The Little Muddy Hands program is designed to encourage children to explore and investigate their natural environment, get their hands dirty and learn from experience.

Gardening will encourage children to become connected and contribute to their world  through showing respect for environments. The program will promote an interest in built and natural environments and the changes in these environments; interest in ways to care for and respect plants and animals; interest in the relationships among people, land, plants and animals; awareness of positive and negative interactions between humans and environments; awareness of ways to help sustain environments; awareness and valueing of Australia's environmental heritage (QKLG)

 

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NQF Standard 3.3- The service takes an active role in caring for its environment and contributes to a sustainable future

 

Little Muddy Hands uses the environment as a Teacher. The Children will have opportunity to learn from being hands on in the garden.

 

We embed sustainability in our program through gardening- worm farms, compost, vegetable or edible gardens, through biodiversity- bird attracting plants, bird baths, bird feeders, plants to attract and support polination by bees and butterflies, by recycling- using recycled materials in the garden. through reducing- we explore ways to reduce water use and wastage.

Element 3.3.1- Sustainable practices are embeded in service operations.

Embeded is the practice A & R focus on. Embedding means the children should know you do it and why. Sustainability is more than just recycling and reducing waste, it is about educating children about the environment. As Educators it is our responsibility to help children realise the importance of caring for and protecting our environment and our impact on the lives of future generations.

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Little Muddy Hands run a 10week program, visiting the children each week to explore their garden and the plants they are growing. Each lesson we talk about how our garden has changed from last week, we discuss how plants polinate and grow fruit or flowers. The children get to observe this process in real life. Little Muddy Hands constantly reinforce the learning that happens while extending and scaffolding the childrens learning. 

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