22nd April 2013The Art of Starting Gardening
The Art of Starting Gardening
Kit list:
- One trowel
- Some seeds
- A mini wheelbarrow (which is not that useful but really fun to play with)
- Waterproof all-in-one
- Gardening gloves
- A watering can
- A nice muddy patch
Gardening can be so much fun and as our expert followers will know this is the time to get everything in place so that through the summer lovely veggies and fruit and flowers come shooting up in your garden.
One of the best things about gardening if you are a muddy pup is being given permission to go outside and get really muddy. It is ideal if you have quite a big patch of earth where however much you dig there is not too much damage you can do to Mummy and Daddy’s plants. Or even a nice big pot full of mud in smaller gardens can do the trick.
The basics of gardening:
- dig a big hole
- scatter some seeds in it
- cover up the seeds with mud
- pour on water
- re-visit every other day and do a bit more watering (unless it has been very rainy)
However if all you really want to do is get very wet and muddy then we can recommend:
- filling a wheel barrow with mud and wheeling it around
- digging up mud and putting it in a bucket, tipping it out and then start all over again
- fill up the watering can, pour it on the earth or in a bucket then tip it from the
bucket back in to the watering can and do the same thing again and again
All of above can fill a blissful afternoon in the garden and if you are wearing an all-in-one and wellies then when you come inside you can chuck those in the washing machine and wipe your face and hands and feel happy that another muddy adventure has happened today.
18th April 2013The Art of Feeding a Lamb
- One little lamb that lost its Mum
- One lamb’s bottle with warm milk
- A strong pair of arms so the lamb doesn’t wriggle too much
- One kind farmer who will let you have a go
- A jacket thats not too tasty when the lambs nibble it
- Hair ties for girls (again because of the lamb nibbling thing)
Little lambs have to be one of the sweetest things as they are soft and friendly and need looking after. On any farm you will always find a few orphans lambs or hungry ones who were twins or triplets and can’t get enough milk from their Mum. That means there is the important job of feeding them about 5 times a day.
The best way to feed a lamb is to climb in to the pen with it then kneel up and get a grown up to pick the lamb up and put it in your lap. Then your arm tight around its belly so it doesn’t wriggle away. Then just like with a baby you tip the bottle up and in to its mouth and let it suck away. Make sure there is always milk in the teat.
When your lamb has had enough you can stay kneeling there and normally they’ll start to have a nuzzle or a nibble as you are their new friend. Lambs often love music too so you could sing them a song which they will really love.
If you have other tips for feeding baby animals we’d love them to know them so they can join the adventures.
9th April 2013The Art of Walking to School
Kit list:
1. Puddlepac (for those rainy days that can fit in your bag)
2. Backpack (something bright and fun that you can feel proud of)
3. Comfy shoes or maybe splats?
4. Someone to talk to along the way
5. A handy parent to carry the heavy things
The first thing about walking to school is you can't live too far away or it really would be tiring. But hopefully Muddy follower there are ways and means of sometimes walking to school even if it is after catching the bus or a lift some of the way.
The next thing to note is that the kit is particularly important for walks to school as you need to be warm and dry when you get there or it will be a long day. Now the big question, how do you turn it in to an adventure.
Well here are a few of our ideas and we would love you to add yours to help us along the way:
- jump the cracks in the pavement
- have running, skipping, hopping, jumping races down the street
- set challenges for things you need to spot like 10 things with a circle shape or 5 different types of leaf
- jump over all the puddles (not in them at this time of day)
Then before you know it you are at the school gates and the summer term has started again which is exciting because although it still feels chilly the days are now longer and that means more time for adventures outdoors over the next few months.
4th April 2013The Art of Adventure: 52 Everyday Adventures from Muddy Puddles
At the home of the Mud Club in a converted barn on an old farmyard in the hills of the Black Country we believe that the best sort of adventures for children are outdoor adventures. The sort of adventures that don’t cost much and use imagination in nature like sword fights with sticks, making mud pies and jumping in puddles (of course!) That is why we have set-up our new blog on ‘the art of adventure’ to celebrate the small, everyday adventures that all children can have.
Each week we are going to try and define the perfect version of a simple adventure in nature. Although we are sure that you will be able help us to refine these with your own tips and experiences. We would love you to add your own comments, tips or photos to our adventure entries.
The rules of our adventures are as follows:
- they have to be outdoors
- they don’t cost much money
- they could be fun however old you are
We have set ourselves a 52 week challenge of everyday adventures but if you have suggestions for adventures we should be having then we would love to hear them as even at the Mud Club are imaginations sometimes get tired!
