Mud kitchens!

[primula]

Has anyone built a mud kitchen? I have two wooden pallets that I thought might do the job! Anyone have any tips or Do's and Dont's?! thanks.

[alwaysright]

i;m intersted in this as well, how do i follow this post?

[natlou82]

I've no advice but want to jump on the band wagon lol ;-p

[amanda preece]

Look on the imagination tree website it has pictures on of kitchens, I believe that there is a clip on you tube about building a mud kitchen from a pallet too x

[FloraDora]

82618262

I uploaded these on another thread but here they are again.
I took inspiration from another thread and my DH made me this.
I wanted it long to fit in a certain place and so that I can put a long black planting tray on for the children to plant up their flowerpot farm (also intend to use it as a bar for grown up summer bbcues's)
He has made them for a couple of nurseries too, can make to order any size ( I have a plastic bowl but we have since sourced metal ones which the nurseries have had.)

I don't really intend to just have it as a mud kitchen, this week we are making flower perfume and soap.
I like the idea that the LO's have an outside kitchen area to be messy with whatever they like: I also have a pantry nearly finished where we will store collected shingle, leaves, petals, bark,soil,stones and slate pieces collected from the garden. ( our ingredients) I like the fact that it is not bright and colourful, but naturalish - it matches our fences and veg planters.
My minlaw has donated pans and the parents are looking for other utensils we can use, so hopefully the LO's will arrive all excited to use it ( they have watched it being made and helped stain it last week).
The play will just come from them I hope, but any activity ideas would be welcome.

[alwaysright]

82618262

I uploaded these on another thread but here they are again.
I took inspiration from another thread and my DH made me this.
I wanted it long to fit in a certain place and so that I can put a long black planting tray on for the children to plant up their flowerpot farm (also intend to use it as a bar for grown up summer bbcues's)
He has made them for a couple of nurseries too, can make to order any size ( I have a plastic bowl but we have since sourced metal ones which the nurseries have had.)

I don't really intend to just have it as a mud kitchen, this week we are making flower perfume and soap.
I like the idea that the LO's have an outside kitchen area to be messy with whatever they like: I also have a pantry nearly finished where we will store collected shingle, leaves, petals, bark,soil,stones and slate pieces collected from the garden. ( our ingredients) I like the fact that it is not bright and colourful, but naturalish - it matches our fences and veg planters.
My minlaw has donated pans and the parents are looking for other utensils we can use, so hopefully the LO's will arrive all excited to use it ( they have watched it being made and helped stain it last week).
The play will just come from them I hope, but activity ideas would be welcome.

was thinking this was very clean and new looking! thats really good and sure the kids will love that!

[primula]

82618262

I uploaded these on another thread but here they are again.
I took inspiration from another thread and my DH made me this.
I wanted it long to fit in a certain place and so that I can put a long black planting tray on for the children to plant up their flowerpot farm (also intend to use it as a bar for grown up summer bbcues's)
He has made them for a couple of nurseries too, can make to order any size ( I have a plastic bowl but we have since sourced metal ones which the nurseries have had.)

I don't really intend to just have it as a mud kitchen, this week we are making flower perfume and soap.
I like the idea that the LO's have an outside kitchen area to be messy with whatever they like: I also have a pantry nearly finished where we will store collected shingle, leaves, petals, bark,soil,stones and slate pieces collected from the garden. ( our ingredients) I like the fact that it is not bright and colourful, but naturalish - it matches our fences and veg planters.
My minlaw has donated pans and the parents are looking for other utensils we can use, so hopefully the LO's will arrive all excited to use it ( they have watched it being made and helped stain it last week).
The play will just come from them I hope, but activity ideas would be welcome.

That's more or less what I had in mind! thank you for sharing!!

[natlou82]

That looks fab, I want to play! Thanks for the share :-) xx

[amylouise867]

Looks absolutely brilliant!!

High 5 to you!!!

What fun you're all going to have :) xx

[Mouse]

Has anyone built a mud kitchen? I have two wooden pallets that I thought might do the job! Anyone have any tips or Do's and Dont's?! thanks.

Just don't! :ROFL1::ROFL1:

[primula]

Just don't! :ROFL1::ROFL1:

I know what you mean!! I am going to site it as far away from the backdoor as possible! I hope they will use it! I am going to work on hubby to give me a hand over Easter!!

[kats]

I was dead set against having one but i gave in and to be honest the children if all ages absolutely love it, it cost nothing to make my hubby did it out if an old bench that we had :)

[loocyloo]

I've got a nest of 3 coffee tables that we use and I have everything stored in plastic boxes but need to ask dh very nicely to put a baton and hooks on back fence ... He won't be keen though!

[Rick]

I'm rubbish at woodwork but even I managed to make one out of 2 old bunny hutches. It's a bit rough around the edges but who cares :D

The children don't get too messy as I keep the soil in old pots and pans on the shelf below to keep it dry. We went to the woods to find other objects we could use with the mud kitchen too. I have located it in a mud area so any mud overflow just goes into the mud anyway

[Mouse]

I have a mental block and just cannot bring myself to set up a mud kitchen :laughing:

I have seen loads of pictures of beautifully set out mud kitchens, while they are clean, but have yet to see a picture of one in use. They look so good before the children get to them, but before being convinced that I should get one, I need plenty of "after" pictures to see for myself what the actual damage is :D

[Rick]

I have a mental block and just cannot bring myself to set up a mud kitchen :laughing:

I have seen loads of pictures of beautifully set out mud kitchens, while they are clean, but have yet to see a picture of one in use. They look so good before the children get to them, but before being convinced that I should get one, I need plenty of "after" pictures to see for myself what the actual damage is :D

As I say I keep the soil/mud dry when not in use and they pour it between pots and put other natural objects in with it.

Type mud kitchen into google and select the 'images' tab. Lots of examples. Primula, some made out of wooden pallettes for inspiration!

[Polly2]

There is a brilliant free booklet here Mud Kitchens (http://www.muddyfaces.co.uk/mud_kitchens.php) loads of ideas :thumbsup:

[Mouse]

Despite my reluctance, I am coming around to the idea :laughing:

When I was about 6 or 7 my friend & I built our own mud kitchen in her back garden. We used bricks & bits of wood for the kitchen itself, then pinched pans, spoons & knives from home. We used to spend hours there 'cooking' and loved nothing better than digging up some of her dad's veg to chop up & add to our muddy mixtures. We even added in the odd worm :p

[Bluebell]

ha ha - if you want a picture of a muddy mud kitchen I can get one for you!! Mine is a disgrace!

If you like something that cleans up then maybe a mud kitchen is not for you! but depending on your garden and what you use it is probably easy enough to hose down / wash down at the end of the day.

I have a concrete garden so my white concrete is now black and my water tray has been moved (by the children) to the mud kitchen area. the water is now black and filled with mud and leaves etc (yuck) my sand pit is also filled with mud and water and looks disgusting.

They take gravel from the top of my garden to put in their mixtures and because I have a mud kitchen but no ground to take it from (ie my garden is gravel and concrete) I have a storage box with a lid that keeps a pile of composting earth in (hence why my garden is black rather brown from the mud)

I am rather laid back about the whole thing and the children LOVE it. My own children LOVE it. All childcare professionals that have seen it love it but when I look at it through the eyes of a visitor or parent I do cringe a bit. My garden is a MESS.

I used a small cupboard bought from the tip and an old plastic kitchen I had (a tesco one I think) which has a hob and an oven. I thought about getting an old microwave to go out there too as it has that really satisfying 'clunk' as you shut it. I also got some plastic saucepans and some real saucepans out there, wooden spoons, tongs, etc etc

My hubby had a fit when he saw the saucepans out there as he thought they were our best saucepans but actually I'd picked some up from a charity shop!!

I did tidy my garden up once - I swept and scrubbed and hosed down and I power hosed the concrete so it was all white again - I had a visit the next day - can't remember what for - audit or assessment or something. Anyway it was dark by the time I finished and my son went out and started making mud pies and made a right mess - and I got really corss cos I'd spent so long scrubbing it all - and I was stressed about the visit. and I realised I was losing it and it was really unfair to get cross with my son - he knows they can make what they want and make as much mess as they want so to not know I'd 'changed the rules' was really unfair. After that I let them make as much mess as they want and don't worry too much about the state of my garden!

What I'm saying is if you value your garden it may not be the best bet. I have a friend who loves muddy walks and so on but won't have a mud kitchen because it will ruin the grass and she is in rented accomodation.

It is by far and away the best resource in my garden. They use it for all sorts of imaginings and role play and sensory experiences and keeps them occupied for ages!

[primula]

8265 This is the area that I have planned to put it, garden is 'L' shaped and the kitchen will go at the bottom, so we cant see it when us grown ups are having our much needed glass of pinot!
I plan to extend the paving a bit and use the little wooden shed too, might try two levels as I have a 14mth old walking and she will not be left out!! the grass in my garden isn't that brilliant anyway, so not to bothered about that at the moment, may change my mind!

[amyp]

http://abcdoes.typepad.com/abc-does-a-blog/2013/07/make-a-mud-kitchen-its-a-must.html

This one is beautiful x

[ja-lula-belli]

Nice ! I in the process of creating mine. Or should I say instructing my husband how to make one! Lol

[sing-low]

Despite my reluctance, I am coming around to the idea :laughing: When I was about 6 or 7 my friend & I built our own mud kitchen in her back garden. We used bricks & bits of wood for the kitchen itself, then pinched pans, spoons & knives from home. We used to spend hours there 'cooking' and loved nothing better than digging up some of her dad's veg to chop up & add to our muddy mixtures. We even added in the odd worm :p
Go on, Mouse, be brave! Maybe it would help to think of it as an outdoor messy play area rather than a mud kitchen per se. We want our resources to be open-ended, don't we?!?! So much easier to clean up outside rather than in.

[Mouse]

Go on, Mouse, be brave! Maybe it would help to think of it as an outdoor messy play area rather than a mud kitchen per se. We want our resources to be open-ended, don't we?!?! So much easier to clean up outside rather than in.

In fairness, I do already have 2 plastic Little Tikes kitchens outside & the children use sand, water, pasta, rice etc on those. And they do use clean compost in the messy tables or tuff spot, but more for digging and planting. Maybe I just need to encourage them to combine the two!

Most of our resources indoors are wooden or fabric, but I do like plastic outside as it is easy to hose down & can stay out in the rain :thumbsup:

[JKL]

I'm loving all these ideas. I was trying to decide what to do with an area of my garden which is next to the barked play area but a bit of dead space tbh, think we may have a new challenge for my dad! (DH is not particularly handy! :p )

Now to think up lots of lovely mucky activities!

[blue bear]

Since we moved her (2001) we have always had mud, big holes, time team style mass digging of the garden, plastic elc kitchen to cook mud pies, mud area with diggers. We have a reasonable sized garden and three boys so mud always just seemed to happen. It does travel around the garden but I think it's just getting higher as the grass grows through. :)

We have recently we I say we, I held the screws and made coffee, a wooden kitchen come potting bench with a kitchen sink donated through Facebook. The children missed the plastic elc kitchen so that is back, they like the sink for Walter play more than the mud itself, they really like mixing up mud in the wheeled buckets and wheelbarrow so they can transport it. The potting bench has been a real hit, potting up plastic flowers and watering them.

I don't think people should feel pushed Into having a mud kitchen because it appears to be the trend. If you are not sure start put with a little bag of soil a board on a couple of bricks a pan and a wooden spoon, see how things go, what the children get put of it, how you cope with the mess. A small kitchen like this is easy to put away at weekends and can many things, from a soap factory, to a potting shed, icecream parlour (shaving foam) the list is endless.

[Mcgons]

I have a mental block and just cannot bring myself to set up a mud kitchen :laughing:

I have seen loads of pictures of beautifully set out mud kitchens, while they are clean, but have yet to see a picture of one in use. They look so good before the children get to them, but before being convinced that I should get one, I need plenty of "after" pictures to see for myself what the actual damage is :D

Here are some after pictures.

I've had mine for a few years and it's really basic, just upturned milk crates and chopping boards and sometimes the plastic garden table, and a whole load of old kitchen bits picked up from family and car boots, but the children love it. The rain just washes all the mud away, or I use the hose in summer.

826982708271

[rickysmiths]

I don't get the need for mud 'kitchens'. The children can have fun and get messy planting things and growing things in the garden. Kitchens should be clean and tidy places why are we teaching them to use mud and have the messy?

This is a recent craze and all I see is a lot of money being spent by childminders who were offering a perfectly good experiences without all this mud! I know we all learn new things and ways of doing things but this is one I will not be offering. The parents have to do something after all. :blush:

[Rick]

I don't get the need for mud 'kitchens'. The children can have fun and get messy planting things and growing things in the garden. Kitchens should be clean and tidy places why are we teaching them to use mud and have the messy?

This is a recent craze and all I see is a lot of money being spent by childminders who were offering a perfectly good experiences without all this mud! I know we all learn new things and ways of doing things but this is one I will not be offering. The parents have to do something after all. :blush:

Well mine is made out of recycled wood (otherwise going to be taken to the tip) and it doesn't look like a kitchen (partly because my woodwork skills are near zero). It's just a table where they can pour dry soil through collinders and tip it between cups.

If they got constantly caked in mud I would rethink it as a good idea

[Mcgons]

I don't get the need for mud 'kitchens'. The children can have fun and get messy planting things and growing things in the garden. Kitchens should be clean and tidy places why are we teaching them to use mud and have the messy? This is a recent craze and all I see is a lot of money being spent by childminders who were offering a perfectly good experiences without all this mud! I know we all learn new things and ways of doing things but this is one I will not be offering. The parents have to do something after all. :blush:

I was inspired to set my mud area up from on a conference I attended in 2010 and following that by reading Jan White's blog on natural outdoor play, she is a big advocate of playing with mud and the learning and development it offers. However like many practices in the early years, it isn't the only way to get natural play experiences so I agree that it isn't for everyone, it just appealed to me because I used to like it as a child, and my own children spend a lot of time making concoctions in the garden, and this has enhanced that.

Also if people are spending too much then that defeats the object of it really. The idea is to use items that are found or donated, like the milk crates I was given and most of the old kitchen utensils. I only bought the kettle from a car boot for 50p, hardly breaking the bank!

[rickysmiths]

I do see what you are saying but I went to my local cm group and they had found someone to make Mud Kitchens and he was charging £45 plus £25 shipping which I personally think is a lot, I wouldn't dream of paying that when they can play in the garden with the mud for free with a free cheap or free props provided and have the same experiences.

[FussyElmo]

I do see what you are saying but I went to my local cm group and they had found someone to make Mud Kitchens and he was charging £45 plus £25 shipping which I personally think is a lot, I wouldn't dream of paying that when they can play in the garden with the mud for free with a free cheap or free props provided and have the same experiences.

That cheap ypu haven't seen the one that was advertised for £600 :eek:

Mud Kitchen | Timotay Playground Design and Equipment (http://www.timotayplayscapes.co.uk/playground-product/mud-kitchen)

[Rick]

That cheap ypu haven't seen the one that was advertised for £600 :eek:

Mud Kitchen | Timotay Playground Design and Equipment (http://www.timotayplayscapes.co.uk/playground-product/mud-kitchen)

That just happens to my DS in the pic at the expo last year :D

[Mcgons]

I do see what you are saying but I went to my local cm group and they had found someone to make Mud Kitchens and he was charging £45 plus £25 shipping which I personally think is a lot, I wouldn't dream of paying that when they can play in the garden with the mud for free with a free cheap or free props provided and have the same experiences.

I agree, it's daft paying for one in my opinion! And that one for £600, well if anyone pays for one of those they have more money than sense! Personally I don't see the need for it to be a 'kitchen' unless like Rick's he has made one with recycled wood, and the other poster with the pallets. Just a sturdy surface, bowls, utensils, mud, water and imagination needed!

[danemi1]

82618262

I uploaded these on another thread but here they are again.
I took inspiration from another thread and my DH made me this.
I wanted it long to fit in a certain place and so that I can put a long black planting tray on for the children to plant up their flowerpot farm (also intend to use it as a bar for grown up summer bbcues's)
He has made them for a couple of nurseries too, can make to order any size ( I have a plastic bowl but we have since sourced metal ones which the nurseries have had.)

I don't really intend to just have it as a mud kitchen, this week we are making flower perfume and soap.
I like the idea that the LO's have an outside kitchen area to be messy with whatever they like: I also have a pantry nearly finished where we will store collected shingle, leaves, petals, bark,soil,stones and slate pieces collected from the garden. ( our ingredients) I like the fact that it is not bright and colourful, but naturalish - it matches our fences and veg planters.
My minlaw has donated pans and the parents are looking for other utensils we can use, so hopefully the LO's will arrive all excited to use it ( they have watched it being made and helped stain it last week).
The play will just come from them I hope, but any activity ideas would be welcome.

Looks really wonderful

[danemi1]

That cheap ypu haven't seen the one that was advertised for £600 :eek:

Mud Kitchen | Timotay Playground Design and Equipment (http://www.timotayplayscapes.co.uk/playground-product/mud-kitchen)

YIKES!!!! That's a lot!!