Apple Playschools celebrates International Mud Day all throughout the month of June. It’s a time when we get to share with the broader community our love for getting outside in nature. Throughout the month, besides prioritizing muddy play at our schools, we also encourage our families and other community members to get outside and play! Some of the ways we do this are by highlighting local events in the community that involve nature, sustainability, and getting outdoors, providing ideas for activities you can do at home, and partnering with local organizations that align with our mission and values for smaller events throughout the month. For example, in 2024 Apple Playschools participated in and invited our community to a volunteer garden day with GIVE356.

International Mud Day began as a movement to increase access to and awareness of the importance of outdoor play and connecting with nature in childhood. Inspired by this mission, we use this time to fundraise for our scholarship fund to help break down barriers of financial access to early childhood education that prioritizes outdoor experiences.

We end the month with a celebration event called Mud Day Mayhem. Mud Day Mayhem is an event for caregivers and families with children of all ages, with many fun activities centered around getting muddy and messy and spending time outdoors exploring nature, creating art, and playing with natural materials. It’s a showcase of the type of learning and play we do at Apple Playschools, and it’s a wonderful time for us to get to celebrate and raise funds for our scholarship program with our community. There are activities ranging from very muddy (a giant mud pit!) to activities that don’t require getting muddy at all - there’s really something for everyone!