Autumn is our favorite season - when crisp air whispers through the trees, vibrant leaves pirouette to the ground, pinecones and acorns carpet the lawns, and nature seems to overflow with tiny treasures. The Earth feels abundant and generous. Everywhere you look, there’s something waiting to be stirred, scooped, and transformed! Gyl at @where_the_wildings_play
Mud kitchen play this time of year is especially magical because everything you need is already at your fingertips- twigs become wands, leaves turn into golden pies, acorns are secret potion ingredients, and a sprinkle of water transforms it all into a bubbling, squelchy sensory world. And the best part? Outdoors, cleanup is minimal. Kids can play freely, without boundaries, returning those very same things back to the Earth.
Below are my tried-and-true tips and tricks for facilitating mud kitchen play that will inspire messy exploration and magical adventures for your little ones this season.
What to Set Out on the Mud Kitchen
• Cooking utensils: whisks, wooden spoons, spatulas
• Sieve, pots, pans, and jars
• Muffin tins
• Pestle and mortar
• Jugs and pitchers
• Potato masher (for that perfect mud squelch!)
These are some of our favorite things to have on hand, but don’t worry, you do not need to buy everything! Use what you already have at home or get creative with similar items. Nature and imagination will do the rest.
How to Facilitate Play
• Set out your tools and offer seasonal “ingredients” you find outdoors or hand out a few baskets and let them hunt for their own treasures. Keep it simple: use what’s around you and let nature guide their imagination.
• Set out a container of warm water nearby for mixing, stirring, and potion-making.
• Step back and watch as their creativity blooms, each pie, potion, and “leaf sandwich” taking on a life of its own.
Tips for Multiple Players
• Keep extra spoons, bowls, and trays handy to reduce waiting time and encourage mirroring play.
• Hand out playful “roles”: chef, collector, stirrer, server. Rotate so everyone gets a turn.
• Offer one big, shared pot so they must work together to fill it. Nothing conjures bonds like the quest for the “world’s most delicious pumpkin soup!"
• Lean into role play: “Can I please order two leaf sandwiches and three tiny pies to go?” Cue giggles and storytelling galore!
Collaboration Prompts (for hesitant little ones)
• “Who wants to stir the soup and who will gather the herbs?”
• “Shall we make one big autumn pie or a bunch of little ones?”
• “Can we collect 10 treasures to add to this potion?”
One of the sweetest parts is when children present their creations to each other- announcing every secret ingredient, magical leaf, and potion spell. It always sparks more giggles and even more play.
Cleanup as Play (yes, really!)
When the fun is winding down cleanup becomes part of the story in the Mystery Water Game:
1.) All the pies and potions go back onto the mud kitchen.
2.) Add warm water in the pot and stir until it’s murky and the treasures are hidden underneath.
3.) Kids reach in and “fish out” all the treasures one by one.
4.) Each treasure is sorted and arranged neatly in their container and ready for next time.
5.) Finally, use a pitcher to skim off the murky “mystery water” and pour the remainder into the garden or nearby plants, giving the magic back to nature.
Why it works: Wrapping cleanup into a game keeps the kids laughing and collaborating while building skills like sorting, categorizing, and shared responsibility. Pouring the water onto the garden adds a magical sense of care and purpose to the whole play cycle.
