Not Broken. Not Behind. WILD by Design.

In October of 2023, I created a little Instagram account called Ocean State Kids. I had no logo, no grand strategy, just a hope that maybe—just maybe—I could shake out a handful of local homeschoolers who also didn’t mind getting muddy. If I could get five families together, I would’ve considered it a smashing success.

Fast forward to January 2024, and we’re hosting our very first meetup at Island Art Spot. I was nervous, prepared for a maybe-someone-will-show situation… and then 13 families walked through the door. That day changed everything. OSK was no longer just an idea—it was real, and it was wanted.

In our first year, we:

• Welcomed over 100 families into our community

• Launched 6 groups across Rhode Island

• Built a volunteer network of kind, wildly capable group leaders

• Led weekly nature-based adventures for kids aged 0–8

• Created meaningful connections between families who might have never crossed paths otherwise

  
  

But not everything bloomed as smoothly as it looked from the outside.

That same fall, my son Otto—my inspiration, my anchor—began showing signs of discomfort at our group meetups. He was quietly unraveling and thank god I was present enough to see it. So I stepped back. I put everything down to focus on him. I even tried to close OSK altogether.

That’s when this community really showed up. Women like Tara Kaine, Kristen Clemente, KK Behan, and the brilliant team at the Norman Bird Sanctuary stepped in and said, “We’ve got this.” Group Leaders Marlen Oliva, Jessica Mercier, and Sarah Clarke continued their journey, even without the support I promised. They kept the rhythm going when I couldn’t. They took the helm, and for the first time, I allowed myself to let go of the wheel. (Okay, mostly let go.)

In the quiet of that pause, I dove into research on child development and sensory regulation. I completed a course on Gestalt Language Processing and worked with Kaitlyn McCalhey—one of the only SLPs I’ve found who truly understands strength-based, neurodiverse-affirming therapy through play. I also began counseling with Kaitlyn Sharrow, a woman who gently helped me peel away the fear I’d been parenting from. She showed me how to lead with love instead.

As Otto and I slowly found our way back to ourselves, we found our way back to Ocean State Kids too.

Only this time, it looked a little different.

That’s when WILD by Design was born.

WILD by Design is an outdoor child development program rooted in strength-based, neurodiversity-affirming environments. It’s a space where all children—regardless of ability—can thrive through sensory-rich play. But it’s not just for kids. It’s also for the parents. Because in this model, we provide access to real professionals: OTs, SLPs, counselors—people who walk alongside families, offering real tools, strategies, and encouragement.

I thought the shift might confuse our community. I braced myself for, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” But instead? They leaned in closer. They asked to be part of it. Our inbox exploded with inquiries. The waitlist grew longer than I ever anticipated. My eyes widened. My stomach flipped.

Here’s the hard part: Ocean State Kids is still a small operation. Volunteer-run. The Little Tweets group (our flagship for ages 0–5) is at full capacity, and because we operate with limited bandwidth, we can’t expand overnight.

But we’re working on it.

Two who deserve special thanks:

Meaningful Speech – a platform that brings play-based language development to life for children with speech and language differences.

Fitzpatrick Team RE/MAX – a local real estate group with heart. Their belief in family, home, and community shows in their ongoing support of our work with children.

These partnerships help us take steps toward a bigger, more accessible future—one where every family who needs this kind of support can receive it.

So here we are. A year in. Covered in dirt, a little scrappy, still figuring it out. But full of purpose. Full of love. And surrounded by families who remind me every day that wild isn’t something to fix. It’s something to understand.

Because our children? They are WILD by Design.

And they were never meant to be tamed -- just seen, supported, and celebrated for exactly who they are.