July 17th

By Mutt Mulligan

TurfMutt helps kids avoid summer slide

Summer’s here! While kids are enjoying some time off, it’s important to keep their minds and bodies active. You can help your kids avoid the “summer slide”, where kids lose some of their academic gains from the school year, by encouraging your child to participate in the TurfMutt environmental education and stewardship program.

TurfMutt has downloadable e-books, an online climate game, and activity sheets you can print out and use with children in grades K-8. Built on the character of a real-life rescue dog named Lucky, kids can relate to the character of a dog and his friends, while learning about our living landscapes.

While he’s cartoonized for the website and its educational materials, Lucky is a real-life dog who has appeared on television and visited elementary school classrooms. Because dogs love to romp outside, TurfMutt helps kids of all ages understand why having a living landscape is so important and why we should take care for them.

TurfMutt can inspire kids to get outside & get moving.

Outdoor play increases fitness levels and builds active, healthy bodies, an important strategy in helping the one in three American kids who are obese get fit. Getting kids outside is also good for their mental health. Exposure to natural settings may be widely effective in reducing ADHD symptoms, and children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces.

Being out in the yard can give kids a real boost academically, too. Studies have found that children gain attention and working memory benefits when they are exposed to greenery.  Researchers found that Barcelona school children who had more exposure to the outdoors performed better on cognitive testing. The effect was greatest when both home and school environments provided “green” time.

To learn more about the TurfMutt program, go to TurfMutt.com. For more about the value and benefits of our living landscapes, go to SaveLivingLandscapes.com.