We’ve recently moved our garden round. Since we moved in 4 year s ago it’s been a pretty plain garden. We finished renovating our house so now our attention has turned to the garden. As you know, we built the children a playhouse and mud kitchen. They also have a sandpit and trampoline and these four things keep them so happy. They love to be outside and I love to dream up activities to keep them outside exploring nature.
Our pallet mud kitchen has moved from one side of the garden to the other. It gave us the opportunity to have a clear out, disposing of some old equipment, sweeping away last years’ concoctions and just making it look an appealing place to play again. I think it’s aged pretty well despite it’s age.
Last week my 7 year old asked for a bag of soil to make mud but this week I wanted something which smelled a little sweeter. Our kitchen window sill herb garden has been getting a little out of hand so I offered them to the children to make some herb sensory soup.
Did you do this when you were little? I have the fondest memories of making my own ‘perfume’ from my mother’s herb garden. It’s a lovely way to explore the different herbs, learn a little about them and experience a full sensory overload.
When they had got back from school I had set up an invitation to play. There was a clean and tidy mud kitchen, a selection of fresh herbs (I’ve also done this with dried herbs from the kitchen cupboard), fresh water and a selection of old kitchen utensils.
I let the children experiment. Snipping and snapping off the herbs so they could feel the different textures and smell them. We had basil, parsley and chives which all smelled pretty good. Then the children let their imaginations run riot, making mad concoctions – first perfume then full on meals in their little mud kitchen cafe.
At first everything looked quite pretty but soon soil and sand were added and it didn’t look quite so appetising. At least my children smelled good!
