Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Walter.
Christy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies from Texas Tech University and nearly a decade of experience with early childhood education. I was an elementary school teacher. I taught 4th grade for two years and Kindergarten for seven years. Kindergarten was where I saw the desperate need for more imagination, movement, and unstructured play. I started researching and reading up on things to see how I could plug that into our everyday, even in little ways here and there. I came across Balanced and Barefoot, and I was immediately sold on all the things author, Angela Hanscom, was saying. It lit a fire under me, and while I attempted to still make it work in our day to day, I realized I needed to make a bigger change if I was going to make a bigger difference. I took the necessary steps and began the process to bring TimberNook here to us. I resigned from my teaching position to pursue TimberNook full time. My passion is the same as teaching and reaches the whole child. It was just that the environment needed to be somewhat different. So now, with the walls gone and the time more abundant, I am ready to share and spread this passion with purpose and drive!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Struggles, setbacks, speedbumps you name it. They definitely happened along the way. From the beginning, I jumped into this with tons of unknowns: finances, program location, clientele, success rate, timeline, and so much more. I began this business journey by resigning from a wonderful and rewarding teaching job that I loved. I was leaving my home away from home. I was leaving colleagues who had become like family. It was hard. I left my comfort zone with a big dream and a GoFundMe page to get myself to TimberNook training in Spring 2017.
With training under my belt and a fire in my heart, I sought out landowners and potential partners. I had tools in my toolbox, a plan in my head, but no land to run my programs.
Once I found some great partners and land, I was ready to roll! The timeline in my head and the one that was penciled into my calendar was nothing… I mean nothing like what actually transpired. I wanted to have a full summer of programs, and things weren’t looking like that was going to happen.
At the very end of Summer 2018, my launch was finally ready to occur and was well planned, BUT I ended up having zero people attend that’s right. Zero showed up. I have a background in educating children, sure. However, I have no background in the business and marketing side of things. Marketing aka what brings people and clientele, was clearly not successful here.
I worked hard to build a following by word of mouth. I reached out to family and friends with kiddos, mom groups, and more. I successfully ran a couple of programs in the Fall and Winter of 2018 as well as several week long programs in Summer 2019. Most of the programs that I ran had three to five kiddos. I allow up to 20 at a time, but I have yet to sell out a camp.
Regardless of all of these twists and turns along the way, I continue to push and stay hopeful, and here’s why. Every time I am out there watching the kids jump in the creek, get their hands in the mud, build a fort with the help of a friend, use their imagination to create a character, challenge their senses or their balance. Every time I hear from a parent about how much their kid enjoyed their time with me or how they noticed that they treat their sibling with more respect in play now, I KNOW it’s all worth it! I don’t have to have a sold out camp to make a difference. I’m making a difference, no matter the number.
Of course, I’d like to grow our numbers, but I’m also comfortable trusting the process and the timing of it all because I see the benefits and the transformations happening. There will continue to be speedbumps on the way, I’m sure, but that’s what makes the ride worth it, right?
Tell us about your company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
TimberNook is an international company, and I offer the only program in the state of Texas! I hope that more and more people see the need for our unique services, and it spreads across this great state, but until then, I will push forward giving all my best for these kids! TimberNook provides innovative outdoor play experiences that challenge the senses and inspire creativity, imagination and independent play in nature. More than anything, our program is transformative, and this is 100% why I fell in love with TimberNook.
As a teacher in a fast paced, technology driven, crazy expectations kind of world, all I wanted was to let my students be little. I wanted to teach them life skills. I wanted to teach them compassion and work ethic. I wanted to let them create and imagine and fail hard. I wanted to teach them how to be decent humans. I wanted to teach the whole child, and the classroom allowed for quite a bit of that but not nearly to the degree that TimberNook has to offer.
When it comes down to it, the idea of TimberNook seems so simple: get kids back outside but it runs so incredibly deep. The richness of the environment and experiences teach so much without even trying. We try to push so much on kids today and treat them as tiny adults when they aren’t developmentally ready for that. When in reality, if we just let them be little, they would learn so much more. TimberNook teaches the whole child, at the child’s pace, and in a meaningful and transformative way. Through the curriculum and experiences, they may have the opportunity to build a fort or a pulley system using teamwork. They may have the chance to create a piece of artwork or cook over a fire. They may problem solve for a game of tug of war or learn how to take turns in a more efficient way. We’ve all heard the saying, “everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten.” I think that Kindergarten has tried too hard to be like the higher grades and pushed the kids a little too hard. I think that it, in turn, has turned kids off to learning, which is so very sad. I believe the new saying should be, “Everything I need to know, I learned at TimberNook!”
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think the quality that I have that is most important to my success is perseverance. All of my adult life, I have had big plans and dreams that I never gave up on. I mean, I came to the DFW area after college not having a job lined up, not having my own place to stay, and not knowing many people at all. What was I thinking? Who knows, but guess what? I worked hard. I met new people or connected with old friends. I got myself two part time jobs until I landed my full time teaching job. I lived on a friend’s couch until I could find and afford a place of my own. I kept growing and learning. Through vulnerability and perseverance, I made it work!
Fast forward to my TimberNook journey that I’m currently on. I feel the same hope and vulnerability. It’s a new dream and a new big plan. There have been and will be unknown steps and bumps to come, but I have confidence that I’ll look back one day in the future and think, “See, I persevered yet again!”
Contact Info:
- Address: 1951 S Valley Parkway
Lewisville, TX 75067 - Website: https://www.timbernook.com/provider/timbernook-north-texas/
- Phone: 972-767-9771
- Email: christy.walter@timbernook.com
- Instagram: @TimbernookNTX
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimberNook-North-Texas-2502426026649923/
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