Embrace the Mess: 7 Fun and Dirty Activities to Try Outdoors

Enjoy your muddy play! Its a sure way to create some amazing family memories! Don't forget to get involved with the kids where you can.

Here are our favourite Muddy Play Activities:

1. Mud Pies

Equipment: Old cups, pans, containers

Send the kids out side with some old cups point them towards the mud. Watch the creativity take over. My daughter always loves getting flowers and leaves and sticking them on top of her mud pie to add a bit of decoration. My son prefers making it and then throwing it onto the wall to watch it go “splat”.

2. Mud Soup AKA Witcher's Stew 

Equipment: Old pots and pans and wooden spoons or sticks

Allow the kids to collect some mud in a large pot and add in the water. Ask them to go and gather a variety of “ingredients” for their Witches stew. Things like pebbles, leaves, rocks, more dirt, flowers and sticks. Get them to chant a mixing song “ Witcher's stew, Witcher's stew, around the cauldron we mix you” or something like that. Watch the magic fly as they mix and chant away.

3. Mud Sculptures

Equipment: none

This is a great one to teach kids about the ratio of water to mud. If they would like to create a mud animals or house they will need to keep the mud pretty thick to build. If they add too much water it will just collapse. Try to get them to create mud animals, houses and shapes. They can use flowers and sticks to help decorate.  Watch their inner “Picasso” evolve. 

4. Mud Painting

Equipment: caulk, spongers, paint brush, paper

This can be done in a variety of ways you can allow them to mix up some mud and just allow them to draw their favourite pictures on the pavement or paper with their fingers, spongers or paint brush. You can also crush up some chalk and get them to mix it with the mud to create some colour. A winner is feet and hand printing. 

5. Muddy Car Wash

Equipment: Toy Cars/ trucks, bucket of warm soapy water, sponge

Allow you kids to get their cars and trucks super muddy by driving them around in the mud. You can then get them to wash them in the warm soapy water to make them squeaky clean. 

6. Mud Bath/Spa

Equipment: Clean clothes, towels!

This one may not be for everyone as it involves a ton of mess and clean up. But it is worth it! Create a mud bath/spa and allow your kids to “Go for Gold” yes just go for it. If you have 2 kids let them paint each other and cover each other in mud. Yep, I said it was a messy one. Allow the to fully sit in the bath/spa (if its deep enough, remember to always supervise you kids around water). They can do mud facials and mud scrubs. 

This one might be best saves for when its a little warmer or just make sure that you have a warm shower or bath close by or at least changes of clothes if the opportunity arrises. 

7. Mud Slides

Equipment: Hill lol, changes of clothes 

Allow you kids to dig out a trench that can resemble a slide,get them to run some water down it and ensure the landing is as safe at it can be by removing sticks or anything that could scratch them. 

The kids can experiment with difference ways to slide down the mud slide, forwards, backwards. 

You can also get them to slide different toys down and do races to see what reaches the bottom first. 

Once again this is super messy and might be best reserved for warmer months.

We would love to see any muddy adventures that you have. Please share on Facebook or Instagram @jumply.au or email pics to tiffany@jumply.com.au

Tiff