Summer is the best time to be outdoors and what better way to get your kids outside than to build them a Mud Bar. Yes...I said
Mud Bar. Kids + mud = FUN!!

Two of my girls have birthdays a couple weeks apart in late spring. So, we typically lump them together when it comes to gift giving. That way they get an even better gift when the money is dumped into one spot.
MUDDY FUN
With this project, though, there was
very little money spent. (the best kind!)

We used the wonderful tutorial found at
remake.life - awesome site full of repurposed projects.

I salvaged all the wood from our city-wide spring cleanup from old fence wood, shed wood, you name it!

Gotta share this funny story with you. During our four week long cleanup I was only perusing our local area, not really thinking about going all over the city. I was accumulating a hefty pile of wood hoping to build our garden (see this
post) and knew we wanted to build the girls a mud bar.
Our super-nice mailman, also a gardener, asked if I saw the awesome pile of 10" wide x 10' long oak boards a couple of streets over. (my ears are now perked up...seriously....OAK!!) To which I replied that I hadn't been on that street yet. He said I should go take a look because if I didn't want it, he was going to grab it to make a clubhouse for his boys.
FREEEE!!
Needless to say, I jumped in my suburban and
raced headed over there. I jumped out and started to grab it up. Then, what did I hear? The trash truck coming!!! EEEEK! I loaded the last board as the truck was a couple houses behind me. I even scored an 8'x6' piece of untouched wainscoting!
You can imagine what the people were thinking watching me kick it into high gear trying to load that wood lickety-split. Ha!

We are so glad we were able to build this table because my kids, all 6 of them, love it. From mud pies, to tea for two (or ten!), and plenty of space for guests...what kid could ask for more?

Let them get themselves immersed in tactile play, then just grab the hose and clean it up. (warning: your kids may need the hose too)
We found all our items thrifting or at garage sales...heart-shaped pans, bundt cake pans, pots, spoons ladles, and the most fun...colanders. You know, dump the stuff (water or dirt) in and watch it slowing run out. Can't beat it.

A couple of the pots are inset to create a sink and then they can pull them out, dump their mixture, and begin again.

So grab yourself some unloved wood and put together a super-fun play station for you kids. They'll love you for it!!
UPDATE: You can see how we created our patio pergola and new play area here
in this post with video tour.
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MEWE | PINTEREST | GAB
Also, more reclaimed fun like this mud bar:
