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Ah, mud. We love it almost as much as our kids do -- an for good reasons like we’ve shared in activities like Making Mud and Faces for the Trees. When you combine mud play with another super toy -- trucks! -- you’re taking a simple, compelling play context—construction and trucks—and moving it outdoors. It’s a magical recipe: kids play with their trucks, using them to haul and dump stuff, bulldoze, make tracks, and just ride all over the muddy ground. We sat back and observed kids at play (something all Tinkergarten leaders are trained to do), and several unintended consequences fascinated us. Kids seemed preoccupied and then excited to see their toys get dirty. It was as if the trucks went through the same liberation that these children did in their first week of mud play.
We also noticed that even our smallest explorers (18 month-olds) did more pretending when they played with trucks. And then we had a thought: Maybe we could sprinkle an extra dash of pretend to the mix. We laid out some blank paper, and kids started making tracks -- literally! We also modeled using sticks to draw and delineate roadways for the trucks. Soon our older pretenders (4 and up) were using sticks and rocks to create trees, houses, schools -- an entire world began to form.
When it was time for snack, kids did not want to stop, so we rebranded cleanup as a car wash for their trucks, and everyone left their mud for the thrill of suds and nature brushes (Thank you pine trees) -- but we know those trucks are destined get down and dirty again soon.
There’s just something about trucks. Transportation play creates a context of pretend that even very young kids can connect to, which allows them to develop their imagination. And if you think girls just aren’t into trucks, we gently suggest you give them more chances to access them -- you might be surprised. Even if all kids do is making vrooming sounds, this engaging play context gives them a chance to push language use. The outdoor setting offers multiple opportunities to use super-sensory natural materials, especially gooey, sticky mud followed by a sudsy, soapy car wash. Finally, messy play is its own kind of magic. Many of us had sandboxes where we got trucks dirty -- really dirty. But lots of kids today don’t have a chance to get themselves dirty, let alone their toys. Research shows that embracing a bit of mess is liberating for kids, helping them become more flexible and creative thinkers. So keep on truckin’ -- you’ll be heading in the right direction.
Great deals on DIY kits designed for learning through play. Check out the Circle Time Essentials Kit to make the most of this season!