Life & Work with Victoria Woods

Through an app (Peanut), I had a playdate with a woman, Christina Johnson, who did a co-ed boy scouts type program, and it sparked my interest to find something similar for my child. I couldn’t find what I was looking for, so I created my own. I wanted an event that I essentially “don’t say no,” and I figured others would be looking for something similar for their children. The original idea was to do edible foraging, which turned into an edible hour with loose goal-focused activities. Christy donated her time and experience by making the logo, website, and Instagram for Into the Out. We start with picking up in the local area to help give back to our community; then, we wash our hands to prepare to play with our edible crafts. Generally, it’ll be color themed, and the children will create with unusual produce, a native plant or animal correlating to the color, and are highly encouraged to taste their artwork. After we’ll do a sensory activity with toys hidden in ice, jello, noodles, rice, or beans. And to end the hour off, we’ll have a bubble party where the kids will dance and play with chalk as I clean up. I try to keep everything “free” to the best of my ability so all the kids can join in the fun, as in animal products, sugar, salt, artificial dyes, and gluten. I set it up next to a splash pad for easy convenience to wash off, or if the kids get too antsy to stay for the whole hour, the parents still have an activity their kids can enjoy (though most stay the entire hour, just lovely to have the option). If I get RSVPs, then they know about my flyer and to bring a specific colored produce and a change of clothes as we can get quite messy, but I always make sure to bring lots of extras so when I have kiddos join from the splash pad the day of they can still participate with no worries. My partner fully funds it, and I’m very grateful he encourages me to pursue this path with our children. We accept donations, but they’re not mandatory for participating in our activities.

The first event was the green theme, which was the funniest event of all. It was so windy, and we didn’t have anything to tie the tablecloths down, so our crafts flew everywhere. I made edible paint (yogurt/ food dye, jello), but I didn’t think about the paper we’d be using, so the paint brushes are ripping the paper up and my kid is just eating the jello straight from the bowl. Plus, I bought so many items I didn’t need and even asked others to bring some too, since I was so worried I would need more. It was definitely very fun, a lot just went unused and I’m still trying to figure out what to use those items for almost a year later. And I don’t think I’ll ever be doing the black/ purple theme event again. Wet chia seeds ruined everything that day; all the paint brushes had to be thrown out as they’d cemented themselves into the bristles. Black is one of the harder colors to find naturally in produce, as they’re fairly small to work with. I chose foam boards with agave brushed on them as our canvas with decaf coffee, black pepper, chia seeds, eggplant, and figs for the mediums to create our native flora and fauna with; it was by far the stickiest, messiest event of all. Some other challenges outside event planning would have to be promoting and funding the events. I promote in a group on Peanut (Orlando Playdates by Melissa) and through IG (@intotheout22 by Christy), and it’s pretty hit or miss attendance-wise. Though, as long as one other child shows up, I count it as a win as my kid still has someone to do an activity with and I’ve hopefully helped encourage a love of learning. Towards the end of summer, I was only getting RSVPs or references, which was an exciting experience! As for funding, the plan is to keep the donations optional unless we start to have 15 children participate regularly. My partner and I enjoy that price doesn’t stand in the way of a child having a fun experience; though we’d like it to cover costs, it’s not too strenuous on our financials, and we budget for 2 events a month at 8 kids each.

I’m just a regular Homemaker with an avid interest in making learning fun. If something sets me apart from others, it’s probably that I’m efficient in getting what I want out of life. I had an idea. I figured out how to make it work for my family and me, then just did it. I kept short, reasonable goals to achieve, listened to kids and parents attending, and found ways to weave them into what I had planned while maintaining the core idea. I like learning about language, history, fun facts, animals, food, and anything else that catches my interest, and I want to pass that on to my children. I want the next generation to be smarter than me and make better informed decisions, andi think it starts when you don’t make learning a punishment, but a big component to finding joy in your life.

My family and mental health are the top spots. I love to do any activity where all my family, including the dog, can join in for the day or spend quality time together. Whether it be a day at home, a walk on the trail, farmers market, camping, road trip, they’re all very special to me and remind me that this is what I’ll remember at 80 yrs old. These are the days I’ll reminisce about and wish to relive. My mental health is also very important, as I need to be in good shape to care for my family. The best line I ever heard was, “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” and I use another euphemism about your dinner plate, “you can only fit so much on it, so be mindful,” or to that effect. I like schedules, plans, and order and could improve at sporadic, impromptu events, haha. If my calendar says no plans, then that is the plan.