James Van Der Beek Opens Up About 'Humbling' Life with Six Kids: 'Always a Curveball' (Exclusive)

James Van Der Beek opens up to PEOPLE exclusively about the importance of play and quality time with his six kids

James Van Der Beek embraces the time outside with his six kids.

Speaking with PEOPLE about his partnership with Quaker Chewy for their Play Pledge — where families commit to an hour of uninterrupted play each day — the actor, 46, says that getting all six of his kids outside "feels like the antidote to getting on a screen."

Of spending time with Jeremiah, 17 months, Gwendolyn, 4, Emilia, 7, Annabel, 9, Joshua, 11, and Olivia, 12, in and around their Texas home, Van Der Beek tells PEOPLE, "We're lucky enough to have the space to kick a ball around."

"Even when we were in L.A., trees were our best babysitter," he laughs. "But the fact we can now go outside, and they can watch the seasons change, it's ideal."

"We had them do a nature camp. They make a fire in the morning," he shares. "It's been pretty special."

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As part of Quaker Chewy's commitment to helping provide access to play, the brand will be donating $200,000 through the Quaker Chewy Play Fund to help build more playgrounds across the U.S. in partnership with KABOOM!, the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity.

Van Der Beek says he loves that the brand "recognizes the importance of play and champions it."

"For me, playing with the kids is so important. It's good for them physically, it's good for them mentally, emotionally. It's good for our relationship," he explains. "But as any busy parent knows, if you don't schedule that play, the odds of it happening dwindle."

Van Der Beek knows that time together is also important for developing the relationships between his kids.

"I think the biggest delight I find is how they interact with each other. They all take care of each other. Sometimes they step in to help solve problems of their own volition," he says. "And the moment I see them looking after their baby brother, I really feel like, 'Oh man, for whatever I've done wrong, I'm doing something right here.' "

Still, there are challenges he and wife Kimberly Van Der Beek face, like getting their youngest on a good sleeping schedule.

"The biggest challenge for us is just getting overwhelmed. Thankfully our youngest is finally starting to sleep through the night," he says, adding, "You think we would have gotten better at having kids sleep through the night earlier, but it's the last one proving to us how specific kids are, and how different they are."

He continues, "There are so few general maxims that apply to every kid when you're raising them. I mean, you got the six same ingredients, same recipe, raised in the same house, and they're all different."

"It's just humbling. When you think you've got it down, you get one that throws a curveball at you. And it's regulating our own emotions when things do get hectic and chaos ensues, which is inevitable at times."

As his kids get older and learn more about his past as an actor, the Dawson's Creek alum says the kinds of roles he pursues have "definitely changed."

"Before I had kids, the entire spectrum of human behavior and emotions were my palette. And now that I watch my kids consume content, I really do think more about, 'What does this project say?' It doesn't mean you have to be serious all the time, or that everything has to be a message piece," Van Der Beek explains. "But I do think about, 'What kind of behavior am I modeling?' I still like to be silly and goof around and I still like to laugh. I don't have to play the good guy all the time because great stories need villains."

Van Der Beek is also enjoying watching wife Kimberly pursue her passions, co-hosting her podcast Bathroom Chronicles.

"It's been really inspirational for me to watch her get back into something that she loves, and to create a safe space for people to share honestly, openly — to laugh, to cry and know that they're not alone in the world," he tells PEOPLE. "I'm just so proud of her and the space that she's creating, for her to dip into friendship and sisterhood and honesty and curiosity in the way that she does."

With summer coming up, the family is looking forward to spending time traveling. "There will definitely be some RV trips in our summer," he says. "We'll just have to ask the kids which direction they want to head and figure it out from there."

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