"Benefits from an Environmental Education that starts At An Early Age With Hands-On Experience In Nature"

Benefits of Connecting Children with Nature:
-NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Benefits of Gardening with Kids:
  • Engages all the senses
  • Encourages healthy eating
  • Enhances fine motor development
  • Introduces kids to scientific concepts
  • Teaches responsibility
  • Highlights the importance of taking care of the environment
  • Develops math skills
  • Teaches patience
*http://mommyuniversitynj.com/2015/05/04/10-benefits-of-gardening-with-kids/

How It Affects Your Child’s Brain, Body and Soul
*http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2016/03/gardening-kids-affects-childs-brain-body-soul/?fbclid=IwAR2-hlPi54CLtozL7aTnISfs6rLvFGPPeJaLns0kHZmzi_A2NGzz0I7-yf
Outdoor Play and Brain Development:
- UMKC School of Education
Child’s play is not just all fun and games; rather the act of play is a crucial component in the growth and development of the brain, body and intellect. Studies of how young people learn have proven, that children, especially, acquire knowledge experientially, through play, experimentation, exploration and discovery. Research shows us that many of the fundamental tasks that children must achieve, such as exploring, risk-taking, fine and gross motor development and the absorption of vast amounts of basic knowledge, can be most effectively learned though outdoor play.
*https://education.umkc.edu/download/berkley/The-Importance-of-Outdoor-Play-and-Its-Impact-on-Brain-Develpoment-in-Children.pdf

Why Visit a Farm:
  • Encourages language development
  • Sensory learning
  • Increases children's appreciation of nature
  • Academic information & hands on learning experiences
  • Promotes healthy living
  • Enhances problem solving skills
  • Boosts motor skills
  • Introduction to scientific concepts
  • Exploration and discovery​
*http://mommyuniversitynj.com/2015/05/20/10-educational-benefits-of-visiting-a-farm/

How Farm Life Boosts the Immune System:

More studies have proven a link between our overly-sanitized society and the increase of immune-related disorders and diseases in children. Kids used to chow down on dirt, no problem, but now parents run pacifiers through the dishwasher twice a day to prevent diseases. Though parents have good intentions, the opposite is happening. Increased sterilization is leading to increased illnesses.
*http://www.wideopenpets.com/how-farm-life-and-dirty-dogs-boost-the-human-immune-system/
Farm life prevents asthma. Reports show that bits of bacteria found in farm dust trigger an inflammatory response in the animals' lungs that later protects them from this respiratory disease. An enzyme involved in this defense is sometimes disabled in people with asthma, suggesting that treatments inspired by this molecule could ward off the condition in people. 
*http://science.sciencemag.org/content/349/6252/1034.summary

Play Outdoors:
Giving children the freedom of playing outdoors helps them to feel happier and calmer. Being outside means that children naturally get vitamin D, which is proven to help improve moods and create a positive mental attitude. ​A lack of vitamin D can lead to Rickets.
*http://www.fawns.co.uk/blog-posts/seven-benefits-outdoor-play-children/

Benefits of soil:

Beneficial bacterium in soil makes us happier. A study from the Department of Integrative Physiology University of Colorado
discusses a strain of bacterium in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, that has been found to trigger the release of serotonin, which elevates mood and decreases anxiety. This bacterium has also been found to improve cognitive function.
* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306452207001510
Outdoor pets trap dirt–or soil, to be more scientifically correct–in their fur. Soil-based organisms, or SBOs, are the good bacteria that keep the gut strong enough to prevent infection.
*http://www.wideopenpets.com/how-farm-life-and-dirty-dogs-boost-the-human-immune-system/

Benefits of Being Around Farm Animals:
Research has shown that children who have been exposed to farm animals from a young age tend to better listeners, do well in school, and develop integrity and compassion above their age level.
*http://www.wideopenpets.com/5-reasons-to-raise-your-kid-around-farm-animals/​
It has been shown that children who work regularly with animals perform well in school and get along with other children very well. 
Interacting with animals also teaches responsibility, communication and patience, and provides a positive model for future human relationships. 
*http://www.naturemoms.com/children-raising-animals.html