In this episode of Illinois STAR NET Regions I&III (http://starnet.org/home/) podcast, Anna Owen (ak-owen@wiu.edu), Early Childhood Resource Specialist, discusses the benefits of mud play in early childhood and beyond!
Transcript
Let’s explore some of the benefits of mud play.
Many children enjoy playing in the mud because it’s just plain fun.
Think back to your own childhood…do you have fond memories of making mud pies or digging in the dirt? We can take advantage of children’s intrinsic motivation to get their hands dirty as we foster their learning and development in many important ways through mud play.
The possibilities for what children might do with mud are limitless. The open-ended nature of mud allows children to play with it in ways that support their developmental levels and their unique interests. Younger children might simply enjoy the sensory experience of running their fingers through the mud or poking the mud, while older children might engage in more sociodramatic play where they pretend to serve up creative flavors of mud pies that feature special ingredients such as leaves or pine cones and rocks. Children will work with mud in ways that are “just right” for them, allowing teachers to support and scaffold their development and learning in many different areas.
Mud play offers many opportunities for children to follow rules, work together, collaborate and assist each other. Whether they are working together on a mud sculpture, taking turns jumping into a mud puddle or helping each other get cleaned up, they are practicing important social skills. Children will also gain confidence as they assess and take risks, formulate plans and try out their unique ideas. We often see children naturally exhibiting positive approaches to learning such as curiosity, persistence, creativity, problem-solving, self-direction, engagement and sustained attention as they engage in this type of play.
Through mud play, children have multiple opportunities to use their large and small muscles, as well as to practice balance and coordination of movements.
In addition, researchers have even found that playing in the mud can be good for both physical and mental health. It has been found to reduce symptoms of allergies and asthma, to improve resistance to disease, to reduce anxiety/stress and to boost mood (thanks to the friendly bacteria found in soil that causes the brain to release serotonin – which is the “feel good” hormone).
Children will express themselves as they play and communicate about what they are doing. As teachers, we can also introduce new and interesting words as we notice and describe their efforts, “Look at how your mud has changed. At first, it was really thick but then you added water and diluted it…now it’s not as thick.”
That same release of serotonin in the brain that triggers happiness has also been shown to improve cognitive function! How about that? Playing with dirt and mud can even make children smarter! In addition, we can facilitate learning in several content areas as children engage in mud play. They will explore math concepts such as measurement, comparison and volume as they mix up their mud pies. They will learn about one-to-one correspondence as they put just one pine cone onto each of their mud muffins. They will learn spatial concepts as they navigate their toy truck over, under and through the mud trenches that they have created.
They will explore science concepts when they make predictions, investigate and observe changes such as “What happened to the wet mud when it dried overnight?” There are opportunities for literacy when we provide children with easy-to-follow recipe
