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Minimalist Moms Podcast | Simple Living for Overwhelmed Moms

Embracing Whimsy and Imagination Outdoors | Susie Spikol (EP397)

Minimalist Moms Podcast | Simple Living for Overwhelmed Moms

Diane Boden

Self-improvement, Home & Garden, Leisure, How To, Kids & Family, Mental Health, Education, Parenting, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 952 Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What if the secret to raising curious, connected, and creative kids wasn’t found in an app—but in a mossy patch of forest floor? Naturalist and author Susie Spikol returns to share stories and insights from her new book, Forest Magic for Kids: How to Find Fairies, Make a Secret Fort, and Cook Up an Elf Picnic. Blending folklore, nature exploration, and hands-on activities, the book is a whimsical and practical guide for reconnecting children with the natural world—and their own imaginations. Together, Susie and Diane dive into the everyday enchantment waiting just outside our doors—from dandelion tea to fairy rings, moss gardens to mushroom lore. More than just fun projects, Susie’s work is a call to reclaim wonder in an age of screens and over-scheduling.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🍄 Why nature is the best playground for imagination and empathy

📖 The inspiration behind Forest Magic for Kids and how it's sparking outdoor play

🧚 Hands-on ideas like potion-making, elf picnics, and building mini-worlds

🌻 How unstructured outdoor play builds resilience, curiosity, and connection

🏙️ Tips for bringing forest magic into urban environments

📵 The downside of too much screen time—and what kids really need instead

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Why families should experience nature together, not just supervise it

-----------------------------

Links Discussed in This Episode |


About Susie|

Susie Spikol is a naturalist at the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, New Hampshire. A lifelong animal lover, Susie now helps people of all ages connect with the natural world. She is the author of The Animal Adventurer’s Guide (Roost Books, 2002).


Episode Sponsors |

The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal!


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Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less. 

Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.


Questions |


  • Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.


  • If you’ve been struggling with motivation to declutter or work through bad habits that keep you stuck, I’d love to help you achieve your goals! We’ll work together (locally or virtually) to discover what areas in your life are high priority to get you feeling less overwhelmed right away.  For more info on my processes, fees, and availability please contact!


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

If you're pregnant postpartum or planning to be, or you've got a friend in that season, listen

0:04.3

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0:08.9

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0:22.7

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0:49.1

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0:53.1

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1:03.8

code minimalist for 20% off your first order. The screens are so visually stimulating for everybody,

1:12.1

for kids, for us.

1:18.3

But really putting that phone down, stepping outside, engaging with the natural world,

1:23.7

using those loose parts of sticks and stones and leaves and bark.

1:25.6

That's really the work of childhood.

1:28.6

That's really where play happens. I just really encourage parents to notice the small little slivers of nature that are around us all the time.

1:35.2

Finding time with a tree, climbing a tree, feeling a tree, hugging a tree, kind of becoming best

1:41.6

friends with it is really, I just think, a really great, wonderful way for a child to connect to another living being.

1:48.8

Animals are just such a window and invitation for children into compassion and empathy.

1:55.7

And the outdoors is unbounded by what you can imagine.

...

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