Children at Frogtastic Educational Kindergarten and Childcare were treated to some fun in the mud as part of International Mud Day celebrations.
The annual activity was established in 2009 at a World Forum event when Gillian McAuliffe from Australia and Bishnu Bhatta from Nepal got together to talk about ways to encourage feelings of community and appreciation for the world.
The collaboration that followed has inspired educators, children and families across the globe to celebrate International Mud Day together each year on June 29.
Frogtastic’s Kristy Ramsay said this year’s event was attended by children and family members alike and was the perfect opportunity to learn about and enjoy nature.
“At Frogtastic Educational Kindergarten and Childcare we strive to achieve our nature-based philosophy through our bush kinder and beach kinder programs which include all of our children, from babies through to the school aged,” she said.
“International Mud Day therefore was an ideal event for us to encourage families to let go, and allow the children to get muddy, have fun, laugh and make new friends.
“We would love to thank The Flower Box on Takalvan Street for the donations of flowers used in the event.”
Kristy said the team at Frogtastic believed outdoor learning had many positive impacts for children.
“It works on their intrinsic motivation for learning, provides enjoyable lessons, increases creativity, and activates thinking outside the box,” she said.
“It also improves children’s health and wellbeing, social skills and behaviour, and furthermore has been proven to encourage better attendance, teamwork and to reduce bullying.”
Kristy said nature play promoted health benefits, including cognitive, social and emotional development, and also built resilience and creativity.
“Experiences in nature as a child also leads to environmental awareness and stewardship later in life,” she said.
“The creators of International Mud Day wanted to find a way to help all of the children of the earth feel closer to each other… and what a better way to do it than through the earth itself?”
