Published on June 2nd, 2014 Updated on January 10th, 2023 By Linda McGurk
I live by the old Scandinavian saying “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes,” which means that the term “rainy day activity” typically means that we’re doing something outdoors. Why? Partly because I believe kids that play outside in all types of weather become resilient and more capable of adapting to what life throws at them. But different weather conditions also open up opportunities for completely different ways to play, so why huddle up inside during a nice drizzle?
Children typically enjoy rainy days for many reasons – puddle jumping, worm digging and mud cake baking ranking pretty high. (Check out my post Outdoor Play Ideas and Tips for Rainy Days for more ideas.) After a heavy rain this afternoon my girls added a new activity to their repertoire: Painting with mud. Although they both participated, the Little Naturalist (3) was especially absorbed by the process. “Look, I’ve made numbers,” she said proudly, showing me some random patterns that she had made.
A boon for busy parents (aren’t we all?) this rainy day activity requires minimal preparation and materials. It’s a pretty safe bet that your kids will end the session soaking wet and extremely happy, so make sure they’re dressed for it. My daughters had a total blast creating with the mud, and I highly recommend this activity to anybody who is looking for simple and open-ended play ideas for wet weather!
What you need:
- Paint brushes of different sizes
- Something to make and keep the mud paint in – we used a couple of empty yogurt containers.
- Optional: natural materials like pine cones, feathers and sticks to make different patterns with the mud
How to do it:
Collect some mud in the containers and add water until the mixture has a good consistency. If possible, try to find dirt with different color tones. For example, we have a lot of iron-rich soil in our backyard that makes a rich, red paint that is perfect to paint with. Find a smooth area to act as your canvas – a concrete driveway or patio works great. Sit back and watch as your kids’ creative juices flow during this fun rainy day activity!
For more outdoor play ideas, make sure to follow my Pinterest boards.
What are your kids’ favorite thing to do when it rains?
Looking forward to painting like this with my daughter! She’ll be 3 in the fall and I’m sure she’ll love mud painting. 😉
Yes, that’s the perfect age for it! Mud is an awesome medium and I find that kids are just naturally drawn to it.
Im excited to try this! We are called Weston-Super-Mud so yeah we have an abundance of mud here and this is one of the way to put it in good use #countrykids
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for reading!
Great idea, I think my kids would love that!
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
Kids and mud tend to go really well together:o) Have fun and thanks for stopping by!
That is so lovely! We love being outdoors too! I’m going to have the boys doing this one day very soon x
Thank you! Hope you and the boys have fun with it – we did:o)
I love this post! Little Man is very into drawing and making marks with whatever he can get hold of. He will love doing this. Thanks so much for sharing at the Outdoor Play Party 🙂
Thank you, Leila! It can get messy but is well worth it:o)
Great post, Linda & perfect for International Mud Day on the 20th. We have a white wall at the back of the mud kitchen & the children love to decorate it!
A white wall would be a great addition to our mud kitchen as well; I’ll have to think of a way to make that happen! Thanks for reading.
I am sure this what every child would love doing 🙂
Rain, the fragrance of mud, painting and childhood: what a fantastic combination it is! Thanks sharing those awesome tips, Glad reading!
At least mine do! And yes, I too love the smell of mud and a good summer rain. Thanks for reading, Andrea.
What fun! My kids have been playing with the mud-on-the-side-of-the-car-version. ; ) Snow on the ground and muck on the roads = yucky car (with finger painting on it). LOL. Glad you let them get messy! It’s the best fun!!
Sounds like you need to introduce your kids to the “car washing game” lol! Though I guess that’s more of a summer game:o)