book club, screens, & a muddy story

March 2026 NewsletterHi read,It's been a busy month here! So here's our March newsletter on the LAST day of March! :)☀️ Join us for the Grow Wild Book Club Event April 16!Reminder that we're hosting a special interactive book club workshop with t

March 2026 Newsletter Hi read, It's been a busy month here! So here's our March newsletter on the LAST day of March! :) ☀️ Join us for the Grow Wild Book Club Event April 16! Reminder that we're hosting a special interactive book club workshop with the fabulous Katy Bowman, author of Grow Wild: The Whole-Child, Whole-Family, Nature-Rich Guide to Moving More.   Read the book and join this workshop on Thursday, April 16 5:30-7pm PST for a community conversation about how to get our kids (and ourselves!) moving more. REGISTER HERE.    Registrants will get the book at a discounted rate on Katy's site. If you're able, please consider purchasing the book directly through her site at the link above to support her work.   📄 Recommended Read: Ever notice how you might get a headache, or eye strain, or brain fog after a long day working at your computer and staring at a screen? Just like us, your child's brain is not wired to spend time looking at screens for the majority of the day, either!    This article reveals there is growing parental concern about the massive increase in screen-based education in schools.    Your child needs lived experiences interacting with real physical environments and real people in the world to develop motor and social skills. Real life experiences give feedback to their brain and bodies that cannot be replicated by screen-based learning.    If you don't know how much time your child spends on a screen during their school day, ask your child's teacher(s). Parent advocacy is the only way that things like this get changed in individual schools and in school district policies.  🌳 OKOT Story & Service Updates Many years ago on a rainy day, the children were having a blast playing in the mud. During their exploring, they found a glass bottle buried in the bank of the creek bed. The children enthusiastically excavated the bottle and pretended to be archeologists hunting for lost treasures.    BUT…when it was time to go back to the parking lot for pickup, one child REALLLLLLY wanted to keep the bottle and take it home with him. He was MAD when I asked him to place it in the recycling bin.   After staying calm and standing firm in my request for him to put it in the recycling bin (because what parent wants to take home a 40 oz bottle full of mud?!), he finally complied and we joined the group who had already started walking back to the trailhead.   The whole way back, he was saying how MAD he was. And I kept saying: "You did the right thing. You put it in the recycling just like the park rangers would want us to."   When we got to the car, he jumped in the back seat. His mom could tell something was wrong and gave me a knowing look.    And I told her what an INCREDIBLE thing her son had done: he had chosen to do something that was hard for him, even when he didn't fee like it.    This is something all of us have to do, every day of our lives. Doing the right thing isn't always easy. It doesn't always feel good. But it is always good for us. OKOT Service Updates:  FALL SERVICES ARE NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT! Apply now to secure your ideal times/dates.  You can check out our current 1:1 outdoor OT services here. You can check out our current outdoor OT group services here. You can register your child for SUMMER CAMP here. (Summer camp dates are listed at the bottom of this email for ease of reference.)   Cheers, Laura Park Figueroa Founder, OKOT   For ease of reference, here are all of the camp dates & locations (with age ranges): WISCONSIN June 15-19 Token Creek (Ages 4-7) June 22-26 Glen Oak Hills (7-10) June 29-July 3 Glen Oak Hills (7-10) July 6-10 Glen Oak Hills (4-7) July 13-17 Token Creek (7-10) July 20-24 Glen Oak Hills (4-7) July 27-31 Token Creek (7-10) Aug 3-7 Glen Oak Hills (7-10) Aug 10-14 Token Creek (4-7) Aug 17-21 Token Creek (4-7)   SAN FRANCISCO June 8-12 Presidio (Ages 4-7 & 7-10) June 15-19 Presidio (7-10 & 7-10); McLaren (4-7) June 22-26 Presidio (4-7 & 7-10); McLaren (7-10) June 29-July 3 Presidio (4-7 & 7-10) July 6-10 Presidio (4-7 & 7-10) July 13-17 Presidio (4-7 & 7-10); McLaren (4-7) July 20-24 Presidio (4-7 & 4-7); McLaren (7-10) July 27-31 Presidio (4-7 & 7-10); McLaren (4-7)   EAST BAY June 8-12 Joaquin Miller (Ages 7-10) June 15-19 Joaquin Miller (7-10) June 22-26 Joaquin Miller (4-7) June 29-July 3 Tilden (7-10) July 6-10 Joaquin Miller (4-7 & 7-10) July 13-17 Joaquin Miller (7-10 & 7-10) July 20-24 Joaquin Miller (4-7 & 4-7) July 27-31 Tilden (4-7) VISIT OUR WEBSITE 2930 Domingo Avenue #1092 Berkeley, California 94705, USA Unsubscribe or Manage Preferences here. No hard feelings!