February 18, 2022
Strolling along the trails at Avalon Nature Preserve I was delighted to come across some excellent mud puddles. The result of delicious warming temperatures and thawed frozen water.
There is something so satisfying about the squish and slurp of the mud puddle as your foot sinks into the gooey milk chocolate mush. It reminds me of puddle jumping, making mud pies and kids screaming with delight!
Here at Avalon the Seedlings’ kids have played with mud, created paintings with mud and made incredible mud faces on stone walls. Making the correct consistency of mud is an art in itself!!
Mud is a fantastic invitation to play. Regardless of age, the mixture of water and dirt can bring about joyous memories of quietly stirring mud in a bucket or the challenge of getting as dirty as you can.
In my mind I hear some parents saying, “no way!” The idea of bringing a mud encrusted kid into the house or car is too much to bear. If the weather is warm you could rinse your child with the hose but in the case of the cooler weather of winter’s weaning days, you might need to set up a big black plastic bag your child can step into and undress before bringing mud into the house. It is more work for a parent, but if your child wants to venture out into mud puddle-land, you will be all prepared. Your kids will thank you for it. Maybe you can even join in the fun!
A beloved pair of waterproof rain boots are key to gloppy mud enjoyment or the daring bare-footer will directly connect to the earth. Some other supplies to bring to the mud are, garden shovels, old pots and pans, large and small spoons, paint brushes, paper to paint on, cars to make roadways, rocks, leaves. The list is endless. There is also the magical mud you can create by adding sparkles. But plain mud rocks.
Here are two children’s books about mud. Enjoy! Miss Sue
“MUD” by Mary Lyn Stringer
“Mud Book: How to Make Pies and Cakes” by John Cage
Feel free to send me some mud photos!!!