As parents, we see mud and only see a mess. But to children, mud is an abundant and attractive medium for creation, exploration, and adventure. Mud is fun! Playing with mud engages all the senses, encourages creativity, and creates long-lasting childhood memories. Now more than ever families need ways to keep kids safe at home and entertained in our own backyards. What’s for more to a child than giving them permission to get muddy! Today, we have Brandi Markham, Maryland teacher and mom of 3 here to share her family’s favorite mud activities for kids with you and lots of ways your kids can have fun with mud!
The magic and benefits of mud
Mixing soil, water, and other natural materials like pebbles, leaves, or grass provide children endless possibilities for learning and fun. Many of us parents have fond childhood memories of creating mud pies, digging for worms, or making streams and valleys in the mud. But it’s not just about fun. Children benefit from messy play, particularly muddy play. Mud play has also been associated with a range of benefits including increased happiness, improved well-being, stronger immunity, and a deeper connection with nature.
Now more than ever, kids need fun, safe and easy activities they can do in their own backyard. Playing with mud is definitely one of them! It’s a simple concept with tons of adaptability and allows kids to get dirty and creative! Kids will love having permission to get messy and parents will love the endless hours of unstructured outdoor playtime these simple mud activities provide.
Creating a mud play space
If possible, consider setting up a dedicated mud play space for your kids. Maybe in a corner of the yard that you don’t mind getting really messy! With kids, the mud probably won’t stay contained to one location, so consider where and why they’ll be moving around the yard when choosing a spot. They’ll probably need access to water, so a nearby water spout or hose is ideal. This also helps for clean-up.
If you have a mud kitchen, all the better to create some really amazing mud confections! You can buy a pre-made mud kitchen or make your own from wood pallets or an old desk or shelving unit. You could even just set up a table – kids are creative and don’t need much. Stock your mud kitchen with all kinds of old pots, pans, utensils, mixing bowls, and kitchen gadgets. You can usually find these things second-hand very inexpensive, so you’re giving extra life to these items.
If you don’t have a dedicated spot in your yard for a mud patch or a mud pit, it’s easy to create one! You can fill a plastic kiddie pool with mud so the mud is contained and won’t get all over your yard. You can also create a mobile mud patch by filling a wheelbarrow with mud, which can be moved around the yard, as necessary and easily emptied and hosed out.
Mud activities for kids
But kids don’t need to understand why this type of play is important to their development. What’s important is that we, as parents, provide opportunities for them to do it – and give them permission to get dirty! Mud play was a huge hit with my kids and even earned me the title “Best Mom in the World” from my son. So, before we get to International Mud Day on June 29th, read on to find out some fun and simple and fun mud activities for kids.
1. Mud pies
If your childhood was anything like mine, you already know all about the most classic way to have fun with mud – mud pies. Making mud pies is perhaps the most simple and creative way to play with mud. In order to make mud pies, all that is needed is mud and some old cups, pans, pie tins, bowls, or containers. Simply send those kids outside to the mud and let them loose! Watch your child’s creativity shine. My kids have used sticks, flowers, leaves, and anything else they find in the yard to decorate their mud pies. The options are endless.
2. Mud soup
Another simple way to have fun with mud is to make mud soup. For our mud soup, we pulled out the witch’s cauldron from Halloween and some spoons for mixing. If you don’t have a witches cauldron, don’t worry! Buckets, large mixing bowls or a punch bowl would all work just as well. Sticks are great for mixing. First, my kids started with dirt and added water to make the mud. Then, they added all kinds of special ingredients to make their mud soup especially tasty. They added leaves, sticks, mulch, water, flowers, seeds, pebbles, and anything else they could find. Mmmm…delicious!
3. Mud sculptures
Mud sculptures were a new idea for our family. This was one of my favorite mud activities because it involved art, as well as science. My daughter quickly learned that she had to have a certain ratio of mud and water in order for her sculpture to stand. So building mud sculptures was as much a science experiment as it was creative play. If you have clay-heavy mud in your area, all the better for this one. You can also add some modeling clay to your mud to help with the consistency.
Kids can get as creative as they want with this activity. Mud sculptures can be anything from figures, shapes, mud animals. Try building a mud house using mud bricks. Feel free to add sticks, leaves, flowers and more to those sculptures to make them extra awesome! Older kids may be better at this activity, but it’s simple enough for even little kids. If you have kids in the early years, they’ll enjoy just squishing the mud between their fingers. Let the older kids make the sculptures and then let the little ones destroy them!
4. Mud painting
Another fun art project to do with mud is mud painting. This can be done in several ways. We simply took white paper outside and used our fingers to paint with mud. Handprints were a big hit, of course. The kids also painted pictures of houses and animals. This would but a fun activity to do on a light-colored sidewalk or wall outside if possible.
If you want to get extra creative, try adding some powdered food coloring to your mud to create mud paint. Then you could use paintbrushes or sponges to paint with your colored mud. Mud paints are a fun way to play in the mud and still be artsy and creative. Let the kids have fun and see what they make!
5. Muddy car wash
Creating a muddy car wash was a big hit for all of my kids. They enjoyed driving their cars around the backyard to cover them with dirt mud so they could visit the car wash. In order to create the car wash, we added some dish soap to a bucket of water. Then the kids used one of their doll brushes to scrub their cars clean. We even had to refresh the water a few times because they had so much fun with this simple activity.
This can also be done with larger cars (think Tonka Trucks) or even with bikes and tricycles. Let the kids ride their bikes through mud puddles and get as dirty as possible, then go through the mud car wash to get them clean! This is a super easy, fun and creative way to let the kids play in the dirt and enjoy outdoor play time.
6. Mud bath/spa
Ok, are you ready for the mother-lode last two muddy activities for kids? These next two mud play activities for kids may be a tough sell for some parents, but I guarantee they’re going to be a BIG hit with your kids. Both these activities require a LOT of mud and a LOT of clean-up, but they’re also going to create some epic memories, amazing opportunities for photos and SO MUCH FUN.
If you’re feeling adventurous, create a mud bath or mud spa for your kids. This activity is probably best saved for a warm day. You can create a mud bath/spa at home in the backyard or even at the beach in sand. For their mud spa, my girls dug a big hole in the sand and filled it with water. Next, they took turns covering each other with mud. This was great at the beach since they could run to the water to clean off afterwards, but it could be done just as easily at home with a water hose or sprinkler. If you’re at home, try filling a kiddie pool with mud and letting them take a mud bath. That way the mud is contained. This is sure to be a big hit for the kids!
7. Mud sliding/pit
Finally, one of the best, but messiest ways to have fun with mud is to create a mud pit or mudslide! If you’re playing in a big patch of mud for any of these activities, then this is probably inevitable anyway. The kids will enjoy running and sliding, digging and jumping in the mud. Don’t be afraid to let them go! Dress them in clothes that they can get as muddy as they want, so you’re not worried about them ruining anything. Just be sure to have a hose ready for clean-up and towels available to dry off.
Fun with mud
What are you waiting for? Now it’s time to head outside, let the kids go, and live it up…we have nowhere else to be right now. I promise the smiles will be worth it.
And if you just can’t stomach the thought of your kids getting this mess and dirty, but still want to give them a fun sensory activity, try making this fairy mud from Happy Hooligans from toilet paper and soap!
What is your child’s favorite mud activity?
About the author
Hello, I’m Brandi! My husband & I live just outside of Washington, DC with our three littles. They are my favorite people in the world & my biggest inspiration. I am a full-time elementary teacher & a part-time photographer, but mostly I enjoy photography as a hobby. I love chocolate, animals, & nature! Summer is my favorite because we get to spend all of our time outdoors!
You can find more from Brandi in the following locations:
Instagram: @brandimarkham
RWMC posts: Brandi Markham
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