Peter talk about the playfulness of a Sudbury School on Rusty's Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrtiVT1JDMQ
Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs
Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide
Welcome to Play Nature Podcast, a podcast dedicated to celebrating the beauty and benefits of outdoor, nature-based play—for all children (and us adults too!)
Hosted by Rusty Keeler, a passionate play advocate, with over 30 years of experience designing natural playscapes, writing about nature and risky play, and traveling the world to champion the power of play, Rusty’s Play Nature Podcast is your guide for supporting outdoor play, protecting childhood, and letting kids be kids.
From willow huts and mud kitchens to sunflower houses and kale forests, Rusty will delve into the magic of natural materials, loose parts, messy play, and even the value of risky play in children’s lives. You’ll discover practical ways to nurture play in your own backyard, neighborhood, school, or community.
Join Rusty Keeler to uncover the wonders of outdoor play and learn what tools you already have to create joyful, natural play experiences for all seasons, all weather, and all children.
Let’s make the world a better place by saying “Yes!” to play.
Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs
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