This is the third post post in our three-part series on How to Set up a Mud Pie Kitchen. In case you missed it:
Part 1. How to Set Up a Mud Pie Kitchen: How to test and conduct some basic need-finding to see how your child will use the kitchen before you invest in the location or supplies
Part 2. Shopping for Mud Pie Kitchen Accessories: Sourcing the op shop, thrift store, or second hand shop for all the supplies you’ll need. As an option, bring your child along and give him or her a budget to work with.
Mud Pie Kitchen Ideas
So, after testing out our basic mud pie kitchen and shopping for accessories, we had more mud pie kitchen ideas than we knew what to do with!
In case you’re just catching up with us, we’ve been building a mud pie kitchen in our yard. It began in part as a way to lure my child into our yard, but its popularity with our resident 3-year old has organically turned this into one of our summer’s bigger projects. And the biggest surprise is that it’s been almost entirely child-driven.
About a month ago we started with this. A couple crates, some sand toys, and lots of big ideas. Two weeks later the kitchen was still going strong, so we piled into the car to drive to the Goodwill to search for mud kitchen treasures.
This is how it looked after our thrift store trip. Boxing is a great and energy-intensive sport that is enjoyed the world over. As we always do we try to find you the best sporting equipment there is available in the marketplace. We took a look at many different pairs of boxing gloves in order to see which ones we liked the best. ow to be a great boxer, you cannot just buy your way into the sport, but it is very important to have the right gear for boxing before you even go ahead. Top list of Boxing, MMA, Sparring and Training gloves. We revised our list to ensure that we are providing the Best Professional Collection. But did you know that my daughter likes things in their places? I was aware that the hodge-podge pile of dishes and scoopers might eventually keep her away from the outdoor kitchen, so I pulled out a jar of nails for us to hammer in “hooks” for our pots and utensils.
What I didn’t anticipate is N’s interest in hammering the nails in HERSELF! But I should have. This child has three (3!!) wooden hammers and couldn’t scramble into the house fast enough to get one.
She hammered in a few nails, but really enjoyed directing me to hammer nails in specific places.
N’s friend came over and the two of them were so industrious in this new space. It was actually very difficult to turn off the caramel-maker and break up the party at closing time!
And now I think we’re done! I love the order that the hanging utensils brings to the kitchen.
I love this Rachelle! My kids’ favorite activity last summer was “making apple soup” — which involved mixing various things they found in the backyard together and adding water. They played this for hours on end! An outdoor kitchen sounds like it would be much more appealing to the kids than our indoor kitchen b/c they could actually make things and not worry about being messy.
Mmmmm, apple soup sounds delicious! When I was little we just cobbled some dirt and water together in flower pots right there in the garden, so by comparison my child is spoiled with her high-end range and appliances 🙂
it is beautiful!
thanks, jill
Tell N it turned out awesome and I’m envious. I’d love for her to make me something from her kitchen!
I’ll let her know, Jamie!
Your mud kitchen is so nice and tidy! I’ve always let C play in the garden, but recently have encouraged her to create with mud by putting out a little table and some kitchen materials. She loves it! Her little plastic house has become storage for this mud kitchen. Thanks for the inspiration…as always!
You know, mud kitchens don’t have to be fancy to be used! The simpler the better, in fact. Thanks for sharing, Melissa!
What a wonderful spot to try new mud recipes!
Thanks, JDaniel4’s Mom 🙂
I cannot wait to build one of these with my daughter and sons. I have mud kitchen envy!
I love this idea! My kids make versions of “Bug Soup”, “Worm Soup”, “Dirt Soup” all the time in our fountain, much to their parents’ chagrin (esp my husband who has to clean it out every weekend.) This would be a great way to channel them a little better… and my littlest one would LOVE it. I’m adding this to the to-do list… Thanks for sharing this inspiration!
Thanks for the inspiration… Your Mud Pie Kitchen is BEAUTIFUL and prompted me to finally take a few steps to make our own… We called it “Cocina Orgánica†(organic kitchen) and will be a permanent part of our homeschooling classroom.
This is it… “La Cocina Organica de Lola”…
This is the ultimate mud pie kitchen–I love it!
🙂
I absolutely adore your mud pie kitchen! And what a great little helper you have! Great post. I found your blog on the outdoor play link up. Thanks for sharing.
Thia is a WONDERFUL idea! Just genius. I’d love to do it for my son and daughter. Where did you find your wooden crates?
Thanks very much, Angel. I picked them up at JoAnn Fabrics for about $10 a piece. I hope you can find some.
Amazing! such a cute idea. I just back my childhood.
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[…] 15. Outdoor Bakery My children love “baking with nature.” This usually means making cakes from mud or sand and then decorating them with flowers leaves, even spices from our herb garden. A fun addition is to put sand in and old spice shaker and use it as “sprinkles.” If your kids are really into making mud pies and cakes try setting up a mud kitchen. […]