Mud Season!
Mud Season!
I wasn’t aware of something called “mud season” until my daughter started attending college in Vermont. It makes sense that states with winters filled with cold and snow would thaw out in the spring. After a long winter, I can only imagine the excitement when birds chirp, flowering trees bloom, and mud emerges.
As someone who likes a tidy house, I picture, with a sense of dread, my dogs tracking muddy footprints onto my clean floors. On the other hand, as an early childhood professional, I love to think about all the joy-filled fun that young children experience in the mud.
Did you know that besides the squishy laughter-filled fun, mud play has other benefits:
Children develop tactile skills (physically experiencing a material to learn a concept).
They are exposed to beneficial germs that strengthen their immune systems & gut health.
It boosts imagination, creativity, and collaboration.
Are you looking for ideas to embrace and encourage mud play?
Mud Painting with silicone basting brushes (a participant shared this in a workshop; it is such a genius idea)!
Mud Bake Shop- collect some well-used baking sheets, cake pans, pie tins, large spoons, and measuring cups. The children can put their muddy goodies in the sun to dry out. Once finished, they can rehydrate their baked goods with water from a rain barrel and start the fun again!
Mud Building- make mud bricks using bread pans or mud & sticks to build a mud city.
Mud Construction Site- add some trucks, digging machines, and small shovels.
Mud Racing- add small cars/monster trucks to create a muddy track experience.
Mud Balls- draw a circle (target) on a piece of cardboard. The children can create balls of mud to throw at the target.
Traveling Mud- add PVC pipes and gutters to the mud pit for an engineering challenge.
Muddy Pigs- did you know that pigs wallow in the mud to cool off, to keep the insects away? The mud is the perfect “sunscreen” to protect them from sunburns. Read the book Why Do Pigs Roll Around in the Mud? and then take the plastic pigs out for a roll in the mud.
Mud Sculpture Garden- invite the children to create their mud sculptures. Place them on a piece of cardboard to dry out and then display them in their mud sculpture garden.
When it’s time to clean up, set up your sensory bins with warm soapy water and sponges. The children can have another sensory experience while cleaning the supplies they used in their mud play.
Articles on the Benefits of Mud Play:
