Below are some ideas of the different materials you can source to fill up your new mud kitchen. Thrift stores/dollar stores are great places to find items, but while we’re in lockdown, start with finding items in your own home and then hit up neighbors who might have items they are happy to pass your way.
Like any place space, your children will be drawn to playing with it if you keep it clean and organized. End each day by sweeping (or hosing) off the counter and cleaning up/organizing your materials. It’s great to get your kids involved in this, but ultimately it’s always good for an adult to do the final look over and set up a play invitation for the next day.
KITCHEN SUPPLIES
- Baking sheets
- Chopping board
- Cooking utensils like tongs, mixing spoons, ladles, measuring cups + spoons, potato masher, turkey baster, meat tenderizer, handheld beaters, ice cream scoop
- Dish washing brush
- Empty spice jars, coffee cans
- Funnels
- Ice cube trays
- Empty jars (you know if your kids should use glass outside or not)
- Jug
- Kid safe knife
- Mixing bowls
- Mortar and pestle
- Muffin tins
- Plates and cups
- Plug for the sink
- Pots and pans
- Serving tray
- Scale
- Sieves
- Spray bottle
- Squeeze bottles for sauce
- Storage baskets
- Teapot
- Water dispenser or camping water jug (if you don’t have access to other water easily or don’t feel comfortable leaving a bucket of water out)
OUTSIDE SUPPLIES
- Dust brush (for keeping the counter clean)
- Fresh flowers and herbs in pots
- Gardening gloves
- Handheld gardening tools like spades and forks
- Metal buckets
- Old pots
- Plastic piping to pour water through
- Watering cans
NATURAL MATERIALS
- Acorns
- Flowers and petals
- Grass
- Leaves
- Logs
- Mud
- Mulch
- Pine cones
- Rocks and pebbles
- Sand
- Seed pods
- Shells
- Sticks and twigs
- Tree stumps (a natural alternative for seating/little tables)
- Water (essential – fill up those sinks or a bucket)
EXTRAS
- Chalkboard (you’ve got to write the daily menu somewhere)
- Milk crates (for eating/storage)
- Mirror (makes the space feel bigger + kids love to watch themselves learn and play)
- Mulch for under and around the kitchen (it’s going to get muddy and wet, and mulch is low maintenance and keeps weeds away, especially if you roll out weed guard first)
- Pavers to stand on in front of the kitchen
- Rain barrel so you have lots of water on tap without having to run a hose 24/7
- Table and chairs for dinner parties! 🙂
- This is a lovely blog post about mud kitchens from a local nursery school my oldest son attended (you can see the mud kitchen we made them in the photos).