Mud Strengthens Children

To some mud play may just look like messy fun, but there’s more to it than getting down and dirty with the wet, soft earthy matter found on the ground after the rain. Children connect with the basic stuff of nature and, believe it or not, mud play can even make you healthier. 

There's some truth in the old saying "Dirt don't hurt!"  Studies have shown that exposure to the diverse array of microbes found in soil can help to stimulate and strengthen the immune system.* 

Mud Science

The earthy matter we all know to be mud is a science lesson in itself. Children can have endless fun learning and exploring the way mud is made and how it transforms from a gritty solid substance to a liquid with the help of water.  Leave it to dry in the sun and watch it transform into a solid again. 

Examine mud closely and students may very well see living pebbles, plant matter and maybe little creatures too. It's pretty easy to find mud or make living mud.  If you're in an urban environment, a bucket of solil from someones garden, in a planter exposed to the elements, will develop its own ecosystem. 

Add a large rock or two and you've created shelter for worms, and bugs that will endlessly engage toddlers.  It's an easy way to connect little learners to their outdoor environment even in the most urban of settings.

If you’re looking for ways to have fun with mud here are a few suggestions you may want to try.

Engineering with Mud

Where there's a water source and a slope children inevitably try to defeat the flow of water with mud dams.  They will use mud as a mortar and build with stones, sticks and any other materials they can find.

The Outlast Cascade, Nature to Play Water Tower and Troughs or the new Cedar Water Flow Station, control waterflow for experimentation in dam building. 

While combining Outlast Ramps, Blocks and Flow Pan, provokes children to build not just the dam but different slopes and water courses.

Math in Mud 

Mud Art

Dramatic Play

while rollers and figurines prompt story telling and all sorts of imaginative play:

• Stone Dough Rollers
• Let's Roll - Seasons Dough Rollers
• Roll Around

The Little Lands Stones set with its animals from the oceans, forests and farms, as wells from vehicles and buildings are bound to prompt stories and games. 

Add Stone Little People and Little people like me for empathetic play. They designs perfectly balance representation and abstraction, open-ended prompting and specificity. 

To see more ideas and resources for outdoor learning and play, CLICK HERE.