Singing in the Wild with Sara Ernst of Wild Pickle Press

Jul 21

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

In this heartwarming season 1 finale, Julianne sits down with Sara Ernst — award-winning children's author, singer-songwriter, and the voice behind Wild Pickle Press — to explore how music and rhyme can bring nature to life, no matter where you live. From writing her first song to teach kids how to respect bears, to accidentally becoming a children’s music artist, Sara shares how her creative journey unfolded and why it’s so important to nurture a sense of wonder in kids — even if all you’ve got is a patch of grass and a flashlight.

This conversation is full of encouragement for nature-reluctant moms, creative ways to teach kids empathy through poetry and play, and a reminder that even the smallest outdoor moments can be filled with magic.

Plus, don’t miss the original song Sara performs just for listeners at the end!

How Sara Accidentally Became a Children’s Musician

Sara’s journey started with a ukulele and a desire to keep kids safe around bears. What began as a fun nature group for moms and littles turned into a creative calling — using rhymes and songs to teach kids about the outdoors.

Why Music is “Sticky” — and So Powerful for Learning

Sara shares the developmental benefits of rhyme, poetry, and song — how rhythm and repetition build memory and why music is an effective way to help kids retain information (and fall in love with nature!).

Nature Is for Everyone — Even If You Live in a City

Sara encourages parents that you don’t need forests or mountaintops to cultivate wonder. From creeks across the road to a patch of grass in a city park, nature is wherever your feet are. And her music is a tool to help kids imagine what they can’t always see.

Empathy in the Outdoors: Teaching Kids to Respect Creatures

Sara walks through her 3-step method to help kids develop compassion for bugs and small creatures:

Give it a name
Give it a story
Nurture or shelter it
These steps foster curiosity and gentleness — even for spiders named Stella.

Favorite Resources for Raising Respectful Nature-Lovers

Sara highlights her song “I’m a Keeper of the Woods” and her poetry book Poetry for the Wild and Curious Ones as powerful tools for teaching kids about environmental stewardship, safety, and empathy.

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you decide to make a purchase. I only share products and brands I genuinely love and use with my own family. Thanks for supporting My Outdoorsy Mom!

Want the full episode? 🎧 Listen to Episode 16: Singing in the Wild with Sara Ernst of Wild Pickle Press

Julianne Nienberg (00:00)
Welcome to the My Outdoorsy Mom podcast. I'm your host, Julianne Nienberg, mom of three, backyard adventure enthusiast, and your go-to gal for making memories outside with your kids. This is your space to ditch the pressure of perfect and embrace simple, soul-filling time in nature that fits real family life. Each week, we'll talk motherhood, nature play, travel, and entrepreneurship with honest stories, practical tips, and guest conversations that'll feel like chatting with a friend.

Whether you're raising wild little explorers or building a business during nap time, I see you. So grab your coffee, toss some snacks in your bag, and let's make some memories. This is the My Outdoorsy Mom podcast.

Julianne Nienberg (00:38)
Before we dive into today's interview, I just want to take a moment to say thank you. Launching the My Outdoorsy Mom podcast has been one of the most stretching, soul-filling, terrifying, joy-filled things I've done in a long time. Hitting record each week, knowing I get to land in your ears for 20 or 30 minutes, sometimes an hour, that's not something I take lightly. It's been a tremendous privilege to walk this journey with you. To everyone who tuned in,

who shared episodes with friends, who left those five star reviews. Thank you. Your support has meant the world to me. And to the incredible women who trusted me with their stories this season, what an honor. These conversations have challenged me, inspired me, and reminded me again and again of the beauty in living slowly, parenting intentionally, and getting outside with our kids. Season one has been a beautiful beginning.

And I can't wait to bring you even more goodness in season two. More honest conversations, more inspiring guests, and more encouragement for your everyday outdoorsy life. So with that, let's get into our final guest interview of the season.

Julianne Nienberg (01:47)
Today's guest is someone whose work has been a delight to discover and whose voice you might just already know from Spotify. I'm sitting down with Sarah Ernst, award-winning author, nature singer-songwriter, and the creative force behind Wild Pickle Press. Through rhymes, music, and whimsical storytelling, Sarah sparks curiosity and connection to nature for families who may not have daily access to it. Whether she's teaching kids how to respect a bear from a safe distance,

or helping them fall in love with bugs. Yes, even bugs. Sarah's music makes the outdoors feel both magical and accessible. Sarah, welcome to the podcast.

Sara Ernst (02:24)
Thank you so much for having me on. This is a delight.

Julianne Nienberg (02:28)
This

is a treat for me too. And I loved prepping for this episode because I think your work is so unique and it combines two things I love, which is nature and music. And it doesn't get much more my outdoorsy mom, than that. first I want to hear about your childhood, but also I want to hear how you fell into music. What were some of your earliest outdoor memories?

Sara Ernst (02:49)
Goodness. probably my earliest outdoor memories, they were amazing. My early, early childhood was in West Virginia and I'm in Virginia now and I have to try to mask my accent. but West Virginia, so we had the house that we were at was one of those magical landscapes of boulders.

I don't know how we landed on that. was a rental property and it was, they were the best climbing rocks. And my brother and I would go in there and it was perfect. Those are my earliest memories and I loved those rocks. And honestly, it just kind of stemmed from there. We almost always lived in in a rural area or the country. And so,

we were often in places where there were creeks and of course trees and all of those things. And it was just a part of my childhood. And I don't even think there was no need to ever reintroduce nature to me. It just was my childhood. yeah, I'd say those rocks were my earliest memories. I miss those rocks.

Julianne Nienberg (03:54)
Well,

it's funny to hear you say that because for a lot of us, you know, that grew up with a childhood outdoors or just, you know, they call them free range kids nowadays, but back in the day, it was just what we did. We just stayed outside riding our bikes or climbing trees.

Sara Ernst (04:04)
Yes.

Julianne Nienberg (04:10)
And I love that when I hear you say that, automatically my mind goes to, these are just some risky play. These are some great risky play activities, right? I have kids who are drawn to risky play. And back then it was just considered normal play. We were just climbing. We were drawn to climbing rocks and testing our balance and things like that on uneven terrain. And I love to hear that you had what sounds like a really great childhood full of those kinds of moments.

Sara Ernst (04:11)
So true.

now

for sure.

it was so rich. mean, when I think about my childhood, I just think of the word rich. I mean, we were never released like hounds or something where we just, we had no boundaries, but we knew our boundaries. But within those boundaries, we could be the wild things that we were. And

Julianne Nienberg (04:45)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (05:01)
It was just it was just wonderful. That's all there is to it. It was just wonderful

and Yeah, most of my most of my childhood was spent exploring and imagining and having adventures in trees and it was Definitely risky play and you know, I'm not gonna lie, especially my own childhood sometimes that risky play was extremely dangerous and Did not end well

and also could have ended way worse and things like that, but it was rich and it was wonderful. And I'm glad I'm still alive.

Julianne Nienberg (05:31)
Yeah.

You're alive to tell it. ⁓ I love how you say, you know, when we talk

Sara Ernst (05:33)
That's right.

Julianne Nienberg (05:39)
with our kids, like we talk about how we are rich in experience and we are rich in love, you know, within our family. And what a great way to describe childhood. Right. And I love how that kind of creates such a great bridge between your description of your childhood and also your beautiful music that you create, because I feel like your music is rich in beautiful imagery.

And it really sets the scene and you have such a beautiful way of storytelling and invoking curiosity for kids and just this very childlike magical way. what in your life led you to all of a sudden, and I'm sure it wasn't all of a sudden, but becoming a singer songwriter and connecting with moms and children through music.

Sara Ernst (06:00)
Thank you.

You know, it was almost all of the sudden when I think about it, and you know, for folks who kind of know my story already, they know that it was very accidental. And that's true. It's which seems so strange for someone to say, an accidental musician. But I truly was in no way, or form did I ever set out to write children's music, do anything with it.

If someone had told me even seven years ago, I would be doing what I'm doing now. I really don't know what I've, I mean, did they need to be on medication? I, know, is there, I would have laughed. I don't know, but it would have been absolutely absurd to me to think of that. But it really started again. mean, my love of nature has never gone away. And

Julianne Nienberg (06:56)
Okay.

Sara Ernst (07:10)
In 2018, I was hosting, I really wanted to host a group of, a nature group for moms and kids just to get them outside, to do nature together, for the kids to explore. Some of these moms, they were more nature reluctant, I will say, which is completely fine, but it helped them.

Julianne Nienberg (07:26)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (07:36)
I think it helped them to find their purpose in nature with their child because as moms, some moms are very outdoorsy already and some are more nature reluctant and it's very difficult for them to figure out how to be in nature with their kids.

Even though kids really don't need a lot of guiding when it comes to nature, you just, you let loose and things happen. But for myself, when I was hosting this group,

Julianne Nienberg (07:59)
.

Sara Ernst (08:05)
they were littles, probably ages around three to seven. So they were all on the younger side and we would be out in the woods and down at rivers and things like that. And there are venomous snakes here in Virginia and there are black bears here in Virginia all over the place.

And I knew that I needed to find a way to teach the safety

around those things. I am definitely one. I know there are a lot of moms out there who just let loose. It's like wild is wild. And that is completely fine. Zero judgment for me. But I tend to be a very cautious person in the sense of at least preparation and knowing what to do and then be wild, but at least know what to do because we're going out in

someone else's habitat for goodness sake. And that's what you need to be. You need to be nature wise when you're out in nature. And I really wanted to help the kids with that. And so at the time I just happened to be teaching myself how to play the ukulele. Not for any other reason besides the fact that I thought was the cutest instrument in the world. I'd always thought so. And I just really had a hankering to try to learn how to play it. That's all I was doing.

Julianne Nienberg (08:53)
Mm-hmm.

Sara Ernst (09:19)
But I thought, well, maybe I can figure out how to strum something and write a little song about what to do if we come across bears. so that's what I did, long story short. And the kids loved it. The moms loved it. But I fell in love with it. And I didn't realize that that would happen. And two things happened. One, I fell in love with writing children's songs. But more so, I realized how sticky.

music is and that I had an opportunity while I was not the best ukulele player, the best singer, I would never claim to be those things, I still had an opportunity to use that to educate about nature or other things and teach valuable lessons through music. And I mean that's really what music should be. It is sticky. There's a reason that we remember

songs from our childhood or, you beats or rhythms. They're catchy, they're sticky, but I think that what's sticking should be good and it should be positive and if possible, it should be educational. And so that's really how it started. And I just, it snowballed into just song after song after song. And then I couldn't stop writing. It became obsessive. And then

Julianne Nienberg (10:28)
Mm

Sara Ernst (10:30)
And then the moms were actually the ones who encouraged me to do something different with it. I would not

Julianne Nienberg (10:34)
hmm.

Sara Ernst (10:35)
have done it. And so it's credit to the moms in that group who said, our kids love it. Other kids will probably love it too. You should do something more with it because my initial answer was a definite and a hard no. I will pass on that. That is not my platform. That is not my thing. And eventually I just came around to thinking, hey,

Julianne Nienberg (10:49)
Okay.

Sara Ernst (10:56)
You know what, whatever. I'm not the best at this, but I love nature and I do want to share it in this way. And if somebody else gets something really positive or valuable from it, then that's rewarding. And that's how I went into it. And that's how I still look at it. I have no expectations

from people. I just truly hope that if they come across my music or my books, that they

leave feeling like they've learned something or that it sparked a curiosity maybe that wasn't there already and and that is that is rewarding so accidental musician for sure I still can't believe the things that have occurred at this point but I'm very grateful for this for this very organic blessing of a journey that I've that I've had so far so

Julianne Nienberg (11:43)
What a path. mean, I hear you say some of these things, know, music is sticky. And it's so funny because when we think back to our childhood, you remember, and then that's what I love about music is that it's such a gift. It has the power to evoke parts of our brain that are wired for emotion, for learning new things, for nostalgia. How cool is it?

Sara Ernst (12:03)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Julianne Nienberg (12:06)
that you found a way to nurture this gift and to share it with others. And when you talk about music being sticky, What do you think it is about music and rhyming that's especially powerful when it comes to teaching kids?

Sara Ernst (12:22)
Well, for one thing, mean rhymes themselves, and this is why I love poetry, but rhymes themselves are developmental. Poetry is developmental. And it not only helps to teach a rhythm of words, but also more descriptive words. And so I think, personal opinion is that when we hear songs that rhyme,

Whether you yourself feel like you're someone who is good at rhyming or a poet, that doesn't matter. You still hear it. And there's a rhythm to the words, not just the music, but there's a rhythm to the words. And between that and music, I think that's what catches, that's what sticks. You can't help with a catchy song. That's what's sticking to you. It's the beat and it's the words.

But yes, developmental for sure. There is, I'm kind of going off on a quick tangent now, but poetry is another just huge passion of mine. And it's always rhyming. I'm not very good at free verse or those kinds of things. Rhyme comes very, very easily to me. And I often have to make myself not speak in rhyme because I'll think it.

before I even say it, but, it just, if you turn something into a rhyme for a child, I believe that they are exceedingly more, apt to remember it than if it were just a random sentence that had no real flow to it.

Julianne Nienberg (13:41)
.

Sara Ernst (13:55)
or rhythm to it. And again, back to your question, why? Because there's a beat. There is a rhythm to what we say in some kind of way. And then you put words together and it just, you know, it just, it makes it work in our little brains. And I don't know, it does something to the synapses, you know? So.

Julianne Nienberg (14:16)
Well, and

it absolutely, I 100 % agree, it fires all those synapses, but also too, when we think about kids, mean, kids work, learning should be fun. And there's no more fun way than to learn.

Sara Ernst (14:25)
⁓ gosh, yes.

Julianne Nienberg (14:29)
ideas and concepts then through rhyming and songs. And that's the way, you know, a lot of times my kids have grown up learning a lot of, you know, ideas or even just poetry. And if you think back to just to the history of language and storytelling, so much of storytelling was passed down by mouth, right? Through the delivery of.

Sara Ernst (14:47)
It's so true.

Julianne Nienberg (14:49)
great stories and poetry long before anyone could write all of it down. It was all handed down and passed down through generations and generations by mouth and by word. And I think that's so beautiful because I can see in your work, it's just beautiful. We were actually, my son and I were sitting out. It was a beautiful day yesterday. We were having lunch and I put on one of your albums on Spotify and both of us, were just.

Sara Ernst (15:00)
Yeah.

⁓ thank you.

Julianne Nienberg (15:13)
He was eating his sandwich. I was closing my eyes and I was feeling the breeze. And I said, is just, this is to me, this is heaven. This is just sitting down, closing my eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun, enjoying great company and hearing music that was just pure and simple and beautiful. And it was really a blessing to us in our day yesterday. We had a fun time just listening to it. So thank you for sharing your gift in that way.

Sara Ernst (15:33)
thank you. ⁓ that's very rewarding. ⁓ my goodness, thank you for listening

Julianne Nienberg (15:41)
Of course!

Sara Ernst (15:41)
and saying that. That's very rewarding. No, I write about things that I'm passionate about too. And I think that that makes a difference. I cannot just force a song. While I can rhyme just about anything if I want to, I can sit down and make a rhyme or a poem if I want to. But I don't ever want to force something.

When things come from within us,

People can see what you're passionate about for a reason. And I think those are the times that those things really shine through or shine brighter. And for me, the things I write about are things that I genuinely love and genuinely care about. things, for example, from my Farm to Forest album,

It's genuinely true because I actually live on a small farm and I really am surrounded by a forest and have a field and we really do have ducks and chickens and we have honeybees and we really, you these kinds of things. And there really are violets leading to our woods and there really are buttercups I feel that are really cheerful that sometimes I've been walking feeling kind of morose and I look over and I just feel like, you know, like a little daisy. I'm like, I don't know why.

Julianne Nienberg (16:28)
.

Sara Ernst (16:51)
but I feel like if a flower could cheer you on, it'd that buttercup.

Julianne Nienberg (16:55)
Yeah.

Sara Ernst (16:55)
You know, they just feel like you've got this, you know, it's a happy little flower. And so I just, truly take things from what I feel in nature and I see in nature and I love about nature or whatever it is I'm writing about. And it makes me happy. Those things make me happy to write about. hopefully that comes through to other people and

Julianne Nienberg (17:09)
.

Sara Ernst (17:19)
It always means a little bit more when you're writing from personal experience and not always just something made up, at least to me. They mean something to me and hopefully mean something to other people, but.

Julianne Nienberg (17:30)
I send out a questionnaire to all my guests just to, learn more about them and something that you wrote, I want to share and you wrote, inspiration breeds passion, allow a nature shaped space in your life for inspiration and your desire to be in it and share it with your children and it will transform into something beautiful. I mean,

Sara Ernst (17:49)
Mm.

Julianne Nienberg (17:50)
It reminded me of another beautiful quote, and maybe you're familiar with the English poet William Wordsworth. Yes, and he said, and it reminded me of what you just said earlier. He said, what we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how. And I just love, you know, what you described earlier, where you live. It's so beautiful. I mean, what a rich, what a rich life and what you're describing is just rich imagery, you know? It's like, if I could just close my eyes and just picture everything that you described, and that to me is just a

Sara Ernst (17:55)
yes, definitely.

Julianne Nienberg (18:19)
picture of beautiful, simple, know, joys of life. And I love that through your music, you know, you're teaching kids to enjoy these simple things in nature. we can all attest to the fact that life is moving so fast. Childhood is moving so fast these days. And as a parent, it can be so hard to buck the cultural trend and to say, I want my

Sara Ernst (18:24)
Hmm.

yes.

Mm-hmm.

Julianne Nienberg (18:46)
my family life, I want for us to slow down and to enjoy the things around us. And one thing that I know you're really passionate about is making nature accessible to families who might not have nature right outside of their door. So tell me about that in terms of your work with your nature group and how can it's if let's say a parent is listening today and maybe they live in a city or maybe they don't have a big backyard, how can they

Sara Ernst (19:01)
Yeah.

Yes.

Julianne Nienberg (19:14)
Enjoy nature wherever they are.

Sara Ernst (19:17)
That is such a great question. I think it is one that probably plagues a lot of moms, city moms especially. First of all, one of the things about my music and teaching things about it is I look at it, yes, as music and as fun music and things to learn by, as a resource, as a tool, truly as a tool or a resource.

Julianne Nienberg (19:36)
Mm.

Sara Ernst (19:39)
And I am going to go somewhere with this. But for example, when you when you begin to teach your child or either your child's

at school, whether you're homeschool or they're in a brick and mortar, whatever it is, when your child begins to learn math, let's say they learn at the most basic level possible, which is pretty much one plus one. I mean, that's kind of where it all begins. But it doesn't even start once they're in school.

A very, very, very small child, a toddler can learn what two means, but you didn't sit a two year old down and show them the equation of one plus one with the actual addition sign. Don't I really am going somewhere with this and everything that isn't how they actually learned not very, very young, what one plus one is and how to work it in that equation.

it has to be put in context for them. And so for one toddler, that might look like twins that just were born into that family. And they will very quickly understand that there are not, there's not one baby, but there are two babies. Their context of two comes in that food, okay? Food is fantastic as an example, because a baby wants more.

Julianne Nienberg (20:37)
Mm.

Sara Ernst (20:54)
They learn that if they ask for more, they'll get more. A toddler learns that they might have one piece of this. They might get a second piece. The point that I'm getting to is that just as with math or anything else where we can learn very, very, very, very early in one context how something works, I feel like nature is the same way. So I feel like some people

Julianne Nienberg (21:12)
.

Sara Ernst (21:17)
believe that in order to really immerse yourself in nature, really learn about it and everything else, just like a foreign language, you need to completely be in it. Of course that helps. Of course it would be wonderful if you could, you know, head to the mountains or head to a forest if that's nearby, but that isn't always the case. But it doesn't mean that you can't use other resources and tools.

And music is one of those. fact, such a fantastic one, going back to what we said with it being such a powerful tool, it being sticky, you can learn from it. So let's say that there is a family in the city and they don't, they live in an apartment, maybe they don't even have an actual yard per se. So how do they do nature? And what will any of the songs that I do mean to them? Well,

Of course it isn't going to mean the same thing as someone who lives by some woods or by the mountains. It's going to mean something different to each person. However, it's still a resource and a tool in that that child who's living in the apartment with no yard can still in their imagination or their however,

their brain works and putting that in context for their life, what to do if they came across a bear or a farm to farm to table pancakes, what that means to them or whatever it is that the song is, they will have their own version of what that means. And quite honestly, it might mean something more magical to them than it would for someone who lives near the woods because they don't have that.

Julianne Nienberg (22:35)
Hmm. Hmm.

Sara Ernst (22:52)
And so they imagine more of this world that's outside of

what they have. so I say that because I just mean that that kind of music isn't lost on folks that don't have a farm or a forest or anything else. It will mean something different to each person. And as for doing more in nature,

Julianne Nienberg (23:07)
Right.

Sara Ernst (23:15)
Even if you have a park, mean every city at least has a park, some kind of community area typically, that there's some kind of grass, even if it's a nearby church. Most churches will allow you to come, I mean hang out, on the playground, something like that. Just a small patch of grass, just an area with a tree, something that they can look at and maybe

locate a caterpillar, something where they might see an anthill, something where they can find a flower and learn more about it. It doesn't have to be extravagant to be essential. And I think that's very, very important for parents to realize is that it's really the little things.

Julianne Nienberg (23:57)
Mm-hmm.

Sara Ernst (24:07)
It really is. And yes, huge adventures and all of that. They're wonderful. They're memories. But

little things are magical. And oftentimes it's the little things that make the biggest impact. so just going out maybe in the evening somewhere in the city to a little patch of grass or park with a flashlight or something, just as it's getting a little darker and

Looking through the grass, know and finding some just just make it magical. It doesn't take much ⁓ And then you know, hey if you get to the forest or you have an opportunity to get to the mountains or a river Yes, go for it. Let your kids in the creek, but until then Enjoy the patch of grass. But yeah, it just it doesn't have to be grand It just has to it just has to be something just available

Julianne Nienberg (24:42)
.

Absolutely. It's funny to hear you say that because we lived in an apartment when I was pregnant with my third and I had two toddlers and we literally only had a patch of grass. And I think

Sara Ernst (25:09)
I believe it.

Julianne Nienberg (25:10)
I think to your music and how even if you are in a season of life or you you're living in a city in an apartment and you don't have a lot of green space around you, your music can inspire moms and families to seek out those types of experiences. So for us, we didn't have to go far. Luckily, it was a subdivision right across the road from us that, was along a creek. And I would on the weekends,

Sara Ernst (25:34)
wonderful.

Julianne Nienberg (25:36)
because I needed help because I was very pregnant and I had two toddlers. My husband and I, we would get the kids in the wagon, we'd pack snacks and we'd walk up down the road to the other subdivision and just walk along the creek and we would just sit on the side of the road with our little snacks, our little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sit along this creek. I think a lot of people thought like, what are you doing in this neighborhood? And I just remember thinking, I'm a mom who is seeking

Sara Ernst (25:39)
⁓

Yeah.

Julianne Nienberg (26:02)
a space for my kids to go to that is just quiet and simple. And it's practically right outside my door. You know, all I had was the patch of grass, but just a hop, skip and a jump away was this beautiful little creek and the sound of a bubbling creek and the animals that we saw coming up to the creek. We spent, you know, easily like 30, 45 minutes.

Sara Ernst (26:07)
Mm-hmm.

⁓ yes.

Julianne Nienberg (26:24)
at the creek and in toddler time, that's a ton of time for a mom and toddlers. And so that was just such a blessing and a win back in the day when I had such little kids and there were times where I did have to just take them out on the patch of grass, but that little Creek was such a blessing to us. And like you said, I think these things, these experiences don't have to be extravagant to be meaningful. You know, my kids,

Sara Ernst (26:27)
Yeah.

I'm healing.

⁓ no,

they don't.

Julianne Nienberg (26:47)
My kids look

back at pictures and videos of us walking up to the creek and they laugh and giggle. To them, they have no clue what the adventure was. They just saw pictures and videos of themselves giggling and having a grand time. We could have been in a mountain, we could have been at a little pond next door and it was kind of all the same to them at that age. They just wanted to be with us.

Sara Ernst (27:11)
It, yes,

it is. And that's what, you know, I've, I mentioned, you know, in chatting with you before how, and I, how moms, especially grace and space are two of the, the two are the greatest things that they can give themselves. And, there are a couple of reasons why, because

Julianne Nienberg (27:24)
Yeah.

Sara Ernst (27:30)
Kids, if you think back on a memory of your own that you went somewhere with a family member or whole family, whoever it was that was special to you, but you think back of that special memory, you remember the magic of it, the fun of it, whatever was going on. I cannot imagine that once in your child mind, did you look up

at one of those adults and think, hmm, are they stressed right now? Have they had a warm cup of something? Are they, you know, in desperate need of this time to, like, kids are not thinking of those things, you're thinking of those things. Like a mom is the, you are the only one thinking of those things. And it's not wrong to think those things. What I'm getting at is that,

A lot of moms feel pressured to have their kids out for a certain amount of time or at a certain place or that you have to catch up with friends or a group to make it social. Guess what? You don't. I am giving you permission, whatever it means to you, I'm giving you permission right now to just not because every

Julianne Nienberg (28:20)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (28:42)
Like every pregnancy is different. Every child is different. Every learning style is different. Every mom is different. Your needs are different and they are going to differ from season to season to season of motherhood. Babyhood will not look like toddlerhood. Toddlerhood will not look like childhood. Childhood will not look like adolescence and so on. And so you must

Julianne Nienberg (28:59)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (29:09)
be able to first give yourself grace because if you cannot learn to give yourself grace,

It's, you're just going to make it harder on yourself. Just like you give your children grace for the things that they're going to. You have to, as a mom, you have to say, my child is learning. Okay, this is frustrating them right now, or they're tired. So you're giving them grace. You give grace as a mom over and over and over again through the day, through the week, through the months and years. You must give yourself grace too, because you cannot do it all.

Julianne Nienberg (29:18)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (29:39)
and you're already a super mom, but you cannot do it all. You are human and it's all right. And we have limits, you know, we have limits and you have to find what works well within your limits. And that might be different from day to day. And it's just, okay. It's just okay. It is okay.

Julianne Nienberg (29:41)
Okay.

Sara Ernst (30:02)
If you cannot get outside at all that day, because that's gonna happen, you might want to, your kids might wanna go outside, but there's no need to feel pressured or feel guilty or anything. And I just wanna get that across because I do feel like that is such an emotional, it can be an emotional burden and nature should not be an emotional burden. It should be therapeutic.

Julianne Nienberg (30:21)
Mm-hmm.

Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (30:27)
make it happen when you can, even if it's just for five minutes, even if it's just in the patch of grass, even if it's just on the deck or a porch and that's all you have or a balcony with something, it's okay. You make nature work for your family because it will not look the same as other families' experiences. You cannot compare your journey.

into nature with your family any more than you can compare your life with someone else's. It simply will not mirror theirs. so just give yourself grace and space to figure that out and figure out what works for you and just know that it's okay. Your children will still learn. They will still get fresh air. They will still have friends. It's all okay. It will all work out. And in the meantime,

Julianne Nienberg (30:54)
Yeah.

Sara Ernst (31:15)
That's where

sometimes the music or the rhymes can come in really handy. It's like, you know what? It's okay. Give them a picture to color or, or, you know, something that you're learning. Bring up a little focus study about honeybees or something. Learn one thing about honeybees. That's it. Just one. You don't have to do an extensive study. And then pull up a song or a rhyme about them. Learn something. And that's what in my, in my,

Julianne Nienberg (31:31)
Yeah.

Sara Ernst (31:40)
book that we were talking about just poetry for the wild and curious ones and necessary nature guide I've written poems to try to teach. For example there's a poem in there called no poop in the hive and it's not meant to I mean some people are like oh my goodness it's a poem about poop it's like well I it's yeah but sort of not in you know and a weird way that you're thinking about it's genuinely educational a lot of people don't know that honey bees actually

do not poop in their hive. They are ridiculously clean. They will go through the winter. They will hold it. And then they will go out on a nice day and do what they need to and come back. They actually have an incredibly clean hive and a lot of people don't realize that. And so it's just do that. Like just one poem and they've learned something new about honeybees or whatever it is. And it's just little tidbits, little tidbits matter.

so, so much. I know I've rambled on about this. I'm sorry. I'm obviously passionate. I told you I was. And I apologize. And that's the downfall of it is I can go on and on about it. But yes, just grace and space and little things. And they'll make big impacts, I promise. Yeah.

Julianne Nienberg (32:53)
No need to apologize. I love to hear your passion. it reminds me of something that I often, encourage other parents and moms is that one of the best ways to get kids curious about nature without stepping outside is through books.

is through reading and reading aloud to them and reading them books that are rich in literature and imagery. And that's why I love, I love leafing through your books because not only are children learning things, but they're learning things in ways that are fun and engaging for them to learn, right? When you talk about bees don't poop in their beehives, we're in a phase of potty talk and...

Sara Ernst (33:09)
So true.

Julianne Nienberg (33:31)
I wish it was leaning more towards the conversation of bees pooping. More often than not, it's leaning the other way. I love that through books. Sometimes books are what get my family through the winter. And we still go out on the cold days, but it's reading about summer adventures and reading books from Robert McCloskey and all about

Sara Ernst (33:34)
⁓ I mean, of course.

Yes.

yeah.

Julianne Nienberg (33:57)
all about the summers in New England and Maine and just having those words and images to get us through a cold winter. There is no greater promise of the fun of summer than reading a great book that just is filled with rich language and beautiful images. And I love that you're passionate about not only teaching kids about nature through books,

Sara Ernst (34:04)
Mm-hmm

I agree.

Julianne Nienberg (34:20)
but you're also passionate about helping kids learn to respect nature and not to just run wild through it. And I would love for you to expand upon that and just to kind of differentiate, you know, between being wild with compassion, as you say, and being wild with no respect. Can you touch on that?

Sara Ernst (34:24)
yes.

Absolutely. Yes, that is something I'm very passionate about.

I am a very patient person with children that I work with. I do nothing but work with children for the most part. But when it comes to harming things in nature, it does really bother me, I'm going to admit it. And there's just no need for it. what it comes back to is an ill education of certain things.

and also a lack of empathy towards things. So those are the two things that I find are the root. Now, the parents can be amazing. This is not when I say these things, this isn't, there is no accusation here and no judgment on your, you parent or your child or personalities, nothing like that. I'm talking about two very simple things that just make sense. So,

Julianne Nienberg (35:06)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (35:27)
Let's say spiders, okay? Not a lot of people love spiders and that's true. They're creepy crawly, so on and so forth. Well, how much have you actually learned about spiders? That would be first my question. Like what is your child and what do you? Like maybe even a mom or a dad, you know, they scream immediately. First of all,

And I'm not knocking anyone's phobias because I understand that people, there are fears and they're there for a reason and they're real. So again, please don't, if you have genuine phobias for the things that I'm talking about, snakes, spiders, those kinds of things, I completely respect and recognize that you have actual things that you're trying, you have to work through with them. But aside from that, when you scream,

react heavily to bees, any kind of bugs, especially when your kids are really, really little, that is what they're seeing, first of all. I just want to put that out there. In the spirit of being role models for our children in everything that we do and say, that is also part of it. So the way that your children see you react to nature, it doesn't mean they will absolutely react the same way, but they are taking it.

Julianne Nienberg (36:24)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (36:42)
as a guideline. So if you freak out,

your children might very well freak out too, because that will be, that is it. That is their context of bugs. Here comes that, which means, you know, and run instead of, okay, we don't have to touch it. We don't have to be right in its face.

but what is it? Can we learn even one thing about it? What is the name of it? What does it like to do? Is it even harmful to us, which is a huge thing? And so that when I say ill education, that's what I'm talking about is a lot of people react immediately based on what it is, but actually know very little about it.

Julianne Nienberg (37:17)
Mm hmm. hmm.

Sara Ernst (37:34)
Bats, I find there's a huge ill education of. A lot of people don't care for bats. You know, they find them very creepy. It's not the bats fault that they have been lumped in with that genre. But a lot of people don't realize that bats, first of all, want absolutely nothing to do with you. They do not seek human contact like

Julianne Nienberg (37:45)
Okay.

Mm-hmm

Sara Ernst (37:57)
almost everything in nature. They don't seek human contact. And they're just out to get insects or flying things, mainly mosquitoes. Thank you, bats. You are actually helping to save us from getting our life essence sucked out of us. But that, and they're also pollinators. And a lot of people don't realize that. Bats are, if it weren't for bats, very much like

Julianne Nienberg (38:04)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Sara Ernst (38:22)
bees, if you took bats completely out of the ecosystem, the effect that they would have pollination wise with certain

fruits, vegetables and things would be extravagant. But again, I encourage people like research those things, just look it up, get a book on bats even something to just learn more about it. And I recommend that for parents of kids. Maybe the parents don't have

Julianne Nienberg (38:35)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (38:50)
fear of bugs or bats or whatever it might be but if your child does I encourage you to yes of course recognize the fear yes you don't want to force someone to you know go outside of what you know they're comfortable with but education knowledge is power too just like music is powerful but knowledge is power and it can definitely put a different light on something doesn't mean you have to love it

It doesn't have to mean you all of a sudden want to hold it. It just means you understand it better. And when you understand things better, you are much more likely to give grace to the things you understand, just like a person in a way. If you don't click with a person personality wise, you just don't really jive. It really does make a difference when you find a common denominator in your friendship.

Julianne Nienberg (39:27)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (39:42)
And as moms, we know this, like we are drawn to, we're drawn to other people and moms are especially drawn to other moms who have something in common. know, maybe they use the same foods, maybe they have the same outlook, they have the same lifestyle, they have the same beliefs, whatever it is, you feel like they're in your group. But why? It's because you understand that. There's a level of understanding.

Julianne Nienberg (40:03)
Mm-hmm.

.

Sara Ernst (40:10)
of what that person is about. So while bugs can't be understood the same way, it's the level of understanding. So educate yourself on the things that you fear. Educate yourself on the things that you are less likely to want to get close to or observe. And you really might find and be very surprised that you might actually be endeared to that thing.

because you didn't realize that about it. And so that's the ill education part, the empathy that's necessary for children and adults. I've seen a lot of adults act without empathy towards things in nature, but children especially. So if you know that your wild child is one who will

throw rocks at things, turtles or throw rocks at fish or take sticks and try to poke them or just tear down spider webs when they see them. Step on ants on the sidewalk and just stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. I see this all the time and

Julianne Nienberg (41:06)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (41:23)
Of course, one, it's up to the parent to determine how they want to handle that. But what I would encourage parents to do is to help teach your children empathy in this. And there is a three step little method that I have for doing this and learning to love bugs and respect bugs more in this case. And the first part is to give it a name.

Julianne Nienberg (41:32)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (41:46)
There is so much in a name,

so much in a name. There is a reason that we name things. There is a reason that you name your pet. As soon as you name your pet, they are a member of your family. They have become that, that almost person in your family. You know, you don't just call your dog dog or your cat cat. They aren't just a thing.

It's personal and that's what a name creates. When someone's pregnant, there's a reason that you go ahead and start thinking about names, not just because they will eventually need a name, but because it creates connection. It creates an immediate attachment when you have, let's say you've already decided what your child's name is going to be. While you haven't met that child yet, to you,

Julianne Nienberg (42:24)
Mm

Sara Ernst (42:36)
They are now fill in the blank. They are that name.

Julianne Nienberg (42:36)
hmm.

Sara Ernst (42:42)
And in giving them that name, they have become a part of your home, your life in a more connected and attached way than when they were nameless, so to speak. There's also a reason that a lot of farmers don't name their animals. And it's because they don't.

want the connection. It's exactly why they don't name them people who have pig farms or chicken farms or whatever. Why? They don't want to get attached. They do not want the connection because they can't have that kind of connection with that business. And so I say that so giving something a name immediately forms an attachment and a connection that was not there before. That it plain and simple.

So if you have

Julianne Nienberg (43:29)
Mm.

Sara Ernst (43:31)
a spider that you see out in nature or even in the house, let's say in the house, because that often happens. First of all, get yourself a bug viewer or a big jar. You don't have to kill it. You can observe it. But let's say there's something inside. first, give it a name. You know, Jack. Why not? Or Stella. Sure.

Julianne Nienberg (43:32)
.

Sara Ernst (43:49)
Okay, it's Stella the spider. Okay, well, who wants to step on Stella now? You know, I mean, there's some, it's like giving a stuffed animal a name. It's things, children name things too because they want the attachment. And so instead of just stepping on the spider, you know, or tearing down the spider's web out in the woods, you are now,

Julianne Nienberg (43:51)
Right.

Sara Ernst (44:16)
tearing down Stella's web,

Julianne Nienberg (44:19)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (44:19)
okay? So one, there's now the connection because of the name. The second part is to give them a story. So you give them a name and then you give them a story. It doesn't have to be super long. Where has Stella been that day? I mean, make it whimsical or make it realistic. I mean, I would like to think that maybe Stella just got back from the market.

You know, she's already stored some things away. She's resting in the web that she built all night long

and just getting some fresh air. Maybe she's about to have a cup of tea, who knows? And so you allow your child to give Stella some sort of story, just a simple question like, where do you think she's gonna go after this? do you think she went, do you think her little spiderlings are at school today? I mean, just some, I don't know, have fun with it.

Julianne Nienberg (45:01)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (45:04)
That is the second part of the connection because not only does the spider now have a name, but it now has something attached

with it that makes it more of a being, more human-like. I mean, you're really giving it personification, it's creating, putting Stella in this new world of imagination and wonder.

Whereas before it was just a spider and a web like any other spider. And then the third part is to either nurture or shelter it if you can, depending on what the bug might be. In Stella the spider's case, it would be simply leaving the web alone because she worked all night long to create that one web which she will take down and rebuild. And it's a lot of hard work.

Julianne Nienberg (45:29)
Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm. Hmm.

Sara Ernst (45:54)
It's just leaving it alone because that's also how she catches her lunch, you know, like a, like a fishnet. So it's just understanding it.

That is how you can give empathy and very quickly. It only really in the grand scheme of things takes a few minutes to get through this. If you really want to, you see a snake, a black snake just headed toward the woods or, know, somewhere else. It's okay. It is not coming for you.

Julianne Nienberg (46:07)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (46:22)
They again, they're not seeking human contact. If your child or you were like, oh my goodness, know, it's okay. Who do you think that is? You know, it's Seth, the snake, you know, where is he headed to? He sure is going somewhere in a hurry. Where do we think he's going? Oh, he must have a job. That's what it is. He doesn't want to be late. You know, Seth now has a story. He's off to that. I can.

Julianne Nienberg (46:31)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Hmm.

Sara Ernst (46:48)
almost guarantee, especially depending on your child's age, that they will wonder once you create the name and the story, they will bring it up again. And the next time they see a snake or the next time they see a web, they might bring up Stella. They might ask you what you think Seth is doing. It has put that creature on a different platform.

they might not wanna hold it and that's not a bad thing. You don't want your kids holding everything in nature. Honestly, that's simply unwise because there are a lot of things that really should not be touched. But they have a new respect, a new admiration and even better, a new curiosity for them that can replace just stomping.

Julianne Nienberg (47:16)
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (47:36)
You know, if you see your kids stomping on ants, talk about it. You know, who do you think this is? You know, this is their home. You know, how would you feel if you saw a great big shoe above our house or our apartment, you know, about to come down? That's exactly what they're seeing. It's just, you have to turn it just into, again, give things personification and it really makes a big difference. But yeah, so that's how wild.

Julianne Nienberg (47:38)
Mm-hmm.

Sara Ernst (48:02)
can be compassionate. Your kids can still be

wild. It's okay to have risky play. It's okay to run around loudly and climb trees and do all the things. But it is the natural habitat for bugs and creatures. And that is their only home. And that is a fact. They are not going to move for us. And so we must move.

Julianne Nienberg (48:08)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Sara Ernst (48:29)
around them and

do it in a way that is respectful and caring so that they can thrive while we thrive. so yeah, that empathy and education is really powerful and I highly encourage it. But yeah, use the bug viewer. Use the bug viewer when you're inside.

Julianne Nienberg (48:35)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (48:51)
Just gather it up, it's okay, and then release it into the wild.

Or if you want, hold onto it for a few minutes, find out what it is. See if you can actually find out what kind of spider or thing it is. If your kids are into drawing, give them a chance to try to draw it. And then once it's released into the wild, you know, or give it a name and release it. Now they have drawn so-and-so, know, Billy the Beetle or whatever it is. And...

Julianne Nienberg (49:05)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (49:19)
they can learn more about it then, but there are just a lot of ways that you

don't have to crush nature. You can, you know, you can embrace it.

Julianne Nienberg (49:28)
What a great way to teach them about nature, but also similar to how we teach our kids or how we should all desire to teach our kids about compassion and empathy towards one another. But what a great way to teach compassion and empathy for animals and for creation and creatures that are, like you said, we're going out in their habitat, right?

We are wandering around in their home. And I'm sure you've read, but one of the classic books that I think that my kids really latched onto when it comes to animals and personification of animals with Charlotte's Web.

one that teaches compassion and empathy for creatures and, the willingness of, Fern to

to just be a champion for these animals with her family, right? My kids love that story. And also it was just, it was actually a great like vocabulary lesson for my young daughter who was reading it, I think starting in kindergarten or reading aloud with me, but then reading it in first grade, she began to use the words that Charlotte was, sharing with Wilbur and learning all of these things. And when you talked about that, I had said, that's exactly what, kids get a glimpse of sometimes through

Sara Ernst (50:16)
Yes.

Julianne Nienberg (50:41)
through stories do you have any favorite songs or books that you've written that helped teach this? point parents to a resource or a song or a book that you have that helps teach this compassion with animals and with nature?

Sara Ernst (50:53)
Yeah,

I think there are several, especially, well, in my poetry book, there are several because that is just, probably a resounding theme really. But probably the biggest is a song called I'm a Keeper of the Woods. And it's one of my favorites because it's truly how I feel. I mean, I really just kind of put how I feel.

Julianne Nienberg (51:08)
Mm hmm.

Sara Ernst (51:17)
about what should be done and what we shouldn't do in a song. And the fun part is that it's also kind of an oath within a song. And so in it, it also says in the end, raise your hand and make this, you know, oath to never be someone disrespectful or who litters causes

harm, disturbs the critters, never takes the time to care or see all the beauty, wonder, all the good. I'm a keeper of the woods. Won't you take this oath today with me? And

Julianne Nienberg (51:38)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (51:45)
that there is an actual oath. So I created an official Keeper of the Woods oath. It's on my website, which can just be printed off. And it's something really fun that if a child determines like, yes, I wanna do this and I'm gonna be a caretaker of creatures and a keeper of creatures and

Julianne Nienberg (52:01)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (52:03)
I'm gonna respect them, they can sign their own Keeper of the Woods oath. And that's their little, I'm gonna do this or not do this.

Julianne Nienberg (52:05)
Good

Sara Ernst (52:13)
But yeah, I'm a keeper of the woods. That is probably the one that I would say is closest to that, where it's just respect. Just respect. doesn't take a lot to just care, to give space and give respect. Don't poke things down holes. Don't, you know, all these things. But

my book, my whole book in general of Poetry for the Wild and Curious Ones, there are so many...

rhymes in that book about that. I mean there's one called warning talking about things that are toxic and not to be touched and things about behind the bark which a lot of people don't think of. Some people just rip off rotten wood but what you don't always realize is there's a whole community. There's life beneath the bark and ⁓

Julianne Nienberg (52:45)
Hmm. Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Sara Ernst (53:02)
And I wish more people understood that because they see a dead tree or a rotten log, but that rotten log is actually food, a home, and a village

Julianne Nienberg (53:10)
Mm-hmm.

Sara Ernst (53:12)
oftentimes for insects that are thriving off of that particular space. And so it's just things like that. And so those are all the things that was, there were too many, there's not enough time to make a song of all the things I wish I could sing about, but that's kind of where I put it in the poetry book.

Julianne Nienberg (53:24)
.

Sara Ernst (53:30)
and everything's done in an educational but kind of whimsical way and that's just kind how my brain works. But yeah, I would highly recommend that and I truly don't even mean that as I'm not out to build an empire.

I do everything, I'm self-published. I'm a one person everything and I don't have

workers. I don't have, you know, any of the things. And so when people buy my books, I'll tell you what it does for me. It rewards me in a different way than people probably think about. I don't look at them like, wow, I'll get some sort of royalty off of that. I hope people read things and just take something valuable from it. I truly do.

Julianne Nienberg (54:18)
I'll share all those links in the show notes to where where listeners can find your work.

Sara Ernst (54:23)
I just hope they get something wonderful, wonderful from it and something valuable. But the whole point is to teach. And I hope I hope that they'll see that when they when they flip through it. the kids and the parents too will be more inspired. So

Julianne Nienberg (54:37)
Absolutely. you know what, Sarah, before we wrap up, I wanted to, I want to do two things. One, I always ask of every guest is for our guests to share a simple outdoorsy challenge.

with the listeners and it's something that they can do throughout the week with their kids or maybe it's you know most of my listeners are moms maybe it's something that moms can do in their own time but what is one thing that you would challenge our listeners to do this week?

Sara Ernst (55:05)
All right, if it only is one, then I'm going to challenge you to go on a nature hunt, a nature treasure hunt. It can be right around your house. It doesn't have to be far. Let your children choose a nature treasure and you will choose one too.

That could be a blade of grass. It's it what they might see treasure in something that you would not. It might be an acorn cap. It might be a rock, but pick something, hunt for something that looks special, a flower in nature, and just make a special place for it in your home. Just for that week. It doesn't have to be forever, but put it on display like that is the treasure of the week.

Julianne Nienberg (55:51)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (55:51)
because when you begin

to search for treasures in nature even one day, you will search for treasures other days. And I can almost guarantee it will become a very beloved tradition, at least in early childhood, to search for a nature treasure. Let that be something really special. You could do it together. It's very simple and it can be done anywhere. I would just encourage you, because this is something state to state,

There are a lot of places where collecting feathers are actually illegal. do know, you do your research, but you need to know the things with that. But just simple things. Yeah, collect a treasure. That is my challenge. It's magical.

Julianne Nienberg (56:25)
Okay.

That's awesome. listeners, your outdoorsy challenge for this week is to go on a nature treasure hunt and to admire your treasure throughout this week. And then lastly, Sarah, would you sing us a song?

Sara Ernst (56:43)
I would love to, I'd love to. So I am

going to do a song that I wrote exactly for moms and their kids. It's called Nature Buddies and whether you are a nature reluctant mom or you're a very outdoorsy mom already, I encourage you to get outside with your children because it can create a bond and a space for you that you never.

ever imagined possible with your kids. They're just seeking magic and wonder. And if you allow that to happen between you, you might just end up becoming the best of nature buddies.

Mama, take me to the river now. Mama, where land meets the water now. Mama, it doesn't matter. We'll wash off all that dirt. And mama, take me to the forest now. Mama, where there are nests and mama, you are the best. We'll listen to the sounds. Mama, chase me through the grass and mama, we'll stop for a snack and mama.

Mama, we'll lay on our backs and watch the clouds flow by There's so much we can discover We only need one another I'll be your little explorer and you'll always be my guide So mama, take me in the moonlight Mama, wear it shine and bright Mama, before we say goodnight let's snuggle extra tight

Baby, we will discover ⁓ baby, we just need each other ⁓ baby, I love you forever My nature buddy, right?

Julianne Nienberg (58:18)
Hmm.

Sara Ernst (58:35)
Let's hold on tight.

Julianne Nienberg (58:42)
⁓ that was so beautiful. Sarah, what a treat. Thank you so much for spending your day with us and for sharing your wisdom and your beautiful storytelling through your work. This has really been such a joy and I'm so glad that we could here.

Sara Ernst (58:43)
Thank you.

⁓ thank you.

This was

such a treat for me too. yeah, just everybody who's listening, be blessed. Remember, give grace, give space, just magic is everywhere if you just allow it to be found. remember, it doesn't have to be grand. It can just be really small and just.

know that you're cared for, you're loved, and nature's out there to give therapy, to give free breathing. It is free. You just have to be willing to step out into it and allow it to offer you all the things it wants to.

Julianne Nienberg (59:27)
Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. I hope this episode left you feeling encouraged and inspired to get outside and enjoy nature wherever your feet are. If you loved what you heard, it would mean the world to me if you tap those five stars or leave a quick review. It helps other outdoorsy minded moms find the show and grow the sweet little community. And if you're looking for more ways to simplify, slow down, and connect through nature, you can find me over on Instagram at myoutdoorsymom, read the blog at myoutdoorsymom.com, or explore all my digital resources and seasonal guides in the shop.

Everything's linked right there in the show notes. Until next time, take a deep breath, step outside, and I'll meet you back here next week.