St. Vincent Students Celebrate International Mud Day

Did you know that today is International Mud Day? It is, and the children and families at St. Vincent Early Learning Center are celebrating! Stay tuned for video from Nino!

St. Vincent Press Release:

Faculty and children at St. Vincent Early Learning Center will be celebrating International Mud Day by exploring and playing in the mud! In conjunction with the World Forum Foundation and child care programs all over the world, St. Vincent Early Learning Center will be celebrating International Mud Day on Friday, June 29. The celebration will include many opportunities for children and adults to play in nature and explore the many properties of mud.

International Mud Day was founded in 2009 when educators from Australia and Nepal began to discuss some of the stigma attached to playing with mud in their countries. The Nepal educator shared that children there were unable to explore mud because they did not have extra clothing they could change into or soap to be able to wash their clothing. This discussion prompted a relationship between the two programs, and the Australian school decided to collect funding for the school in Nepal to buy extra clothes for the children so they could explore and play in the mud. The schools continued to stay in touch with each other over the years and from there Mud Day was born!

Director of Early Learning Alissa Mwenelupembe expresses her feelings about the importance of this celebration and other opportunities for children to play in nature, “There is a lot of emphasis in education on learning outcomes and we often forget how fleeting childhood actually is. Mud Day is about reconnecting with childhood and giving young children opportunities to connect with the joy and beauty of nature.”