Mud, Mud Glorious Mud

So a few days ago I was out with my Little Explorers when we saw two other children aged around 3 and 5 playing in some mud.

The youngest child was having a particularly good time. Feeling how the mud squelched under his feet, listening to the noises it made. Discovering how slippy mud is, if we run through it we fall over. He then found a stick and started to make marks in mud. Mark making in mud is a fantastic activity for boys - especially if like some they are not so keen on colours and paper. The little boy then discovered what happens if we jump in puddle - the water splashes out onto the logs the surrounding objects (and people!) He had lots of wonderful talk happening as he played and both his levels of involvement and levels of well-being were at a 5 (the highest) . This is when children learn and develop the most. - I will write more about levels of involvement in another post.

The child's adult was not very happy shouting "'GE' OUT THE MUD" "NOT OVER THERE, IT'S MUDDY" "your so naughty" at one point the adult found it to much and walked off, watching the child from a distance. This made me so sad, the child was obviously having such a wonderful time and the adult did nothing but get angry and discourage him. - I understand from the adults point of view he was getting mud on his clothes and shoes , and this would take some time to get off, if it every did come off. The child was also at this point quite dirty and would have needed a bath when they got home. This got me thinking how can we make this valuable play less stressful for adults and children.

So here are my top tips for playing in mud.

• Buy younger children all in one splash suits - these can be brought inexpensively online or from sports and camping shops- supermarkets even sell them at certain times of year. If you want to save even more money try local charity shops or ask on Facebook if anyone is selling one. For childminders these are tax deductible as the are classed as protective clothing.

• Buy older children waterproof trousers and a cheap coat. -Again try the cheaper shops, charity shops, facebook or even ask friend or relatives if they have an old children's coat they no longer need.

• Buy wellies - lots of shops sell these very cheaply - but again try charity shops or facebook to get them even cheaper. We have built up a good collection of both here at little explorers over the years.

• The most adventurous of children can still get dirty even with their "puddle jumping costume" so go for DARK coloured jogging bottoms and and dark t-shirt under their splash suit. Jogging bottoms are best as they allow for the fullest range of movement - dark colours as they don't show up stains when washed. Jeans are a no as they don't allow for much movement and become very uncomfortable and heavy if wet.- You want to be spending as little as possible on these so you are not stressing about them getting dirty or stained.

• Take some baby wipes - wipe your children's hands AFTER they have finished playing and make sure you give them a really good wash when you get home.

• If you or your child are particularly concerned about dirty hands try small plastic gloves.

• It is possible that water my go inside your child's wellies if this happens the best way to dry them out is by scrunching up old newspaper and placing it in the wellies. This absorbs all the moisture.

• Black socks are a must - again as cheap as possible

• Have fun giving your child a nice warm bath when they get home - for this reason you may like to think about the best time for muddy play so that a bath is not an inconvenience when you get home.

Remember playing in mud and puddles is not 'naughty' it is such a valuable learning experience and both you and your child need to be comfortable with this.

More about what children learn when playing in mud in my next post.