50. 1000 Hours Outside with Ginny Yurich

1000 hours may seem like a lot to be outside until you learn that that's the average amount of screen time kids are consuming throughout the year.  Combating screen time with green time is Ginny's specialty! Tune in to hear her story of how she started getting her kids outside and how she continues to year after year. 

Nature play has changed my children's lives as well as my own.  It has helped give them their childhood back and continues to be an important part of their development. 

GINNY'S NEW BOOK IS OUT NOW! You can buy your copy of Until the Streetlights Come On here!

Find everything you need for your outdoor adventures at 1000hoursoutside.com.

Follow Ginny on Instagram @1000hoursoutside

Listen to her inspiring podcast 1000 Hours Outside here or anywhere you get your podcasts!

Start your KindSchooling journey today! Head to www.teamkindhumans.com or follow me on Instagram @katie_doughty!

Transcript

Katie Doughty: 0:04

everyone welcome back to another episode of raising Cain humans. I am just coming off of finishing the gratitude preschool class that I put on this morning with my dear friend Lauren, of Miss Lauren's Music Studio. And I haven't taught preschool since. I think it was spring of 2001 when I spent the whole year on zoom with preschoolers for leaping letters. It was a very joyful time, in a dark time. But I was kind of itching to get back, I missed preschool and I miss doing the fun activities with them. So I put together this gratitude preschool class in honor Thanksgiving coming up. And I wasn't entirely sure how it would go because kids are back to school. We're not zooming as often. But it was so fun. It was so fun. And it just reminded me how much joy it brings to be able to teach kids from their living room. So we read a story about gratitude. And we played gratitude bingo. And we did a craft, we did a thankful pumpkin and Miss Lauren did some beautiful thankful songs that we could sing along with her. And it was a good time. I'm really excited. So keep an eye out because now that I know it works and it was fun and kids are engaged and loving it. I will be putting out more classes like this. So keep an eye out for those. I'll keep you posted when those are ready. And I hope you can come join us if you have a preschooler or kindergartner is a great age about three to six or so is a great age for these live classes. So they're live. They're interactive, we work together, we talk together we share our ideas. And we learn together. And speaking of leaping letters, I just wanted to let you know that it is currently on sale for the lovely low price of 1984 is set at that price, because I am still celebrating my birthday. And that was such a lovely year to be born. So 1984 is all it costs right now to get the entire library of leaping letters, videos, we go A to Z, we do art we do playdough and letter writing and gymnastics and movement activities and so many fun things as you learn all about the alphabet. So that is available for you to unchain. humans.com/leaping letters, you can snag yours now. And that is lifetime access. So you can play through the alphabet with multiple children on your own time. And have me in your living room. So if you want to grab that team can humans.com/sleeping letters. Oh, today's episode. Oh my gosh, you have no idea how thrilled I was to talk to Jenny rich of 1000 hours outside. I have been following Ginny for a while now she is such an inspiration. She takes a pretty simple concept and makes it so impactful in your family life. So she encourages families to get outside for 1000 hours a year. And that sounds like a lot. But when you break it down, she has tons of amazing calendars and trackers. When you break it down. It's actually really doable. And the benefits that happen for your kids, for you for your family are incredible. And I have experienced it firsthand. I have seen the changes in my own children from getting them outside more frequently and getting them to play and be that unstructured outdoor time is it's just so important. And I've seen some huge improvements in my kids, specifically in my youngest who was experiencing some anxiety earlier in the year. And I noticed when I started getting him outside more frequently and encouraging him to get outside and play. That anxiety started to improve. And his confidence came back. He was willing to try new things. A lot of his anxiety centered around separation anxiety and leaving me that became a little better. And he was excited to go to different classes. And now he's in some full time classes all day long. And I'm thriving and I really do believe it's because we made the conscious effort to get outside. So I'm really excited that you get to hear Jenny's story because she's so relatable and she makes it so simple to make major improvements. In your family life, and I'm really, really grateful that she took the time to sit down with me and talk about this really important topic. So without further ado, please welcome Jenny. Jenny, welcome to the raising kind humans Podcast. I'm so so thrilled that I get to sit across from you today and dive in to all of the goodness that you are putting out in this world. So welcome. Oh, you

Ginny Yurich: 5:25

are so sweet to say that I am honored and thrilled to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Katie Doughty: 5:30

This is going to be so much fun. I have been following you for a couple of years now listening to your podcast and printing out those trackers and trying to do our 1000 hours outside. And I just find that you are so motivating because you make it so real, and simple and kind of a duh, we need to be doing this, this is such an easy thing to do, that will have maximum benefits for our kids. And so I appreciate your little nuggets of inspiration and your reminders. And I'm always excited when I see your podcast episode pop up with a new episode like this time. So thank you for putting all that out. That's too much

Ginny Yurich: 6:11

trying to motivate myself at the same time. Right? I think that this is a day and age where it's easy to lose motivation. And not even motivation, but easy to lose direction, where our time gets so sucked up. And we just forget. So basically what I'm doing is trying to motivate myself and then just sharing what I'm doing what and I

Katie Doughty: 6:27

think that's amazing, because you make it feel doable, because you're doing it too, right. Like you are in the trenches, you are doing the same thing and telling people, Hey, this is hard for me to but this is so important. So let's do this together. And I love that come with me attitude that you have.

Ginny Yurich: 6:45

Well, thank you appreciate that. Yeah, and I think that I think we just share our lives, right, I think that's one of the best things that we can do. And I think the people that I've been most influenced by, who have written books, and a lot of the books sometimes are even a little edgy, like, like they're sharing things that people get offended by, or I've gotten offended by. But most of the time, it's just sharing their life and what's worked and what hasn't worked. And I think because they're actually doing it, then you can join in. And that's what I get a lot out of,

Katie Doughty: 7:13

yes or and also kind of the take what works for you and leave the rest, right? Like you can, you can follow and follow along with whoever's doing whatever they're doing. And if it works for you, great. And if it doesn't, you can leave it to like not everything is a one size fits fits all for everyone. So it's kind of nice to be able to pick and choose and then yeah, be along for the ride. Tell me about how you got started that because you are a mom and how many kids do you have? We have five kids? Five kids. Okay, so tell us a little bit about your origin story of how you started realizing, okay, this is important. I've got to get my kids outside, I need to spread this message.

Ginny Yurich: 7:54

Okay, well, my origin story is I just struggled, I was a total mess. I had these kids and I thought I was gonna be amazing at it. And I wasn't. And I just was overwhelmed by the amount, the sheer amount of work. It was to have a child we had three and under three years, but like literally right from the beginning with one kid. I was like, Whoa, what is going on here. And I had planned like to have a schedule. And I had planned to be a little routine with like what we were doing in that didn't work and I was expecting it to work. So then I was really lost. And I was lost actually for a very long time. Because I wasn't quite sure how to pass the day. So I had been used to working I worked right up until we had our first child like I worked up till Friday. And then he came on Monday. So you know you're working right and your your life is full. And then all of a sudden your life is not full. But it's full in a different way of these tasks that you're always behind on and you have a crying baby and you can't like get your housework and you didn't make the meal and you didn't extras and you're just you haven't showered. And it was just really a hard transition for me and one that I never really came out of. And we had these other babies. And so I was in the spot where I loved my kids. But I didn't love being a mom. But I wanted to love being a mom. That was the thing. Like I was excited about it. I'd always wanted to be a mom. And here I am. It's like a conundrum. Right Katie? Like, oh, no, you know, and this lasted for years. And so what I was doing was I was trying to pass the time with programs. So that's what other people were doing. I like looked around like was everyone else doing with their time. So people are signing up for this and they're signing up for like the little kicker soccer and they're signing up for swim lessons. And they're signing up for this moms club. And they're signing up for the library programming. So I was doing all those things, but they were so much work for 45 minutes. So I you know, I always I tell the story. Sometimes I was like, what is it like to try and get three small kids to the library. It's like a circus, you know, like everyone's in different size diapers, and everyone needs an extra change of clothes and you have to have your library books and then you have to have the stroller and you're having to get every single kid into the car seat and all that They're all nursing at the same time, and you know, then this one throws up and then that one has a diaper thing, and then you're running late, and then you got to get there. And then you got to get everybody out. And you got to make sure that this one's holding your hand. And as that one in the stroller and that one's crying, you got to get them in the door, make sure no one gets their fingers smashed, and you got to return the books, and then you got to find the room for the labor problem, then then you get in there, and your kids don't even want to do it, you know, so then you're trying to keep them quiet. And I'm like, you're trying to feed them a snack, and then they're dropping the snack in this one's crying. And at our library, they would at the very end of the program, they would dump out toys in the middle of the floor. Okay, that's cute. These are new toys. But like, I'm trying to nurse a baby, and my kid is fighting with that kid because they both want the same toy and you can't and I don't know, I was like, This is exhausting. Picture. So then you got to do it all in reverse.

Katie Doughty: 10:48

You have to get back in the car.

Ginny Yurich: 10:51

No, no, look at my watch. And it'll be like 11am You haven't you haven't had lunch. I've been up since five. You know, I'm like, my workday is done. Like I have already put in a full seven hours on no sleep. Whatever. So anyway, that's how life was. And I just was really I was very depressed when it was in a dark spot. Because I was like, this is like my every single day. And the kids were clingy. Like we had family that was willing to help but the babies were clingy. Like they wouldn't go I remember. I remember our youngest daughter. I took her to, to the grandparents to like in her grandparents are so loving. Like they're so attentive, my husband's mom used to run a daycare. So I mean, there's so they'll play with the kids. And she was like four, I think I mean, she was old, it three and a half, four, I had something I had to do. And I had to drop her off for a couple hours. And I mean, she she wailed the whole way there. I mean, just wailed that I was not going to be with her. You know, I mean, she's seven, she still was like, Can I sit by you? Can I come sleep in your bed? Can I do that? You know, like, they're just attached. And so you have people that are willing to help but like your kid, your kid is not willing to be held.

Katie Doughty: 12:12

Right? They're not open.

Ginny Yurich: 12:14

Like, it wasn't my choice. You know, you can't like you know, like, I can leave my screaming baby a little bit, but like not like all the time. So anyway, that was just how I was living. And then I had a friend at mops, because mops is another one of the programs that you go to right like, and they have childcare. So he was really drop your kids off. And then mine always cry. So they always bring my kids back to me. I was like, oh my goodness, like I'm the mom sitting at the table like bouncing several kids. And anyway, but I had this friend at mops, who told me about so these are just like the happenstance things sometimes they happen in life. Sometimes I think like, what if I wouldn't have been with that mom at that table? Like it's so random. So this mom was going to homeschool and we were going to homeschool too. So we already both knew. But she had her child was one year older than our oldest child. And so she had started to research I had not done any research. So she was researching. And she came to my office one day and she said, Charlotte Mason says kids should be outside for four to six hours, whenever the weather is tolerable. And I'd never heard of Charlotte Mason. And I thought that's really weird. Four to six hours, I was like, this is the library program times five, you know, like his dad would be awful. That's how I was thinking. I learned years later. I don't know when that Charlotte Mason was from the 1800s. And also never had kids. So I was like, I feel like my friend should have caveat it. Right? She didn't tell me that. I'm thinking this is like information. Yeah, like this is current information from a mother. And but anyway, Charlotte Mason actually had some really revolutionary ideas. And, and so many of them have stood the test of time. But this four to six hour thing. I just thought well, I mean, that's really silly. like nobody's doing that. Nobody lives that way. Who has four to six hours. But anyway, so my friend was like, she gives me the information, then she's like, Would you like to try it? And I was thinking like, no, of course not, like, do that. That's gonna be awful. Like, have you been to the library program? And this is way longer. So anyway, but you know, in those years, you're really trying to have friendships. Yes. And it's I think that's a really tricky part of early motherhood is trying to build those relationships, for your own sanity for your kids have relationships, while also being in these really trying years. So I said I would go, and this is in 2011. So it's been a long time. It's been 12 years. Almost exactly. It was in September of 2011. Where we went to a park from nine in the morning to one in the afternoon. It was a park that had no place set, no playground was grass grass. What what are we doing? You know, like we don't have water table. We don't have playdough we don't have a craft. We don't have bullets like what are these kids gonna do? And she had said to bring up a blanket and a picnic lunch and it was Katie it was like, such a life changing day because it was my first good day as a mom. Oh, gosh, I hadn't had one. And I've been a mom for three years. And I had not had a good day. And what happened was we got there at nine in the morning, which wasn't hard, because when little kids get up super early, so no problem to get there by nine in the morning, brought food brought the blanket, she had to toddler preschoolers running around, so did I. So there's four kids to run around with each other. And then we each had a baby. And the baby's just nursed and slept and sat and grabbed at the grass. And it was beautiful weather and the sun and the leaves and it smelled good. And I got to have a conversation, like finish a conversation. And the kids would just kind of run back and forth. And they would get food when they wanted it. I have no idea what they did, for four hours, no idea. There was nothing to do. There was like a little creek bed, they were throwing rocks, they were running, they were climbing things I don't know. But all I knew is that by one o'clock, I felt good. And they felt good. And then they all fell asleep on the way home all three, all at the same time. I was like miracle magic. So then I drove around for a couple hours, you know, like, enjoy the quiet, gas was cheaper, it was a thing. You know, and then it's four o'clock, and all of a sudden I'm closer to dinner, and I felt refreshed. And so I change how we were doing early childhood, right then like immediately, like I'm gonna stop doing all these different programs, you know, do some of them, there's nothing wrong with them. But I couldn't sustain that level of output for that short period of time. And so these things were lasting for us, we would stay. Sometimes the kids are doing fine, you stay till one o'clock you stay till two o'clock, you know you're at the apple orchard or whatever the thing is. And so there was a small group of moms. And when I say small, I mean pretty small, three or four, that were willing to live life the same way. And we would just pick the best weather days of the week, and we would meet up and the kids would play. And we would go home. Now I did it really solely for my own mental health at the beginning. Because I thought, well look, if I'm in a better mental state, and I can be more present, and I'm not so overwhelmed, I'll be a better mom, we'll have a better family. But what I noticed really quickly is that our kids were all of a sudden thriving, like they weren't getting sick as much. They were happier, they were eating better, they were getting along better. It was like an overnight change for them too. And so it just took me down a path like the last 12 years of reading books about how time simple time in nature, nothing that the parent has to coerce, like, you don't have to plan anything for it. You don't have to run games. And you don't have to make scavenger hunts. It's like the simple act of stepping outside where you're at the nature that you have around you, helps kids develop in all facets of their being. So it helps their social skills that help them emotionally, it helps them physically, it helps their cognition. So it helps to academics and helps them spiritually if that's something that families are looking for. And it's doing the same for me too. So it's sort of like this win win. And I had no idea. I like nature, for me was an afterthought. It's like somebody's like, oh, yeah, we can go to the park, or whatever if we have time, but I just changed to having it be a priority. And we've been living that way for 12 years, Katie 12 years, the number came from the number came from Dr. Scott Sampson had a book called How to Raise a wild child, there was a statistics out there about how kids are outside for four to seven minutes a day. On average, like in free play four to seven minutes of free play outside a day on average, which I don't think that kids are actually playing for four minutes, I think that maybe they get like 30 minutes twice a week is probably something like that, because it was like an average daily thing. But on screens for four to seven hours. And so I used to be a math teacher. It was intriguing to me. So I was curious how much time we were spending outside. And it added up to about 1200 hours, like we had this little nature group that was getting together a couple times a week 18 to 20 hours. So that was about 1200 hours a year. And that matched the amount of screen time back in 2011 or 2012. That was the average amount of screen time kids were getting. And so my thought was, Wow, what a different life we would have. If all of that time had gone to screens. Not that we're anti screen, but that so much life would just get sucked away. So I just thought, Well, hey, here's the thing, like if that if kids are on screens for 1200 hours a year, then some time is there that we can take from that and divvy it up a little bit better and have a little bit more balanced because four to seven minutes versus four to seven hours is not balanced and key and balanced. And barefoot is a book by Angela Hanscom, who is a pediatric occupational therapist and she also talks about the three hours a day is about the amount that kids should have like throughout the day. entirety of childhood including the teen years for optimal growth and development is an average of three hours outside a day. So it was sort of this sort of within a year's period of time, because there's different seasons, we go through different things for different seasons, figuratively, and literally, can we aim to bring back balance to childhood between real life and virtual life?

Katie Doughty: 20:22

Oh, my gosh, what an incredible journey you've been on and such a revelation that I love that it started with, like, I just need a minute. And I need to be a better mom right now. And this is going to be for me. And what's so interesting, like you said about, you didn't even know what they did. And that was their first experience being outside for that long. And they just did it, which is such a huge thing, like kids. They want to be outside they want to play and they know what to do. And I think we worry, you're going to be bored, how am I going to entertain them? They're just going to bug me, I they're going to need all the things and I just want to have a minute, but they don't. I participate in a wild and free group. And it's so interesting to watch these kids just go. Once they see a friend, they're like, I'm out. See you later, mom, see you in a couple hours when I'm hungry. And they they don't even have a playground equipment, you know, they can just enjoy, like you said, throwing rocks in the stream or going for a little hike or coming up with games in the grass. They're so capable. And they actually really love it. So I think it's cool that that happened to you on day one that you were like, oh, yeah, maybe this is okay,

Ginny Yurich: 21:37

one day to a life change one day,

Katie Doughty: 21:39

why didn't one day which is such a nice reminder for parents who are like, Oh, I just I don't know about getting outside. And like, we have so many other things to do. But literally one day, and I have to tell you about my son because he he was he was not born to love being dirty, or, you know, being out in the elements like he's a definitely an indoor kid. And granted, we had COVID. And he was kind of growing up in that time. But my daughter is like she would live in a mud puddle if I let her. So there are two very different children. But with 1000 hours outside making that effort and getting him outside, I've noticed such a huge transformation in his desire to be outside and his ability to find something to do because a lot of the times he was like, I don't know what to do. And he didn't want to go outside because he didn't know what to do. And so I had I was trying to track. I love checking things off. I am a box checker. So I love your trackers. But I'm also like February 3, I'm like, where's my tracker? I don't even know where it is. And a dear friend told me she said, you know, we I couldn't keep up with the trackers. But all I tried to do is get outside every day. That's it. I just tried to get outside every day. I thought, okay, I can try that. And so I got my kids on board, and I made them just like I was like a magnet board. So it said Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, all the way to Senate. And they got to put on a little animal every time they went outside, they just had to go outside. I didn't put a requirement on it. It was just that and they thought that was so cool. That one day after about a week or two, I heard my son yelled down the hall Mom, I'm going to get my time outside. And I was like it's happening like you just putting in that little bit of effort is making all the difference. And I've noticed for him, you know, he's kind of clumsy before and not really aware of his body. And I've just noticed a huge transformation in the amount of time we've been outside that he has more control over his body movements. And like he's more, he's a lot braver and more courageous and trying new things and claiming and it's just made all the difference for me and my kids. So I'm so grateful that you figured this out, and now you're sharing with us.

Ginny Yurich: 23:56

I mean, I didn't even figure it out. It's like my friend figured it out at mops. Her name's Angela. And she lives in Texas. So she figured out after Charlotte Mason figured it out. So, you know, I think it's just about finding what works for you. And I mean, I I wrote about it and talked about it for years and years and years and years before anyone else was like, oh, yeah, that works for me, too. It's about being intentional. I think it's about knowing, in this high pressure parenting society, where we feel this pressure as soon as kids are born born, even before they're born, like you know, I remember thinking like, I had the fact that like, I'm gonna put these headphones on my pregnant belly and play the Mozart. I mean, I you have those thoughts of this race, this feeling of a race and hustle. But it's just such a gift to know that, like what you said, when the kids get together and they just run off and play. They have profound capacity to self educate, and to learn what they need to learn in their own time and to grow, how they need to grow and their own On timeframe, and we can trust that I mean, their kids are phenomenal. Yes,

Katie Doughty: 25:05

it's trusting the child, which is hard to do sometimes. But it is so true. Giving them the time and the space that they need without overscheduling every minute of their day is so profound, it just makes all the difference. And I've loved these homeschooling years, I was a public school teacher, before I had my daughter, and then she started public school, she went to kindergarten in first grade, and then everything shut down in first grade. So I homeschooled. And then I fell in love with it. And I found people like you, I'm like, Oh, this is a thing. This is a whole beautiful thing that I want to be a part of. And it's just given my family the time back that I didn't know I was missing. And then I didn't know my kids needed. And now I get to watch them spend hours outside building a sand cafe, you know, while their peers are inside, you know, in their chairs, and I just, I'm so grateful for that time, not only for the relationship with each other, but just their own mental health and ability to grow. So it's been, it's just been a beautiful thing to watch unfold. And I, I love that nature is a part of it. Yeah,

Ginny Yurich: 26:19

it's like we've lost the wisdom that the sand Cafe is worthy. Yes, it's just as worthy as any of the other thing is, and I think we are really unbalanced in that way, as well. And we talked about screens, screens and outside time and screens and hands on experiences. There's an imbalance there. But there is also an imbalance between we are whole people. And so if we're going to spend X amount of time on cognitive growth, and cognitive growth happens outside too, it doesn't just happen at the desk. But we're gonna spend so much time it's like if we got this pie, right of all the different slices of it. It's like, so much of it is filled up with the academics. It's like, well, what about their social skills, and, oh, man, I just had this moving conversation with this 20 year old college student named Sean Killingsworth. And he started it's really small at this point, it's called the reconnect movement. And he just is lamenting, Haiti about his childhood lamenting like, grieved, because he says, there's no ways to make social connections anymore because of phones. And he was talking about, I mean, these are grieving experiences. Like he said, he showed up for some an after school program, when he was eight years old, he said, I was so excited to play with the other kids. And he said, every single child was on a Nintendo DS, every single one, he said into, there was no way to interact, and that this has become the landscape of childhood. And I just think all we're so focused on these test scores, and yet, we're not demanding that the kids put their phones away when they're together. And it's just there's a, there's an imbalance there.

Katie Doughty: 27:52

It's heartbreaking when you think about it, and then they don't have those skills later in life that they should be developing. Now, it's also the ability to pass time without grabbing a screen is so important for them, or to be able to regulate their own emotions, without needing a screen to be the one to feed that. And it's, it's overwhelming as a parent to navigate that, and then also be the one that's like, I'm sorry, but you're not going to have a phone at eight years old. I know your friend has one. But this is how our family works. You know, and it's yeah, it's a lot. I feel like it's a lot to take on the

Ginny Yurich: 28:30

lap. It's a lot. But I think that if we are leaders and I, in talking about that, Sean and thinking about it more, because I've had experiences too, with our own kids who feel left out, but it's the people someone has to take a stand, someone has to do something these kids are really suffering. And the problem is, is that if only one parent does it, it doesn't make any difference. There has to be a group of parents. So you can get together with a wild and free group or you you start to pull in other people and you say, Look, when we spend time together, it's going to be phone free time. And these kids are going to be able to have these experiences where if they're not videotaped, they don't have to be self conscious. And they can just dive deep into their play and be kids and grow in all of the ways that we need to grow to become whole healthy, thriving people.

Katie Doughty: 29:17

That's so true. And you just touched on something interesting you said not be videotaped. Isn't an interesting like, the only time we were videotaped as kids was like a birthday because it was one big event and then you had an hour and a half of the same event and then nothing again until Christmas or the next birthday or a wedding or something. And now our kids are filmed every single day there is documentation of almost every single day of their life and I'm curious how that will affect them into the or their adulthood and is it changing their like their self consciousness or their awareness or what they're doing? Are they acting differently because the cameras on and it's such a it's such an interesting thing. So do you put Your phone like do you not take pictures? Often when you're outside or film when you're outside? Is that kind of a rule that you have in your family? Or how do you navigate that we

Ginny Yurich: 30:07

so no, I do take pictures, because this is part of what we do. But I tend to do it in sections, you know. So like, I'll take it out, I'll get some pictures of where we're at, and then put it away. So that seems to work for us. But it's definitely something that I think about, I think it's something that as kids get older, and they each have a, there's a different set of motivation for a parent, right? So it's like if my child does something that they might be embarrassed of. I'm not going to post that. Yeah. But I think there's a difference when you got a bunch of middle schoolers together, or a bunch of high schoolers together, and someone does something that's slightly embarrassing, or, and then they're, you know, that's, that's there forever, it can be captured. And just think that's a tricky part of the landscape of childhood these days that we didn't have to deal with. Yeah,

Katie Doughty: 30:55

well, and I'm wondering, too, I know, conversation over technology is so important with our kids and helping them understand. And I've heard people talk about, like, when you're on your phone talking out loud, oh, I'm just checking an email, and then I'm going to put my phone away, or I know that this that I won't pull or asking permission to post a picture of your child, I think, was one of the really big things that started showing up. Like I thought, Oh, that is really important. Because if I asked their permission, they're going to think, oh, that's the rule, I'm going to ask my friend, if I can post this picture of her, you know, and kind of modeling for them, what appropriate posting behavior looks like, and then showing them to like, Oh, what if somebody posted something about you? That was really embarrassing? How would that feel? And how would you handle that? You know? And then how do you do deal with that, like, you have a funny picture of your friend? Do you post it even though she's like, that's embarrassing, you know, and having those conversations early, so that they know how to navigate that I, I'm hopeful that we can have those and that we can start changing the landscape of what social media is becoming. But yeah, that's a whole other story.

Ginny Yurich: 32:02

There's a lot, there really is a lot to sift through with it. And it's just a really interesting thing to think about someone else's experience that's so different from ours. So it's vastly different. And, you know, I think that we do everyone a favor, even though it may not seem like a big deal, when we allow our kids to be with other kids in phone free spaces. So it's interesting for their social skills, and yeah, their emotional health and all those different things,

Katie Doughty: 32:33

when to when you take it off the table. So we're going outside, and we're not bringing any electronics with us. I noticed when it's off the table, they don't ask for it. And they don't need it, when it could possibly be an option, like it's in the backpack or it's in the car, then they're asking, then they want to go get it, then they want to play on it. But when you just say, we're not using it, or you can use it tonight at 7pm, then they know and they don't ask for it. And that's been really helpful in our family. Sure.

Ginny Yurich: 33:00

Sure. That's a good way to do it. For sure. Yeah, I do think that we need to have limits. Yeah, for

Katie Doughty: 33:05

sure. It's all about balance. My whole life philosophy is it's all about balance. Like if you're gonna eat the cookie have a carrot, right? If you're gonna be on screens, let's go outside. It's all about balance, for sure. Okay, so what have you noticed then, in your own children about? I mean, you've talked a little bit about that. But now they're growing, they're older. What do you notice about in your own kids having gotten out in nature. Now as they're getting older?

Ginny Yurich: 33:34

Well, I noticed that it gets more fun. But you know what, I just think all kids are different. So you can't really take your own experience and say, This is how it's going to be for everybody else. Yeah. But there are definitely a lot of studies and things that show how all of his time outside helps like with risk management, it helps kids to really be in their bodies. And it really does actually help with their neural wiring. So all of these connections that we have in our brains, when we engage in movements that are complex, and we do harder and harder things, which is how childhood goes if kids have time and space, then it helps all those connections to work faster. And so our kids, they're just fine. Like they're fine in social settings, they're fine to play, pretend they've learned. And this is gonna sound really funny, I would say they've learned quickly how to read and write. But we didn't also start till they were seven years old. So you some people might say that actually took them a really long time to learn. But once they hit that age, and their eyes were fully formed, and their eyes are used to tracking together because they've romps through the woods. And they have got core strengths. So it's easy for them to sit and they're interested in they're interesting, that you know, they learn to read and sometimes, like for our oldest son, we did this program over the course of a couple of months and I looked back it took us 10 hours to come 10 hours to go from being completely ill iterate, to reading chapter books, 10 hours of instruction. And with our youngest daughter on this has been the funnest thing because she's our fifth one. And I read all these books about how kids do learn to read in the right environments at the right time without necessarily being formally taught. And that's what we did. I was like, I'm gonna try it, because I can always go back, I've got the lesson book, but I'm gonna give it a shot. And when she asks, and she wants to know what this letter is, and what's that word, and we'll sound it out. And we'll kind of just like how we would do anything else in life, we'll just kind of like, put it in when she's interested. And we were just at a museum just yesterday at this shipwreck Museum in Michigan, and she was reading the signs, oh, my gosh, your instruction, Katie, didn't do anything.

Katie Doughty: 35:42

I want to talk about this. Yeah, so cool, cuz I did the same thing with my son. Because I know from experience, the more you push it at an earlier age, they're not necessarily going to be better readers in the long run, they may actually resent it and not want to be a reader, they don't find enjoyment in it. And so with my son, I did the same thing. I didn't have formal lessons, I thought, I'm gonna plan is that like, you're right, I could go back and teach him if this doesn't work. But I'm gonna let him do this on his own and figure it out on his own and just give him the time and the space and the resources that he needs. And like you said, answer the questions when he has them. read to him talk about what we're reading, like in this natural setting. And then you're right, all of a sudden, you picked up this graphic novel, and he's reading it to me, and I thought, How did you like it, it worked like you are actually reading these big words that I didn't teach you the letter pattern of that word, or the sound bite or the vowel pattern of that word. But you, you figured it out. And it's fascinating. And it was such a nice reminder to be like, they will teach themselves, what they need to know when they need to know it, and when they're ready to learn it. And that's such a huge thing.

Ginny Yurich: 36:59

Yeah, the pressure is off, I think. And when you take your kids outdoors, it really is laying the foundation for those types of things to happen. And you know, some some kids that have dyslexia, they need a different set of scaffolding. So it's not for every single child. And it doesn't work in every single circumstance. So you have to be aware of what's going on with your kids and your family. But for all kids, sensory experiences, movement, those relationships, those types of things, help them for the long haul, in all the things that they're trying to accomplish. And so, whatever the timing is for that, or whatever your situation is, those things, they lay those, those beginning blocks for everything that's to come. And that's like, what I had no idea, you know, I just thought, well, nature's nature's frivolous, or what's more important is that we learn French, and that we go to French immersion class, and, you know, so it's like, well, yes, are those things important? Yeah, you can, you can do that, too. But if the wiring is there, and the neurons are moving faster on those pathways, then it makes it easier to learn anything down the road. And so that's what time and nature is doing for our kids. Yes.

Katie Doughty: 38:14

And taking learning outside. My kids get so excited. When we have a destination, we're going to a park or we're going to the zoo, and we're going to do our work there. And it's getting outside just kind of I feel like it levels the playing field. One person's grumpy one person's having a bad day like we get outside. And it kind of neutralizes everything for us. And because it's fresh, and I love that. Oh, and I remember one thing that I absolutely loved that was so validating to me, because I didn't grow up, like outdoorsy, I was not an outdoorsy kid. I didn't like to be dirty. I definitely preferred the comfort of home just kind of like my son in the beginning. And so getting outside sometimes is a challenge for me. And we can talk about I would love your tips on reluctant parents, because I was one. But I think that what you said, What did you say? Oh, sometimes the best part about getting outside is coming home. And I thought, yes, that is absolutely true. Sometimes like, I feel guilty that I don't love being out there all the time. I do love that feeling of coming home. But then I have that sense of accomplishment. Like we did it. We did the hard thing. And now we get to just lay around in the warm home and read books and drink hot chocolate or whatever it is or but I love that validating moment of like sometimes it is okay to be like the best part was coming home today because it's, you know, rainy.

Ginny Yurich: 39:39

I mean, nature, nature is rarely perfect. I think, you know, if you look at a course of a year and people live in different areas, but you know, the course of a year, maybe more Michigan, maybe there's 30 Really beautiful days. The rest of them are not they're dreary, they're rainy, they're cold. They're too hot. There's too many bugs. There's all these different things and I think Michael Easter wrote a book called Comfort crisis. And Belinda McGurk talks about this in her book called, there's no such thing as bad weather. And she has a new one out called the Open Air life. But that you have to have the extremes in order to feel better. Like, you know, if you're always the same, but it's always 70 degrees inside your house. It's always the same, and you never feel these different extremes. Well, there's, there's no, there's no happiness either, right? Like, you have to feel like that, oh, I was really cold. And I come in. And when you're really cold, and you come in, and you have a hot drink, and you sit by a fire, or you, you get under the blanket, that feels way better than if you were just at 70 the whole time. 70 degrees. So those extremes in nature I think helps us to learn to deal with the things that we can't control. And helps us to deal with adversity, and grit. I mean, we just had a big storm come through. Our youngest daughter really likes our garden, which is not an amazing garden, but she loves it. And we will go back out there and she is screaming, I mean screaming about the things that she finds. She's so excited. Look at this, look at this. And I mean yelling at the top of her lungs about mom, you know, and then we have this big storm come through and all of our sunflowers got demolished, or most of them did. And she was heartbroken. Oh, she cried and cried. But these are experiences when they're little for them to start to deal with a little bit of adversity, a little bit of disappointment. Yeah. And then you notice what this other thing is still growing, or this didn't get hit, or even if at all, even if it all went away. We love each other. I mean, those are the types of lessons that you get from Mother Nature, because there isn't perfection out there. There's thorns and there's mosquitoes and you trip and you skinned your knee and those things happen. But I think it helps kids to grow in small ways to learn how to deal with variability. Oh, what

Katie Doughty: 41:54

a beautiful point. And also for her saying goodbye to the sunflowers. But then knowing next spring, you get to replant. And then kind of maybe even bringing this story back to her mind of remember how sad you were when those sunflowers were destroyed by the storm. And now look, this one's growing. I see a little leaf and she can be hopeful and she can watch. You know,

Ginny Yurich: 42:16

try again. You try again.

Katie Doughty: 42:18

Try again. That's That's it right there. You try again. And I feel like that's what it is for me getting outside. Okay, I'm gonna try again. It's Tuesday. I really try again, gonna get outside. Do you have favorite gear? Like do you have favorite things that you absolutely have to have when you go outside?

Ginny Yurich: 42:36

No, I don't at all. I'm not outdoorsy either. I mean, I like to play the piano and I like to read books. So that's how I grew up. I mean, we definitely played outside and the Angela Hanscom, who wrote balanced and barefoot, she would say and this is pretty interesting that most people, if they looked back in time, they looked at their childhood, that they probably were outside for an average of three hours a day. Like we walked to school, it was a mile. So that was a half hour on either end. There's an hour right there, we had three RIT I remember that we had three recesses in elementary school and they were each 45 minutes at least. So you know, there's my time. I mean, I got it. And then we would come home. And I remember we'd play in the yard. And we just lived in the suburb, we play catch, and we'd ride bikes and stuff like that. But that's how childhood was. And it wasn't like my favorite thing, or my go to thing. So now it's the same way. I always say, I don't like going outside. But I like being outside. I think getting over that hump is hard. You have to pack stuff. And depending on the age of your kids, it can be a lot of work. Our kids are older now. So I don't have to do as much, which is really fun. Yeah, very nice. But I always say like, you don't need much you need food that you know good food, food that your kids like you need, and water and then you need if you bring your friends, my favorite gear is my friends. I mean love it. That's the best thing to bring our other people in different relationships. Like we don't have any specific gear. I remember when our kids were little like we had no money. Yeah. So everything we had was hand me downs and whatever. We could get those like mom to mom sales for like a couple dollars. So I've never been super big on gear. You know, we have water bottles and we had a stroller. I don't know, you might even know more than I do.

Katie Doughty: 44:20

Now just curious if you have like a favorite set of waterproof pants or like me to keep an eye out.

Ginny Yurich: 44:28

It was like whatever I could find them we could afford. I mean, that's what we did. So love it. And it worked. I think you got to try your best with what you have. And because that can be pretty prohibitive, right? Like if you feel like oh my gosh, I can't go outside and let's say of that$150 snowsuit well, then you're not gonna be able to get out there but Right. There's a lot of people kids grow so fast that a lot of times you can find the different things as Hami downs. Yes. And

Katie Doughty: 44:51

they do outgrow they'll put on their boots to go outside and then they don't fit and they get fit. Yeah, yesterday what happened?

Ginny Yurich: 44:59

We have actually done like for our kids, we buy all black boots. I pass them down. You know, we've gotten into the habit of just, it's just for functionality. And then it goes to the next kid.

Katie Doughty: 45:09

Yeah, yeah, that's actually really smart. So what do you what tips do you have then for kids who are reluctant to play outside? Or they don't know what to do? Or, or even reluctant moms? Do you have any tips of?

Ginny Yurich: 45:22

Well, I'm like reluctant every day. Yeah. I mean, my tip is that you have to know, you have to know that it's worth it. I think that's the first thing. And I think that is what changes things. For me. That's why I continue to post. That's why I continue to read, because this is not actually what I really want to do. I really want to organize my house, I really want to read books, I really want to go out to lunch with my friends, I really want to do all of these other things that are not that, that are not packing kids up to go outside and making plans with friends. I mean, that takes a lot of time. But I know that this is what's helping our kids prepare for the future. And it's what's helping them have a really good day today. And I know also, it's good for me. I mean, I'm in a technological age, you're in a technological age. So we also need that balance. So I start with the knowledge that this is a worthy use of time. It's important. And so by having a goal, that's why I have a goal, like I'm still doing it, Katie, it's not for me, it's not second nature, yet, and I don't think it ever will be because there's so many things that vie for our time, so I have to fight for that. So I have an intentional about it, because otherwise I wouldn't do it. So I start there. I think friends make or break and experience. If you have little kids, it's safer, for sure it's safer. Sometimes you're running into who knows, and you want to have an extra pair of eyes there. So I think finding just at least one one other friend that will go with you. And then you have that multi age play. That really helps. I think the knowledge that sometimes it takes kids a while to come up with what they're going to play. So that's another thing that that Angela Hanscom talks about that's a life changing read. If you're a parent, and this seems new to you, and you're kind of like, Man, I'm curious, I want to know more. Her book is called balanced and barefoot. And she's a pediatric occupational therapist. So she's coming from a standpoint of saying, Look, things are changing in the landscape of childhood, like all of a sudden, my list for people who want occupational therapy services for kids is a year long. And it didn't used to be a waitlist of a year. And now it is so things are actually changing. And she says that in a lot of cases, not all, but in a lot of cases, simply taking your kids outside is going to help with a lot of the sensory issues that they have, or, or different things that they need help with. And so she says in her book, it can take up to 45 minutes for kids to determine how they're going to play 45 minutes, that's a long time. And you got to kind of sit with that and be able to say to your kids, I It's okay that you're bored. Or I know, I think you'll come up with something to do. And you have to be willing to be in that space of uncomfortableness to know that they're going to figure it out eventually. And, and Angela has even said, because she runs this program called timbernook, where they bring kids in and it's a drop off program. So parents are drop off in a space that's like outdoors. And maybe they have different water elements or things like that. They're I think they're all over the world, her programs, but it's like this drop off thing. And she says for some kids who have maybe never been in that environment before, she'll say for a while it may take them longer than 45 minutes.

Katie Doughty: 48:26

That's a long time. You're right. But eventually, yeah, sitting with that discomfort, I think is such a good reminder for parents, because we're so quick to find something for them. Because we don't want them to be uncomfortable, or we don't want them to start whining or give up that we will come up with a game for them. Or we will give them suggestions. And and it's hard for me to step back and let them just be and say I like what you said, I know you can do this. I know you can come up with something to do I'm sure you'll think of something fun that you'll enjoy. Yeah, and let it be. Yeah.

Ginny Yurich: 48:58

And know that. Look, I mean, we are in a rapidly changing world, a rapidly changing world who knew that there will be podcasters I didn't know that Job was a job when I was 18 years old, right to be a podcast or when you're older. I mean, who knew these things didn't exist. And that's what's going to be the same for our kids. What's coming are things that don't exist at this exact moment. And so they have to be able to be flexible, and they have to be creative. And they have to be able to dive into these unknown situations and figure them out. Well, you don't learn that at a desk. Yeah, you learn it outside. You learn it inside when you're playing when things are open ended. And so particularly for this time in life, these skill sets that come from what seems frivolous are actually really important.

Katie Doughty: 49:48

Yeah. And it's so important to keep that in mind too. Because there is that stigma of like that play is not valued. It's not valuable. It's something that It's your right, frivolous, it's extra. Did you get all your work done, okay, now you can play. And I have really had to work hard at changing the way I view play. And when I hear my kids deep in play, if I had other plans, I let them go to the best that I can, and let them play. Because play is the work they need to be doing. That is where they are getting their creative skills, and they're working with each other. And they are problem solving. And they are using their imagination and creating these worlds. And I noticed, I feel like I didn't have that as much as a kid. I was not as imaginative. I think I didn't dive into those worlds as much. And now I noticed my kids can just create these worlds that are so detailed. And there are so many things going on. And then I'll sit down to play and they'll hand me something and all I can do is like bounce it up and down. Say hello. Oh, hello, how are you doing? You know, but they're like, No, Mom, this is so and so. And he has so and so. And this is so and literally it's just this entire world. And I think that comes from time and just letting them do it.

Ginny Yurich: 51:05

Isn't that amazing? Katie, it's like then you look at your your child. And I think this is where we have it backwards. We're like, well, we're the adult and we've lived 2025 years longer than they have. So we know more things. But then when you really take a step back, you're like, oh, wait a minute. They're better at this than I am. Yeah. Yeah, there's kind of, well, they're competent. They're good at playing pretend they're better at bouncing on the log. You, like you said the very beginning. They know what to do.

Katie Doughty: 51:34

They know what to do. They do they know what to do. And you're right. And it's so beautiful to watch it unfold. And it's so thrilling as a mom to see your kids start thriving in different areas, just by giving them time, it wasn't anything I did. I didn't guide curriculum and sit down and show them how to do these things. It just gave them time to do it and practice. And now it's paying off. And it's so nice to see the payoff like, Okay, this is working. I can keep going. This is valuable. It's a little humbling. It's very, right. We can't

Ginny Yurich: 52:10

really, we can't really take credit for a lot of it's not me, and it's coming from them. Yeah, that's good. I think that's a good thing.

Katie Doughty: 52:16

I think that's a good thing, too. Okay, can we dive into your new book? Sure. Talk about your new book coming out. I'm so excited about what do you already do? You have to out now. And I actually

Ginny Yurich: 52:29

have quite a few books, which is ironic because I was a math teacher. So I don't even really look at myself as a writer, I have four books. One of them is a kid's book. It's called the little farmhouse in West Virginia. So it's a kids book. And it's about

Katie Doughty: 52:44

think I knew this one,

Ginny Yurich: 52:46

okay, how kids play. It's based off of like my own childhood experiences and how people have a lot of great memories as kids playing outside. So there's that one, that was the first one I did. And then I have a, an activity book that we self published because it was supposed to be with the publisher, but then they canceled on me during COVID after it was already done. So self publish that which ended up being a cool experience. It's called the 1000 hours outside activity book. And then I wrote a book called one that they're all called 1000 hours outside.

Katie Doughty: 53:19

I love it. I guess you said that one time into real you're like you guys, I've named this one, this is

Ginny Yurich: 53:30

also called 1000 hours outside. So that's the most recent one that was with DK Publishing. And that's a cool book, people have sent in photos from all over the world, just kind of like a really neat thing filled with activities. But the one that's coming out this November is called until the streetlights come on. It's a book I've wanted to write for years and years. That title has been with me for a really long time. But the premise is, the subtitle is how a return to play brightens our today and prepares kids for an uncertain future. The premise is that we can have a good today, that leads to a good tomorrow. That's the premise of the book. And so so often, we sacrifice today, we sacrifice today for the sake of tomorrow. And actually, I think that's really backwards, that our full lives. And when I say full life, it's like, you know, it's like we don't, it doesn't have to be at the desk. And it doesn't have to be able to homework. And it doesn't have to be all that like it can be a full vibrant life, that your kids love that you love. Whatever it is about you that you know you love to bake, you love to be in the garden, you love to be with friends, we love to skateboard, whatever you love music, that you fill your lives and you make it full. And what that does is it helps our kids develop as his whole people helps their brains to have these strong connections. And then they are ready for whatever tomorrow holds. Because we don't know what that is. And we used to have careers that lasted for 30 years. And we only have one set of coworkers. But now we've got kids who are going to graduate from college or trade school they might have four different careers in the first decade of their adult lives. That's what the average is right now. That's a lot of coworkers, Katie. So you got to be able to have good social skills, you have to be able to navigate all these different things. And so I think it's this counterculture, thought that what does that is living fully today. It's not necessarily this back to basics, give them the tests, make sure they have this GPA score, you know, all of that, make sure they get this score on that test. It's really not that that may have worked in decades past when life looked different, but it's not that way now. And so we want our kids to be resilient. We want them to have quick, adaptable brains. And the cool message is, the way they get that is through a full life, that you get to live with them today. And so I think it makes all of our existences all of our lives better. It's really a message of hope.

Katie Doughty: 55:55

Oh, my gosh, I can't wait to read all that. So exciting. The message sounds absolutely beautiful, and just what we need right now, because you're right, I think that education had a purpose long ago to instill knowledge that you had to memorize because you couldn't just Google it. My kids literally say, you know, hey, Google told me about this. And then they know about it. And then it's over, where I spent probably a month in school, learning about that one thing and trying to remember, memorize that one, or whatever,

Ginny Yurich: 56:25

I'm gonna memorize dates memorize timelines. Yeah. But it thinks the world has really changed. In fact, Neil Postman, wrote a book, it's called amusing ourselves to death. It's a really neat book he wrote in the 80s, about television. And he said, In that book change changed. That change used to happen over the course of a generation, that knowledge was generational. So you know, that maybe there was a there was, there were careers that became obsolete in the past as well. But they didn't become obsolete so rapidly, right? They still lasted for decades upon decades, and then you know, something else came and so you had time to adjust. But now, a lot of these things are becoming obsolete more quickly. And so we have to be able to adjust faster, almost kids that play, they can adjust,

Katie Doughty: 57:11

they can adjust, yes, that goes back to the pretend play, where they have to adjust when something comes up, or a new friend comes in and wants to play. Okay, well, now I need to think of a role for you, how are you going to fit into this scenario, and everything is adjusting for them when you let them just play and outdoors is the best space to do it. Because I feel like most most kids are in their element when they are outside and outdoors.

Ginny Yurich: 57:37

Outdoors is good, too, because the there's an abundance of raw supplies. So a lot of times inside, right, you only have one of a certain type of Barbie or one of a certain type of car. And so there's a lot of fighting over particulars. But when you're outside, it's like, hey, well, look, there's a ton of ferns, there's a ton of sticks. And there's an abundance of materials that kids can use. And so there's a little less of the territory, a little less of the fighting. It just makes it easier for everyone, including the parent.

Katie Doughty: 58:06

Yeah, for sure. And I think to my kids just discovered building driftwood, forts. And I, I was I had you in the back of my mind about because you've talked a lot about, you know, the pushing, and the pulling, and the grabbing and the lifting and all of that hard work that's going into their play, where as opposed to when they're inside and playing Lego, they might not be doing all of that work, but outside. They think they're playing, when really they're working. And they are changing their bodies and their brains at the same time. Beautiful, fantastic. Oh my gosh, well, so when is your book coming out?

Ginny Yurich: 58:42

comes out November 14. All right. So right in time for the holidays, mark

Katie Doughty: 58:46

your calendars. That is well that'll be an amazing book too for new parents and, you know, friends and people with kids, and that's gonna be a great, awesome book. Oh my gosh, I feel like I could talk to you for another 17 hours about this topic. I still have like so many things written down. But I just Oh no, I have one more question. Before we go. This one I wanted to know if you have an if you have knowledge about this. Have you ever heard of grounding or earthing?

Ginny Yurich: 59:13

Oh yeah, yeah, you're exchanging your electrons with the earth. Absolutely.

Katie Doughty: 59:17

Tell me more. Can you dive in just a little bit I don't know anymore. anymore. But

Ginny Yurich: 59:21

I do know that these type of things they exist and you're the negative ions that are around the waterfall like these type of things exist and the way that the trees smell and the these different chemical things that are actually happening outside they help us feel better. So I don't know that just the ins and outs of why it works. But there is a lot to be said about being barefoot outside and a lot to be said about full spectrum light and all of these components of nature that are doing things for our body. Yeah.

Katie Doughty: 59:53

Which is incredible that it's just a gift that's sitting out there waiting for you to take it advantage of it. I watched there was a documentary on earthing and I watched it and I had my kids watch it. And now our my daughter, Alice, she's a self proclaimed shoe hater. And she wants to be barefoot all of the time. So her feet are black all of the time with dirt because she's constantly going barefoot. And there are times I'm like, okay, there are certain places you have to put your shoes on for safety. But she's like, Mom, look, I'm grounding, and she's running around in the backyard. And so I feel like that kind of information, kids understand it. And they are more receptive to that kind of knowledge. And they'll take it and run with it. And even my son, who doesn't like to have dirty feet, and he'll go out and be like, Mom, I think I'm gonna go ground for a while and he'll go walk around barefoot. You know, he's not as energetic about it. But he'll he'll do it because he knows that there are health benefits to it. Right? He's seven years old, but he understands like, this is good for me. And I'm going to take advantage of it. So it just interesting.

Ginny Yurich: 1:00:58

Yeah, kids are so smart. They can pick up on all that stuff.

Katie Doughty: 1:01:01

They are so smart. Oh my gosh. Okay, so tell us everywhere we can find you. What do we need to be following? Where can we find the cool stuff about? Well, that

Ginny Yurich: 1:01:12

guy, no creativity here, Katie, everything is 1000 hours outside. Three of the four books are called 1000 hours outside the website at 1000 hours outside of the 1000 hours outside podcast, we have the 1000 hours outside app, it's all the same. The tracker is 1000 hours outside slash trackers. I mean, that's where you find it. I'm not super creative. And everything is easy to find in that way. But

Katie Doughty: 1:01:35

it's simple, right? If you keep it, well, people will find it and they will do it. And so I think that's amazing. And I just have to shout out your podcast is one of my top favorites. I just I get so excited when a new episode shows out because you bring on such cool people and such interesting thoughts that every time I listen, I'm always like, Okay, I need that book. Or I can take this little nugget away, or this one little piece of inspiration. And it also I feel like it keeps me going because I listen. I'm reminded, okay, I'll get outside. I'll do it again. And I just appreciate that. So much. So I'm shouting out. Go listen to your podcast. 1000 hours outside. Ginny is fantastic.

Ginny Yurich: 1:02:17

Thanks so much, Katie. It's so fun. The podcast is an absolute blast, and a total gift to get to talk to some of these different authors and people who really have made a difference in my own life and in the lives of others. So it's been really cool. Do

Katie Doughty: 1:02:29

you have a top favorite? That's like this one? Yeah, I really

Ginny Yurich: 1:02:33

like him. John Payne, he has a one called the undeclared war on childhood. And I just think that was so life changing for me. There's so much in there. And

Katie Doughty: 1:02:44

I would say that will be a top favorite of mine. Yeah. Okay, so I have to finish with what is your absolute favorite outdoor childhood memory.

Ginny Yurich: 1:02:53

Okay, I have really, really great memories of doing canoe trips with my dad, and they were through church, and they would do these father data canoe trips, I think they were just overnight, and they were in October, in Michigan, which is cold. So we would go canoe down. It's called the Isabell River. It's a famous river in Michigan, and you would go I think just one overnight, everyone would be in their coats. And it would just be like chilly, but all the leaves will be changing. And I just remember really loving that. And I still have to be on the river. That's still one of my favorite things to do.

Katie Doughty: 1:03:25

It's such a peaceful place to be. And I love that that ties to your dad as a memory of yeah, good memory. Yeah. Oh, that's beautiful. Well, Jeannie, I can't thank you enough for sitting down with me and chatting with me about all of the amazing things and benefits of getting outside and what you're up to. This has been so fun, and I'll put all of your information in the show notes so that people can follow you and get outside. Thanks

Ginny Yurich: 1:03:52

so much, Katie. I really appreciate your time and thanks to everyone who made it to the end. Thanks for listening in