Mud Kitchens - Children love them! And there's a wonderful reason why ...
In the right setting, Mud Kitchens offer children fantastic educational benefits. Helping to develop fine motor skills, social engagement, role play, exploration and much more, they keep our children engaged in play for hours!
But the secret in the success of the Mud Kitchen lies deeper.
As huge lovers of outdoor play and learning, Newby Leisure value the importance of natural, timber play resources.
So why does something so natural and rigid absorb the attention of children for so long? Well, we believe it's a Mud Kitchen's open-ended appeal that consumes a child's imagination.
Unlike playing on a computer game, for example, where a child's mind is somewhat limited by what the computer dictates, a Mud Kitchen has unlimited play value!
Children want to act out their own play scenarios, make their own fun and develop techniques to aid their learning. They want to be socialising with friends, pretending to make mud pies or worm cakes and mashing together goo until their hearts content - those things just don't happen clearing a 'zone' on a computer game.
As we know, children don't necessarily like to be dictated too. They like the joy of freedom and expression to do things that aren't controlling. If we simply leave a resource for them to wonder upon, one with an appealing nature (such as a mud kitchen) they will be physiologically intrigued to find out more about it. Once they start fiddling about, playing with utensils and getting their hands messy, this is when they really start to connect with it and open up a world of fun.
Yes, we want our children to have non-stop fun (of course we do), but what we also want is for them to grow a beautiful mind, full of knowledge. This is where the Mud Kitchen delivers on so many levels.
Benefits of Mud Kitchens
Below you'll see key points on how this wonderful play resource (and other similar natural resources) help a child's education and wellbeing:
Mental Health - Timber play resources allow children the freedom to play and explore the outdoors. This as we are all learning more and more about, helps drastically with a child's mental health.
Physical Health - Studies tell us dirt can actually be quite good for us. It helps build a healthy immune system, something we all wish for our children to have.
Create Curiosity - They create curiosity, exploration and experimentation in an open-ended way.
Mathematical benefits - Mud Kitchen offer opportunities for measuring, filling and emptying. All great things to boost mathematical confidence.
Imaginative and Role Play Possibilities - This one is limitless! A Mud Kitchen can't move (itself), it can't talk, it can't jump! But it can create a world of imagination. Allowing a child to get hands-on with that opens up a world of possibility!
Language Development - Children naturally strengthen language skills whilst playing. Using descriptive words, asking questions and telling stories build their literature a LOT!
Sensory Experiences - Yes! We love this. So many natural materials from the outdoors will help a child's sensory experiences. Think mud, leaves, branches even rain. Just by going outdoors, we make our children more accessible to fantastic sensory experiences.
Fine Motor Skills - Development through use of utensils, bowls and tools in real life play situations.
Have you seen Newby Leisure's range of Mud Kitchen yet? Click from the list below:
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