Once nice weather makes it our way in the Seattle area we run outside and stay until the rains come. We have been playing outside a lot and I needed something that both kids could be engaged in so I wasn’t trying to watch one outside while the other was inside. This outdoor sensory pretend play activity was the ticket. They weren’t doing the same thing at the same time but everyone was happy and I sat in the sun listening to giggles under a blue sky.
It was a pretty perfect day! Of course, I had to strip them both down at the door so my carpets weren’t ruined but that’s the price you pay for fun. As you will see there was lots of learning happening too.
Gather your materials. We grabbed a bunch of different sized containers, some spoons, shovel, and bucket. Â There are raised beds in our yard with soil in them so we used that too.
We dug some dirt.
They got water together.
And that’s when we lost my wee girl. She decided she’d play with water – and drink a lot of it.
My son was deep in mud soup making.
He soon noticed that if he put the dirt on the water it sank. We talked about why while my daughter continued to drench herself at the tap.
He counted and added bits of weeds, leaves, flowers, rocks, clovers…
Then pretended to give it a taste before adding a little more of this or that.
Oh, look who came back to see what we were up to. She finally joined in adding dandelions and water.
Then I sat watching them play soaking up the giggles.
What’s your favorite outside activity with your kids? Do they like to get dirty with outdoor sensory pretend play activities? Share your favorite activity in comments, or stop over and share on Facebook!
If you teach preschool or preschool at home, you will love my Little School eBook of preschool activities.
Melissa says
That mud soup looks delicious! At the moment my kids are having a great time digging in the dirt. They fill their little wheelbarrow and then empty it somewhere. I find little piles of dirt all over the place!
Tara says
Your pictures are wonderful! It makes me want to be outside making mud soup with your little ones:-)
We are big fans of messy, outdoor fun. My boys have a place in the creek that runs through our woods that they call “the beautiful place”. It’s really just a dirty, muddy, water hole. They think it’s beautiful because of all the crawfish, salamanders and bullfrogs they find! They have to be stripped down to nothing in the garage and straight to the tub, but it’s a lot of fun!
JDaniel4's Mom says
JDaniel would be in heaven cooking at your house. He was pretend cooking with water in pot this morning.
crystal@growingajeweledrose says
Fantastic photos! We love getting muddy!
Jean Revis says
I love your blog and get so many ideas for playing with my grandsons. My boys enjoy making mud pies in their mud kitchen. I would like to know what kind of water pump you have. It would be much more fun than using the hose . Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jean
judy says
Totally had a dyslexic moment and thought the title was Mud soap?!
Shelisa says
That’s awesome. Brings back memories of making mud pies at the baseball fields when my big brothers were playing. A mud kitchen may be on our agenda for summer, although, my middle daughter just finds mud anywhere we go;)
Jennifer says
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