Let the kid’s imagination run wild this summer with these outrageously fun DIY mud kitchens for kids that provide epic Opportunities for sensory and imaginative play.
Looking for more neat outdoor activities for kids? Check out these: the best super fun outdoor swings for kids, must see outdoor backyard diys that’ll transform your backyard from boring to mega fun, how-to make epic ice cream sandwiches this summer
DIY Outdoor Mud Kitchens For Kids
Are your kids fascinated by cooking and baking?
If you answered yes to this question then you are going to love these DIY outdoor mud kitchens for kids we are sharing with you today.
DIY mud kitchens for kids are seriously so cool!
Gotta go? Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
Never heard of mud kitchen for kids?
You’re certainly not alone! Keep on reading to find out exactly what mud kitchens are and what wonderful learning and sensory play opportunities they provide young children.
What will you find in this post? First we’re going to give you a run down of what a mud kitchen is and how you can start preparing to make your own. From there we’re going to show you our absolute favorite mud kitchens to hopefully inspire you to start working on creating one for your kids.
Feel free to scroll down to the bottom of this post if you’re interested in checking out some mud kitchen inspiration right now.
What’s a Mud Kitchen?
The idea of a mud kitchen is pretty simple. It’s a dedicated outdoor play space where kids can cook, bake and prepare “food” and recipes from ingredients they’ve foraged from their environment.
Usually, kids will make recipes out of dirt, sand, gravel, water, flowers, grass and any other natural ingredient they can find in their outdoor surroundings.
The key is to let them get dirty while exploring their environment with their senses and lose themselves in really stimulating creative outdoor play.
Mud kitchens generally include a dedicated workspace, a sink, a cooking area, shelves and counter space for children to get creative and whip up a pretend meal or dessert.
Stocked with utensils, pots, pans, kitchen accessories and dishes, mud kitchens provide kids with a ton of opportunities for sensory and imaginative developmental play.
Mud kitchens can come in a variety of different styles and price points too!
Some are big and some are small. But, regardless of their size they are guaranteed to provide children with hours of screen free sensory play.
DIY Mud kitchens for kids are also a great way to get kids excited about playing outside.
Kids usually love playing with dirt and DIY mud kitchens for kids are a creative way to get the kids off their screens and outside into the fresh air.
The good news is that DIY mud kitchens for kids don’t have to be elaborate or cost you a fortune. Instead, you can easily create your very own custom DIY mud kitchen by upcycling stuff you already have at home.
Got some pallets laying around? Perfect! Use em!
Got an old plastic play kitchen in your play room? Haul it outside!
There are so many easy and affordable ways to create DIY mud kitchens for kids!
Keep on reading to find out how!
In a rush? Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
What Skills Mud Kitchens Build On
Mud kitchens provide the BEST opportunities for sensory and imaginative play in even the youngest children.
Children use their senses to forage their ingredients throughout the creative process of creating their culinary masterpieces.
Beyond this, mud kitchens also work on the following skills:
- playing with a mud kitchen promotes problem solving and strategy building skills
- mud kitchen play encourages co-operation skills when playing in pairs or groups
- outdoor mud kitchen play stimulates fine motor development
- playing with a mud kitchen fosters creativity and imagination
How to DIY a Mud Kitchen for kids
Building a mud kitchen is really quite simple. It doesn’t need to be fancy, elaborate or expensive.
The goal is creating an outdoor kitchen space for kids where they can use their imagination to create recipes involving dirt and other ingredients found outdoors.
Consider placing your new mud kitchen for kids in a shady spot in your yard to keep children safely out of the sun while they play.
You should also consider including a water feature to your mud kitchen for easy clean up. So, consider building your mud kitchen near a source of water to make access easy for the kids.
Once you’ve decided on a location for your outdoor mud kitchen it’s time to decide on the size and style you want to go with.
If you’re crafty and enjoy a good DIY project then you can easily create your mud kitchen out of recycled wood and pallets. You also have the option of upcycling an old piece of furniture including a night table, shelf or chest of drawers.
If you’d prefer something quick and easy then you can create a work surface for children by hauling out an old plastic kitchen from your garage. (Here are a couple of affordable plastic kitchens from Amazon that would work well if you’re interested in going this route) Or, you can use something as simple as bricks, blocks and even tires to build your mud kitchen base.
Once you’ve got your kitchen set up and ready to go it’s time to start considering what you’re going to stock in your kitchen.
We recommend trying to source your mud kitchen supplies from your own home or local thrift shop to save money and reuse.
But, if you’re unable to find what you’re looking for or don’t have the time you can easily stock your mud kitchen for kids with items sourced from Amazon.
Here are some accessories you can consider adding to your DIY Mud Kitchen:
- A Sink
- Muffin Tins
- Cake Pans
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie Cutters
- Baking Sheets
- Colander
- Empty Spice Jars
- Empty Cookie Jars
- Pots
- Skillets
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Wooden Mixing Spoons
- Ladle
- Slotted Spoons
- Mixing Bowls
- Utensils
- Safety Knives
- Cutting Board
- Oven Mitts
- Apron
- Tea Pot
Gotta go? Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
Mud Kitchen Play Ideas
The possibilities for creative play provided by DIY Mud kitchens for kids are truly endless. Kids can get carried away with their imaginations and spend hours foraging and cooking up a storm.
Here are a couple of interesting ways to encourage a child to use and play with their new mud kitchen:
- Play restaurant and encourage the kids to create a menu and serve each other
- Play house and be an invited dinner guest
- Practice math by practicing measuring and using quantities while cooking
- Use recipes that have kids search for specific ingredients to make delicious creations (Click here to get some awesome free printable recipe cards the kids can use with their mud kitchens)
- Create a bakery and encourage kids to create muffins, cakes and other sweet treats
In a rush? Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
Outdoor Mud Kitchens For Kids
Here are 19 of our favorite DIY Mud kitchens for kids. From super easy to more complex DIYs there’s a mud kitchen idea for all budgets and DIYers of all experience levels.
#1 Upcycled Wood Mud Kitchen
This adorable mud kitchen for kids is created out of upcycled wood. This compact mud kitchen includes a sink, oven and prep area for creating delicious dirt and mud pies! (Visit Arthur Wears for more information and the tutorial)
#2 Perfectly Imperfect Mud Kitchen
This perfectly imperfect mud kitchen is one of those DIY mud kitchens for kids that you can put together easily and quickly with materials you likely already have laying around your yard. Although it isn’t the fanciest mud kitchen it still provides heaps of opportunities for kids to get dirty and have FUN. (Visit Rhubarb and Wren for more information and the tutorial)
In a rush? Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#3 Adam’s Mud Kitchen
If a simple mud kitchen is what you’re interested in making then this quick and easy setup might be a good fit. A cinderblock base is topped with a piece of wood to create a quick and easy mud kitchen area for kids to get messy and create delicious dirt pies! (Visit Adventures and Play for more information and the tutorial)
#4 Scrap Wood Mud Kitchen
If you enjoy DIYing then this scrap wood mud kitchen is a great choice. This adorable mud kitchen comes equipped with a sink, cooking area and plenty of hooks and under counter storage for kitchen tools and accessories. (Visit Instructables for more information and the tutorial)
In a rush? Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#5 DIY Upcycled Crate Box Kitchen
Can you get your hands on a couple of wooden crates? This easy mud kitchen idea uses wood crates, paint and a ton of colorful accessories to create an adorable outdoor mud kitchen for kids to have a blast playing with outside. (Visit Sari’s Garage for more information and the tutorial)
Save these ideas. Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#6 DIY 10$ Mud Kitchen
This is one of those DIY mud kitchens for kids that comes together in no time and costs as little as $10 to make. Built in shelves and hooks make storing mud kitchen accessories quick and easy. (Visit Let There Be Lemons for more information and the tutorial)
#7 DIY Pallet Mud Kitchen
Wood pallets are combined with mixing bowl sinks, shelving and command hooks to create a functional mud kitchen space for kids to spend hours playing with. We love the built in under counter storage for storing kitchen accessories including pots, pans, muffin tins and skillets. (Visit Whirly Bobble for more information and the tutorial)
Save these ideas. Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#8 Recycled Everything Mud Kitchen
This is one of our absolutely favorite DIY mud kitchens for kids. This upcycled mud kitchen is made with nearly all recycled materials. From the structure to the accessories every element of this mud kitchen is upcycled to create the ultimate environment to encourage creative play. (Visit Miss Kyree Loves for more information and the tutorial)
#9 Simple DIY Backyard Mud Kitchen
Mud kitchens don’t have to be fancy or difficult to create and this mud kitchen from Learn With Play At Home is a perfect example. Bricks are used to build the base and the top is a large piece of wood. Easy, quick and so much for the kids. (Visit Learn With Play At Home for more information and the tutorial)
#10 Colorful Backyard Mud Kitchen
We love mud kitchens with large pops of color. This mud kitchen has a dedicated mixing area and accessorizes with colorful hanging flower pots. (Visit Busy Busy Learning for more information and the tutorial)
Save these ideas. Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#11 Pallet Mud Kitchen
Using color is another way to spice up a pallet mud kitchen. This royal blue and wood stain mud kitchen for kids provides the kids with a great area to mix their ingredients together and prepare culinary master pieces. Via Source Unknown
#12 Recycled Pallet Mud Kitchen
Loaded with a ton of under sink storage this adorable blue backyard mud kitchen comes with a functioning sink (available here from Amazon) and dedicated mixing area. We love how there is plenty of hooks to hold utensils and other accessories kids need to make the most out of their outdoor mud kitchens. Via Unknown Source
Save these ideas. Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#13 The Sweetest Mud Kitchen
For a pretty storybook mud kitchen this is a must see. This adorable modern outdoor mud kitchen provides a ton of storage space, play surfaces and seating to stimulate a ton of imaginative pretend play. (Visit Finding Lovely for more information and the tutorial)
#14 Pallet & Drawers DIY Mud Kitchen
This compact outdoor mud kitchen is really bare basics. It might be compact but it offers ample storage areas and a cooking surface for kids to create a ton of delicious creations! (Visit The Carpenter’s Daughter for more information and the tutorial)
#15 Simple DIY Mud Kitchen
The next time you see someone throwing out a sink pick it up and create an upcycled mud kitchen space for the kids. This clever low cost DIY mud kitchen idea utilizes a standard size sink for playing, mixing and washing. (Visit Hands On As We Grow for the more information and the tutorial)
Save these ideas. Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#16 DIY Pallet Mud Kitchen
This functional upcycled pallet DIY mud kitchen is adorable! A large work surface gives kids plenty of space to chop, mix and prepare a variety of different dirt kitchen recipes. (Visit Just A Little Build for more information and the tutorial)
#17 Upcycled Tire Mud Kitchen
What we love most about DIY mud kitchens for kids is how easy and versatile they are. This quick and easy mud kitchen for kids uses two old tires as a base with a rubber tray for a work space. Use plastic inserts in the tires for mixing and playing with water. Via Unknown Source
Save these ideas. Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
#18 Recycled Wood Mud Kitchen
This upcycled pallet kitchen is perfect for kids who are serious about mud kitchen play. The under counter storage provides a ton of space for storing pots, pans, colanders and other kitchen accessories. A large plastic basin serves as a sink and the back wall of the mud kitchen provides shelving that can be used for decor and storage. Via Unknown Source
#19 DIY Play Kitchen From An Old Shelf
Got an old shelf laying around? Upcycle it into an amazing DIY mud kitchen for kids. This fun bright blue backyard mud kitchen was created with an Ikea shelf and then painted a gorgeous blue. This DIY mud kitchen offers storage, a mixing station and counter space for kids to play. (Visit Adventures in A Box for more information and the tutorial)
Did you love these ideas?
Save these ideas before you go. Click here to pin these awesome DIY mud kitchens for kids to your favorite DIY board on Pinterest.
Even more neat screen free ideas For Kids:
- Do the kids LOVE Play-Doh? Here is our famous non-toxic homemade Play-Doh recipe.
- Speaking of Play-Doh, use it for learning with these free printable alphabet and number Play-Doh mats.
- Practice finding, coloring and counting with our huge collection of totally free printable I Spy games and activities for kids.
