Background information

Content information for educators: Getting dirty and messy play is great for children’s development, health and well being. There is a growing body of research that suggests children who regularly participate in all kinds of messy play feel happier, are more active and resilient, have stronger immune systems, develop stronger social and emotional skills, and have fun while they’re doing it! Playing with mud is the ultimate sensory experience, stimulating all of the senses and maximising opportunities for learning and development.

Often Early Years services experience resistance from parents regarding messy play. Early Years professionals have an important role in ensuring that parents and families understand the benefits of providing children with opportunities to get dirty, and the impacts of those opportunities on development, health and well being. The Dirt Report is a great resource for parents, outlining the many benefits of outdoor and messy play. You could include some of this information in your newsletters, policies or induction kits for new families.

If mud play is something you want to introduce to your service, but you are experiencing some resistance, try starting small: muddy puddles after rain, a small digging patch, sand rather than mud, clay, a mud tub, or special mud play day (e.g. International Mud Day is in late June/early July each year!). Moving on from there you could create a mud kitchen or digging patch as a permanent (or temporary) feature of your outdoor space. Sometimes a change in language can also be helpful. The word ‘dirt’ has many negative connotations and associations; try calling it soil or earth. You might be surprised what a difference that makes!

Mud provides many learning opportunities for children, and it’s good for them. So go on – get muddy!

Content information for families: Getting dirty and messy play is great for children’s development, health and well being. There is a growing body of research that suggests children who regularly participate in all kinds of messy play feel happier, are more active and resilient, have stronger immune systems, develop stronger social and emotional skills, and have fun while they’re doing it! Playing with mud is the ultimate sensory experience, stimulating all of the senses and maximising opportunities for learning and development.

Exposure to germs helps build healthy immune systems in children. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests children who are too clean and not exposed to parasites, bacteria and viruses have a greater risk of developing allergies, asthma and other autoimmune diseases. The Hygiene Hypothesis, as it was called, was first suggested in the 1980s by Strachan.

Further research suggests that the friendly bacteria Mycobacterium vaccae, which is found in soil, has a similar effect on the human brain as antidepressant drugs and exercise, by activating neurons that produce the brain chemical serotonin. Given the incidence that anxiety and depression in young children is reportedly rising, exposure to such bacteria has positive impacts on children’s mental health and well being (National Wildlife Federation, 2012). Serotonin also plays a role in learning; helping us to learn new skills and reduce anxiety.

The benefits of messy play are numerous, and it’s fun. It is a great way to engage children in learning, and support their development, health and well being. Don’t you remember making mud pies?

“At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling” – Shanti

Definitions:

Nature: everything that exists in the world that has not been introduced by people, including plants, animals, landscapes and weather.
Sensory play: play that stimulates and engages multiple senses.

New words for children to learn:

Nature
Environment
Senses
Mud
Soil

Activity: Marvellous Mud!

Ages - 0 to 2: In the mud

Preparation: You will need sand and/or soil, a tub (if required), a container of water (watering can, bucket, etc), tools (spoons, cups, etc), a selection of natural loose parts (sticks, stones, flowers, seed pods, leaves, etc), towels and clean clothes. Infants love to explore different textures, smells – and flavours too! Start with dry soil or sand and let them explore it with their whole body. If you have it in a tub, make sure it is at a level that they can get in it if they want; it is great for them to feel it in their toes and fingers. Provide some tools if you like, such as spoons, cups and muffin trays, and let them explore.

After a while, you can give the children some water and watch the magic happen! You might provide a watering can, a cup, a bucket, or if you are feeling brave, a hose (from the rainwater tank, of course!) Watch the children mix the sand/soil up, make mud pies, and squish it through their fingers and toes. Some children like the feeling of it but others may not, so options are good: wet and dry soil or sand, or a combination of these, is great. Rocks, sticks, or leaves are good natural loose parts that can add a new dimension to the experience.

Provocations:

I wonder what this sand/soil feels like? (Warm, cool, soft, smooth, lumpy, slimy, slippery.)
I wonder what happens if we add sand?
I wonder what happens if we add water?
I wonder what it feels like when it dries on our hands or feet?
I wonder what happens when it dries?

Possible lines of development:

Make a digging patch.
Plan an International Mud Day Activity.
Play in puddles.
Use mud instead of finger paint.
Create muddy prints (feet and hands), or look for muddy prints in nature (birds, animals, worms, etc).
Dribble mud to make interesting castles.
Find a different colour or textured soil.
Grow something from seed in the soil.

Ages - 2 to 3: Muddy Masterchef

Preparation: Create (or help the children to create) an area with access to sand and/or soil, water, buckets, spades, a selection of natural loose parts (sticks, stones, flowers, seedpods, leaves, etc), a bench or table, tools (mixing bowls, spoons, muffin tins, saucepans, cookie cutters, cutlery, plates, cups, etc) towels and clean clothes.

A mud kitchen provides great opportunities for all kinds of imaginative play, as well as opportunities to explore a range of concepts relating to maths, science, creativity, problem-solving, teamwork and communication. It requires minimal resources and can be permanent or temporary. There is lots of inspiration on social media, and you can source equipment from op shops or ask families for contributions – and there is no better way to upcycle an old pallet! Let your imagination go crazy; or better yet, get the children to design something and create it together.

Muddy Masterchef!

Make your own episode of Muddy Masterchef. Children can create their own recipes; measuring, sorting and ordering ingredients, and creatively presenting their ‘dish’. You can make a video of them making their ‘dishes’ and give awards for most creative dish presentation, muddiest dish, best teamwork, great service, etc. This would make a great promotional video for including mud play in your program.

Make a book of Muddy Masterchef recipes complete with photos.

Provocations:

I wonder what this sand/soil feels like? (Warm, cool, soft, smooth, lumpy, slimy, slippery.)
I wonder what happens if we add sand?
I wonder what happens if we add water?
I wonder what it feels like when it dries on our hands or feet?
I wonder what happens when it dries?
I wonder what your favourite food is; can you make it with these ingredients?
I wonder what ingredients we will need?
I wonder what tools we will need to make that?
Where is the best spot for our mud kitchen?
What does a great mud kitchen need?

Possible lines of development:

Create a digging patch where children can create small worlds or landscapes (just add trucks, dinosaurs, fairies, animals, or anything else you can think of).
Make magic potions.
Grow some edible plants.
Explore what lives in soil.
Minibeasts.
Decomposition and how soil is made.
Soils of different colours and textures (clay, sandy, etc).

Ages - 3 to 5: Mud bricks

Preparation: Collect some containers (take-away containers work well) to use as a mould. You will need a number of the same size and shape. The number will depend on how many ‘bricks’ you want to make. For the bricks themselves, you will need soil (experiment with a few different types and see what works best for setting and strength), sand, straw and water.

Have a discussion with the children about how mud might be used. Could you use it for construction?

Start by making dribbly mud castles (dribble the mud or wet sand to make interesting castles and decorate with sticks, leave, flowers or other natural loose parts).

Provocations:

What does it feel like?
What happens if we add more water?
How strong is it?
What happens when it dries?
I wonder if we could use mud to build something?

Make some mud bricks. Use your containers as moulds. Mix up some soil (different types if you can find it), sand and water. Make a note of how much of each ‘ingredient’ and soil type is in each mix. Ask the children to predict which one they think will be strongest, fastest to dry, longest to dry, most crumbly, etc.

Leave the bricks to dry for a few days in the sun. Turn them out and see which ones worked. Once you know which one is strongest you can make a whole batch using that mix and use them in your sandpit, digging patch or anywhere else construction might happen.

Provocations:

I wonder which one will dry the fastest?
I wonder which one will take the longest to dry?
I wonder which one will be the strongest?
I wonder where the water goes?
I wonder what we could build with our bricks?

Possible lines of development:

Explore different construction materials or methods (mud brick houses, straw bale houses, wattle and daub, ice igloos, etc.)
Explore the strength of different materials.
Explore what lives in soil.
Minibeasts.
Decomposition and how soil is made.
Soils of different colours and textures (clay, sandy, etc).
Fossils.
Rocks.

Evaluation

Complete an analysis of learning listing evidence about:

Belonging	Find something of interest
Communication	Express an idea or feeling
Exploration	Engage with challenges and persist when difficulties arises
Well being	Being involved

Embedding into daily practice

Use natural materials and loose parts to encourage creative thinking in all aspects of your program (inside and out).
Discuss the benefits of messy play with families for children’s development, health and well being.
Incorporate your commitment to messy and natural play opportunities in your induction handbooks and parent information.
Consider an outdoor sink or area where children can wash their hands, feet, boots, etc before they go inside.
Encourage families to send children to your service in old clothes that they can get dirty in and provide a change of clothes for afterwards.
Go outside in all weather.

Marvellous Mud

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