Nell Regan Kartychok
Author, photographer, DIY expert, arts-and-crafts engineer, and founder of Rhythms of Play.
Nell Regan Kartychok is the creator behind the screen on the Rhythms of Play website. She enjoys sharing nature-inspired crafts, seasonal activities, outdoor learning ideas, and simple ways to bring more heart, connection, and joy into everyday life. Nell designed the Rhythms of Play website to help people of all ages connect more deeply with the natural world and the community around them. She believes that children learn, grow, and thrive in creative, natural environments, as do the adults who teach and guide them.
About Nell
Nell encourages people to slow down, notice the subtle changes in nature that occur throughout the seasons, and create meaningful rhythms that nurture creativity, curiosity, and connection. Her work blends hands-on learning with seasonal living, simple art and craft projects, and creative outdoor activities that families and educators can use in their everyday lives.
Although her work often focuses on creating engaging activities and simple projects that educate children and help them build a deeper connection with the natural world. She also offers simple ways for adults to nurture these connections, follow a path with heart, and live more joyful, abundant lives.Because we can’t give others what we don’t first give ourselves. She believes in nurturing these connections within so you can share your gifts with the most important people in your life.With an extensive background in education, wellness, fitness, psychology, yoga, and ocean lifeguarding, Nell brings a whole-child approach to learning and play. She believes children learn best when they can move their bodies, engage their senses, create with wild abandon, explore freely, and connect deeply with the natural world.
She enjoys inspiring people of all ages to come into greater alignment with their hearts, the natural world and the wide array of life around them, and encourages them to connect more deeply with the universal source of creation. Especially those who guide the youngest souls and leaders of tomorrow, our children.
What Nell Shares on Rhythms of Play
The Rhythms of Play website shares hundreds of nature crafts, seasonal activities, sensory play ideas, outdoor learning projects, and creative activities for children and adults of all ages. Best of all, most resources are free for everyone to enjoy.
- Nature crafts and seasonal art projects
- Outdoor activities and nature study ideas
- Sensory play and hands-on learning projects
- Simple DIY projects for the home and garden
- Family traditions and seasonal celebrations
- Goal-setting and positive habit-building tips
- Daily and weekly planning ideas
Her articles are practical, approachable, and inspiring for families, educators, and individuals seeking a greater sense of meaning in life. Parents, grandparents, teachers, homeschoolers, caregivers, artists, crafters, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone who believes in the power of the imagination and the wonder of play will enjoy the Rhythms of Play website.
Background and Experience
Before founding the Rhythms of Play website and becoming a writer, Nell appeared as a child actress under her maiden name, Nell Regan. She is best known for her roles as Beth in the 1981 cult horror film Kiss Daddy Goodbye and as Megan in the 1989 thriller Prime Suspect.
She also appeared as a recurring model and silent bit player on 2HIP4TV, a short running Saturday morning show in the late 80's by the creators of Saturday Night Live with a similar but more youth-focused sketch-comedy feel, hosted by Colin Quinn and featuring guest appearances and musical performances from well-known actors such as Tom Hanks and bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers before they became the even bigger stars they are today.
Shortly after the show was canceled, she moved to the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where she lived, worked as an activities director, and played for two years before returning to the Los Angeles area to attend college and later graduate school.
In adulthood, Nell worked as an actor primarily in television commercials, as well as a teacher, coach, and fitness professional off the set. In 1994, she became an ocean lifeguard for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. After which, she also accepted the occasional day job on the set of the original Baywatch series. She even acted in a Pizza Hut commercial where she played an ocean lifeguard.
Because commercial acting jobs were short and flexible, they aligned well with her graduate studies in Kinesiology and Psychology, desire to travel, and her seasonal work as an ocean lifeguard, junior lifeguard instructor, and water program instructor for LACO Fire Dept.
In 2002, Nell moved to North Vancouver, Canada, where she worked as an au pair (nanny), personal trainer, bootcamp instructor, and taught yoga privately. At the time she was also attending ITP's online doctoral program, so she could move about the world freely as she continued her studies in psychology. She traveled back to the LA area in the summer to accept a full time summer schedule as an ocean lifeguard. She moved back to Venice Beach in 2008.
Nell married fellow ocean lifeguard Nick Kartychok (originally from Arizona) and became a mother at 42 in 2012. They moved to Chico, CA to be in a smaller town to be closer to her mother Carol Miller, where they operated a childcare when their daughter Charlize was a toddler.
Nell retired from the LACO Fire Department in 2014 after 20 years of service, and founded Rhythms of Play a few days later. At the time, she had no idea it would become the popular educational resource that it is today.
Athletic and Educational Background
Nell’s lifelong connection to movement, nature, wellness, and outdoor living began through her early connection to nature and passion for athletics. Because she preferred to play outdoors, she competed as a cross-country runner, track and field athlete, and swimmer throughout her college years.
In track and field, Nell competed in middle- and long-distance events under coach Olympic athlete Tommy Smith (Mexico City 1968) for Santa Monica College, including the 800-meter, 1600-meter, and 3000-meter races. These experiences helped shape her appreciation for discipline, endurance, goal setting, and the strong connection between physical movement and mental well-being.
Nell also swam competitively as a backstroke swimmer for John Joseph and Stu Blumkin at Santa Monica College alongside her friend and then Olympic hopeful, now former world record holder Lenny Krazelburg. (2000 and 2004 Olympic medal winner of 4 medals in swimming 100M & 200M Backstroke and 400 IM relay.) Chronic ankle injuries forced Nell's track coach Tommy Smith to put her in the pool for cross-training, but after he introduced her to JJ, she left running behind and dedicated herself to swimming.
The exceptional swimming program at SMC is one of the primary training grounds and starting points for many Los Angeles County ocean lifeguards, the largest and best Lifeguard Organization in the world. While swimming for JJ, Nell served as Team Captain for both the men’s and women’s swim teams and was awarded the John Joseph Swimming Scholarship in 1993. After Santa Monica College, Nell attended California State University, Northridge, graduating with honors in 1994 with her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology.
She she also enjoyed playing beach volleyball for fun and paddled for Marina Del Rey Outrigger Canoe Club for several years in the late 90s. In 1999, her crew of six talented teammates finished in 10th place (the last medal position) in the Queen Liliʻuokalani International Long Distance Canoe Race in Kona, Hawaii. Nell sat in the front of the boat, stroking her crew, while Alison Kahanomoku (Duke Kahanomoku’s great-grand-niece) steered them to a medal victory from the back of the outrigger canoe. She also completed the Catalina Channel Crossing five years in a row while paddling for Sandy Kahanomoku (Duke Kahanomoku’s grand-nephew) at MDROCC.
Her educational background in movement science, fitness, health, and wellness continues to influence her work today. She believes movement, outdoor play, physical activity, and hands-on learning are essential for healthy development in childhood and lifelong well-being.
Higher Education and Psychology Studies
Nell later attended the University of Santa Monica, where she earned a MA in Spiritual Psychology and Counseling Psychology in 2003. Her graduate studies focused on personal growth, conscious living, communication, the connection between mind, body, heart, and spirit, and emotional well-being from psychopathology to Self-Realization.
Her educational experiences deepened her interest in serving others. She most enjoyed helping people of all ages develop healthier relationships with themselves, others, and the world around them. Many of these ideas continue to influence her work, shaping the activities she creates and the articles she writes, which encourage an active outdoor lifestyle, mindfulness, creativity, gratitude, regulated emotional connection, and joyful living.
Nell also continued advanced studies in psychology through doctoral-level coursework with the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, now known as Sophia University. Her studies explored human development, consciousness, creativity, holistic wellness, the science and practice of yoga, and the ways meaningful experiences in nature can support growth and transformation. Unfortunately, she contracted pneumonia while working on her dissertation and was unable to finish her study to complete her doctoral degree even though she completed the required coursework.
During this period, Nell also deepened her studies in yoga, mindfulness, movement, and holistic wellness. She studied yoga at Mount Madonna Center with renowned yoga master Baba Hari Dass before his passing and became a Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500-hour level in 2006.
While attending the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Nell also studied Integrative Yoga Therapy and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. Through these programs, she became a registered yoga therapist, blending movement, mindfulness, emotional awareness, breathwork, and more holistic approaches to wellness into her personal and professional work as a fitness professional, therapist, lifeguard, teacher, and coach.
Published Work
Nell is a contributing author to Yum!: Deliciously Healthy Recipes for Kids, a collaborative cookbook featuring healthy family recipes and ideas that help children enjoy nutritious whole foods. She is currently writing a book, the title of which will remain secret for now, which she hopes to publish in 2027.
Creative Philosophy
Nell’s early experiences with creative and active outdoor environments shaped her lifelong appreciation for the great outdoors and expressing herself creatively. Today, she continues to inspire people of all ages to spend more time outdoors, engage in creative activities, and embrace the simple joys of childhood wonder and play. As she loves to say, "If life is a school, the world is my playground! In her mind, "Play may be the work of childhood, but you are never too old to play."
In her words, "Play fills us with wonder, keeps us young at heart, helps us learn well into adulthood, and brings us massive amounts of joy. Who wouldn't want to play?" Through her writing and creative activities, Nell hopes to help others align with the rhythms of the natural world and build a deep, lasting connection with nature. Today, she enjoys nurturing creativity, igniting passion, and inspiring young minds and old souls to share joy and meaningful experiences with the people they love most. Visit her on the Rhythms of Play website or social media profiles
Explore Nell’s Work
Discover seasonal arts, crafts, and activities, simple DIY projects for the home and garden, outdoor learning ideas, and ways to add meaning and joy to daily life on the Rhythms of Play website. Scroll down to see each of the articles she has written.
