Play mud is an amazing addition to sensory play for toddlers. Best of all, it’s fun, messy, taste safe and easy to clean up!
Our toddlers love incorporating play mud into construction and farm themed sensory bins and tables.
Having had hours of fun with our play mud we wanted to share our recipe for how to make play mud that is taste safe and fun!
Having fun with construction themed sensory play
How to make Play Mud
Play mud is incredibly easy to make. It only requires 3 ingredients and is ready in minutes!
Play mud ingredients
Grab a mixing bowland pour in:
- 2 1/2 cups of flour
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 2 cups of water
2 1/2 cups of flour
Add 2 tablespoons of coca powder
Add 2 cups of water
Whisk them all together and you have your play mud ready to go!
How to make play mud tip: we find using 2 1/2 parts flour to 2 parts water gives a nice, slightly thick play mud. If you prefer a runnier mud you can use 2 cups of flour as a starting point and add more flour as necessary.
Add more flour or water to get your preferred consistency
The great thing about play mud is that the recipe is Flexible. You can adjust the consistency to as thick or runny as you like by changing up the amount of flour and water you use in the mix:
- To increase the thickness of the mud: add more flour
- To make the mud more runny: add more water
- To change the color of the mud: add more cocoa powder
I used a much thicker play mud in this pumpkin patch Halloween sensory bin!
How to make play mud tip: we usually include a wash station sensory bin when using play mud. We like to start with a slightly thicker mud as it tends to thin out when water is transferred into the mud sensory bin during play.
Play mud and car wash sensory play!
Sensory Play Ideas using Play Mud
Messy sensory play is fantastic for encouraging kids to explore, engage and create. Play mud lends itself perfectly to construction and farm themed sensory play.
We use the IKEA Flisat table in all our sensory play and it’s fantastic. The Flisat is available in Ikea stores although, at the moment, it can be difficult to find stock. While it is a little more expensive, you can find the Flisat for sale on Amazon. It’s a great option if you can’t make it to a store or it’s out of stock – check prices now!
How to make play mud tip: adding a sensory bin filled with water adds a fun new dimension to mud sensory play. We use it as a wash station for rinsing off the muddy animals and construction vehicles. The water gets dumped and refilled so many times during a play session and brings so many giggles!
Rinsing off the construction vehicles
Dinosaur Theme Sensory Bin
Play mud is a great addition to dinosaur sensory bins.
Having fun with the dinosaurs!
Farm Theme Sensory Table with Play Mud
Farm animals, tractors and play mud are a huge hit with our toddlers!
Our farm themed sensory bin
Our farm themed Flisat sensory table
Construction themed Sensory Table with Play Mud
Construction vehicles also work really well with play mud and pushing the vehicles through the mud adds a really fun element to the sensory play.
How to make play mud tip: we love adding extra sensory play accessories from our garden. Pebbles, grass and flowers make frequent appearances in our sensory play!
Our construction themed sensory bin
Our construction themed Flisat sensory table
Tips for Sensory Play with Play Mud
- Move it to the garden: we often move our sensory play set up to the garden when the weather allows. As well as reducing mess and clean up, it also allows the kids to incorporate materials from the garden into their sensory bins.
- Wear old clothes: sensory play can get messy so we keep some over sized t-shirts for the kids to wear and store them alongside our sensory play materials.
- Set up a sensory play area: if our sensory play is likely to get messy we usually set our Flisat up on a mat or bed sheet. This makes it easy to collect everything that’s spilled over. If you are playing with water then a waterproof mat or shower curtain liner are great for catching overflow.
- Prepare the mud just before play: play mud will harden if you leave uncovered for a longer period like overnight. Since it only takes a few minutes to prepare, we like to mix our mud just before we start our sensory play.
Moving our sensory play to the garden!
Play Mud Recipe
This play mud recipe makes a taste safe mud which is fantastic for sensory play. It is perfect for use in sensory bins and for sensory table activities. Our toddlers love using the play mud for farm and construction themed sensory play with their Flisat table!
Materials
- 2 1/2 cups of flour
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 2 cups of water
Tools
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring Spoon
- Whisk
Instructions
- Add 2 1/2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 2 cups of water into a mixing bowl
- Mix it all together using a whisk.
Notes
If you find the mud too thick then add more water or if it is too runny add more flour. Use some extra cocoa powder to get the color as you like it.
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