International Mud Day 2014

Mud Day.  I’m not sure many people realize it exists.  But it does and it sounds like fun.  I spent my childhood puddle jumping, tree climbing, and playing in mud.  It seems like a lot of children today do not have that opportunity.  And, I must admit, that as I looked through suggestions for mud day, I was concerned about the dangers associated with some of the ideas.  Some of the mud puddles that I saw looked deep enough to be drowning hazards and, of course, mud is dirty.  But, with appropriate care and supervision, mud activities can be safe and fun.

Here are some possibilities for celebrating International Mud Day on June 29th (and perhaps all week).

• Make muddy footprints.  Put a large piece of paper on the ground, get mud on the feet of plastic animals and ‘walk’ them across the paper, leaving a trail of footprints.
• Make mud bricks in ice cube trays or muffin tins.  Bake in a 250 oven for about 15 minutes to dry the bricks (if you don’t want to wait for them to air dry).  Use additional mud or plaster of paris as mortar to build with the bricks.
• Create mud sculptures.  Add sticks, leaves, rocks, etc.
• Paint with mud.  Paintbrushes or fingers on canvas, cardboard, wood, or the side of your building or fence.
• Build a mud puddle for some free play (make sure it’s not too deep and that children are well supervised).  If, like me, your local soil is clay, bring in a few bags of topsoil to make the mud.  If a full-on mud puddle is too much, you can do your mud play in a dishpan.

Have a hose ready for rinse-off, some clean clothes ready for the little adventurers, and enjoy your muddy day!

Misty

Summer Learning

Summer break!!  I think I was almost as excited as my sons were once school was finally out for the summer.  No more rushing them out the door every morning, no more struggling to get hours of homework done, and just being able to spend more time doing what we wanted to do instead of what we had to do.

For other parents, summer break is a new kind of struggle in figuring out how to keep their children properly cared for over the summer.  Regardless of what summer break means to you, one thing is a given.  Classroom teachers often spend the first month of each new school year reviewing information learned in the previous school year.  Summer “brain drain” or “summer slide” are real and happen every year.  Children lose, on average, 2 - 2 ½ months of grade equivalency in math reading during those 3 months or so of summer break. 

The good news is that it doesn’t take a lot to stop this drain from happening.  Regardless of whether parents are home with their children for the summer or working full-time throughout, they can set a plan to keep their children learning.

Suggestions for summer learning:

• If a vacation is in your plan for the summer, see what kind of learning activities you can build into it.  Going to Boston…walk the Freedom Trail.  Going to San Francisco…check out the Exploratorium. 
• If you can’t get away for a full vacation, how about a day-trip to a local attraction?  Check out a local zoo, aquarium, museum, or other fun place.
• If your child doesn’t already have a library card, this is the time to get one and use it.  Many libraries have free summer reading programs.  (Make sure you have lots of reading materials available at home.)
• Heading to a ball game?  Find a book about that sport or an athlete that plays it or help your child keep stats during the game.
• Write notes to family and friends.  If you can get away, send a postcard from your destination.  If you are staying home, just a note about what fun things you are doing will be enjoyed by the grandparents or a pen pal. 
• Let your child help you in the kitchen.  Shopping and cooking provides a ton of learning activities, and can be a lot of fun.
• Plant a garden…even if it’s just a window box with a couple of plants.  Your child can help select what to plant and care for the garden.

Have a great summer finding fun ways to learn!

Misty

Reading for a Better Vocabulary

Vocabulary development is huge for young children.    Low vocabulary is one leading indicator of children who are at-risk for reading difficulties.  And the problem starts very early.  Researchers have found that children from low-income families may start Kindergarten with 10,000 fewer words in their vocabularies than their classmates.   

One great, simple way of increasing the vocabulary of children, even very young children, is to read with or to them.  Most teachers recommend reading at least 20 minutes each day.  A few years ago I ran across a chart that really brought the importance of that reading time home to me.  I’ve shared it our parents every summer since then and wanted to share it with you today.

It’s hard for me to look at this graphic and not be astounded each time.  The difference between reading about 5 minutes a day and 20 minutes a day is 1.5 million more words per year.  The value of that increase and practice with vocabulary cannot be overstated.

Misty