And of course, the addition of lots of water was the best part of all! The soil became a glorious mud pit, easy to dig in and search through for treasures! Lots of worms came to the surface (the birds thanked us later!) and C was fascinated by them, and also by the roots of some plants that she dug up!
C made and then served up our delicious dinner!
Mud, grass, herb, water, soap, sand soup anyone?!
They have spent a good length of time over the past few days playing in this area outside. It is not as beautiful as many mud-pie kitchens I have seen around (there are some spectacular examples!) but it will be a place that can change and be adapted in a very open-ended way.
Other ideas for ingredients for them to experiment with are: cornflour, sugar, vinegar, food colouring, salt, bicarbonate of soda, flour, rice, pasta, lentils, porridge oats and beans.
- what does that smell/ look/ feel like? what do you think it is?
- what is the soil like before we add water? describe it
- what do you think will happen when we add water? try it!
- what does it feel and look like now? can you splash in it like a puddle?
- what can you make with wet mud? can you make anything stick together with dry mud?
- what can you make with X ingredients?
Learning Links:
- sensory: exploring materials with hands and feet/ smell/ texture
- literacy: developing vocabulary to describe new experiences and feelings/ incorporating stories and poems into whole body play/ imagining and creating storylines in role-play
- maths: counting out objects and spoonfuls/ experimenting with capacity by filling and emptying/ arranging and sorting objects by size, colour, shape, material
- creativity: using imagination to create stories and role-play
- phse: playing independently/ working co-operatively/ maintaining concentration and sustained involvement in play/ decision making
- science: investigative thinking skills/ what if? questioning/ exploring materials/ observing change of materials from dry to wet
Anna, your girls are just so gorgeous 🙂 Love your little messy plot. I am really looking forward to making our back yard into something – it’s very barren at the moment 🙂
xx
Beautiful! Love the pics! Again, your kids are so blessed to have you! You are so inspiring!
Awww thanks so much Kate and Melissa!
My OCD is screaming NO NO..haha Great pics and I think your a lot braver than me =)
Can I come and play with that kitchen, the lovely mud and all these beautiful ingredients??
That is just FANTASTIC!!
Tineke x
wow-great idea! Not sure I could handle all that mud though lol
I soooo need to make something like this in my garden! Your girls look like they are having great fun.
Ah, I love repurposed furniture, and this one makes for the perfect mud concoctions kitchen. Seeing your littlest one fully engaged in the kitchen makes a great example for parents who aren’t sure how well their toddlers will engage with this activity. I love it!!
what a wonderful idea! my son LOVES dirt and mud… i think this might be perfect for him! i’m thinking of doing a post on mud and dirt play… and how valuable it is… i’d love to include your post!
Love your kitchen! Featured on this week’s High paw, and shared on Twitter and FB 🙂 Thanks for adding this post 🙂