By A. A. French, M.Ed.
In the Northeast region, we have five seasons. The extra, often well-known season is
quintessentially called “mud season.” For most adults and parents, this season brings
a unique set of somewhat frustrating challenges: saturated lawns and driveways,
mud-caked tires, and cars, and driving through potholes and deep mud ruts, all while
avoiding the soft shoulders of back roads. These mushy road conditions require a
special set of driving skills, such as closing your eyes and gunning the gas, hoping you’ll
get through the mud rud quickly and emerge on the other side of the deep rut in one
piece and with minimal damage to the undercarriage of your car! Spotting the
occasional fender or the hubcap of a tire hung politely in a tree for a neighbor to claim is
not uncommon.
However, “mud season” can allow children to enjoy many memorable moments!
Throwing caution to the wind, some parents may choose to close their eyes, take a
deep breath, dress their children in old clothes, and let them venture outside to play in
the mushy, gushy mud.
Mud Provides opportunity for imaginative play:
Making mud “cakes,” mud “pies,” and mud piles, digging mud holes, and creating mud
villages complete with roads, rock “cars,” and stick houses; children engage in
imaginative play, which helps with neurological development in learning and
problem-solving.
1. Gwen , Gwen. “Dirt Lab: Preschool Science Projects Exploring Soil and Mud.” c. 2008
Https://Parentingscience.Com/Preschool-Science-Projects-Dirt/.
Children who spend time outdoors in nature and playing often have better overall
emotional, mental, and physical health than those who do not. Children who play
outside reap many rewards to their overall development and well-being.
Creating moments for curiosity:
Playing and exploring in mud – or anywhere in nature – allows curiosity to grow. As a
science teacher, I would create lessons to pique my students’ curiosity to make the
lesson more meaningful, enjoyable, engaging, and memorable. I would often begin my
lesson with a focus question. For example, I might ask, ‘What parts do you observe on
your crayfish?’ Yes, getting approval from my principal, I would bring small creatures in
for observation and exploration and then release them back into the wild when possible.
Starting with simple, open-ended, attention-focused questions is a great way to
encourage your child to observe phenomena closely.
When it comes to outdoor play, no lesson planning is necessary, as nature provides the
lessons for us! Parents can allow children to explore, ask questions, and find answers
as they play.
For example, a child might ask, “When I dig a hole, will it fill up with water? Will it
collapse? How can I keep it from collapsing? What if I add more water? What if I add
more dry dirt?” Parents may not be privy to these questions forming in their child’s
mind, but many engage in mental problem-solving self-talk as they learn and explore
new situations.
Stream Study:
Early spring snow melts, and water flow creates problem-solving opportunities for
children. As a parent, I would often send my own children outside to play in a stream at
the bottom of our property. I would encourage them to work together to make a dam, dig
in the stream, explore the stream, or make a bridge across it out of items found in
nature.
As a teacher, I recall standing on the playground one warm early spring day, watching
my students try to dam up and reroute a vernal stream that meandered its way to our
playground. The children spent many recesses in collaborative learning, play, and
problem-solving as they tried to stop the water flow or reroute the stream. Each recess
they would check on the status of their efforts to see if the dam for their newly formed
pond or reinforcements for their rerouted stream held. If so, they were encouraged and
excited to do more with their stream. If not, they were encouraged to figure out why it
didn’t work and what they needed to do differently. All of these are great for early
scientific inquiry and experimentation!
Start with simple experiments:
Parents who want to facilitate scientific inquiry can try simple experiments. However,
don’t be afraid to take a backseat to the learning for a bit. Gwen Dewar, Ph.D.,
mentions, “kids need lots of time to explore and discover on their own before they are
ready to enjoy a structured experiment.”
For teaching erosion, find a small stream place a pile of mud in the center, and watch
what happens over time.
Observe the different sizes of dirt within a stream. Introduce new vocabulary such as
rocks, pebbles, sand, and silt—all of which can be observed in a stream bed. With your
child, observe which substrates move within the current and which remain.
Or, using a simple kitchen strainer, have your child place dry dirt and shake it. What fell
through the mesh of the strainer? Why? What remained within the strainer?
There are many possibilities for hands-on learning and play with mud. Go ahead! Send
your little ones outdoors to explore the wonderous water flowing through streams and
the marvelous mushy, squishy mud.
Sources:
1. Dewar, Gwen. “Dirt Lab: Preschool Science Projects Exploring Dirt and Mud.”
PARENTING SCIENCE, 22 Mar. 2024,
parentingscience.com/preschool-science-projects-dirt/