Garden Clean Mud Sensory Bin (with Video)
Making and playing with clean mud is one of my favourite sensory activities for children.
We’ve been trying to get out and play in real mud as often as possible, but we’ve had a couple of days of thunderstorms that have kept us inside, so I thought it would be a bit of fun to explore this garden clean mud sensory bin.
While it would be quicker for me to prepare the bin by myself, the kids always get a kick out of helping to shred the toilet paper and grate the soap. (Check out our practical life lesson on grating soap.)
To make the garden clean mud sensory bin, we combined:
- 2 double rolls of toilet paper, shredded into one or two inch pieces
- 1 bar Ivory soap, grated
- 5 cups of water
- 1/2 cup used decaf coffee grinds
I used the decaf coffee grinds because I thought black or brown paint or food dye would dye the kids hands. I made a pot of decaf coffee (and threw it out – I am not a decaf person) and used those coffee grinds to “dye” the clean mud to resemble real mud. Caffeinated coffee grinds would have a possibility of absorbing as the children played with the garden sensory bin, but “used” decaf coffee grinds have less than 0.0175% of caffeine remaining in the grinds — which is less than if you let your kids have a bit of chocolate!
I did a FB live to show how to make clean mud so I’m sharing it here now – it’s not as polished as my typical videos, but it will show you step by step how to create this awesome sensory play material for your kids!
At first, I just put out the bin of clean mud for the kids to squish, pile, and sink their hands into — I’m a fan of slowly adding to a sensory bin, so the children can really focus on each element and it helps extend their play. (A great skill to learn!)
I slowly added:
- 2 trowels
- flower pots from our red garden sensory bin
- garden labels to encourage them to write out labels, integrating literacy into our sensory play
The children planted the flowers over and over again, rearranging them into rows, grouping them by colours, and adding them to filled flower pots.
They scooped the mud with their hands, the trowels, and the pots. Even my most sensory adverse child enjoyed the sensory bin because the clean mud is easy to wipe off — and even when it does stick, it’s just soap, paper, and water!
I hope you give clean mud a try — it is seriously one of the best sensory activities for kids!
A few of my fellow bloggers have come up with some of their own clean mud recipes — check them out:
How to Make Clean Mud Recipe (Taste Safe) | Powerful Mothering
Music Inspired Clean Mud | Witty Hoots
Clean Mud and Flowers| Peakle Pie
Clean Mud Bubble Dough | Bare Feet on the Dashboard
Clean Mud Sensory Tray | Creative World of Varya
Lego Clean Mud | Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tail
Gone Mudding! Clean Mud Sensory Dough Play | Stir the Wonder
Clean Mud | In The Playroom
Clean Mud Fine Motor Gem Dig | Still Playing School
The flower garden is a brilliant idea for this dough!
Thank you, Devany – I loved your post, too!
I love this idea! I’d never considered making “clean” mud before. The kids are going to love this! Thanks for linking it up at This Is How We Roll Thursday.
They’re going to love it, Corinne! Thanks for coming by 🙂