Pool Noodle Fine Motor Balance Tray

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With summer just around the corner, this pool noodle fine motor balance tray from Lisa is perfect! Your little one will be eager and excited to play while building their basic fine motor skills.

I love utilizing items that we already have around our house as part of our learning for many reasons. Not only does it allow for spontaneous and hands-on play, it’s an easy way to keep activity costs in check.

In our case, we had plenty of pool noodles in our garage that were just waiting to be used for something other than swimming!

This pool noodle fine motor balance tray is a simple fine motor transfer activity. It strengthens hand-eye coordination and allows for the optional development of pattern following.

Build Your Pool Noodle Fine Motor Balance Tray

Your little one will love the fun challenge of balancing those pom poms on each slice without letting them fall through the hole!

To create this tray, you will need one pool noodle (on the thinner side), a handful of medium size pom poms, along with a child size tweezers (affiliate link).

I used a kitchen knife to cut slices of the pool noodle about 2 inches wide and then arranged them on my tray, with the bowl of pom poms next to it.

If you are wanting to try this with a younger child who has not quite developed the skill of tweezers, you can modify the activity by having them use their fingers. This will help reinforce their developing pincer grasp.

Although the main focus of this activity is the development of fine motor skills, I decided to add an extra learning benefit to this activity by introducing patterns to my three-year-old.

Using toothpicks and cardstock, I created colored flags to match the same color of pom poms he chose. I chose to only pattern the first row for him in encouragement that he would continue the pattern on his own as he went on.

Let your child get creative!

Ezra was so excited to start his challenge!

He went along quickly, utilizing his hand strength while grasping his pom poms with the tweezers. Ezra was carefully balancing each pom pom on top of the hole.

He followed the pattern correctly with the first row of flags. Then he continued on with the same pattern throughout the duration of the activity.

He called out each color as he balanced it on top of each pool noodle slice!

After he completed the tray, he decided to push each pom pom through the hole.

He had so much fun doing this and enjoyed the added tactile sensory benefit.

The, he decided he wanted to build a tower of all the slices on his tray. He was counting out loud to see how many he could stack until it toppled over.

I love activities that allow for multiple interpretations and learning. It is so fun to see!

In the end, this tray turned into multiple activities and learning opportunity for him.

What are some other hands-on activities that you have created using pool noodles?

Pool Noodle Fine Motor Balance Tray

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2kyQ6WR

Click here to read Pool Noodle Fine Motor Balance Tray on Hands On As We Grow

---

With summer just around the corner, this pool noodle fine motor balance tray from Lisa is perfect! Your little one will be eager and excited to play while building their basic fine motor skills.

I love utilizing items that we already have around our house as part of our learning for many reasons. Not only does it allow for spontaneous and hands-on play, it’s an easy way to keep activity costs in check.

In our case, we had plenty of pool noodles in our garage that were just waiting to be used for something other than swimming!

This pool noodle fine motor balance tray is a simple fine motor transfer activity. It strengthens hand-eye coordination and allows for the optional development of pattern following.

Build Your Pool Noodle Fine Motor Balance Tray

Your little one will love the fun challenge of balancing those pom poms on each slice without letting them fall through the hole!

To create this tray, you will need one pool noodle (on the thinner side), a handful of medium size pom poms, along with a child size tweezers (affiliate link).

I used a kitchen knife to cut slices of the pool noodle about 2 inches wide and then arranged them on my tray, with the bowl of pom poms next to it.

If you are wanting to try this with a younger child who has not quite developed the skill of tweezers, you can modify the activity by having them use their fingers. This will help reinforce their developing pincer grasp.

Although the main focus of this activity is the development of fine motor skills, I decided to add an extra learning benefit to this activity by introducing patterns to my three-year-old.

Using toothpicks and cardstock, I created colored flags to match the same color of pom poms he chose. I chose to only pattern the first row for him in encouragement that he would continue the pattern on his own as he went on.

Let your child get creative!

Ezra was so excited to start his challenge!

He went along quickly, utilizing his hand strength while grasping his pom poms with the tweezers. Ezra was carefully balancing each pom pom on top of the hole.

He followed the pattern correctly with the first row of flags. Then he continued on with the same pattern throughout the duration of the activity.

He called out each color as he balanced it on top of each pool noodle slice!

After he completed the tray, he decided to push each pom pom through the hole.

He had so much fun doing this and enjoyed the added tactile sensory benefit.

The, he decided he wanted to build a tower of all the slices on his tray. He was counting out loud to see how many he could stack until it toppled over.

I love activities that allow for multiple interpretations and learning. It is so fun to see!

In the end, this tray turned into multiple activities and learning opportunity for him.

What are some other hands-on activities that you have created using pool noodles?

Easy Homemade Window Paint Recipe

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Click here to read Easy Homemade Window Paint Recipe on Hands On As We Grow

---

Make this easy DIY window paint recipe with your kids and create art on your windows! It’s fun to wash off this window paint and create again and again.

I love when Henry chooses the activity for the day. This time he wanted really, really badly to paint the big window again!

When we made window paint last time, it was super sticky and goopy. This time, I looked up a new window paint recipe from Home Spun Threads.

Very similar recipe to the last, but this time, no cornstarch.

Easy Homemade Window Paint Recipe:

• Dish Soap
• Tempera Paint for color

Can’t get much simpler than that. And fast!

I mixed together a dish of each primary color, keeping it as simple as possible.

While I mixed together the paint and gathered supplies (all of 2 minutes, maybe), Henry placed Blue Dog on the back of the couch to look out the window to watch him paint.

Henry went to town painting the window. This paint was much thinner and easier to spread than the cornstarch recipe. They both have their pros and cons.

This time, I armed Henry with a scrub brush.

His new favorite tool to paint the window with!

Blue Dog is watching Henry in action from inside.

I took advantage of our primary paint colors and explored mixing them together with Henry.

Henry and I mixed together yellow and blue to make green. This one isn’t new to Henry as we’ve had to come up with a way to paint with green in the past without actually having green paint.

But orange and purple are new to him! Henry really liked that yellow and red made orange.

Maybe it will be a new favorite color… though I’m not sure orange would pass the test… (there aren’t a lot of Allis-Chalmers machines around here, at least not at Grandpa’s farm.)

To show how much thinner this homemade window paint recipe is:

I think now I can say we created our own drip paintings! This would have been a great recipe for that activity, too!

The edge of the window looked pretty cool. Henry thought so too and pointed out the drips many times as he was making them.

I think next time we try window painting, I’ll just add a tad bit of cornstarch and hopefully, we’ll find a happy medium.

Try 50 more painting ideas for kids!

To add a little more fun, I brought out his squirt bottle. I thought it would be fun to see what designs we could make with squirting it onto the painted window.

Henry had plans to clean off the entire window with it.

Henry has been going through a stage of throwing fits for every little thing. This time he threw a fit and ended up in a timeout in his room before completely cleaning the window.

The plan was to hose it off and have a little water fun. I ended up doing that myself, though.

Another fun day of us painting the window can be found on Make and Takes!

Easy Homemade Window Paint Recipe

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2sfi4Ly

Click here to read Easy Homemade Window Paint Recipe on Hands On As We Grow

---

Make this easy DIY window paint recipe with your kids and create art on your windows! It’s fun to wash off this window paint and create again and again.

I love when Henry chooses the activity for the day. This time he wanted really, really badly to paint the big window again!

When we made window paint last time, it was super sticky and goopy. This time, I looked up a new window paint recipe from Home Spun Threads.

Very similar recipe to the last, but this time, no cornstarch.

Easy Homemade Window Paint Recipe:

• Dish Soap
• Tempera Paint for color

Can’t get much simpler than that. And fast!

I mixed together a dish of each primary color, keeping it as simple as possible.

While I mixed together the paint and gathered supplies (all of 2 minutes, maybe), Henry placed Blue Dog on the back of the couch to look out the window to watch him paint.

Henry went to town painting the window. This paint was much thinner and easier to spread than the cornstarch recipe. They both have their pros and cons.

This time, I armed Henry with a scrub brush.

His new favorite tool to paint the window with!

Blue Dog is watching Henry in action from inside.

I took advantage of our primary paint colors and explored mixing them together with Henry.

Henry and I mixed together yellow and blue to make green. This one isn’t new to Henry as we’ve had to come up with a way to paint with green in the past without actually having green paint.

But orange and purple are new to him! Henry really liked that yellow and red made orange.

Maybe it will be a new favorite color… though I’m not sure orange would pass the test… (there aren’t a lot of Allis-Chalmers machines around here, at least not at Grandpa’s farm.)

To show how much thinner this homemade window paint recipe is:

I think now I can say we created our own drip paintings! This would have been a great recipe for that activity, too!

The edge of the window looked pretty cool. Henry thought so too and pointed out the drips many times as he was making them.

I think next time we try window painting, I’ll just add a tad bit of cornstarch and hopefully, we’ll find a happy medium.

Try 50 more painting ideas for kids!

To add a little more fun, I brought out his squirt bottle. I thought it would be fun to see what designs we could make with squirting it onto the painted window.

Henry had plans to clean off the entire window with it.

Henry has been going through a stage of throwing fits for every little thing. This time he threw a fit and ended up in a timeout in his room before completely cleaning the window.

The plan was to hose it off and have a little water fun. I ended up doing that myself, though.

Another fun day of us painting the window can be found on Make and Takes!

DIY Brown Sugar Sand Castle for Easy Beach Fun Indoors

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Click here to read DIY Brown Sugar Sand Castle for Easy Beach Fun Indoors on Hands On As We Grow

---

When something forces you to change your beach plans, use this easy brown sugar sand castle tutorial from Brigitte to make your own indoor beach fun!

Have you ever planned a trip to the beach with your kids, but the weather forced you to change your plans? Thankfully, some outdoor activities can also be done inside with a little creativity.

It’s still too cold where I live to build sand castles at the beach. My daughters recently decided to build “sand castles” in the kitchen using brown sugar.

Not only is brown sugar moldable, but it is also relatively inexpensive.

For more indoor “sandbox” fun, try a cornmeal treasure hunt or an oatmeal sandbox.

Easy Indoor Beach Fun with a Brown Sugar Sand Castle

To begin the indoor “sand castle” fun, I poured a bag of brown sugar into a large bowl. Then I gave each of my daughters her own large cookie sheet, and set out a variety of measuring cups, measuring spoons, and craft sticks.

One of my daughters built a tower by sorting the sizes of the measuring cups. She packed each measuring cup with sugar and pressed it firmly.

She stacked each scoop of sugar into a single straight column from largest to smallest.

My other daughter did something similar, but she used more than one measuring cup scoop for each layer. Using more than one scoop per layer, she built her castle into a pyramid shape.

She even added a moat to the front of her castle using craft sticks.

One of my daughters also built a submarine.

After they were done creating, I hid a couple of craft sticks on a cookie sheet covered with brown sugar. They searched frantically for the craft sticks to see who would find them first.

This did make more of a mess, but they seemed to have fun.

If your beach plans get canceled, try making some beach crafts.

What do you do when your beach plans get canceled? Share your indoor beach fun ideas!

DIY Brown Sugar Sand Castle for Easy Beach Fun Indoors

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2kuwzqt

Click here to read DIY Brown Sugar Sand Castle for Easy Beach Fun Indoors on Hands On As We Grow

---

When something forces you to change your beach plans, use this easy brown sugar sand castle tutorial from Brigitte to make your own indoor beach fun!

Have you ever planned a trip to the beach with your kids, but the weather forced you to change your plans? Thankfully, some outdoor activities can also be done inside with a little creativity.

It’s still too cold where I live to build sand castles at the beach. My daughters recently decided to build “sand castles” in the kitchen using brown sugar.

Not only is brown sugar moldable, but it is also relatively inexpensive.

For more indoor “sandbox” fun, try a cornmeal treasure hunt or an oatmeal sandbox.

Easy Indoor Beach Fun with a Brown Sugar Sand Castle

To begin the indoor “sand castle” fun, I poured a bag of brown sugar into a large bowl. Then I gave each of my daughters her own large cookie sheet, and set out a variety of measuring cups, measuring spoons, and craft sticks.

One of my daughters built a tower by sorting the sizes of the measuring cups. She packed each measuring cup with sugar and pressed it firmly.

She stacked each scoop of sugar into a single straight column from largest to smallest.

My other daughter did something similar, but she used more than one measuring cup scoop for each layer. Using more than one scoop per layer, she built her castle into a pyramid shape.

She even added a moat to the front of her castle using craft sticks.

One of my daughters also built a submarine.

After they were done creating, I hid a couple of craft sticks on a cookie sheet covered with brown sugar. They searched frantically for the craft sticks to see who would find them first.

This did make more of a mess, but they seemed to have fun.

If your beach plans get canceled, try making some beach crafts.

What do you do when your beach plans get canceled? Share your indoor beach fun ideas!

Easy Craft Stick Bridge Building Activity for Preschoolers

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Work on fine motor skills with an easy craft stick bridge building activity that invites creative play, too! Your preschoolers will love this super simple construction project.

Being an Activity Room member can totally inspire busy moms and dads to get more hands-on with their children! That’s exactly what Emily, our Member of the Month, discovered when she joined.

Emily loves that having hands-on fun with her children is now so super easy!

With a three-year-old and an infant, time is at a premium. The done-for-you plans are perfect for busy parents, just like Emily.

“There’s very little planning, which saves me a lot of time!” Emily explained.

She loves to put her own unique spins on Activity Room plans. Emily has also been known to use one of the ready-made activity plans to create a whole new activity, too!

“I love to piggyback off from The Activity Room activities and come up with new activity ideas,” Emily shared.

One of Emily’s newest Activity Room-inspired activities is a craft stick bridge building activity for preschoolers.

She loves the creative play, and fine motor skills practice, that this super simple activity sparks!

Let’s Meet Emily

How many kids do you have and how old are they?

3 years old and 7 months old

How long have you been in The Activity Room?

3 months

What is your favorite activity you’ve done in The Activity Room?

My son loved the card number match

What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids when you get a few moments?

Go outside and explore

What’s your best tip for doing activities with your kids?

Have an idea of what you would like to do, but allow your kids to take the lead. Be flexible. Let them be creative!

If you were to tell a friend about The Activity Room, what would you say to them?

The Activity Room provides me with weekly activities that are easy to put together with simple materials. There’s very little planning, which saves me a lot of time!

Share your favorite quote

“Play is the highest form of research.” -Albert Einstein

Craft Stick Bridge Building Activity

Creating bridges for animals! We used animal figurines, craft sticks, and cups!

Use craft sticks from the craft store. We have colored ones, but plain wooden craft sticks work, too.

Show your preschooler how to balance the craft sticks between two cups to create a bridge.

You could even add extra challenges:

• How many craft sticks can you fit side-by-side between two cups?
• Can you push the cups farther apart and still build a solid bridge?
• How long (with multiple connections/segments) can you build a bridge?
• How many animals can you fit on one small bridge at a time?

Working through these problems together will add an extra dose of critical thinking and problem-solving to your playtime!

How do The Activity Room plans inspire your play at home?

Easy Craft Stick Bridge Building Activity for Preschoolers

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2xlGHLJ

Click here to read Easy Craft Stick Bridge Building Activity for Preschoolers on Hands On As We Grow

---

Work on fine motor skills with an easy craft stick bridge building activity that invites creative play, too! Your preschoolers will love this super simple construction project.

Being an Activity Room member can totally inspire busy moms and dads to get more hands-on with their children! That’s exactly what Emily, our Member of the Month, discovered when she joined.

Emily loves that having hands-on fun with her children is now so super easy!

With a three-year-old and an infant, time is at a premium. The done-for-you plans are perfect for busy parents, just like Emily.

“There’s very little planning, which saves me a lot of time!” Emily explained.

She loves to put her own unique spins on Activity Room plans. Emily has also been known to use one of the ready-made activity plans to create a whole new activity, too!

“I love to piggyback off from The Activity Room activities and come up with new activity ideas,” Emily shared.

One of Emily’s newest Activity Room-inspired activities is a craft stick bridge building activity for preschoolers.

She loves the creative play, and fine motor skills practice, that this super simple activity sparks!

Let’s Meet Emily

How many kids do you have and how old are they?

3 years old and 7 months old

How long have you been in The Activity Room?

3 months

What is your favorite activity you’ve done in The Activity Room?

My son loved the card number match

What’s your favorite thing to do with your kids when you get a few moments?

Go outside and explore

What’s your best tip for doing activities with your kids?

Have an idea of what you would like to do, but allow your kids to take the lead. Be flexible. Let them be creative!

If you were to tell a friend about The Activity Room, what would you say to them?

The Activity Room provides me with weekly activities that are easy to put together with simple materials. There’s very little planning, which saves me a lot of time!

Share your favorite quote

“Play is the highest form of research.” -Albert Einstein

Craft Stick Bridge Building Activity

Creating bridges for animals! We used animal figurines, craft sticks, and cups!

Use craft sticks from the craft store. We have colored ones, but plain wooden craft sticks work, too.

Show your preschooler how to balance the craft sticks between two cups to create a bridge.

You could even add extra challenges:

• How many craft sticks can you fit side-by-side between two cups?
• Can you push the cups farther apart and still build a solid bridge?
• How long (with multiple connections/segments) can you build a bridge?
• How many animals can you fit on one small bridge at a time?

Working through these problems together will add an extra dose of critical thinking and problem-solving to your playtime!

How do The Activity Room plans inspire your play at home?

Threading Cork Bead Bracelets

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Click here to read Threading Cork Bead Bracelets on Hands On As We Grow

---

Cork bead bracelets are a cute and creative way to develop and build fine motor skills in kids. This great idea from Colleen is a simple and fun activity for toddlers!

Most kids are accustomed to threading beads on string or pipe cleaners to create bracelets. These DIY cork beads are a unique spin to address the fine motor skills that are needed for so many functional tasks.

Looking for more ways to build the fine motor skills of children? Try a few of these fun ideas.

Cork Bead Bracelets Activity

These cork beads are so easy to make and are something just a bit different than the typical plastic beads your child might recognize.

While making the beads is a job for an adult, threading and creating a bracelet with them is perfect for older toddlers and preschool-aged children.

How to make DIY Cork Beads

You’ll need just a few materials (affiliate links for your convenience) to make these cork bead bracelets:

• Wine cork
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Hole punch
• Plastic cord

An adult should create the wine cork beads. A sharp knife can be used to easily cut the cork into slices. Cut the slices about 1/8-1/4  inch thick.

Next, use the hole punch to cut a hole in the center of each cork slice. A metal hole puncher should easily cut holes in the slices.

Cut a piece of the plastic cording that will be long enough to create a bracelet.

Knot one end four times to create a knot thick enough to keep the cork on the cord.

Give your child the cork beads in a low tray or on a table along with the plastic cording.

Help your child to thread the beads onto the knotted string.

Threading beads is a fine motor activity that develops many skills needed for functional tasks:

• Bilateral coordination
• Eye-hand coordination
• Tripod grasp
• Pincer grasp
• Open thumb web space
• Arch development

Try this beaded bracelet for another fine motor activity that kids will love.

Threading tip:

Tape the end of the string down on a surface so little hands can focus on the threading and not trying to hold it and thread it at the same time

These fun threading activities also help little ones build fine motor skills!

Do your kids like threading beads as much as mine do?

My two kids proudly wore their cork beads bracelets!  And I was proud of their fine motor skills.

Threading Cork Bead Bracelets

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2Lquwjx

Click here to read Threading Cork Bead Bracelets on Hands On As We Grow

---

Cork bead bracelets are a cute and creative way to develop and build fine motor skills in kids. This great idea from Colleen is a simple and fun activity for toddlers!

Most kids are accustomed to threading beads on string or pipe cleaners to create bracelets. These DIY cork beads are a unique spin to address the fine motor skills that are needed for so many functional tasks.

Looking for more ways to build the fine motor skills of children? Try a few of these fun ideas.

Cork Bead Bracelets Activity

These cork beads are so easy to make and are something just a bit different than the typical plastic beads your child might recognize.

While making the beads is a job for an adult, threading and creating a bracelet with them is perfect for older toddlers and preschool-aged children.

How to make DIY Cork Beads

You’ll need just a few materials (affiliate links for your convenience) to make these cork bead bracelets:

• Wine cork
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Hole punch
• Plastic cord

An adult should create the wine cork beads. A sharp knife can be used to easily cut the cork into slices. Cut the slices about 1/8-1/4  inch thick.

Next, use the hole punch to cut a hole in the center of each cork slice. A metal hole puncher should easily cut holes in the slices.

Cut a piece of the plastic cording that will be long enough to create a bracelet.

Knot one end four times to create a knot thick enough to keep the cork on the cord.

Give your child the cork beads in a low tray or on a table along with the plastic cording.

Help your child to thread the beads onto the knotted string.

Threading beads is a fine motor activity that develops many skills needed for functional tasks:

• Bilateral coordination
• Eye-hand coordination
• Tripod grasp
• Pincer grasp
• Open thumb web space
• Arch development

Try this beaded bracelet for another fine motor activity that kids will love.

Threading tip:

Tape the end of the string down on a surface so little hands can focus on the threading and not trying to hold it and thread it at the same time

These fun threading activities also help little ones build fine motor skills!

Do your kids like threading beads as much as mine do?

My two kids proudly wore their cork beads bracelets!  And I was proud of their fine motor skills.

DIY Mud Kitchen in One Weekend

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Click here to read DIY Mud Kitchen in One Weekend on Hands On As We Grow

---

Learn how to build a DIY mud kitchen in just one weekend with an easy tutorial from guest writer, Bryn. Your toddlers and preschools will love making mud pies in their new play space!

If you have a toddler or preschooler, you are probably familiar with the fact that they love to get dirty.

My 2-year-old and 4-year-old are always asking to do projects that involved making a mess. So when my husband proposed the idea of a mud kitchen for them outdoors I was definitely on board.

What is a mud kitchen?

It’s basically a place for young kids to take all of those messy activities and move them outdoors. If you’re like me and you want your kids to spend as much time outdoors as possible, then it’s a no-brainer.

The mud kitchen we ended up with looks amazing and was actually really simple to build.

Here’s what you’ll need to make a mud kitchen:

• Wood (we used two 2×4’s and four 1×6’s) – $9
• Pallets – two half pallets or one full pallet that you can cut in half (can often find for free)
• Wood Screws
• 10 Pavers (you may have a few extra around your yard or purchase for around $3 each)
• Sink (price varies greatly — you can use bins or try a Habitat ReStore for a cheap option)
• Drain strainer – $4
• Flowers (a fun finishing touch — you could also have your kids plant seeds)

First, we built the side table. This just involved creating a tabletop by cutting two of the 1x6x8 boards in half leaving four equal length boards.

We used scrap wood from a fence repair for the cross sections and then used the 2×4’s as legs.

Next, we made the longer table which was a little more complicated because you have to account for the sink.

Again, we used the 1×6 boards to make the table top and measured around the sink to leave a drop-in hole for it. You may want two separate holes if you’re using bins.

If you’re using an actual sink it should come with brackets and screws to attach it to the wood.

Next, we attached the half pallets to each side of the main sink table with wood screws. And then added a bottom to the top section of the pallet so that we could plant some flowers in them.

We decided that if we ever need to re-plant something, we’d have the kids plant seeds so they can watch the different stages of seeds to seedlings to plants.

We chose to leave the side table detached from the main sink table so that we could move it around to different areas of the yard or even move it to use as a kitchen island to keep the mud kitchen layout evolving.

The final touches included using some wood screws (hooks would probably be prettier) on the sides of the pallets for hanging the kids’ tools and kitchen utensils on.

We then laid out the pavers to make a floor and added a water-loving plant under the sink to absorb a lot of the drippings.

Finally, the fun part! A wagon full of sand and dirt that made for some amazing mud pies — and mud muffins and mud salads and mud coffee — the play was endless.

Looking for more muddy fun? Try making mud prints!

Mission accomplished! I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to put together and for a very low cost as well.

We just spent one Saturday working on it and it has been such a crowd pleaser with our kids.

I’m thrilled to have another activity outside to keep them playing and using their imaginations this summer!

About the Writer

Bryn Huntpalmer is a mother of two young children living in Austin, Texas where she currently works as an editor and writer for Modernize.com with the goal of empowering homeowners with the expert guidance and educational tools they need to take on big home projects with confidence.

DIY Mud Kitchen in One Weekend

Hands On As We Grow https://ift.tt/2s2sluh

Click here to read DIY Mud Kitchen in One Weekend on Hands On As We Grow

---

Learn how to build a DIY mud kitchen in just one weekend with an easy tutorial from guest writer, Bryn. Your toddlers and preschools will love making mud pies in their new play space!

If you have a toddler or preschooler, you are probably familiar with the fact that they love to get dirty.

My 2-year-old and 4-year-old are always asking to do projects that involved making a mess. So when my husband proposed the idea of a mud kitchen for them outdoors I was definitely on board.

What is a mud kitchen?

It’s basically a place for young kids to take all of those messy activities and move them outdoors. If you’re like me and you want your kids to spend as much time outdoors as possible, then it’s a no-brainer.

The mud kitchen we ended up with looks amazing and was actually really simple to build.

Here’s what you’ll need to make a mud kitchen:

• Wood (we used two 2×4’s and four 1×6’s) – $9
• Pallets – two half pallets or one full pallet that you can cut in half (can often find for free)
• Wood Screws
• 10 Pavers (you may have a few extra around your yard or purchase for around $3 each)
• Sink (price varies greatly — you can use bins or try a Habitat ReStore for a cheap option)
• Drain strainer – $4
• Flowers (a fun finishing touch — you could also have your kids plant seeds)

First, we built the side table. This just involved creating a tabletop by cutting two of the 1x6x8 boards in half leaving four equal length boards.

We used scrap wood from a fence repair for the cross sections and then used the 2×4’s as legs.

Next, we made the longer table which was a little more complicated because you have to account for the sink.

Again, we used the 1×6 boards to make the table top and measured around the sink to leave a drop-in hole for it. You may want two separate holes if you’re using bins.

If you’re using an actual sink it should come with brackets and screws to attach it to the wood.

Next, we attached the half pallets to each side of the main sink table with wood screws. And then added a bottom to the top section of the pallet so that we could plant some flowers in them.

We decided that if we ever need to re-plant something, we’d have the kids plant seeds so they can watch the different stages of seeds to seedlings to plants.

We chose to leave the side table detached from the main sink table so that we could move it around to different areas of the yard or even move it to use as a kitchen island to keep the mud kitchen layout evolving.

The final touches included using some wood screws (hooks would probably be prettier) on the sides of the pallets for hanging the kids’ tools and kitchen utensils on.

We then laid out the pavers to make a floor and added a water-loving plant under the sink to absorb a lot of the drippings.

Finally, the fun part! A wagon full of sand and dirt that made for some amazing mud pies — and mud muffins and mud salads and mud coffee — the play was endless.

Looking for more muddy fun? Try making mud prints!

Mission accomplished! I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to put together and for a very low cost as well.

We just spent one Saturday working on it and it has been such a crowd pleaser with our kids.

I’m thrilled to have another activity outside to keep them playing and using their imaginations this summer!

About the Writer

Bryn Huntpalmer is a mother of two young children living in Austin, Texas where she currently works as an editor and writer for Modernize.com with the goal of empowering homeowners with the expert guidance and educational tools they need to take on big home projects with confidence.