This is a sponsored post on behalf of Tinkergarten and as always, all thoughts and opinions on this blog are my own.
Shortly after my twins were born my husband and I made the decision that I would become a stay at home mom. My husband’s work hours were unpredictable, our childcare was unreliable and I found that I really enjoyed figuring out what the three of us would do everyday. We ended up doing a mix of cooperative preschool, farm school and classes that the three of us could do together. When they were little and I was in the thick of sleepless nights, it was hard to see how all those classes and days playing outdoors together were actually helping them learn. But now that they are 11, my guys are confident at school, they are full of wonder and they still like being outside. When Tinkergarten contacted me about checking out their classes recently I looked up their curriculum and was sad that my kids did not get to experience Tinkergarten when they were little-this program started in 2012 and it is the type of program I totally needed when my kids were really small.
“all families will have access to high quality early learning, so their children will be ready to thrive, ready to learn and ready for anything.”
https://www.tinkergarten.com/mission-vision-values
What is Tinkergarten?
Tinkergarten is a program made of outdoor play based classes for babies 6 months to 18 months and children 18months to 8 years old. Classes are held in local parks and families can browse courses and sign up online through their website. Tinkergarten classes are in 48 states in the USA and its mission is to “help talented people facilitate joyful, memorable and educational play experiences for families in outdoor spaces in every community.”
Tinkergarten seems like a helpful program for caregivers too
More than anything, the hardest thing I found about parenting when the kids were really young was knowing what I was supposed to do as a caregiver. I gravitated towards classes where parents could participate so that I could learn tools to help me with my kids at home. Sometimes having a routine also helped getting me out and about with baby twins. Looking at the Tinkergarten class schedule, I noticed that all the classes are outside and I think this would have been really helpful to get me out on autumn Pacific Northwest days with kids when staying indoors might have seemed initially more enticing. Classes are also only about an hour long too, so they are easy to fit in with other busy schedules and before or after naps.
I like the idea that the classes at Tinkergarten create play-based scenarios that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. I remember days playing on my own with my babies that were so isolating. Hanging out with other caregivers while letting the kids play in an intentional, instructor-led way would have been very good for days when I didn’t want to organize a playdate with others. Activities like the ones they do in a Tinkergarten class can be replicated at home too, but it is really nice not to have to clean up at home after doing something like this. (This is from someone who once thought it would be fun to bring snow inside the house to play with or when I thought packing peanuts might be a good learning tool.).
So what is a Tinkergarten class like?
I was so curious about Tinkergarten that I coordinated a visit to a class for kids ages 18months and up to see what it was all about. When I looked up the Tinkergarten classes in Seattle, it was cool to see that there are a variety to choose from. These classes are also in many of the places that were my kids’ favorite outdoor spots growing up. The Tinkergarten class I joined had about 5 kids and their caregivers and the kids seemed around one and a half to 4 years old. The kids and caregivers started out with an activity at a picnic table where everyone parallel played until the whole class arrived. We then went to a blanket where we started with songs and talked about the things we would be doing that day. The instructor outlined the things the caregivers were expected to do as well as what the learners were expected to do.
As an observer it was so neat to see how the caregivers and kids interacted. Kids had the complete undivided attention of the grownups. The most important thing at hand was playing and investigating and exploring outdoors. There was a lot of communication and smiles. And I liked how the instructor helped facilitate wonder between the caregivers and kids with questions like “what do the colors smell like? And what do they feel like?” This is so hard to remember to do when you are on your own with kids at home. One parent told me they really appreciated being able to do these activities outdoors at the class and not having to deal with the mess at home. I also noticed the class was free of distractions like phones-social media was only just beginning when my kids were small and I think this would be such a tough thing for parents now.
“Play is learning”
I think we forget that play is learning even as grownups. And how much better do we learn when we play? Even now that my guys are 11 I still feel a little clueless as to how to help support their learning. But seeing the little cues on the picnic table at the Tinkergarten class I went to-“notice how many times your little learner…,” reminded me that still at age 11, play is learning and I need to pay attention to my big learners’ movements too.
I am so thankful I had the opportunity to visit and learn more about Tinkergarten. I saw the beginnings of so many important skills for caregivers and kids in just one hour in a session in one Tinkergarten class in the Pacific Northwest and these programs are happening all over the United States. I really wish we had a chance to do this when my guys were little and I think if you are looking for outdoor classes for caregivers and kids in Seattle, this would be a really good one to check out.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)