Published on September 8th, 2016 Updated on January 10th, 2023 By Linda McGurk
Have you ever searched for ‘mud kitchens’ on Pinterest and just felt intimidated by all the intricate, authentic-looking designs that turned up? I know I have. The good news is that you don’t have to be Bob the Builder or spend a small fortune to create a mud kitchen that your kids will love!
So what exactly is a mud kitchen? Well, if you do a search for it on Pinterest, a slew of intricately designed, authentic-looking outdoor kitchens will likely show up, complete with stainless steel sinks and countertops, running water and pot racks. These kitchens are fun to look at for inspiration, but truthfully you don’t have to be Bob the Builder or spend a small fortune to create a backyard space that your kids will love.
In our case, the mud kitchen simply consists of an old patio table, some cinder blocks with a piece of wood on top, and a few tree stumps for seating. To this we’ve added various flea market finds: pots and pans, trays, cookie cutters, bowls, plates, cups and a variety of utensils. Just add dirt and water. That’s it. This very basic setup has generated many hours of messy, creative and fun outdoor play over the past three years. In fact, at age 8, the Big Naturalist will still go out and make a batch of “chocolate” treats every once in a while.
Our mud kitchen gets the most use in the spring and fall, when we tend to have more moisture in our part of the country, but this year we actually put it to use in the summer as well. It started with a Mud Bakeoff from Wilder Child, which challenged us to create some muddy treats and post pictures of them on Instagram, for a chance to win a pair of MyMayu rain boots. The girls were immediately game, and since I have a competitive streak, I got excited too. Well, we didn’t win the boots, but we did have fun trying!
From our mud kitchen to yours; here’s some inspiration from our latest exploits:
What have you been up to in the mud kitchen? Please share in the comments!
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My daycare kidlins have the most pleasure with mud. Right now we have an old play kitchen that someone gave us. But they go from play tables to stack of cobble stones on a pallet to play. And mud is just fun to walk through.
Sounds like your daycare kids have a lot of fun! Keep up the good work:o)