Climbing Frames & Mud Kitchen Play
Mud kitchens for EYFS promotes development in all seven areas of learning. Using an outdoor kitchen is a fun & messy learning activity that helps little ones develop imagination and engage in sensory play. Mud kitchens encourage children to talk about what they’re doing during play. The excitement of being outside and being involved in messy play encourages children to feel confident about speaking and sharing their thoughts.
What is a mud kitchen?
In simple terms, it is a toy play kitchen made for the outdoors. A child-sized model kitchen area where children can pretend to cook and bake. Adding a play sink and hob, or a number of fun play utensils. It doesn’t have to be bespoke build though, even some old saucepans, bowls and wooden spoons will suffice. Perfect items, easily at hand, for a mud kitchen!
Outdoor play is great for the physical, social and mental and emotional health and well being of our children. A climbing frame can support outdoor play as well by providing a focal structure and point at which play can develop and be encouraged. Children love messy play and our sets support mud kitchen messy play with their lower play house space. Underneath the main playhouse you can set up a mud kitchen for your little ones, adding utensils that they can explore with. Ignite creative play as your children host restaurant guests or serve cafe customers through the windows!
Instead of using toy foods, children can make things out of whatever they can find in the garden or outdoor-learning area. Mud, leaves, twigs, moss, grass etc. Children can follow recipes and combine natural materials to make ‘dishes’ that are fun to look at and touch. Serve their very own creations (albeit inedible), and come up with new recipes for other children to follow and share.
Why is mud kitchen play so important?
This type of outdoor play encourages independence, promotes creativity and builds an interest in nature. Messy sensory play supports versatile movement and fine motor skills. Learning about different materials, textures and what happens when they are mixed with others is investigative and sensory. Building social and interactive skills – communicating, sharing and turn taking can all happen in a mud kitchen play set up. Creative emotional play assists with expression, understanding and problem solving. Children can hypothesise about the outcomes of their mud creations in their ‘cooking’ and ‘baking’.
Our Gorilla climbing frames support so much more than physical play, and in the safety and comfort of your own back garden!
