Dirt is Good for Kids

I have to admit, I still cringe a little when I let the kids into the dirt. Our society is obsessed with cleanliness, and, like most of us, I have been shaped (at least to some degree) by the paranoia surrounding the issue of germs.

When I started running a home daycare a few years ago, I was committed to keeping the children relatively neat and clean. Sure, they acquired some food stains on their clothes or got a little dusty in the sandbox, but they were, for the most part, unsullied. As they grew and began to explore more of the outside world, trying to maintain this level of cleanliness was close to impossible. I began to realize that to attempt to limit their exploration of nature in all its dirtiness (I say attempt because I was largely unsuccessful anyway) was to deprive them of their childhood right to play.

I spent most of my own childhood leisure time outdoors with friends, exploring nature. The happiness I feel when I recall things like climbing trees, collecting caterpillars and tadpoles and making mud pies is proof enough to me that this kind of play in mentally healthy. I see it as a crucial part of my development, and am grateful to my mother for permitting me to get filthy practically every day. It was this realization that made me relax. How could I limit the kids when I know how important this free exploration was to me? Since then I not only allow but encourage the kids to explore nature, in all its grubbiness. (Okay, we still have limits...namely, dog poop.)

But since my change of heart, I have learned that playing in dirt is not only healthy for the mind. It is actually physically healthy for kids to get dirty. Research shows that the rise in autoimmune disorders and allergies over the past few decades is largely due to the fact that children are no longer exposed to dirt and germs at a very early age. Look at any of the following articles, all from reputable sources. You'll see that while hygiene is generally a good thing, we have gone to far in trying to protect our kids from germs. By doing so, we are actually putting their health at risk. I know, it's counter-intuitive, but it's true.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-24/features/ct-x-n-health-dirt-20100324_1_nu-professor-northwestern-study-immune-system

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/31/earlyshow/health/main4766105.shtml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8373690.stm

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/11November/Pages/Is-dirt-good-for-kids.aspx

So, really, the only downside to letting the kids get dirty is the inevitable clean-up. And I can appreciate that there are many, many times when allowing kids free reign in the dirt would not be feasible. Even at school, a kindergarten teacher could not allow this type of play on a daily basis. The time it would take to change the kids' clothes afterwards and clean them up would really cut into the curriculum.

But with the circumstances being as they are at the home daycare, I usually cannot find a good reason to stop their utter glee in playing in the muck. First of all, we are always close to home when they engage in this kind of play, so if something does go awry, we can head in sooner rather than later. As well, although I know it will take extra time to clean off boots, change any dirty or wet clothes and go around the apartment with a cloth or mini vacuum to clean up any scattered mud, it is doable for me. Tiring, but doable. And the older kids really try to help, which is so sweet!

By the way, the clean-up is not usually this intense! This is the first time we have ever taken a trip down to the laundry room together. They had just gotten particularly disgusting on this day. I think it was the degree of mud on Aidas's coat that drove me to take them on this laundry excursion. I just could not give him back to his mother like that. Usually, though, when they go home, their coats, snowsuits and boots are pretty dirty. And now, when the parents of prospective clients visit the daycare, I make certain that they understand that their children, and their clothes will get filthy at this daycare. It is practically in the contract!


#dirtisgood #dirt #dirtisgoodforkids #playingindirt #mudisgoodforkids

Daycare Life

Noah and B. did some colour sorting last week with the different coloured vehicles. Afterwards, they sorted them by vehicle type, instead of by colour, and then counted how much of each they had.

Oscar is becoming very smart at the ripe old age of 14 months. He helped Noah stick the ABC's on the wall in alphabetical order.

Actually, he's watching the boys even more closely lately. Whereas he used to only take the ABC's down, he now helps to put them up. Whereas he used to only take puzzle pieces apart, he now tries to put the pieces together. Though he's not yet walking, he drives ride-on toys down the hall with the big boys, can climb on and off of Noah's bed, lifts a kiddie chair while standing up, and climbs up on the baseboard heater to look out the window. His athletic ability and strength rivals that of B.'s. Even B. knows that he's met his match!

One lovely day last week, Aidas and B., (and later, Oscar) worked diligently to fill toy dump trucks with dirt. Their focus and the resulting calm was a really nice break for me! (I'm used to the boys being very wild these days!) Noah, though not afraid of dirt, was more interested in pretend play. He usually is. He likes to play house or restaurant. He especially likes to pretend that he's going to Ontario Place, or to The Ex, or to Centre Island.

The superintendent of our building, her husband and the assistant superintendent often joke around with the boys from inside their offices. Man, these people put up with a lot from us, and I'm very thankful that they are still so jovial and playful with the kids.

Here's a video of the 3 older boys engaging in an activity that they all enjoy: running around in circles. 

So simple. And yet it brings such joy. Perhaps we adults should try this activity the next time we get together with our friends and see if it has the same effect. Yeah....probably not.

We've recently moved Noah into a car booster seat, and boy, did the kids have fun with the box it came in! First I cut a big hole in the front, so they could put it over their heads and pretend to be robots. They love saying things like "I am a robot", and "I come in peace" or "Take me to your leader", so they were crazy about the "costume". Later on in the day though, they switched to a new activity: slowly demolishing the box. They did this by cutting the cardboard with toy knives from Noah's kitchen set. They did not tire of this. When I periodically instructed them to throw the little bits of cardboard they had cut off into the garbage, they did not complain. If it meant being able to continue their slow demolition, they were perfectly agreeable to this small task.

B.'s mother donated an Easter themed gingerbread house to the daycare. The kids had a great time decorating the house, and testing the candy and icing as well. I gave them a spoon covered in icing to lick so that they would stop dipping their fingers into the icing on the house!

I recently decided to change the rules regarding couch cushions. Normally, the kids weren't allowed to remove the cushions from the couch at all. Now, they are allowed to remove the back cushions only. Boy are they enjoying this new perk! One day last week, we got out our basket of sea shells to look at. After inspecting them and talking about them, we pretended the hardwood floor, with the shells scattered on it, was the beach, and the carpet was the ocean. You can see Aidas surfing on his surfboard cushion in one of the photos below.

We stayed in one morning due to inclement weather. We brought out Noah's little trampoline. Oscar is really getting the hang of it, and loves it! He of course had some trouble taking turns, but jumped like a pro whenever he got the chance!

We have this hand-me-down Sesame Street comforter, that for some reason, the kids call their rocket ship. Here they are goofing around, hiding under the blanket - er- I mean their rocket ship.

Like most kids, they like to congregate under the dining room table. Oscar is learning, and the others are periodically reminded, that it is not wise to stand up under the table. Ouch!

Here is their 'wall of glory'. Every morning, they get one sticker for putting on (or pulling up) their own underwear and pants after using the toilet. They also get a sticker for putting their own snowpants, boots and coat on. Actually, all they need to be doing is trying. They can still get a sticker if I help when they really are stuck, but not when they are giving up without trying. As you can see, they have gotten very good at self-dressing skills! Way to go, boys!

We visited the Annette Street Library Drop-In last Friday. The kids were very overwhelmed by the crowd there at first! It has been a while since we have been there. For the first time at the daycare, they got to try cutting with scissors! Aidas and B. particularly loved this activity. I have never seen them sit still for so long! B. cut a paper into the tiniest pieces he could.

This was Aidas's and B.'s last day at the daycare for 2 months, since I am due to give birth to a little girl at the end of March. (Though I have one outstanding blog post that will include them all.) Oscar is going to stick it out with Noah until the day I go into labour! It is nice to have it a little bit easier this week, and yet not too quiet. We are missing the big boys, but will surely have a visit with them before they return to the daycare in May.

Valentine's Day Party for Preschoolers

Before I get started on the celebration, I need to post the above two pictures of Oscar making his Valentine's card. I made special finger paint for him. It's safe for little ones who might actually ingest some! I used to make this finger paint for Noah and Aidas back in the day and blogged about it before: http://highparkhomedaycare.blogspot.com/2010/06/homemade-finger-painting-recipe.html  And it was the exact same recipe I used before, from the following website: http://www.creativekidsathome.com/activities/activity_42.html Unfortunately, Oscar really liked the taste of this stuff, and was trying to make a meal of it. I decided to just let him use regular paint, but gave him more ideas on how to paint with it. He ended up really getting into it and didn't even have a taste! I'm glad we ended up using regular paint in the end, because although the finger paint made from the recipe is great for the painting activity itself, it does not produce a nice painting, or in this case, a nice Valentine's Day card, in the end.

Okay, on to the celebration. This year, we kind of split our Valentine's celebration into two days. It's so hard to fit everything into one day when you consider that not everyone comes right at 8am every day. Plus, other things like using the potty, getting snowsuits on, and naps take up a large chunk of the day as well. On Monday the 13th we did not go outdoors, but instead devoted that time to cookie decorating. Noah and I had baked a bunch of heart-shaped sugar cookies the day before, so I just had to whip up some Royal Icing and dip the cookies in before handing them over to the kids, along with their choice of sprinkles. They obviously were more tempted to eat than decorate, so once I had urged them to decorate their first cookie, they got to eat that one. The rest would either be for them to eat later, or for family and friends. It was still very slow going while they decorated a little here, and tasted a few sprinkles there. Even though they were at the table for quite a while, they had only decorated a few cookies before they tired of the activity (or at least the decorating part of it).

The day before, when Noah and I had baked a batch, I was sure this wouldn't be enough, and that they would be crying to decorate more. So, I had gone ahead and baked a second batch. Now, however, I was stuck with a large quantity of plain heart-shaped cookies. Clearly, I had drastically overestimated their motivation to decorate cookies. I decided to decorate the rest myself, while watching them raise hell in the living room. In the end, we had lots to share with everyone. We packaged some in Valentine's baggies and the kids gave them as gifts to their parents, along with their heart-print Valentine's cards. We gave a bunch to the superintendent of our building and her crew, whom the children know very well. We also gave a few to our daycare sitter, and shared some with family as well. That left us with a few to enjoy ourselves (but not too much).

On February 14th, we continued our celebration. Noah and B. (and Oscar, in his own way) played a musical heart game. When the music played, they danced around paper hearts. When the music stopped, they had to stand on a heart as quickly as possible. The winner was the one who got to a heart faster, but we were constantly playing, so it wasn't very competitive. Oscar added to the challenge of the game by picking up hearts here and there, so that there were fewer to step on!

For snack, we had heart cupcakes (that I had made the night before) with pink icing and red and pink Smarties. We also had raspberries, strawberry flavoured Jello and "Valentine's Juice" (Raspberry Lemonade).

We brought our foam hearts for outdoor time and played some games with them. "Hide the Hearts" consisted of me closing my eyes and counting to ten while Noah hid a heart in a bush, and Aidas and B. hid about four hearts in the snow. Once I found them, that was the end of the game,  since "Bury the Hearts in a Snowbank" became a much more interesting game to them.

We also played "Heart Tag", in which the person who was 'it' did not have a foam heart, while everyone else did. Once he tagged someone, that person had to give them their heart, and they were now 'it'. It was fun playing that for a little while, even though there was limited success. As you might have already guessed, they usually refused to give up their heart once they were tagged. At least they are gaining more familiarity with games, even if they are not quite ready for the formal rules.

Before we had lunch, the kids opened their Valentine's mail folders to see the new mail they had received. There were Valentine's Day cards from friends, a small package of Valentine's Smarties from me, and homemade, healthy cookies from Oscar's mother. They were allowed one item to eat before lunch.

Lunch was sweet as well. We had whole wheat heart-shaped pancakes, with strawberry jam on top, and blueberries. After such a busy and exciting morning, the kids were more than ready for naps. What a party!

#valentinesdayparty #valentinesday #valentinesparty