Podcast Summary:

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Episode: 1KHO 640: Children Improve Their Attention Spans Outside
Host: Jenny Urton
Guest: Angela Hanscom (Founder, TimberNook; Author of "Balanced and Barefoot")
Date: December 4, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode highlights the critical importance of outdoor, unrestricted play in childhood development. Host Jenny Urton and guest Angela Hanscom discuss how movement and time in nature nurture attention spans, foster vital social and emotional skills, and transform families, education, and communities. Angela shares research, practical stories from TimberNook programs, and advice for parents and educators seeking to reclaim the heart of childhood from modern pressures like screens and overscheduling.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Growth of TimberNook (01:24–03:52)

• Expanding Reach: TimberNook has launched new programs in Colorado, Hawaii, and Jackson, Michigan, and now partners with schools like St. Francis of Assisi and Seton Academy.

• Mission: Restoring authentic, community-based outdoor play to combat the increase in sedentary, screen-based childhoods.

  “Kids are very sedentary... The whole mission behind TimberNook is to restore the authentic occupation of outdoor play and bring it back into communities.”
  — Angela Hanscom (02:51)

• Changing School Partnerships: Increase in schools seeking monthly TimberNook field trips to address behavioral and attention challenges not solved by conventional means.

2. Outdoor Play and Attention Spans (05:52–10:40)

• Negative Impacts of Screen Time: Screens decrease children’s ability to maintain attention, even counteracting therapeutic interventions.

  “Screens are actually going against the therapeutic benefits.”
  — Angela Hanscom (05:52)

• The Vestibular System and Attention (07:16–09:17):

  • Active, multi-directional movement (spinning, swinging, rolling) is essential for stimulating the vestibular system, which in turn activates the brain’s attention systems.

  “It turns the reticular activating system on in the brain to pay attention.”
  — Angela Hanscom (07:17)

  • Sedentarism and too-upright movement lead to underdeveloped vestibular senses, poor coordination, and shorter attention spans.

  “Most kids are so sedentary and so restricted in their movement that a lot of kids are walking around with an underdeveloped vestibular sense.”
  — Angela Hanscom (09:28)

• Practical Effects: Improved balance and body awareness correlate directly with better attention in the classroom.

3. Outdoor Play and Social Skills Development (12:14–29:37)

• Formation of Leadership and Social Skills (12:14–19:43):

  • Outdoor play naturally prompts leadership, teamwork, conflict resolution, and boundary setting among mixed age groups.

  “You’re forming leaders... that community of children are helping to form the individual.”
  — Montessori teacher (via Angela Hanscom) (12:14)

  • Example: Children organize teams, set boundaries during play, and negotiate roles in real time without adult micromanagement.

• The Importance of Non-Interference by Adults (19:43–29:37):

  • Authentic social learning happens best when adults treat themselves like lifeguards—intervening only when truly needed.
  • Example: A group of girls and a boy resolve a fort conflict and emotional fallout on their own, developing empathy and inclusive social negotiation.

  “She listened to him... She showed empathy. She was able to walk him through some advanced communication techniques.”
  — Angela Hanscom (23:45)

  • Adults’ over-involvement can prevent neurological and social development, and traditional “social skills groups” do not replace real-world peer interaction.

4. Outdoor Play and Emotional Resilience (31:15–33:44)

• Growth in Emotional Regulation:
  • Outdoor, social play generates frequent opportunities for practicing frustration tolerance and emotional management.
  • Children learn flexibility, patience, and how to handle "not always getting what they want."

  “That sense of entitlement... goes out the window at TimberNook... You have to be more mentally flexible with other people’s ideas.”
  — Angela Hanscom (32:04)

  • Time in nature lowers cortisol, calms the brain, and improves mood.

5. Outdoor Play and Creativity (33:46–35:08)

• Boredom as a Springboard: Time without screens and adult entertainment encourages children to invent, build, and experiment.

  “They keep getting more and more creative... those children that had done Timbernook came back and they became the models of creative play for the other children.”
  — Angela Hanscom (33:49)

• Declining Childhood Creativity: Referencing research (e.g., NASA studies) showing that openness and creative thinking steeply drop as children age—making frequent, unstructured outdoor play critical.

6. The Mental Shift for Parents and Educators (39:44–43:32)

• Letting Go & Relearning Trust:

  • TimberNook’s approach liberates parents and teachers from micromanagement, offering them the “lifeguard” perspective—vigilant but hands-off unless safety is threatened.

  “It's very freeing... to realize, oh, I can let go. I don’t have to be in the center of their play.”
  — Angela Hanscom (41:44)

• Impact on Teachers:

  • Teachers observing outdoor play gain new insight into children’s capacities, often observing different strengths and needs than in the classroom.

7. Real-World Stories and Parenting Lessons (45:42–47:28)

• Letting Siblings Learn: Story of a five-year-old joyfully giving a one-year-old sibling trampoline rides—a snapshot of risk, trust, and exuberance that both children manage on their own.
• Lasting Impact:

  “If as a parent you can trust your children at ages 5 and 13 months... that skill, you’re going to need it all the way through.”
  — Jenny Urton (45:42)

8. The Undiscussed Impact on Parents and Identity (46:58–47:28)

• Overprotection can impede healthy identity formation for children, who need the freedom to learn their boundaries and abilities through direct experience, not constant adult direction.

9. The Case for Outdoor Programs in Schools & New Research (48:14–53:26)

• University of New Hampshire Research: New study shows TimberNook programming increases not only attention and social/emotional function, but also willingness to take academic risks and improves school culture.

  “More risk taking out in Timber Nook through play actually helped translate to more risk taking academically as well, which was... a really cool finding.”
  — Angela Hanscom (48:14)

• School Adoption: Schools with TimberNook-integrated curriculums expand outdoor play blocks to 2+ hours, observing student and teacher satisfaction, improved behavior, and richer educational outcomes.

10. The Core Beliefs of TimberNook (54:04–54:07)

• Angela Hanscom states:
  • Outdoor play is inherently therapeutic
  • Children require time and space to move
  • Nature provides ultimate sensory input
  • Children deserve distance from the adult world
  • Outdoor play benefits children in all domains (physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Children improve their attention span when they play outside on a daily basis.”
  — Jenny Urton (11:13)
• “Most kids are so sedentary and so restricted in their movement that a lot of kids are walking around with an underdeveloped vestibular sense.”
  — Angela Hanscom (09:28)
• “You’re forming leaders... that community of children are helping to form the individual.”
  — Angela Hanscom (12:14)
• “She listened to him... She showed empathy. She was able to walk him through some advanced communication techniques.”
  — Angela Hanscom (23:45)
• “You might not say anything. You might shrug or you might give them a thumbs up... Kids are so used to being entertained... [but] they will eventually get bored and find something to do.”
  — Angela Hanscom (29:37)
• “Nature provides the ultimate sensory experience. Children deserve distance from the adult world.”
  — Angela Hanscom (54:04)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• TimberNook Growth & Philosophy: 01:24–03:52
• Screens & Attention, the Vestibular System: 05:52–10:40
• Social Skills through Outdoor Play: 12:14–29:37
• Emotional Regulation in Nature: 31:15–33:44
• Fostering Creativity: 33:46–35:08
• Parental & Educational Mindset Shifts: 39:44–43:32
• Stories of Real-World Risk & Trust: 45:42–47:28
• TimberNook Research / School Implementation: 48:14–53:26
• TimberNook Core Beliefs / Closing: 54:04–55:13

Takeaways for Listeners

• Unstructured, active outdoor play is a biological and developmental necessity for children—not an optional “extra.”
• The skills and self-regulation children develop in nature cannot be replaced by structured programs, screens, or adult-driven activities.
• Adults benefit from stepping back: trusting, observing, and retraining themselves to allow the childhood learning process to unfold naturally.
• Implementing or seeking out programs like TimberNook can revitalize attention, creativity, and personal agency in both children and educators—impacting families and communities for generations.

Resource Links Referenced:

• [Angela Hanscom's TimberNook website for training, resources, and videos (e.g., “cushion method” and interviews with children)]
• Angela’s book: Balanced and Barefoot
• Further reading: Simplicity Parenting, Free to Learn, It's OK Not To Share by Heather Shumaker

Angela’s final encouragement:

“There are so many ways that people can get involved in Timber Nook... And you are helping provide that for them.” (54:07)