One Mind

Earlier today, we shared how we are celebrating two years in our Broad Ripple home. Now it’s time to show you one of our favorite places… our backyard!

What started as a few raised garden beds has grown into a peaceful space filled with cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, green beans, eggplant, peppers, carrots, and even berries.

To many people, it’s just a garden.

To us, it’s another therapy room.

Our backyard gives children the opportunity to slow down, dig in the dirt, notice the sights, sounds, smells, and textures around them, and practice mindfulness in a way that feels natural. It becomes a place to work on sensory exploration, emotional regulation, patience, responsibility, confidence, problem solving, and even social skills as they care for the garden together.

For many of our picky eaters, growing fruits and vegetables can also be the first step toward trying them. There’s something powerful about watching a tiny seed become something you helped grow. That sense of ownership often opens the door to curiosity and new foods.

We also love using gardening as a way to teach children about their brains. Just like a garden, our minds need consistent care. Healthy thoughts, coping skills, gratitude, kindness, and resilience are like watering and feeding our plants. If we neglect them, weeds like worry, fear, self-doubt, and frustration can begin to take over. The good news? We can always pull the weeds, nurture new growth, and keep tending our minds one day at a time.

A very special thank you goes to our Mental Health Therapist, Kennedy, whose vision, hard work, and love have helped transform this backyard into such a beautiful place where countless children and families have a quiet space to breathe, explore, grow, and simply be.

Happy 2nd anniversary to our Broad Ripple home. Here’s to many more seasons of helping children grow… inside and out!