The Mud Pie Kitchen

When I was a preschool teacher, I was in charge of the outdoor after school program for a few years. The program was during a difficult time of day I now know as “The Witching Hour”. The school day was over, but parents might still be a few hours away.

The sandbox had already been a sandbox all day (or, more likely, a battle ship or some Ninja Turtle thing), so I wanted to help the kids reimagine it to be something else. I decided on a Mud Pie Kitchen because it was open ended, enticing with the name “Mud” in the title and only required affordable, or reusable materials.

I brought old kitchen spoons, cookie cutters and sifters from home and the kids did the rest. When I became a mom, I was hopeful to create a similar experience for my kids; something versatile that wasn’t an eyesore in our smaller yard..

Assembling a Mud Pie Kitchen is easy. All you really need is a small plot of dirt (or sand) and a few utensils and bowls for mixing. I think it’s more exciting for kids to have actual items that could be used in a real kitchen, so whenever I feel a serving utensil is past its prime or a plastic condiment container could be recycled in our own home, I add it to the Mud Pie Kitchen. We’ve also gotten a fair amount of items, such as spoons, pots, crates and the typist tray from Thrift Stores.

I let the girls have access to the hose so long as they don’t get too carried away with it. This way mud is always available for their various customers and many recipes.

+ A great accompanying item is this Mud Pie Kitchen Cookbook.