“Don’t touch that, it’s dirty!”
“Wash your hands before you eat!”
“You’re getting mud all over the place!”
How often do we hear and use these phrases with our
children? In the last decade or two, D-I-R-T has become a four-letter word in
the eyes of a vast majority of parents. The fact is that dirt, it seems, is not
so dirty. Actually, it’s incredibly beneficial to your child’s growth and
development, both physically and mentally.
We have already talked about how getting outside is
important in getting young children to stay active, helping to avoid major
health issues such as childhood obesity, diabetes, and vitamin D deficiency. It
turns out that dirt takes this one step further. Being exposed to the different
bacteria and other microorganisms found in dirt helps build your child’s immune
system. Certain bacteria can even stimulate the production of serotonin in our
brains (an affect similar to that of exercising or taking anti-depressant
medication), keeping our children naturally happier.
Here at the Friedberg JCC Early Childhood Centers, we are
doing our best every day to make sure our children experience the joy of dirt!
Even last week’s lingering April showers couldn’t dampen the spirits of our
preschoolers, and everyone found themselves enjoying being outside and getting
a little dirty.
Over in Long Beach our two’s took nature walks and noticed
that they saw more insects on the grey days that were a little cooler, rather
than when the sun was out. Our three’s also spent time outdoors as they began
preparing our nursery school garden for plants. They dug in the dirt, and even
made a mud pie. Yum!
Our Long Beach Pre-K kids got an extra special treat this
week when the Truck Farm visited from Brooklyn! Ian and James told us all about the garden they grow in
the back of their flatbed truck, and (thanks to plexiglass sides) showed us not
only the plants they grow, but their roots and layers of soil as well! We asked
a lot of questions about planting and gardening, but most importantly learned
that you can grow plants practically anywhere (even in your Daddy’s hat)!
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| Long Beach Pre-K loved the Truck Farm! |
Friday in Merrick/Bellmore was Special Person’s Day. We were
all so excited to share our love of the outdoors with some very important
people! We began the day by making a fun art extension project together with
our special people. Next, everyone made their way outside to our playground to
do some planting! We have new planter boxes outside, and had lots of fun taking
turns digging up the dirt to put in flowers. We can’t wait to watch the bloom
and bring so much natural beauty to our playground!
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| Planting with a "Special Person" in Merrick/Bellmore |
Meanwhile, in Oceanside the children were spending so much
wonderful time outdoors. Our Pre-K classes set butterflies free after watching their
metamorphosis from caterpillars. It was so exciting to see them fly off into
the sky!
Miss Caryn’s class decided it would be a ton of fun to
express themselves artistically outside of our building. We all hit the
pavement with lots of colored chalk and had a ball covering the sidewalk (and
ourselves) with brightly colored chalk dust. Don’t worry, soap and water rinsed it all away! The Oceanside two’s also had a great time
running, jumping, climbing and sliding all over our playground. No matter what
the weather, we have fun outdoors!
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| We love sidewalk chalk in Oceanside! |
Interested in learning more about the benefits of your child
getting outdoors and getting dirty? We love this great report from the National Wildlife Federation!
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