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Beth made renegade changes at Bethie's Place with amazing results.

I'd like you to meet Beth Wolff. She's a play advocate from North Dakota who runs a daycare called Bethie's Place. What's marvelous are the CHANGES she made to her program after reading It's OK Not to Share.

If  you like renegade ideas, but are nervous about trying them in real life, read on. Beth shares how she implemented renegade rules into daily life and made the transition to a child-marvelous program. Listen here to podcast interviews with Beth Wolff.

"I first read It's OK Not to Share on a 17-hour road trip to Utah," Beth told me. "I read the book twice on the way there and twice on the way back."

When she returned she didn't waste time. She sent out an email to the daycare parents saying:  "I've just read the most amazing book. Life is going to be different. You're going to have to be with me on this. Trust me."

And trust her they did.

Beth had been doing daycare since 1980 and acted as a mentor to parents. She'd stopped doing thematic learning and calendars with her kids long ago. But although she strongly believed in play, she found she'd forgotten the nature of true play. Over time she'd gradually become more rigid. She'd fallen into the habit of saying 'no' to play ideas and built her program around rules, partly, she says, because cookie-cutter training sessions kept pushing her in that direction. One rule led to another.

How did she make the transition from a rule-maker to a renegade? "I stopped saying 'no.' I stopped stopping their play." That was it. She didn't warn the kids or announce the change, she just stopped banning ideas and started following the lead of the kids.

What were the results?  "The kids came out of cover with their play," Beth said. "I'm a much happier person. I laugh more. Life with Beth Wolff is a lot more enjoyable." The changes in the children were particularly striking, especially their huge gains in social and emotional learning. Here's what she observed:

• Kids are empathetic at earlier ages
• Kids are willing to take turns
• Kids can wait
• Kids trust each other
• Kids know where the ice pack is
• Friendships begin at younger ages
• They don't need so many toys

If you're wondering how to make the switch, take Beth's advice. Trust the kids. Trust your gut. Trust their play. Making the change to embracing renegades rules is easier than you think.

Ready to be inspired? Listen to interviews with Beth on the Renegade Rules podcast.

What about you? Have you had success adopting ideas  from IT'S OK NOT TO SHARE or IT'S OK TO GO UP THE SLIDE in your family or program?

My third book. Published April 1, 2017. If you never seen the beauty of the Great Lakes be prepared to fall in love.

I'm excited to announce my newest book: Saving Arcadia. This book gets back to my love of the outdoors and wilderness.

I grew up in a Great Lakes state - Ohio - but never really encountered the greatness of the Great Lakes until I moved north and lived in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. After graduate school, I landed a dream job preserving Great Lakes coastal habitat with a regional land trust in northern Michigan.

This book tells that story. A David and Goliath conservation adventure story that takes you behind the scenes into how a small community negotiated with a giant public utility to save 6,000 acres including a magnificent dune - and won against all odds.

For those of you who love nature, wild areas and beautiful beaches, this book is for you. It's about the power of community, determination, inspiration, and deep down, a love of land and family. I wrote it to read like a gripping novel - like the real life adventure it was - and reviewers are agreeing:

"This work of creative nonfiction may be among the year's best pieces of environmental drama so far.  Engaging, personal and lively, this tale of the Little Nonprofit that Could is a captivating and moving triumph. It is suspenseful in places, even gripping, and full of heart throughout. Accounts like these are what turn ordinary people into environmental activists." ~ Foreword review

"You might not think a book about the struggle to wrest six thousand acres of Lake Michigan dunes from development would be a suspenseful adventure story, but [it's] just that -- a riveting story that spans decades about a small community of people who preserve a beloved tract against all odds." ~ Northern Express

If you've read my first two books on parenting, be prepared for something new. The first books are about our relationships to our children. Saving Arcadia is about our relationship to our planet.

April ("Earth Month") discounts of 30% off with code of SAV1.  This discount is good through the Wayne State University Press website, though you can order the book anywhere.

Book Launch parties in Traverse City, Michigan  April 8, 2017 at Bluewater Hall and in Arcadia, Michigan in July at Camp Arcadia.

Signed books are also available if you order through my local bookstores.

Happy Reading!

What is the power of a ball to change play?

Once in a while, an idea comes zipping through the air that startles me out of my old habits. I love it when a new idea upturns my day.

I know, I'm the renegade - I'm used to being the one who sends startling ideas out to others, ideas that upend stable ideas about parenting. But it's nice to be on the receiving end sometimes.

This happened to me when I spoke recently with Dr. Debbie Rhea. She's an incredible recess advocate who took a sabbatical to Finland, then returned to create LiiNK which focuses on more recess and more empathy. You'll hear more about LiiNK and Debbie in a series of upcoming Renegade Rules podcast interviews this spring.  But for now...here's a teaser.

LiiNK introduces schools to 4 recesses a day.  (Yes, four. That's not a typo.)

I love it - though this didn't shake my brain. You can read all about why kids need so much recess in my book It's OK to Go Up the Slide. What she said next is what got me thinking:

"There are no balls allowed on the playground."

What?!  Images of childhood games of Dodgeball and Kickball shot through my mind. I loved ball games at recess as a child. But here's her reasoning - they intentionally wanted to promote unstructured, creative, kid-to-kid social play. The kind of play that naturally evolves when you put a bunch of children outside together. "When you have balls, kids use rules and turn them into a sport."

Hmm. I've watched this happen. A ball in an elementary school playground becomes a soccer game. In most playgrounds I've witnessed, a ball segregates the boys from the girls. This seems to happen even when the girls regularly play soccer (or other ball sport) on a team, enjoy the sport and have skills. What would this same playground look like without balls?  How would the play change? It got me thinking.

Balls are terrific for play. Kids also use balls for all kinds of games, including creative ones they make up. I'm all for giving children a variety of props and environments to explore, balls included. But within the specific school-recess environment, would there be more creative, emotional, social and friendship learning with or without balls?

It's a new idea. One LiiNK is exploring with powerful results. For now they're working with the youngest kids, ages kindergarten through 2nd grade, and what's good for recess may change as kids get older.

I'm not sure what I think of it yet. New ideas flop around for a while. The zing of a fresh idea can also hurt - our brains are pretty comfortable without change. But how wonderful to be open to new worlds when a new idea comes along.

What new ideas have startled you lately? What about balls on the elementary school playground? What would you see without them?