We love exploring & playing in the mud, so when we heard that the RSPB have been encouraging people to make more mud available in their gardens for the birds, we knew we'd be more than happy to help! In the UK, the last few months have been extremely dry, which has created problems for birds like house martins & swallows who need mud to build their nests or repair nests from previous years.
To start our mud adventure, Minnie collected a bottle she had filled with water, & then poured it over the soil in her garden area. You can probably guess what happened next... lots of splashing & squelching in the mud! Perfect sensory play!
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More water was added & the muddy area grew & grew, & so did the fun! Minnie enjoyed digging, making mud castles, & exploring texture.
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What do you do with a prefect mud castle? Jump on it of course! ;)
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Minnie then continued to explore the mud with her hands & pat handfuls of it onto the wall.
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Sticky, wet mud is just perfect for exploring texture & patterns.
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After discovering what patterns she could make with her fingers she collected a garden rake & started to scrape patterns into the mud.
Then she started to stick items to the mud, & amazingly they stuck to the wall!
Minnie experimented with jar lids...
Sticks & twigs...
Plastic cups...
& plastic bottles.
Minnie then decided it was time to make a nest!
She collected more mud, & some sticks from around the garden, & took great care arranging & rearrange them in the nest.
The nest soon had a resident!
This was such a fun child-led activity, where Minnie was able to freely experiment, discover & problem solve. She explored a variety of natural materials & textures, & used a range of physical skills as she made her discoveries. What a neat way to help our local wildlife too & encourage care for other living creatures.
