Benefits of Mud Play

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‘Playing in the mud inspires children to feel a connection to nature and develop an appreciation for the environment. Many children today have limited opportunities to play outdoors and it is difficult to care about the environment if you have not had the chance to spend time in nature. By providing time outdoors and the chance for muddy, messy play, you facilitate a love of the earth.

But maybe the greatest benefit of mud play is the memories being created by the children. Mud play and the wonder and joy associated with it are the stuff that fabulous childhood memories are made of!

Simple Mud Play Ideas

So what can you do to provide opportunities for children to play in the mud? It can be as simple as allowing children to explore a muddy puddle after a spring rain. But if you are up for it, there are many ways you can implement a variety of mud-related play activities. Here are some ideas:

• Paint with mud–provide different types of soil to create different shades of “paint”. Or you can add food coloring or tempera paint to watery mud for more vibrant colors. 

• Make mud sculptures–encourage children to sculpt and mold mud, adding pebbles, twigs, or leaves to individualize their sculptures.

• Build with mud–use mud as a mortar to build with stones, sticks, or even real bricks.

• Construct roadways and waterways—add toy dump trucks, excavators, and back hoes to build roadways in the dirt. Provide cars and trucks to add to the play. Offer pieces of PVC pipe to build waterways and pipelines.

• Create animal homes—add plastic animals or dinosaurs to the mud area and have children add leaves, sticks, and stones to create a forest, jungle, or even Jurassic Park!

•Throw mud balls–facilitate large muscle play by encouraging children to throw mud balls at an identified target (a large sheet hung on a fence works well).

The Adult’s Role - Not all adults will embrace mud play, and some may actually have objections to children getting dirty. It’s true that mud play creates a mess, but the mess is worth it when you consider all the benefits children gain through this type of play. In order to advocate for mud play, carefully observe what children are doing and interpret this for other adults who may not understand why this type of play is valuable or what children are gaining from it. Take on the role of facilitator by allowing mud play and supporting the play that emerges from the children. Supply language for children to describe their creations. Think about ways to extend their learning by adding new materials, posing challenges, and pointing out interesting results of their efforts.’ (Source)

Red Rabbit agrees with all that he is reading. There are so many benefits of playing in the mud. He has to call Tiffi to tell her that he is googling and what he has found.

Let’s continue - The Magic of Dirt: 10 Benefits of Mud Play

Start at the beginning – Let’s play in the mud!