Organic Kids--All Natural
(Nothing Added!)
At Misty Mountain, we believe that healthy, happy children grow up to be strong and productive people--so we have taken every opportunity to make our Centre safe and fun so that real learning can happen every day.
Regardless of which program you eventually choose for your child, be sure to ask the following questions:
- What food will my child eat? Many programs feed children drinks and snacks filled with high fructose corn syrups (linked to Type II diabetes), artificial dyes (linked to ADhD and food allergies), and chemical pesticides and heavy metals from commercial produce and unfiltered well and tap water.
- At Misty Mountain, our children drink filtered water and organic juices, fruits and vegetables, as well as healthy natural lunches fresh from home. We also provide parent resources on where to by healthy foods, fish to avoid, and when organic counts (and when it isn't worth it)
- What air will my child breathe? Pediatric experts have traced the tenfold increase in asthma and other respiratory disorders in children to a marked decline in indoor air quality. Dust, dander, molds and off-gassing chemicals from synthetic carpets, paints and building materials, along with limited time outdoors are all leading culprits.
- At Misty Mountain, our children work on 100% wool rugs on hardwood floors (finished with low VOC polyurethane), and cleaned with HEPA vacuums. The indoor air is filtered with 1250 micron ultra allergen filters, and children spend ample time outside each day, breathing fresh natural air (the leading recommendation for staying healthy during cold and flu season)
- What materials will my child use? A quick glance around mainstream toystores and daycares reveals an abundance of brightly colored plastic toys covered with flashing lights, pre-recorded sounds, bells, whistles and...not much else. Pediactric play experts agree that the healthiest and most useful materials for children are simple, beautiful, and invite open-ended, flexible engagement and adaptation. Not only do these high quality materials stimulate young hands, eyes and brains, they are healthier too. Plastics continue to give off chemicals after they are in children's hands and mouths (think of the smell of a plastic shower curtain) and some researchers have identified them as a possible cause of early puberty onset and other hormonal imbalances.
- At Misty Mountain, we have invested in only the finest Montessori materials and related equipment. This means that a child comes into our space and is greeted with an abundance of aesthetically beautiful, mentally engaging, hand crafted, naturally finished materials that invite them to learn. We constantly scour leading Montessori catalogs, as well as award winning products from Europe and around the world to bring our children the leading edge of what can make learning fun.
- What equipment does my child play on? Not all playgrounds are created equal. Unless built within the last three years, there's a good chance that the wood for fences, picnic tables and benches, and possibly even some older play equipment is saturated in arsenic as a pest and rot resistant. Even the lush green lawns that look so nice in spring and summer often contain pesticides and fertilizers that can leave toxic residues on clothing and get tracked into indoor spaces up to six months after application!
- At Misty Mountain, all of our full perimeter safety fence and playground equipment and furniture contains the new ACQ treatment which replaced the now-banned CCA preservatives, meaning it's safe for children to play and climb on without any worries about ingestion or absorption. Also, we tend the ample lawn space with completely organic methods--aerating, thatching and overseeding the grass throughout the year, to ensure a lush lawn without pesticides that harm children, or synthetic fertilizers that harm our watershed.
Organic Kids
- are healthy kids...
- healthy kids are happy kids...
- and happy kids are learning every moment of their lives!