Nature Created Play

Nature Created Play Nature Created Play is a consulting business specializing in nature-based play spaces and education. Available to in-person or distance learning and workshops.

09/03/2026

No stencils. No handprints turned into turkeys. Just paint, paper, and a child completely absorbed in what their hands can do.

This is process art. The value is not in what it looks like when it's done. It's in everything that happened while it was being made. The mixing, the choosing, the total focus.

Product art has its place. But moments like this are where creative confidence actually gets built.

What's your go-to process art setup right now? Tell me below. 👇

09/02/2026

An activity for when you find yourself saying NO THANK YOU, STOP THAT, DON'T DO THAT.
Do this with your team or your whole staff!
Start deconstructing those "automatic no's"

Am i saying you can never say no? Nope I'm not saying that. But I am saying, look at little more closely when you do say no and you might find the reason you're saying no doesn't actually hold a lot of weight

Whether you're still setting up or already a few weeks into the year, this one's worth a pause.A classroom wall covered ...
09/02/2026

Whether you're still setting up or already a few weeks into the year, this one's worth a pause.

A classroom wall covered in adult-made art says something to a child, even if we don't mean it to. It says: this is what finished looks like. This is the standard. This is what we value here.

A wall with a child's actual work on it, the wobbly lines, the color that went way outside the paper, the painting that looks like nothing and means everything to them, says something completely different.

Swipe through before you hang anything else.

Directors: this is the one to share with your whole team before the school year fully settles in.

What's one thing currently on your classroom walls that you're rethinking? Tell me below. 👇

09/01/2026

Life is all about balance.

Free loose parts collected outside + training that changes what you see when children pick them up.

A mud kitchen made from thrift store pots + the knowledge of which schemas it supports.

Sticks and rocks from the walk to school + a teacher who knows exactly what to do next.

The materials are almost always free. The understanding of what to do with them is the investment.

Both matter. Both belong in the room.

DM/comment PD and I'll send you what we're offering for this school year.

June I was so jelly I cried. (ok maybe more exhausted and intensely inspired, but also jelly). I literally walked into m...
08/30/2026

June I was so jelly I cried. (ok maybe more exhausted and intensely inspired, but also jelly). I literally walked into my hotel room, looked at my husband, fell onto the bed and started crying saying, "Today was sooo amazing!"

Swipe through my jealous... moments 🫣

The site tours of the Natural Start Conference in San Antonio had me feeling all the feels. Jealous of these amazing spaces. Inspired to do more. And even contemplating having my own space here in tucson 😬

Did you have any inspiring moments this summer? Cool places that really made you pause? Share!! I'm genuinely asking.

The most useful thing I do in the first week of school is not planning. It's watching.Before I decide what the loose par...
08/25/2026

The most useful thing I do in the first week of school is not planning. It's watching.

Before I decide what the loose parts corner will hold. Before I set up the next invitation. Before I introduce anything new, I watch.

Who goes straight to the materials. Who circles the room three times before they touch anything. Who needs to be near the door. Who is already carrying things from one end of the space to the other before anyone has even said good morning.

All of that tells me more than any lesson plan I could have written over the summer.

Swipe through what I actually look for. Whether you're just starting your school year or already a few weeks in, there's still time to observe before you plan.

What's the most surprising thing you've noticed about a child in the first few weeks? Tell me below. 👇

08/23/2026

Okay, trying this one out. Instagram says you can comment with images now, so let's use it for something good.

Drop a photo of your favorite outdoor learning space in the comments. Your classroom, your backyard, a spot you visit on field trips, anywhere kids get to explore outside. I want to see it.

This account runs on real classrooms and real teachers, and I would love this comment section to be a little gallery of that. Share something cool and borrow a great idea from someone else's photo!

08/21/2026

People ask what early childhood teachers actually make. Not much on paper. (In fact it's the lowest paid profession in the US). But in a classroom, the real answer is bigger than any number.

We make children feel capable of hard things. We make them feel seen when no one else is looking.

We make them brave enough to fall down and try again. We make them feel like their ideas are worth following. We make them feel at home in the world.

If you're a teacher doing this work, this one is for you. Send it to another teacher who needs to hear it today.

Today is World Photography Day! There was a child I worked with for months before I understood what she was doing. Then ...
08/20/2026

Today is World Photography Day!

There was a child I worked with for months before I understood what she was doing. Then I took a photo of her one afternoon. Just one. I brought it to our co-teacher debrief and set it on the table, and it finally CLICKED! (scroll to slide 6!)

A photo from a simple hike. Seeds tossed into the air.
And then the realization. OHHHH WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE!

It was a pattern. A child returning again and again to the same idea. Watching how things move, spiral, fall.

What looked like “just throwing” was actually deep, repeated learning.

That photo didn't teach us anything the classroom hadn't already shown us. It just made us slow down enough to actually look.

Try it this week. Even ten minutes.

Are you someone who photographs play regularly? Tell me what it's changed for you. 👇

Kyla's corner of the internet. Nature and play edition. 🌱If you know, you know.Drop the one that hit hardest in the comm...
08/14/2026

Kyla's corner of the internet. Nature and play edition. 🌱

If you know, you know.

Drop the one that hit hardest in the comments. 👇

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