While some mothers and educators prefer pristine clean kids at the end of the day. I do not.
If my kids are messy, I KNOW they’ve had a good day. Dirt on their face and on their clothes means they’ve been playing and that makes them happy.
And that makes me happy.
When it comes to mud play, it’s pretty obvious I’m an advocate. So, when I found out there was an International Mud Day I was thrilled. Of course, mud day can be EVERY DAY but as a way to get other mothers to give it a try, I can see the benefits of making it a dedicated day.
Why let your kids play with mud?
- It’s a sensory wonderland
- There’s different types of mud to explore
- It’s creative
- It’s SO, SO fun!
Issues with your kids getting muddy? Read this! It’s bound to help you change your mind!
Mud Play Ideas
Here are 20 marvelous mud activities to try with your kids. If you’re like me, you’ll want to try them all too!
1. Mud Ice Creamery. Kids are going to love making their own ice creams. You only need a few utensils, a bit of dirt and some ice cream cones and their afternoon will be filled with wondrous pretend play.
2. Mud and Nature Play. How gorgeous is this mud and nature lady beetle. See what other gorgeous creations they made.
3. Muddy River Play. Make a river using aluminium foil and watch them play the afternoon away.
4. Kitchen Utensil Mud Play. It’s simple to create a wonderful invitation to play with mud just by putting a whole bunch of kitchen utensils outside. It’s all good, just give them a good wash afterwards. *wink*
5. Make Cup Cakes. Muddy cupcake play. So many ingredients to try!
6. Muddy Wormery. Get a little muddy by making a wormery and watch the worms dig down into their new home.
7. Mobile Mud Pit. You don’t have to make a dirt pool in the backyard. Make a mobile mud pit and move it around the backyard so the mess doesn’t all build up in one spot.
8. Mud Bricks. This idea is soooo clever. Make awesome mud bricks and build build build!
9. Dirt Investigation. Mud and dirt isn’t just good to play with, it’s also fun to learn about. Pull out some investigation tools like pipettes, magnifying glasses, and tweezers and let them explore the wonders of dirt.
10. Coffee Shop Mud Play. I just love this unique idea. Our kids see us drinking coffee all the time, it’s only fair they get to role play making their own coffee. Mud works perfectly for this. I’ll have a latte thanks kids!
11. Mud and Nature Pies. Kids are going to love making mud pies. Try mud and petal pie or dirt and leaf crumble. The pies they can create are endless!
12. Muddy Car Wash. Time to get those little toy cars out, make them really muddy and then wash them all off. Every child is bound to LOVE this activity.
13. Muddy Clay Play. Clay has similar properties to mud but with a slightly different texture. Try adding more and more water to see how it changes.
14. Mud Stew. Get some ingredients together and make a mud stew. The essential ingredient – dirt and water!
15. Constructions Site Mud Play. Get those toy trucks and trailers out and find a muddy place for your kids to play in and let them go on the beaten track.
16. Fairy mud play. If you have a little one that’s not quite interested in getting dirty themselves, this mud play activity can help. Fairy mud play could get them enjoying some messy play!
17. Muddy Clay Faces. Time to mold this muddy clay into super funny faces. So fun!
18. Mud Donuts. The mud bake off is here and these mud donuts are so inspiring. Love the nature sprinkles on top!
19. Mud monsters. Don’t just let them play with a mud kitchen, let them coat themselves in mud. Oh my, this is an event they’ll always remember! #makingmemories
20. Painting with Mud. Guess what we did today! Painting with mud was so therapeutic. You can paint with mud using tools but we used out fingers!
21. Writing with Mud. I couldn’t help adding just one more mud activity I found. A fun way to build literacy skills!
I hope I’ve inspired you to let your kids get their fingers, hands and even body dirty. Even I’m excited about try many of the mud activities over the next couple of weeks. It’s school holidays, so we have plenty of opportunities to get dirty.
The best part about these mud play ideas is that they’re totally free. Dirt is everywhere! Go on, get into it!
We love a bit of mud play (what kid doesn’t?). Thank you for including our mud kitchen mud spot. Can’t wait to try some of the other ideas.
So many amazing ways to get dirty and have fun.
Thanks for including our clay sensory and traveling construction truck small world in the line up.
What a gorgeous and inspiring list.
Oh the fun!!!
Thanks for adding PBP in at 21 🙂
Love it, we have tried a few of these, and love the “collection”. When my toddler plays and occasionally tastes the dirt, I am often pointed by people around; “he’s eating dirt”… My response almost always is “I was told by my doc, dirt has probiotic in it”.. love their reaction on that!! I am not dorky in general, but the dirt issue gets me.. Lol..