Learn with Play at Home: Make your own simple backyard Mud Kitchen

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Last year, we finally got around to making the mud kitchen that I'd been wanting to do for ages. I think I'd been putting it off because it seemed like it would be an involved project that would take me time I didn't have. Then one day, I decided that realistically, it didn't need to be anything flash at all. In fact, I could sit an empty pot next to a mud puddle and the kids would think I was the best mum ever. So, with that knowledge in mind, I set about making the quickest and easiest mud kitchen I could. I first wrote about our mud kitchen here on Kidspot.

Materials:

For the structure of the kitchen we used:

24 bricks (we found these around our yard. Some were a bit broken but it didn't matter)
Small plank of wood (also found around our yard. Aim for a thicker piece of wood to last longer and for added sturdiness)
A few nails to hang utensils and cups on. (I'll replace these with hooks down the track)

Handy Tip: If you don't have these things lying around, it's very possible someone you know does. Ask around. Many building sites/yards, factories etc often have left over supplies or off cuts that they are happy to let you have for free or for a small charge.

For the kitchen accessories I got:

Pots and pans (We didn't have spares so I bought them for $2 each from the thrift shop/op shop/2nd hand shop)
Plastic cups and various plastic containers and bowls (2nd hand shop)
Kitchen utensils (Spatulas, spoons, sieve, funnel etc. purchased from the 2nd hand shop $5)
Plastic kitchen drainer to store supplies in ($1 from 2nd hand shop)

I spent around $15-$20 on this project all together, which was just the cost of buying the kitchen supplies 2nd hand. Many people would have this sort of thing already lying around at their house, so it's possible to do this project for even less.

Handy Tip: Ask friends or family if they have any old kitchen supplies they don't use any more. You never know what people have lying around.

Handy Tip: A kitchen drainer is good for keeping your outdoor kitchen supplies in.

Handy Tip: The children love adding little flowers and leaves to their mud creations and having numerous bowls and containers will prompt them to want to find and fill with different materials.

To Make:

Putting it together was really simple.

make 2 stacks of 12 bricks each (this should give a good height for young children). Change the direction of the bricks with each level to make them more sturdy.
Place a thick plank of wood sitting on top. Don't make your kitchen bench too long as it will make your kitchen less sturdy.

You will need to build your kitchen on some flat, solid ground. We found that the structure is sturdy enough that it would take a lot of force to knock it down and has been played with for months and months by my kids without any needs for repair. If you wanted to make it a permanent structure, you could cement/glue the bricks in place but we didn't find it was necessary. We also like that we can dismantle and move the mud kitchen easily and quickly if needs be.

Right at the front of the mud kitchen we dug up a little pit and added water to get some good mud happening!

Handy Tip: If you have some space in a garden bed, this could be a perfect place for your mud kitchen complete with easy access mud pit. We built ours in the garden bed and love that it means that the dirt and mud are in the garden bed and out of the way of our regular garden use.

Handy tip: Build your mud kitchen close to a tap or with access to a hose with trigger nozzle. This will let you clean up easier.

Handy Tip: Don't let your children play with mud if you expect them to keep clean. It's an impossible ask of them, so expect and embrace the mess!

Your mud kitchen doesn't have to go in the backyard. It's easy and small enough that you could put it lots of places. Our is in our front yard. Here it is after a long session with the kids. A quick hose down once they've finished playing and it's ready for the next time.