Our Story

Muddy Buddies has developed out of a passion for early childhood education and the desire to provide more opportunities for children to play outdoors. Early childhood is a critical stage of growth and development and the benefits of outdoor play are endless!

As a mom and an educator, I have seen children come alive during outdoor play time. Children’s personalities shine when allowed the freedom to move their bodies and follow their own natural play instincts. As a teacher, outdoor recess was an opportunity to slow down and build relationships with children and I loved sharing in their excitement as they discovered something new. Outdoor play provided vital opportunities for movement, sensory experiences, social interactions and language development, which I noticed often happened more naturally when the children played together outdoors.

I began researching forest and nature-based preschools and attending professional development courses on the critical importance of play in early childhood and I haven’t stopped since! Years ago, while teaching in a public preschool, I had the great fortune of attending a presentation by Bev Bos, an internationally-renowned expert on early childhood education. Bev Bos was enthusiastic and passionate about the power of play as being an essential contributor to children’s development. I left her presentation so inspired that I wanted to implement every play experience she shared into my own classroom the next day, including full body mud play!  She brought me back to my own childhood full of joyful memories playing outside. This led me to think about the ideal program I wanted to create for children: one that embraces true play and gets children outdoors!

Opening my own early childhood program has been a life- long dream. Muddy Buddies has taken many years to come to fruition and I could not have done it without the ongoing, incredible support from my family, friends and everyone who believed in me along the way.

My hope is that Muddy Buddies will be a place where wonder and curiosity are nurtured and children can joyfully play outdoors, all while instilling a love of  learning and a connection to the natural world.  I am so excited to “open the doors” to Muddy Buddies and I am looking forward to many playful adventures outdoors!