Hi everyone!

I know I haven’t posted in a while, but things have been a bit busy.  I wanted to do a quick posting about the joys of playing in the mud no matter the time of year.

I often think of mud as being something super fun to play in during the summer months due to the weather being warmer and children being outdoors more often due to that fact.  However, when the fall and winter months are mild and not severely cold playing in the mud is still a great option and doesn’t have to mean super messy children.

When I was a young child I wiould sit on the ground and get my hands and feet coated in mud, but that was during the warm summer months.  If the weather was too cold then a bowl or bucket held not only mud, but leaves, sticks, flowers and lots of water.  The mud pies of summer would tranform into stews or soups during the milder fall and winter seasons.  So I like having easy to clean plastic buckets and sturdy sticks around just for the purpose of making stews and soups out of mud and other natural ingredients readily found outdoors.

And of course digging in the dirt is not an option off the table, it still is a possibility if it is dry and the ground is still soft.  The worms we find are super exciting no matter the time of year.  We don’t find as many insects as we do in the spring and summer, but worms are a creature of nature that we learn about and from too.  The other more slimy creature is snails.  They are everwhere right now!  I saw a baby one on my front door the other day!   And yes, it was super cute! 🙂

Let your children play in the mud as much as they like!  Make sure you dress them in play clothes so they don’t have to think and worry about what they are wearing.  You never want their explorations inhibited by their outfits.  Young minds need to be free to learn when they are in the questioning and discovering mode.

Please share some of your mud experiences!  I would love to read all about them! 🙂

Heidi

 The Marigold School of Early Learning!