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April 29, 2013

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

I am so excited to announce a week long Play Inspired By Nature series that I am doing with my good friend Crystal from Growing A Jeweled Rose.  Each day, both of us will be posting exciting ideas on how to enjoy nature with your kids.  By the end of the week we will have shared 10 exciting ideas all focused on going outside and exploring nature with our kids.  I can’t wait to share what we have been creating and exploring.

Play Inspired by Nature

play inspired by natureTo kick off our series both Crystal and myself are exploring mud together with our kids today:)  Yep, we are diving right into good old fashioned mud play and loving it!

If you click on the image on the right you will be taken to Growing A Jeweled Rose site.  Make sure to check out her amazing Mud Play Recipes.  We are both really excited to be bringing you our Play Inspired By Nature series!  Hope you have as much fun as we do:)

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Now onto this weeks post, Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud.

Mud Mud Glorious Mud

As a kid I loved playing in the mud.  I grew up on a farm with plenty of space to splash in puddles and play in the mud.  Me and my brother would spend hours digging trenches with the heels of our boots to connect mud puddles.  We would also build simple mud dams to stop other puddles from escaping.  Little did we know we were budding engineers.

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

Wanting to give my kids a similar experience (but limited to a small urban backyard) we had to get creative.  Let me tell you the kids had a blast!  We started by digging a hole in one of my side annual gardens, and filling it with water.  It became and instant puddle that my kids couldn’t resist jumping in.  I’ve mentioned before that my kids are puddle magnets.

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

We added some dirt to a large pot and the kids stirred in water to make soupy mud.  They started out with a stick, but soon jumped in with hands and feet.  There is nothing quite like squishing mud in between your toes:)
Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

Next we rolled out a huge piece of white paper.   Mixed up a little mud and water and started creating art!  They painted with mud, then rolled it, stamped it and finger painted with it.  The process was completely amazing and the kids LOVED every minute of it!

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

Soon the paint brushes were set aside for some good old fashioned Mud Prints.  The kids loved stamping their muddy feet and hands on the paper creating fun designs and patterns.  We chose to do create our mud prints on a large piece of paper, but the sidewalk is another great canvas.  Plus that would make the set up that much simpler:)

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

Tips for setting up your own mud play adventure:

  •  Embrace the mess.  Playing in mud is not only fun, but the kids are learning at the same time!
  • Set up a mud pie kitchen.  Check out this amazing outdoor mud pie kitchen.  Lots of yummy mud pies, cookies and cupcakes have been created there!
  • Bring in the trucks!  Kids love playing with dump trucks in the sand, so why not the mud too.
  • Have a bucket of clean water on hand to rinse of little muddy feet and hands and a hose near by for the larger clean ups:)
  • Outdoor clothes are a must!  Paying in the mud is going to get messy, so be prepared.  I can’t remember where I heard this, but “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing! So true.
  • Laugh!  The most important ingredient in any mud pie kitchen is to have fun and don’t worry about the mess!

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

The kids also made some great mud sculptures that I missed getting pictures of.  Apparently we were having too much fun playing:)

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

We also added colored water and syringes.  Magic potions, mud and glitter are a win in my girls book.
Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

We also made adorable mud drawings.  Mud is a very forgiving medium to work with.  Smooth a thin layer of mud over surface, (a sidewalk or a piece of cardboard work great)  and use a stick as a pencil.  My kids loved making these simple Subjective Mud Drawings.  The best part is, if you don’t like how your drawing is turning out, just smear the mud smooth and start all over.

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud We also found a number of wonderful worms during our adventure.  The kids thought it was great fun to spot a little worm wiggling though their art work.

Do you embrace muddy play at your house?

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My sweet friend Crystal from Growing A Jeweled Rose is the Queen of Messy Play and if you are looking for some more great ideas on how to play with mud make sure to check out her Mud Play Recipes.  

Mud Pie Recipes

I also love the MUD PARTY that she threw for her kids!

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You might also enjoy the learning through movement series being shared by members of:

The PLAY Group

Gross Motor Addition Game

Number Hunt

Add It Up

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Related posts:

  1. Nature Prints
  2. Rain Painting
  3. Nature Activities for Kids
  4. Sticks ~ Natures Perfect Toy
Posted in Kid Projects, Spring and tagged Garden, Kid Projects, Nature Play, Spring, Summer.

Welcome to Housing A Forest!
I would love for you to grab a cup of coffee and stay a while. You can read more about us or catch up on our favorite experiments, projects + art activities.

Related posts:

  1. Nature Prints
  2. Rain Painting
  3. Nature Activities for Kids
  4. Sticks ~ Natures Perfect Toy
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20 thoughts on “Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud”

  1. Asia Citro on April 29, 2013 at 8:15 pm said:

    I love the full body mud painting! Just perfect!!!!

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on April 29, 2013 at 11:06 pm said:

      So did my kids! They had a blast being messy and getting creative.

      Reply ↓
  2. Stephanie on April 29, 2013 at 8:49 pm said:

    What a great post! I took my little ones to a lakeside “beach” (no sand, just mud, rocks, and sticks) today to test out their new mud boots- lots of puddle stomping fun! I love how kids of all ages enjoy messy play in nature! Looking forward to the rest of your series.

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on April 29, 2013 at 11:07 pm said:

      That sounds AMAZING! Puddle stomping is the best:)

      Reply ↓
  3. katepickle on April 29, 2013 at 9:13 pm said:

    LOVE this!
    My kids still talk about the day we finally let them play in the giant mud puddle which formed after months of spring rain…. and that day was 3 years ago! Mud is awesome!

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on April 29, 2013 at 11:09 pm said:

      Your giant puddle sounds AMAZING:) My kids would have loved it too.

      Reply ↓
  4. Grandma on April 29, 2013 at 10:00 pm said:

    Toooooo much fun! Lots of memories!!!!

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on April 29, 2013 at 11:10 pm said:

      They had a blast. No tunnels and rivers like we used to make, but still amazing.

      Reply ↓
  5. Sarah on April 30, 2013 at 12:17 pm said:

    Mud is awesome. What a great opportunity for the kids to get messy and explore some of the simplest sensory opportunities around! My son loves making mud soup. You can see him in my Messy Monday Page getting muddy!

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on April 30, 2013 at 12:34 pm said:

      I totally agree Sarah, mud is so fun, and free:) I love your mud soup. Looks like he was having a blast.

      Reply ↓
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  11. Kz and Me on May 8, 2013 at 2:24 pm said:

    I just love love love looking at these photos of mud fun! Thinking about all the great ways I can adapt these awesome ideas for my 1 year old. Featuring this at the Kid’s Co-op this week 🙂 xo Krissy

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on May 8, 2013 at 3:43 pm said:

      Thanks:) I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

      Reply ↓
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  13. Jennifer on May 19, 2013 at 5:11 pm said:

    In addition to Monday Kid Corner, this week’s theme is MUD. Brush off those archives and link them up at thejennyevolution.com. See you there! Jennifer

    Reply ↓
  14. Pingback: It’s Just a “Stone’s Throw Away” to Learning & Play the Nature Way! | The Preschool Toolbox Blog

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