92 | The Importance of Play and Movement with Karri Bowen-Poole

On this episode, we welcome Karri Bowen-Poole, the visionary founder of Smart Playrooms and Project Playroom. Karri shares her inspiring journey from a childhood influenced by a transformative teacher to becoming a pioneer in designing play spaces that nurture children's emotional well-being and creativity. Discover how her innovative approach to playroom design integrates movement and sensory-rich elements that cater to children's diverse needs, promoting self-directed play and lifelong learning.

Join us as we delve into Karri's unique perspective on the significance of organized, minimalist environments that foster curiosity and imagination. And learn how her educational background and personal experiences have shaped her mission to create intentional play spaces that resonate with both children and parents, offering solutions for every budget.

Whether you're a parent, educator, or simply curious about the impact of play on development, this episode is packed with insights on how thoughtful design can transform the way children engage with their environment and enhance their growth. So, tune in to learn more about Karri's innovative approach and how you can bring the magic of Smart Playrooms into your own home. Listen now and get inspired to transform your child's play space into a hub of creativity and learning.

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Transcript

Intro: Welcome to A Pleasant Solution, Embracing An Organized Life. I'm your host, certified life coach, professional organizer, and home life expert, Amelia Pleasant Kennedy and I help folks permanently eliminate clutter in their homes and lives. On this podcast will go beyond the basics of home organization to talk about why a clutter-free mindset is essential to an aligned and sustainable lifestyle. If you're someone with a to-do list, if you're managing a household and if you're caring for others, this podcast is for you. Let's dive in.


Amelia: Welcome to Episode 92, “The Importance of Play and Movement with Karri Bowen-Poole.”

Karri Bowen-Poole is the founder of Smart Playrooms, a high-end luxury educational playroom design firm in NY and Project Playroom, an online ecommerce store that sells stylish and sensory-rich active play equipment and products.

Amelia: So welcome to the podcast, Karri.

Karri: Thank you so much, Amelia, for having me. I'm really excited to speak with you today.

Amelia: You and I, we met on a retreat for female founders that was held in Albuquerque. And I was just floored by your business story and how you've built a simple, innovative product that encourages us all to think about play as an integral part of childhood.

And of course, lifelong learning. We're all starting to realize as the decades move forward, this notion of play, whether it's indoors or outdoors, seems to be slipping away from our youth. I would love for you to tell folks a little bit about yourself and how you came to this work.

Karri: I'd love to speak about that. I, a couple of things. One thing is I grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, and I had the most influential teacher in fifth grade that greatly influenced what I do today, both for professional and my personal life. The experience of having a teacher that was so invested in sort of my emotional well-being, but obviously also my academic learning.

It may turn me on to learning. We sang preposition songs and grammar songs and he turned the mundane into the most awesome place where I wanted to go to school. This was in fifth grade and I love to learn about grammar. Things like commas and prepositions were fun and he also really looked to understand us beyond the classroom and we would go to movies sometimes with a group of our friends. And it was just, I knew he was interested in how we were growing up and how we felt about ourselves. And for me, that was really a pivotal moment of my life. And I wanted to give that to other kids because it impacted me so much.

So that really impacted my lifelong mission of what I do, which is really focused on the emotional wellbeing of kids and understanding how what we think might be a small thing is really big for a lot of kids. And when other people are interested in them, it has a huge ripple impact into how those kids will make choices for themselves and how they affect others. So that's the beginning of my story, which I don't share that much, but that really is the cornerstone of who I am today. I obviously went into teaching, I always knew I was going to be a teacher.

I ended up getting a master's degree. I taught in classrooms from age three up to sixth grade. Fifth grade was my sweet spot. No surprise. And I ended up getting married, having children of my own and actually moved out of New York City and settled into a suburban lifestyle and actually taught at my son's preschool.

Karri: I kind of was like, you know what, the three-year-olds aren't really for me. I loved it and it was great that we could be together and I could continue my teaching. But I started to be like, I probably would like to do something else other than teach three-year-olds. And my brain just started thinking about things and literally had one of those wake up in the middle of the night experiences when I was in my second year of teaching three-year-olds.

And actually it was the experience of teaching nursery school that was pivotal to me designing playrooms. So my life I see as a compilation of these experiences that were profound, but they all were important because with all of them it channeled to where I am today. So that's important for people just to realize the small things sometimes are big roads in that and your choices, whether it's personal or professional. So I had to wake up that night and it was called Playroom Plus Educational Design. And I was like, "Wait, what was that?" And it was to take all this experience you've had in the classroom, but bringing it into people's homes. And I was like, that's really interesting because at that point, no one thought about the playroom. No one spent any money in the playroom. And I'm sure as many people my age, growing up, certainly none of our parents were invested in the space. It was all just old things. I was in an old unfinished basement and we had a great time, but there wasn't any money or thought into it.

So I thought, what if I take all this experience I have as a teacher and create these environments that are focused on open-ended play and creativity, but at the bottom, you know, it's really about supporting kids emotionally in their home by intentionally designing or organizing different things for them in that space.

So that's my background and kind of where it all started and those two experiences were pivotal into where I am today.

Amelia: That's amazing and I look forward to diving into the aspects of your business, but I would just love listeners to really hear that those nudges that wake up in the middle of the night moment, the whispers that you might be feeling in your heart or your mind might take you somewhere or someway, someday.

So don't ignore them. Please listen to them because they turn into brilliant businesses left and right. So, Karri, I start all of my conversations by asking my guests, what did organization - whatever that means to you - look like during your childhood? It could be that fifth grade year or within your home.

Karri: That's a great question. Actually, the first time I've ever been asked that question. So it's really interesting for me to think about that myself. So going back to my home in Princeton, New Jersey, where I live with my brother and sister, it was an extremely organized home. And it's interesting because I guess I've carried those same tenants of organization through my life and it wasn't the experience that my life was chaotic and cluttered and then I decided to do something different. I've actually continued it.

My mom was really into sports and movement, which is kind of interesting too, as I'm thinking about that. And we spent so much time focused on playing sports and doing things as a family. I remember playing football out in the yard all the time and I love that. And we would just be kind of running around the neighborhood, but we would do things with my parents as well. And she was definitely a non-shopper. She would not, it would be hard to get new outfits for the new year, which would just, I remember a little frustrating in middle school when things are important about how you look. But we did not go on shopping sprees. She was not someone to keep purchasing things.

I would say today I'm very similar to that. I'm very organized, more of a minimalist. My kids would all say going shopping is not what I love to do. It's not my favorite thing. And I look back on my childhood and those tenants of the streamlined organization, not purchasing things that you really don't need and having a cluttered environment have continued with me to this day. And I would say I'm very much a minimalist - today even more so obviously when my kids were younger I probably fell into kind of buying maybe too many things at some points but now I'm very streamlined and minimalist similar to my childhood.

Amelia: It's so fascinating to hear all the different responses because we can see some of those threads that come through from childhood to adulthood, whether we kind of continue what we experienced growing up or work against it. It sounds like the movement, the outdoor play and, you know, using what you had has really come through.

So let's start with the basics so that listeners can visualize what your spaces look like and what kind of elements might be involved. Your business, you both turn homeowners dreams into reality. Let me say that again. You're both turning homeowners dreams into reality and stimulating a very basic need for children and their growing bodies. So what is a Smart Playroom?

Karri: That is a great question. It is a customized play space that is intentionally designed to focus on the needs, the interest, the talents of the child, while also honing into the aesthetic of the home and what the parents want.

Amelia: Brilliant, brilliant. So needs and interests are the two words that popped out at me. Can you describe a little bit about what the playroom space might look like? And you can just maybe use a sample client's needs or interests.

Karri: Mm-hmm. So going back to my educational career and teaching, I do the same thing as I would do even just starting the new year or speaking to parents is that I listen intently to what the kids' interests are. So I usually start, I do big intake. So lots of questions, you have a four and a two year old. So tell me about the four year old and I love listening to what parents say about their children. And you know what, parents know their children really well. So it's really, that's an important piece to understand from their perspective, their interests with things that they're interested in now. And then also their needs, you know, because I think of my teaching background, I think clients could really feel they can trust me and they really open up about things that their kids might be struggling with.

It might be the things that the parents are struggling with, things that didn't make sense or things that they hope their kids did more of. So they really get an in-depth understanding of the child. And that is the cornerstone to how I design the playrooms and everything comes from that meeting.

Now, what's great is because I have three children and because I was a teacher for so many years, I am able to layer in other ideas of things that I know children need when they're eight and 10 and 12 and 16. So in addition to having the parents state about that child, I can bring in from my experience what I think they need for the long term. And also I can hone in on, well, that's great that they're interested in ice hockey, but you know, we're going to pass on creating an ice hockey rink or something like that. And I'm able to also extract the information that I need in order to design this playroom that is suitable for the family. So, and what's interesting is, you know, going back to what I was good at.

One of the things that I loved doing and that I thought was so I was innately good at was setting up the classroom for that first day and getting kids honestly to do whatever I wanted by how I set up the classroom and by how I use the bulletin boards and by what information I surrounded them with. It could be questions or it could be you. Sometimes I would give my fifth graders blank bulletin boards and I'd say, you guys, “You're going to think about how and what we're going to use this for.” And they would come up with some crazy ideas, and I would get them naturally involved in what was there. Trust me, if you ask kids to be involved and kind of when they know that their thoughts and processes are important, they are going to be really interested in whatever you're doing.

That's kind of the secret of my back to my fifth grade teacher as well. He knew how to get our interest by singing songs and doing some crazy things with prepositions and grammar. that, I think, is a combination of... I really think it is sort of an innate ability that I have, but it's also years and years of experience of listening to parents and understanding children and putting that all into the playroom and really making it set for that family.

I don't question the kids anymore because I find that they're too much in the present, which is a wonderful thing. But if they want purple walls and dinosaurs, what happens is if I speak to them about that and they don't get that because we know as parents, they will probably outgrow that interest. And maybe they have siblings that really hate dinosaurs. It becomes tricky to have them being heard and having the design be that and then sometimes you're setting up to disappoint them. So I stay with just a big intake with the parents and really again layer in my expertise when I'm going to think about what I'm going to do in the playroom.

Amelia: To be specific, what makes your Smart Playrooms different than perhaps just some ideas that parents might come up with on their own is that you include elements for climbing and swinging and I don't know, share with me some of the elements that go into making your playrooms different.

Karri: Yeah, I love that. So in addition, this goes back to what is happening in our communities and our world and in our schools. And so in addition to finding out from the parents their hopes and goals for their kids, I'm very in tune with what's happening in the child's day to day routine. And so what was happening about five, eight years ago was kids were sitting down memorizing facts.

Even when they were three, there was a big push to learn your ABCs. And what I saw was that these kids' behaviors were off the charts. Now, there were things happening with kids that weren't right, and there was no movement in their days. And of course, COVID exacerbated so many different difficulties for kids in general as well. And we saw the effects of that when they're on their screens too long, when they're sitting down all day, when they're not moving around, when they're not self-directing what they're doing and instead having to be told what to do.

So when I first put a monkey bar on a ceiling, it was a pivotal point in my business because it was really an out of the box thing to do, but it was in response to what was happening in my own local community here in New York. And I've always loved monkey bars. For me, they challenged kids in so many ways. Kids can do so many different things with monkey bars. They can hang upside down, they can go forwards and backwards. If you go to a school playground and the kindergarten, they're probably all lined up to do the monkey bars over everything else. so putting the monkey bars and putting these active climbing areas - we know how good that is for kids. The vestibular systems, everything I do is also sensory focused with the belief that what's good for one child is also good for the other.

These kids need movement and the ability to touch and feel things in different ways. And they also need to challenge themselves. So that's where I started to bring in all of those different types of activities which were really outside of the box. was not a table and storage and people are like, whoa, that's really cool. And I would say that was a pivotal moment in my business where all eyes were on what I was doing. And it really changed the trajectory of just, again, just thinking about tables and chairs in a playroom versus, wow, all these other things, including playhouses. We do a lot of cool playhouses and lofts and forts, and those, again, are attuned to kids' sensory needs. And it also checks the box that we know kids love these things. So I'm looking at a combination of those things as well.

Amelia: Yes, and that is what I noticed right away. Your play spaces are, it's almost as if because humans, we’re all built a little bit differently with what you said, sensory needs, different sensory needs, different processing needs, different attention needs.

It's almost as if your playrooms tap into that and bring out what you said, that self-directed energy, outlet, play, movement. So yeah, tell me a little bit more about perhaps how you adapt a space for a child or an adult who needs additional stimulation or comfort.

Karri: Sure. So one of the basic ways I do it again, after I get a good understanding of the children and the family is I sort of back up, look at all the walls, the ceiling, what's on the floor. And this is probably my favorite thing to do is to come up with the initial layout. we don't, I'm different in the fact that for me, I focus on the activities first. And it is never about the colors or the aesthetic.

It is about what we can do here in order to enhance what it is we want them to do. And in some ways I say it's similar to the rest of our homes, like in a kitchen, you know, if there was not an oven, a stove and cabinets, like there's not much to do in there, but how you create like the organic way of being able to wash your dishes, put them in the dishwasher, also find your utensils and your cups, where are they located by the sink?

The intentional thought that is apparent in all these other spaces, even in our bedrooms, you know, having a nightside table, because maybe you want to read, there's a light, some simple tenants of how we live the rest of the spaces in our home. No one really understood because in the playroom, kind of what to do down there and still a lot of people, parents and other interior designers still are questioned by it.

The only way you can really understand it is by having the background as an educator. And even then, I work in the homes of other teachers because they still don't quite understand and look at it the same way that I might, which again is to focus on the activity. So I can take all this information, then I can look at the space. And then immediately I'm kind of like, of course, we're going to do this over here. We're going to do this over here, this over here.

And honestly, it depends where the playroom is. I might have a different layout if I think it's in the basement versus the third floor versus the first floor. And all of them, even the location of the playroom and what other spaces are dedicated to play will influence the activities that I do in my space. And so in addition to what the kids' interests are, in addition to what their needs are, in addition to what the space provides, I'm thinking through again that independent piece, which you kind of mentioned - that self-directed piece. So if it's in the basement, we want it to be more focused on self-directed play and independent play because we understand that as parents, we're not really going to be sitting down there and nor maybe do we want to because there's so many benefits to kids doing these things on their own. So that might be different than something on the first floor where it is a little bit more with parental interaction. Maybe it's more games and things that you would do together there.

So I think very carefully also about where the space is located, what else is going on in the home, and how this space can enhance what might be in other spaces or how it can be totally different. And so again, by being able to create the physical active movement kind of sensory pieces is really a great way to get the kids to gravitate to something that is unlike any other space in their home and that they can do self-directed independent play and movement down there.

Amelia: So good and y'all, I will link Karri's website and social media in the show notes. I really encourage you to check out the design and just the beauty of the spaces that she creates because that is the impact. You'll see it and you'll be like, "I really want one of those." So Karri, although your business is primarily about design, there are key elements of order and organization built into your spaces as well.

Folks can take a look at the images, the placement of items is open-ended yet I can see they're very intentionally placed so that spaces are also easy to maintain. So tell me a little bit about why you think, especially in a playroom, that less is more when it comes to kids and their belongings.

Karri: Sure. I can talk a lot about that because when I actually started the business, it was only in the playroom organization. So I had my hands in deep and sorting Legos and donating hundreds of toys and materials that weren't age appropriate. So I did that for many years before it sort of ebbed into the design business that it is today.

And I am incredibly grateful. And I think it again, a super important piece of my journey was organizing down to where the pencils go and where the color and how do I make that accessible for the kids into my play spaces. So it was a huge part of it. It still is a huge part for me. The focus is on independence, as you mentioned.

The key to the playroom organization is creating systems that kids can maintain themselves. So it can't be too complicated and it can't be hidden. It needs to be out and about. If we, and I look at it too, if I want kids to be creative in their art area, well, you need to have everything that they can do for creativity at their fingertips and they need to be able to see it. What kids see is what they do, and a good example of that is if you just leave a cards or a game or something the kids haven't seen in a while just even on the kitchen table there 99% of the time if it's something they like of course they are just going to start to open it and play it this is a great technique when you have play dates over when your kids are young when you still may have to direct or put out some things for them.

But we did that as teachers too. So this isn't about organizing things and hiding everything. It isn’t having mom try to find everything or dad. This is about creating systems that the child can find everything and that you're able to even add new things, adding just a little tape and some different types of pens as the kids get older to an art studio and making it, they're going to create something different.

Adding just simple glue. The art area is something I really love because I think today we're also in this process versus product like the product and what the end result is so much more important than actual the process. And you see it in some of what the kids bring home from art classes in public or private schools where they're proud of what it looks like at the end. Well, to me, it's about the journey.

It’s big and that's the same with anything. I want to emphasize the process and it's more about kids making decisions. What are they going to create without any help from us? And I want to create these spaces, whether it be Legos, movement, even the monkey bars. It's like, you figure out what you want to do here. I'm going to set it up intentionally with even an art area with maybe a pegboard, everything's nice and organized and the materials are there, you have a nice big open table.

So you have everything at your fingertips, just like we do in the kitchen. If we wanna cook, we need to have pots and pans and we need to have some food in the refrigerator. So it's the same idea, set up the basics where they have everything. They need paper, they need easy access to paper.

If they don't have paper, it's not gonna go so well in the art studio. So think about those basic things they need and then let them go. And it doesn't matter what it looks like at the end. And in fact, the cognitive prophecies that the kids are going through of making a decision, this is what I want to do, then figuring out what they need in order to do that. I need this from here, I need to get the paper over there.

Actually I'm going to do a book, so I'm going to get the stapler and then what the topic is. And then going through, those are the things you want to celebrate and encourage because those, when you think about lifelong learning and where we are as adults, this is a great thing to think about too. What is it that makes adults successful? And it's basic things, curiosity, the ability to get things done.

To have a checklist and actually execute it to problem solve. We're constantly set up with different things no matter what we're doing. and confidence, you know, do as adults, can we take new risks? Can we try something different, even if it's in our personal life or in our professional life? So those same pieces that we know are so important as adults. You want to take those same characteristics and ask yourself, "How could I help my child sort of hone in on those skills?" And independent risk taking and successes breeds a certain confidence. And I always say you could see those kids sometimes on the playground who are the natural leaders, like follow me, I got the ideas.

Amelia: I love that.

Karri: You see it on the playground. So you can install those in a monkey bar area, a climbing area, any reading area, even just letting your kids look at new books and do what they want with them and having a dry erase board, even by a reading nook playing school or something like that. Let them kind of go with it and you'll see it builds this confidence that they have. So a long answer to your question about organization, but think through the processes and understand how things are displayed and how easy they are to get to, whether you're about to work or make something in the kitchen.

If you didn't have your computer and everything right here in that organized desk area, it'd be very hard for me to have a productive work day. So we have to do the same thing for kids and less is always more because when there's too much, kids cannot make good decisions and they will get overwhelmed and they won't want to be in the space there for us. So, so less is more. Save your money and just be intentional with what you have is really my advice.

Amelia: That's a great message because so many listeners, I'm sure, have witnessed, right? When everything is available, kids almost tune out, right? There's too much to choose from. And what you're talking about is having limited numbers of purposeful items, there's something there where an idea might spark.

You use the words curiosity. Imagination, creativity. They're able to see more possibilities with fewer items in the space, I imagine. And yeah, it's so, so good. And I think something that we often forget, that less can be more, especially with children. But, you know, we see it in our own lives as well as adults. When there's too much, we get distracted.

Karri: Yes, 100%. We do. And here's just one other thought - that is tuning into as parents, we know our kids' interests and when they change. This is a good example. So you bought the big crayons and that's awesome. Your child's a toddler. You want them to start to draw. They probably grab it like this at first, but then they slowly go like this. And then you're realizing they're not really using those thick crayons anymore. And then you get the thinner crayons and then you might move on to the markers.

Here's the tip, let go of the thick crayons when they're no longer interested in that. So what happens I found in playrooms is that people hang on to everything even when they know their kids are no longer interested in that with the thought, well, maybe the next child is going to be interested in that or maybe the friends are or maybe we as parents are emotionally tied to that because it was the first time they drew a smiley face or something.

So, you have to let it go and put that away and keep things that your children are interested in out. And that is going to change. The art materials are going to change quite a bit, but get rid of the huge sticker books when all of a sudden they're not just stickers. It's time to move on. And it's exciting to move on to the next steps and let go of some of the things that were interesting maybe for six months or a year, but give them things that are really of interest to them and that are age appropriate. And that's the key to having them keep coming back.

Amelia: It's amazing. It's like teaching an organization and design intersecting all at once, just in your answer. It was so good. Well, Karri, what's one creative way you employ organization now for yourself as an adult?

Karri: Yes. Well, that is a great question. I think for me, this is my office. And for me, these are the colors I love that sing to me. I am still very much in the gray, white color scheme. It makes me feel good. It's a reflection of myself. I have a comfortable couch that if I want to sit and relax on, I have a dog too that accompanies me at work. I have the light that I need. I have two computers here. have very few sort of organization things. My desk is always clear. And so I've created a very clutter-free environment. And so I can find everything and tuck the things that I don't need in the basement. All my samples and everything are not in my office. They are in my basement nicely organized down there. And here it's just really about feeling good when I walk in, I know where everything is. I feel like the space was made for me. And that is, I often say that to parents, we want this space to feel like it was made for your kids. When you and they walk in there, I want them to be like that, and I want them to feel like that when they're 15 too. So I would say those tenants for my own space make me love coming to work every day.

And I'm very happy to be here every day. And I think that is really important to love being in your space and making it feel like you and how it feels for you. You're going to have different colors and different things than how it's going to feel for me. So individualize it to suit what makes you feel good and what makes you feel like yourself.

Amelia: So good. You are living the intentionality of your design business and creating a space for you. So I love that.

Karri: Thank you.

Amelia: Karri, thank you so much for chatting with me. I would love for you to share how folks can check out your past designs and learn about both your full service and your eDesign service and shop your Project Playroom, do it yourself elements.

Karri: Yes, thank you for that. So Smart Playrooms are, we have two options for design and you can find most of the information on our website. And also we are very focused on Instagram and we have a lot of, we share a lot of our playrooms on there and videos and reels. And I try to do a mindful Monday - sort of small things just in stories. So following us on Instagram is great.

And so those two packages are really about e-design. It is really for people who want to do everything themselves, but the e-design. And then the full service is really if you want to hire myself and my team to really do everything for you for the six months, I mean, you do everything and you can be checked out and go on vacation. So those are those two options. And then as you mentioned, the store is called Project Playroom and that is where I've sourced, intentionally sourced products that I couldn't find or that I didn't like.

It was really hard to find sensory active, beautiful things that can be customized to your family's aesthetic. We offer black foam pits to purple to pink to tan to whatever color you want. My goal with that was that anyone can really choose a couple of the things that they know have my personal stamp of approval. Some of the things I even designed myself with other companies, sometimes we just resell things, but every product on there is something I truly believe in. And if you just wanted to get one swing, one are just the monkey bars or just even just a mat.

You can just go there yourself, choose the color that you want and just buy it. And that's an inexpensive way on your budget or just with something that you want, but still getting kind of Karri's check of approval as far as it's something that your kids are going to love. And it's going to look good as well. And it's beautifully made and will last for years. So those are the three different things that we do. And Instagram is definitely the place to really look at what we're doing for both websites.

Amelia: And so it's smartplayrooms.com and @smartplayrooms, am I correct?

Karri: Yes. That's correct. And it's projectplayroom.com and it's actually @projectplayrooms. So it's a little bit different with the S on that for Instagram, but both of them we're very active on.

Amelia: Amazing. I encourage everyone to go check out the spaces and I love that you offer solutions for every budget and price point because we've got to get our kids moving. Play is important, movement is important for building those lifelong skills as you shared with us. So thank you so much. It's been such a pleasure.

Karri: Yes. Thank you so much, Amelia. I really appreciate being here. Thank you very much.

Outro: Hey y'all, let's connect and chat on socials. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook @apleasantsolution. I'm also on LinkedIn at Amelia Pleasant Kennedy. Feel free to send me a quick note and let me know what you'd like to hear more about, or what home life organizational challenges are top of mind for you. Talk to y'all soon.