A ladybug landing on a dysregulated child's arm shouldn't be a behavior intervention strategy. For Amy Reyes-Hauff, it worked anyway — one example of what she calls a "balanced sensory diet" that only the outdoors can provide.
Amy is the founder of Get Wild Wyoming, an outdoor learning initiative now serving over 350 classrooms and roughly 6,000 children across the state. She started the program after years of watching kids in "four-wall classrooms" escalate and dysregulate — a pattern she traces to nature deficit disorder, a near-total lack of exposure to the natural world.
Amy grew up poor, sometimes homeless, without toys or a television — and without knowing it at the time, she and her sister taught themselves to self-regulate simply by playing outside. That childhood shaped almost twenty-seven years in early childhood education, from Head Start teacher to Montessori director to founder of a statewide outdoor learning movement.
In this episode:
Growing up without a choice but to play outside, and what that taught her about calm
What nature deficit disorder actually looks like in a classroom
The ladybug story: a child on a behavioral intervention plan, and the meltdown that never happened
Why nature provides a "balanced sensory diet" no plastic fidget tool can replace
How to prepare nervous parents and educators to take kids outdoors safely
Scaling Get Wild Wyoming to 350+ classrooms and 6,000 children
The wind chill chart: outdoor learning through a Wyoming winter
A new micro-credential in place-based education, built with Teton Science School, open to educators nationwide
Why outdoor learning isn't a recess free-for-all — it's the same curriculum, delivered differently
ABOUT AMY REYES-HAUFF Founder, Get Wild Wyoming. Nearly 27 years in early childhood education, including roles as a Head Start teacher and director and a Montessori director. Partnering with Teton Science School on a new nationwide micro-credential in place-based education. 🌲 https://www.tetonscience.org/programs/wy-place-based-educator-microcredential/
ABOUT YOUR HOST Scott Shepherd is the founder of Wildward Institute, based in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. 🌿 wildwardinstitute.net
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