It’s no secret that toddlers love getting muddy, so today Veronika and I played with mud in two separate ways. The first was fake mud, and the second time was real!
For the fake version, we really were making ooblek, but I told her it was “mud” which she immediately loved. I dumped a box of cornstarch into a craft tray, then added 2 cups water.
Mix with your fingers until you have that strange ooblek state of matter that is somewhere between a liquid and a solid. For novelty, we added cars and trucks to the “muddy” construction site!
Veronika loved zooming cars through it. We also discovered that the tires would stick if you let them sit in one place for a few minutes.
It was fun to watch the ooblek dribble and drizzle over the vehicles.
I then added a little food coloring, which she swirled around by driving the truck wheels through it.
And scooping it up!
Next it was time for real mud. We mixed up a little potting soil and water on a plastic plate until we had a thick mud.
Press your little one’s hand into the center of the plate (I recommend having water nearby for a quick rinse), then leave in the sun to dry.
Obviously these prints are neither permanent nor as apparent as versions in clay or plaster of Paris, but they sure are fun.