This month in Toddler 1, we have been getting down and dirty exploring mud! When the snow disappeared and turned to puddles and the snow turned to rain we spent a lot of time outside splashing in the puddles. But now that it is getting warmer we haven’t had as many rainy days, so we decided to make our own mud-day.
Mud can be great for children in many ways and one of them being health! There are lots of good bacteria found in mud that can improve children’s immune systems. Therefore playing in the mud can prove to be an important part of early years development. We used the sandbox to start and we dug holes then added sensory bins. We filled the holes and bins with soil and water. We added a lot of toys like shovels, scoops and buckets so everyone could explore the mud in their own ways. A few friends jumped in the puddles right away and were so excited! They splashed around for a while before moving onto the next puddle. When we realized the sand was soaking up the water quickly we moved onto making a big puddle on the pavement by mixing soil and water. Easton got splashed when Tasha jumped in the puddle and he laughed and did a big jump of his own. Melina liked the hose, she was running in and out of it, trying to drink out of it and even just jumping in the puddles and sensory bins while we were filling them. Liam and Rian were laughing with each other as they wiped the mud across their faces! We also didn’t have any shoes on so we could explore the mud and sand between our toes and on our feet.
Mud plays an important role in the development of children as they can explore nature and the world around them in different ways, allowing them to use their fine motor and sensory skills. Using their bare feet adds to sensory play in many ways as they can feel the different textures and it is different than just using our hands all the time!
