Dad of 6 James Van Der Beek Says Moving His Family to Austin Was 'Centering': 'It's Connected Us'

James Van Der Beek/INSTAGRAM

James Van Der Beek is opening up about the changes he's seen in his family since moving to Texas.

Speaking with PEOPLE about his partnership with Libby's Vegetables to benefit hunger relief organization Meals on Wheels America, the actor, 45, reveals that moving from Los Angeles to Austin with wife Kimberly and their kids has been a "centering" experience for the family.

"I know for me, it's been really centering and I feel like for the kids, it's been grounding, and a different kind of education that we never could have offered them in a classroom," he tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

Going from a jam-packed city to the quiet of nature has been one of the biggest changes. "Just the things that we're all aware of, like what phase the moon is in because we come out, we look at it," Van Der Beek shares. "I feel like we have a relationship with these natural cycles that are happening."

"Rain in L.A., it was like, 'Ah, man I'm gonna be 20 minutes late because it's raining.' Here, it's a godsend," he continues, adding his six kids — daughters Gwendolyn, 4, Emilia, 6, Annabel, 8, and Olivia, 12, and sons Joshua, 10, and Jeremiah, 12 months — like to dance in the rain.

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"They jump around. They sing, 'rain, rain come today,' and they run out in it, because we need it," he explains, noting the drought they've experienced. "It's just connected us, not just to nature, but to the natural life cycles all around us."

Food has also brought the family together — from trying out the green bean casserole recipe people can like on Instagram to help trigger donations to Meals on Wheels, to learning about why it's important to follow recipes in the first place.

"One of the things after moving out to Texas that we lost completely was any kind of food delivery service," the Varsity Blues actor says. "So we started cooking a lot more, and the kids are really getting into it."

The Dawson's Creek star loves how experimenting in the kitchen "calms our nervous system and teaches them some kind of impulse control."

"When you recognize that ingredients are not just something you dump the whole thing into, you actually have to measure, and there's a reason for that, it's great," he says. "We have a blast."

James Van Der Beek/Instagram

He also says the family has developed a deeper connection to food with their understanding of how to handle it and where it comes from.

"We look at food as sustenance in our house — it's medicine to get through, the building blocks of recovery. But it's also there's such a social component to it," he says. "When you're making a recipe, you're sharing recipes, you're laughing, you're in the kitchen, you're coming together and it's kind of nutrients for the soul when you get together and cook."

The family recently celebrated Jeremiah's first birthday, which has been a full-circle moment for all of them.

James Van Der Beek/Instagram

"I mean, this is going to sound weird, but when he arrived we honestly just thought, 'Oh my god, how did we exist without him?' " he shares. "Which is insane because we have five children before that. But given everything we went through leading up to him, the fact that he was a boy, was just so healing for us. And he anchors the family in a really beautiful way."

Noting that his "girls all dote on him" and he's happy his "son has a brother," Van Der Beek says Jeremiah has been a "magical" final piece to their family.

"Everything really is bigger in Texas. He's by far the biggest baby we've ever made by a long shot," he says with laughs. "He's really been a blessing. Whatever he costs in sleep — and is still costing in sleep — he's just well worth it."

For more on Van Der Beek's family, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.