Shownotes
Jena Ponti Jauchius
Jena is an internationally-recognized landscape architect, nature play expert, and the Founder of N is for Nature Play. Jena has spent her 24+ year career designing sensory-rich, nature-filled play, learning, and therapeutic environments for kids of all ages and abilities. She specializes in designing supportive environments for all kids, including those with autism and other neurodiversities. In addition to design, Jena loves teaching parents, early childhood professionals, and educators how to reconnect with their own senses and create tailored multi-sensory natural play and learning spaces to grow their children’s unique bodies, minds, and spirits.
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Join us for a delightful conversation with Jena Ponti Jauchius, a renowned landscape architect and nature play expert, as she unravels the importance of sensory-rich environments for children. Jenna emphasizes that creating supportive spaces can significantly enhance children's experiences, particularly for those with autism and other neurodiverse needs.
With over 24 years of expertise, she shares practical tips for parents on how to reconnect with their senses and foster environments where kids can thrive, play, and explore. From building sensory gardens to integrating nature into everyday activities, Jenna inspires us to embrace messiness and creativity in our homes. This episode is a treasure trove of insights on how to nurture not just children’s growth but also our own well-being through the magic of nature and play.
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Transcripts
Today I have the pleasure of introducing Jena Ponti Jauchius. Jenna is an internationally recognized landscape architect, nature play expert and the founder of N is for Nature Play.
Jenna has spent her 24 plus year career designing sensory rich, nature filled play learning and therapeutic environments for kids of all ages and abilities. She specializes in designing supportive environments for all kids including those with autism and other neurodiversity.
In addition to design, Jenna loves teaching parents, early childhood professionals and educators how to reconnect with their own senses and create tailored multi sense, multi sensory, natural play and learning spaces to grow their children's unique bodies, minds and spirits. Jenna, welcome. This is a really interesting topic. I think it's going to be a lovely discussion. Welcome to our show today.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Well, thanks Kristina and Herb. I'm so happy to be here. I'm so happy to be here.
Kristina:We are so glad you are here as well because you know, as we were talking a little bit before we turned on the camera, it's like, you know, this is one of the things where we can really help parents really think about what do, what are the sensory needs of their kids and sensory needs of them themselves and then hopefully bring some more of that calm and that peace into the learning environment or the home environment so our families can really thrive. So we are super excited.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.
The senses are so important and it's one of those things in whether you're supporting your kids or supporting yourself, we forget like it's just so under the radar. We often forget about our sensory needs.
And it is at the core of whether, you know, our life experience, whether in we're in survival mode or whether we're in expansive, thriving mode. It all has to do with how our senses are supported.
Kristina:Absolutely. And go a little bit more into your passion, your why, how did you get started on all of this?
I know, you know, we talk a little bit about it in your bio, but tell us a little bit more about why this is so important to you.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, well, for, for most of my career it has been a calling and so honestly I followed my curiosity in it.
When I got into landscape architecture, I did a project in a playground and I loved that work and I understood it really well, like really to the core of, of who I am. I understood the importance of play and the importance of creating supportive places for and so that carried me into.
Children are really diverse, even more so today than they were 20 some years ago when I started this work.
And so how can we create supportive environments for children that have incredible diversity in how they experience their Lives, how they learn, how they play, everything. And then fast forward to me becoming a mom.
All of my experience and all of my knowledge and the theory behind it really became grounded in my own life. And I saw firsthand, you know, I have twins, they're nine years old now.
But I saw firsthand, like these two amazing human beings that are so very different, each approaching everything that they do very differently and having very different experiences. And so how to, how to be a mom in that situation and how to support them best.
Really, it didn't change how I did things, but it really deepened my, the meaning behind it all. And it, it grounded it so much in my life.
I actually built a sensory garden in our own backyard where for started at seven years ago, so when the kids were two for seven years now, the kids and I go out there almost every day, no matter what the season is and just do fun things and play and learn and explore. And you know, I do a lot of weeding, but it's, it's so much fun. That's what I love to do too. So.
Kristina:You are so right. We had two boys of our own and they're 18 months apart, so they aren't twins, but they're really close right in age and same thing.
They're two very different kiddos. And so as you were growing with them and helping them learn same thing.
You have to really figure out what one needs, what the other one needs and how we can kind of combine it together as a family. And as we're working with our homeschool families, same thing with multiple kids.
Those parents have to figure out how to weave this into being able to meet the needs of all of those kiddos as they're working with them. So this is going to be amazing. Yeah.
Herb:So besides stinging nettles and BlackBerry bushes, what kind of plants make up a senso garden? What is a sensory garden? Because what I mean, because I, I have never heard of this term before. The plants you can play with.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Well, yeah. So a sensory garden for kids is going to look different than say for adults. And so you can. So a sensory garden is a garden space.
So like a nature filled space that intentionally engages children in a multi sensory way. And we don't have just five senses. I talk about eight. And so there's the five classic sight, touch, taste, smell and sound.
There's two movement based systems, the vestibular system, which is about movement and body orientation and my upside down and my right side up. Then there's proprioception, which is body awareness, where Am I at in space with all the things around me? And there's more to that one.
But the eighth one is interoception, which is all about the internal sensations of our body. And it answers, how do I feel right now?
And so all of those can be stimulated in a garden space or an outdoor learning space or just a very simple play space. It just really depends on what kind of features you include. So you asked about what kind of features in planting.
So a sensory garden might include something like a mud kitchen where kids can play with dirt and water and sand and plant parts and create potions and mud pies and all sorts of things like really hands on.
It might include a little cozy space, like a garden teepee, where they can go in like a little enclosed space and play and feel protected and be able to self regulate.
If they're feeling overwhelmed by something, they can go into this little cozy space and they have their me time and they self regulate and get out of survival mode. Plantings really depend on where you're at in the world. But one plant that I love to use is called lamb's ears and it's a perennial.
You guys get it where you live, I have it where I live. It's a, it's a really diverse, a plant that really covers a lot of the United States, but it's a perennial.
Low to the ground, but it's fuzzy, hence the name lands Lamb's ear. So when a child touches it, it feels like the most soft fleece coat that you could put on.
And so if you have a kid who maybe is sensitive to touch, you plant a lamb's ears and it invites them to explore their tactile system in a very safe way. You can have herbs and like vegetable gardens, fruit trees, all sorts of things you can include.
If you live in a rental and you don't have the opportunity to plant a plant out in your landscape, you can have a pot of herbs or a pot of cherry tomatoes and a basil and a thyme plant and still have that. The sensory, the benefit of sensory plantings in a very like movable situation.
Kristina:So yeah, I love how you were talking about that cozy little nook.
Because what popped into my head is that's one of those places, like you said, they can go to calm and recenter and ground, but it's also a place where they could go and they could write a creative story, you know, about what's happening in that little place. Or they could go read a book and just really feel cozy in there. Reading a book or something.
So that's what popped into my head when you were describing that space. And that sounds really inviting to me right now.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:It is. Well, in cozy space. It's funny. Cozy space. We all need cozy spaces no matter what age we are.
Like if you have a 16 year old, cozy space might be a hammock, you know, and that would, I would. I love hammocks. And so like the whole age range can benefit by one feature.
So like a hammock, everyone, you know, you can swing and get that movement. For kids who need more movement while they learn, learn, it can be a quiet, just comforting space, you know, I.
Kristina:Love how they have everybody. Yeah, the hammock kind of wraps around you too. So sometimes that sensory pressure kind of thing is there also.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Absolutely, absolutely.
Kristina:And then you were talking about herbs and things. So then immediately I thought of the smells, right? What kinds of smells they might like.
So different flowers with different smells, different herbs with different smells, Those kinds of things. Absolutely. Lavender. That's supposed to be calming for everybody.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, yeah.
Herb:So I've talked about this on our show before, but I suffered a traumatic brain injury, actually, actually quite a few of them. And for a large part of probably 15 years, I went into a very, very dark space and plant medicines brought me out of that.
So I did, I did an exploration in a lot of different plant medicines. And one of the things. And so now I actually work with other people who, who have suffered trauma and are going into the plant medicine space.
And one of the interesting things about that is because most of the people are older like me, but what, what they, what I find is, is it, is that sensory, it does bring them back into their body. They start noticing life that is always there, but they just don't see it anymore. So they'll see the life in plants. They'll.
They'll start noticing bugs, they'll start, they, they reconnect to that kind of sensory garden that you're creating.
So what, what, so where I went when you were talking about all of that is if you're doing that with children and raising them up with that, then that also is a way for, for trauma release to happen as it, as it starts. Because what trauma really is is time and space that gets stuck inside of your body because you don't know how to get that energy out.
And then, and so by being, by being in these gardens, by having these sensory experiences and as a child learning how to do that, when they do get stressed, they can go play in the mud and getting their hands in the dirt gardening is something that we encourage patients to start taking up because it gets their hands in the dirt. And we can talk about the Schumann residents. And I told you, I'm out of.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:The love talking about this.
Herb:Yeah, so I see what you're doing is. Is actually a benefit for.
For older people to start as they're setting it up for their kids or if they have traumas, as a way to also help, you know, kind of ease into that as well. So while it is great for the kids, it's going to be amazing for the parents to reconnect to that aspect of life as well.
What are your thoughts on what I just brought up?
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Oh, my gosh, yes. Absolutely. I am so excited to be talking about this, because one of the things that I'm working into, what I do now is helping the adults.
It's not just about nature play. And as you mentioned, it's about the adults reconnecting to their senses.
Because the nervous system, our nervous system, is the single most important thing in our lives. It is the single mechanism through which we experience our world, right? We experience our world through our senses. And that's all about. That's our.
That's our nervous system. And so a couple of really beautiful things happen when we connect to our senses because.
Well, just to take a quick step back, most adults are not connected, not very connected to their senses. They're not consciously connected to their senses.
We're walking through life with our senses on autopilot, which, as you just mentioned, that means we're just experiencing the very little, like, the superficial aspects of our life. Just. We're just hitting the surface, right? And so when we do that, we're not grounded in our body. We're not in tune to those stuck emotions.
We're not in tune with those stuck traumas, and we have no idea what they are, why they're there, and how to get. Get them out.
But when we can connect to our senses, that is, like the biggest, most foundational step that we can do for that release process and to live a life that's really extraordinary in what we feel might be an ordinary life situation, Right? And so, you know, when I talk to parents or teachers, there are three things. When you can reconnect consciously with your senses and use them.
Use your senses throughout your day very consciously, a couple things happen. Three things happen. You get more grounded within yourself, and you regulate your nervous system much more easily, right?
And then, so when you come up with a kid who is dysregulated, you're not meeting them with a dysregulated system, which we often do. So when they're dysregulated, you're regulated so they can come into co regulation with you.
You help them regulate themselves by being a regulated nervous system in proximity of their dysregulation.
So that happens, you become more in tune with their sensory experiences and more in tune and empathic to their experience of their world, which is fantastic for parents but just good humaning right there. So you become more in tune with their needs and how they experience their world.
And then three, when you become more in tune with them and more sensitive to them, you become more sensitive to your environment and you know how to tailor that space. So when your child, you see them kind of get triggered. You have.
You can more quickly notice or observe or pinpoint what's triggering them and how to fix it. Not how to fix it, how to tailor it or how to help them self regulate in context of that. So be you become a more sensitive.
Herb:Yeah. How to help them see it and people.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah.
Herb:Their own ask. Yeah. So you are, you are so talking my language right now. This is. I mean you just jumped into my world like both feet and it's like wow.
And you know, tool, tool one ground zero for all of this is breath for. For in. In my. In in where I work. Because it's like most people don't know how to breathe. It's like everybody breathes but nobody knows how.
And so you connect them to their breath and then once they get into their breath and then they can start feeling themselves, then that allows the opening to all these other worlds. So you know, my first tool and, and you talked about co regulating as.
As a coach in these situations, you know, to be calm and present no matter what the person is going through. They could be freaking out and you allow that, but you sit there and you be calm and you bring them into.
Back into themselves, into their body with, with the right kind of questions. Not about stuff, but about what they're feeling. You bring them back into their body and it's like wow, that sounds really rough.
Where are you feeling that kind of in your body? What's, what's happening there? So. Yeah. Right. You just, you just like so jumped into my world. That was fabulous.
Kristina:Yeah.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah. And to add on to that hur. Our.
Herb:Our.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Our bodies are extremely powerful places to occupy. Right. They're. They're the, the vehicles we've chosen to. To experience our lives.
And they're in and of themselves, they're highly intelligent and when we've only just nicked the surface of our sensory capabilities or awareness, there's so much, there's so, so much more depth that we can go to and discover just how sensitive we are and multi sensory and extra sensory and all of these things. Once we get past that surface level.
Herb:I still have quite a bit of issues going into my body. There's still a lot of discomfort. I've got a lot of work to do. But as I do it, it makes it easier to help other people step into it as well.
So I'm not, I'm not great at this. I'm pretty good, I'm really good at helping other people, but I'm also still at a pretty basic level and I'm still growing in what I'm doing as well.
So it's important to know that, that it doesn't matter where you're at, that you, you can get benefit out of it. You just have to kind of start into it.
Kristina:And one of the things I heard you say in the middle of that I really want to point out to parents is that you said because they were grounded and aware of senses and stuff around them, they were then able to pick up on their child's triggers and then help them. So parents, you keep saying, or a lot of parents say, oh, I want to know how to help my child in different situations. Listen to what was just said.
When you're grounded, when you know what triggers you or what you are noticing, and then you can pick up on those things that might be or are affecting your child. Boom, you're right there. You're doing exactly what you were hoping to do. So there we go.
Another reason to build these sensory spaces and to experience these sensory spaces and then make sure we take our children and experience lots of things so that they can either figure out how to do it or know what not to be around or whatever it is that helps your child and you move through life.
Herb:And the other thing is, is you don't jump in and solve their problems.
You don't jump in and take that away from you stay regulated, you stay grounded, you stay present with them and they will feel that and move into that state because it's more comfortable. So you don't say, oh, you're feeling this. Well, this is how you get out of that. It's like, no, I'm, I'm staying grounded.
This is how I stay out of that. And I'm going to lead you there into this space. But you have to, you have to come to it. So yeah, and, and I, in that.
And then back to the garden, it's like, how does the garden set that up? How does, how does the sensory garden help, help bring that into place?
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Oh, well. So, yeah, and this, this ties into, you know, when I, when I talk to parents, they're like, well, how do I even start? Like, like, how do I even.
What do I even do at home? So I can answer that question. But then bring my garden into, as an example.
And if you're wanting to do something at home, ask yourself the question, what do my kids love to do? What are my, what are their interests? What could the.
What's an activity or activities that they could spend, that they do over and over again, or they spend a ton of time in, like in a flow state play. Because in those activities are the sensory experiences that they are getting that feed their bodies and that regulate their nervous system.
That's why they're doing these things. And so how can you craft a space around those activities? It can be very simple.
Like I said, you know, a pot of herbs gives lots of different activities. A mud kitchen gives lots of different activities.
The follow up question to that is, do your kids have any sensory needs or sensitivities or differences? Because that question will help you answer.
How can I tailor this setting that the activities they love to do, how can I tailor it to best meet their nervous system needs?
And so it will be a place that will help them thrive and it will be a place that competes with that screen that they'll want to go out to and spend time in. So those are the two questions that I ask parents. And in my garden, my kids love to work with their hands.
They love animals and interacting with, you know, nature and that sort of thing. So it's really heavy on planting, it's really heavy on hands on things like the mud kitchen, which my kid, one of my children's really hands on.
So when they were little, it was a mud kitchen. And now she's a little bit older, it's more of a, a maker space. But just this summer she's like, I think I'm done with that.
I want to create a habitat area. I'm like, okay. So it's a space that's been in evolution, which is totally okay. And it's been very inexpensive to do these things.
So there's lots of ways to get around. You don't have to buy an expensive play structure. You can do so many different things for pennies, quite literally.
Herb:Have you ever heard mom, that's my Mud kitchen.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:I want to play totally fine. Yeah, we do lots of parallel play in the garden, which means they're doing their thing and I'm doing my thing.
But we're in the space together having like, you know, we're enjoying it and we're enjoying each other, enjoying it. So it's, it's so much fun. We don't have to do the same things together.
Kristina:I have to ask the question. Oh, but they're so dirty and it's hard to keep them clean. And that, how do you answer that question?
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yes, well, okay, so I answer it a couple of ways.
First, I would invite the parents to get comfortable with expanding their child's ability to get messy because messiness is an essential aspect of play and learning. Right? You have to make messes to understand things. You have to get dirty to understand things. So often, you know, grass stained knees are beautiful.
For me, there's so much health, physical health that comes from getting your hands in the dirt, right? There's, there's beneficial bacteria and things. And it's okay if your kid eats a handful of dirt from time to time.
It actually helps their immune system. So see how you can expand your comfort zone with the whole messy aspect. And I understand there's a lot of parents who really like a tidy yard.
And the thought of having a mud kitchen in one corner is really like, it provokes a lot of anxiety because it's, it's messy and, you know, they can't keep it manicured and that sort of thing.
Again, think about your purpose of that space and a child being able to learn and experiment and to do, you know, whatever activity they're doing is really valuable.
And then if it's, say I keep using the mud kitchen as example, if you had some shelving, maybe there's a way to tidy it up for a time while they're not using it. And then they, they also learn, like, picking up after themselves, all of that important, like life skills. So thank you.
Kristina:I was hoping you would answer something like that.
But, you know, it's just one of those questions because as, as you were saying, parents have different comfort levels, kids have different comfort levels. And when I talk about learning styles and helping our children learn, I have to keep reminding parents, step out of your learning style.
Step out of your comfort zone for the benefit of your child, just like you were just saying. So it's not always easy, but it's not.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Well, again, kids are at our mercy. Like, we're the ones, the adults are the ones that decorate the House. Right. Even the kids bedrooms.
Kristina:We're.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:We're decorating their rooms for them, you know. Oh, Johnny would look really like a. A Lego motif or whatever. Maybe Johnny doesn't like. Maybe that's. Maybe Johnny wants something different.
Give them some, some of the reins and some of the control in creating their own spaces, and you might be surprised. There's some overlap in, in the sensibilities.
But, you know, it's really beneficial for kids to have some control in their, in their physical environment. And so wherever you can give that to them to the degree that you're willing to go for it and continue to expand that comfort zone.
Herb:This also brings to mind another guest that we had on that talked about food and how to get children to eat, and she talked about letting your children play with their food sometimes that sometimes cook food and let them play like hot dogs. Let them play with the hot dogs for a while and then eventually they'll start eating them.
Or let them play with carrots, the cooked carrots, and feel the mushiness and get, get it on their hands. And then eventually they'll start eating it after they become familiar with the other senses around the food.
But just sitting down and forcing your kids to eat isn't always. So what you're talking about kind of brings that to mind is, is the playing aspect of it brings a lot more life into the activity.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Kristina:Yeah.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:And. And the time, whether they're eating or playing, the time to do. To really play to their fullest, like to get the fullest experience out of it.
Of course it has to do with senses. Eating is the same way. There's a lot of us who discard for food, and we don't savor it. Right. We don't enjoy. We, like, what did I just eat?
Like, what did I have for breakfast? I can't remember. But when we savor our experiences, whether we're eating or whatever we're doing, then we, we.
We live a fuller life and we experience a fuller moment and we feed ourselves in so many different ways, and we're just, we're just, we're full human beings when we do that. And it has to start in childhood.
Kristina:It does. Yeah, it does. Or you as an adult, take yourself back to childhood and experience those things so you start getting it.
Herb:Yeah, it doesn't have to start in childhood.
Kristina:It's better.
Herb:But if you didn't have that as a child and you have a child now, start it now. Go play with your kids. Because the longer you wait, the longer it Is you take to get. Benefit from it. So you don't. It doesn't have to start as a kid.
Start now.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, yeah.
Herb:Because start now while you're as young as you are, because right now is as young as you're ever going to be. And so start now.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:And everyone needs to play.
Herb:And everyone needs to play. And if you. And if you. And hey, who knows? Maybe when your kids grow up and get out of the house, you'll still have that mud kitchen.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:There we go.
Kristina:Now, I know it is in for. In for nature play, but what if we have a family who's like, I live in an apartment.
I mean, I know I can have the little box on the patio or whatever, but what can I do? Maybe inside? Have you ever worked with a family or help somebody kind of inside, build kind of a area as well?
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah. So a couple of options, a couple ideas. Have as many house plants as you can. Of course, you have to research. You know, are they toxic for kids?
That's an important piece of information. But there's. The more nature you can bring into your house, the better. Or your apartment. Let them build a pillow fort. Right.
Do you have a space that they can. They can do things with just like they would in an outdoor space? Let them play in the sink.
Herb:Yeah, I was gonna say, let's play in the bathtub. Make your bathroom waterproof so that they can totally soak out the bathroom and play in the bathtub.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah. Yeah. The beautiful thing is that it doesn't just look like what nature play doesn't look like one thing. It looks like everything.
And so it really just bring that attitude to wherever you are and, you know, whatever you're doing. And the. The ideas will just come up and be playful.
Get outside for walks as much as you can get outside in your park or just walking down the street and. Because even if you're just walking from here to the grocery store, if you live in an urban setting, there's so much nature in that walk.
The cracks in the sidewalk, the trees, the things that you notice, you know, all of those. There's nature everywhere. It's not just outside in a park or a beautiful backyard.
Kristina:It's.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:It's everywhere. And so can you. Can you.
On your walks, can you collect fun things like rocks and twigs and leaves and flowers and bring them home for some loose parts play? So, you know, again, that's something that's free, so easy to do, and the kids love it.
Kristina:I love that. And it actually brought back a memory.
I was thinking you know, my be at my grandmother's house with my cousin, and we would have to do the dishes because grandma and grandpa didn't have a dishwasher. So we did the dishes in the sink. And ultimately it seemed like always near the middle.
Our dishwashing would turn into a tea party because we'd have cups and we'd have a pot and this and that, and we would just sit there and grab it in car. As long as dishes got done. You know, it took 45 minutes to wash the dishes. That was fine because we were playing and da, da, da, da, da as we went.
So I'm just encouraging parents to just think about that.
Yeah, dishes might take a while, but if they're playing and explaining, experiencing as they're doing it, and you don't have to be somewhere, let it happen.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, that's funny. It's like at my house, we don't have a dishwasher.
Kristina:Okay.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Right now, we don't have a dishwasher. And so I'll be doing dishes, and there'll be like a public. A pile of bubbles in the sink and some. My youngest twin has a radar for bubbles.
And so she'll come out of nowhere with her hands like this, and so she'll want to play with the bubbles. And I'm like, okay, I got to step away for 15 minutes or something. Let her do her thing and I'll go do something else. But then come back and she's.
She's just had so much fun, and it's. It's okay. It's okay.
Kristina:I love it. Absolutely love it. Perfect. Any. Yeah, yeah.
Herb:So you talk about autism and neurodiversity. Do you work with autistic children? So far.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:And.
Herb:And how does this help with them? Is it different than with neurotypical kids? And, man, I hate saying that, but I know.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:I do, too. So the senses are so important for any child, all children, any person.
So whether you're neurotypical or neurodiverse, having an environment that is tailored to your sensory needs and sensitivities is one of the most important things, because we're surrounded by an environment at all times. And when we have a space that feels safe to our nervous system, then we can kind of be ourselves.
And that's what any person wants out of their life, is to be themselves right in their fullest. And so there are some extra considerations for kids with autism, you know, especially if I were to design a, you know, a.
A play space for an early childhood setting or something. You know, the Fencing and the safety. And there's. So there's a set of considerate extra considerations that I go through. But.
But one thing for parents might be if they struggle getting outside, if they don't want to go outside, make it the.
Make it part of their routine and make it part of your communication and spending a little bit of time outside each and every day, because nature will help regulate their system. You will have to be very in tune with their physical cues.
Say if they have an auditory sensitivity and something's bugging them, they might, you know, look out of their peripheral vision. You can start to see the cues when they start to get dysregulated.
And so that might be the cue to, like, let's move back inside and start doing the thing that you, you know, let's have an activity that you love to do to help regulate you. So there's.
There's lots of things that you can do to help make getting them outside easier, make it part of their routine, communicate it really well, make it really sensory appropriate for them. And you might even have sensory zones where they can focus on one sense at a time.
So it's not so multisensory, because oftentimes that can really dysregulate the child. Just depends on their needs. So. Of course, yeah.
Kristina:And one thing that popped in my mind, there is a lot of our kiddos who are like that, you know, trying to get on the heavy winter coat and getting on the gloves and all that kind of stuff is just so dysregulating for them. Right.
And if, you know they're only going to be outside for five or ten minutes, do they really need to go through the whole heavy coat, mittens, et cetera, et cetera, or can they be okay going out the way they are, experiencing what they're going to do for that 10 or 15 minutes? So you're starting out on a better, more smoother track. Right?
So instead of going out being upset because he had to put on his coat, like, okay, ten minutes won't kill him without his coat, won't kill him if he's getting a little bit wet kind of thing, let them go, experience that way, and then come back and then deal with warming up and drying off and things like that.
Herb:As somebody who does cold plunges and knows the benefits of getting cold, letting your kid get cold and wet and dirty is actually very healthy for them.
Kristina:In small beds, right?
Herb:Maybe not let them be out for hours, but. But, you know, I go run around out in shorts and a T shirt in the snow. And I'm still here. So your kids can handle it.
Let them get cold, let them get wet.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, yeah. It's part of life.
Kristina:Exactly. Perfect. Is there anything that we haven't touched on that you kind of wrote down?
Some notes or you're like, oh, I really want to talk about this with the audience.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Oh, my gosh. So just a couple of quick, like, activities to get adults into their senses more is so I talk about, I talk about a lot.
But two to share really quickly is one, make it a habit in your day. So make it. Make several. As many times as you can through your day. Do conscious sensory experiences, multi sensory.
So for example, and I always tack it up, I always recommend attack it onto a habit like brushing your teeth or washing the dishes or folding laundry. How, how much can you sense in that one activity? Like brushing your teeth?
Yeah, you know, the feeling of it, the smells, the taste, the action, the moving, looking at yourself in the mirror, whatever. How can, how sensory can you make that, how consciously sensory can you make that? Washing the dish? The same.
So any activity that you do, and it's not like you have to set aside time to do it, you just do it in your natural routine. Right. And so that teaches the body to go into that greater depth of sensory experience, and it teaches us to naturally do that.
Herb:Is the shower. Because most people, the shower is like, I get in, I get wet, I wash, I'm done.
Kristina:Yeah.
Herb:What I mean, the, the water covering your body is so important. The shampooing, the touching yourself, what are you noticing? How does it feel when you touch your hair? How does it feel when you touch your legs?
What does the soap feel like? You know, there are so many different things. What is, how does the water running across you feel like?
When you put your face in the water, what do you notice? I used to, like, have it run over my head and over my ears and I would try and get it. So both my ears recovered and have changes.
So I lost touch with my body. I mean, when I hurt my head, there was a lot. There's still parts of my body that I don't feel anymore.
So, you know, getting into the sensory aspect of it brought a lot of that back for me. So.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, and the trick is really to get out of your brain. Right. We spend most of our days thinking and analyzing and replaying a situation that we didn't enjoy or what, or whatever.
But we spend way too much time up here, and that takes us out of our body. The second activity really quick is What I call a slow mo.
Sensory walk, where you take 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and you can do this with your kids or by yourself, probably.
If you have your kids, you're going to look less ridiculous to your neighbors, but you go and maybe explore your backyard or go on a walk and go as slowly as humanly possible. Walk as slowly as possible. Notice everything around you that you can with all the different senses.
Kristina:Sorry, I'm just like, I can't do that. I am like, go, go, go, go, go. And that's probably the thing I need the most.
Herb:Pretend you're like the Six Million Dollar man running at super speed.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:So this will be really important for you, Christina. And the trap, though it is. The trick is. Well, for one, I just mentioned, get out of your mind. But also, don't speak. Can you do this without talking?
Can you do this without saying, oh, my gosh, look at that? If there's something really cool and you're with your kids, then absolutely take a moment and talk about it, but then continue on without speaking.
So it really forces you to get into your body and your senses and to slow down and to notice the richness that's around us all the time that we're just skimming by.
Kristina:And I love that. I'm hoping that they're getting out of their head and then what.
Like what we like to say down into their heart, to settle into that space where you really are connecting. Yeah.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah.
Kristina:Love it. Love it, love it. Yes. And I'm gonna have to go do that now in a few minutes and try to go do this walk outside.
Herb:Well, we did just drive like mad to get to my mom's house, and we got here and set up and jumped into this. So our dogs need to go for a walk. So we're. We'll probably be actually going outside.
And my mom lives in a small town in Southern Oregon, so, like, we're forests and trees and, like, there aren't houses and sidewalks around here. So, you know, even just walking around outside in the. In the grass. And some. Some of her grass is actually like these really soft ferns that have.
They're only about yay tall, but they've, like, covered the ground, and they are. And it's a pleasure just to have your feet on those. So, yeah, the whole sensory thing is. Is amazing.
Kristina:So I'm gonna do a little plug here.
So if you are only listening on audio, you go to our YouTube channel, vibrant family Education, Find our podcast Bringing education home, and you'll get to see said dogs and a Little bit different background than what you normally see when you are listening or watching on the podcast.
Herb:So there you go. Like I said, we just got here. So they were anxious. So they were like jumping around, being.
Kristina:And Jenna was so gracious. She's like, no, get settled.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:You're fine.
Kristina:So thank you very much for being so gracious.
Oh, my gosh, this has been such a rich discussion, and I really hope that families have really listened and taken in some of those things that can really help their families. Like you said, connect to nature, connect to those senses, and do it as a child, do it as an older person, do it in between.
And like Jenna said, don't be afraid if you haven't gotten started when your kids are little, find something of the age they're at and jump in there and start building it where they are. And like she said, indoor, outdoor, you can find those sensory things either space. Just take the time to do it. Exactly. Any final words?
Jenna, this has been so amazing. Thank you so much.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah. No other final words other than an invitation to your audience.
If you, if you're curious about what sensory based natural play and learning might look like at your home and for your family and for your kids, I have a free, you know, I invite your audience to jump on a free call with me and we can talk about what that might look like for you and your family. So I just would like to extend that invitation.
Kristina:Absolutely. And go and say your website or the link to that so that they can find it easily. How can they find you? Social media.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:So, yes, so they can contact me through my website. N is for nature play dot com. And. And if you'd like, we can provide a link to an easy calendar that they could get on my calendar.
Kristina:Actually, all of that will be down in the show notes, so just follow down into the links. They are all there, the show notes with our website and that link to the call and all of that kind of stuff.
So it's always there for everybody to follow through with our wonderful guests who share so much and we so appreciate all of our guests who come. So, Jenna, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Thank you for helping our families maybe reach out and do that sensory stuff a little bit more. And, you know, families, audience, take these nuggets. Take these golden nuggets with you.
Make sure that you're taking them and pulling them out and using them, especially in times when you feel dysregulated. Think back to what Jenna said. How can I ground myself? What can. What senses can I get in touch with to bring myself into this present moment?
Herb:And you know, thanks for making it not just about the kids.
While it is about, you know, we're vibrant family and about how important it is for the parents and how much they can actually get, you know, trauma relief and then communication and co regulation with the kids that that language needs to get out there as well. So thank you for doing that.
Thank you for, for going there with me and thank you for talking about how that's where you want to, to do a little more exploring yourself. So yeah, it's been a wonderful conversation. You, you, you brought us it. Just, just thank you for, for being here today.
Jena Ponti Jauchius:Yeah, so such a pleasure on my part too. Thank you so much for the work that you do.
Kristina:You are very, very welcome.
All right, audience and guests, families out there, make sure that you listen and go back and find other episodes that will help your family grow and develop and create those happy, healthy and successful kids. Until next time. We will talk to you later. And bye for now.
Herb:Bye for now.
