Turn all that mixing, pouring and messy outdoor play into purposeful learning with these Mud Kitchen Recipe Cards.

My children loved playing in the mud kitchen, but I wanted a simple way to build the maths, science and literacy we were learning into their play without taking over the play.

That's why I created these recipe cards.

Instead of directing every child through the same activity, these cards give you 30 mud kitchen recipes in three differentiated sets. That's 90 illustrated recipe cards altogether, so you can choose how much structure your children need while keeping the experience playful and hands-on.

Bring Real Learning Into Mud Kitchen Play

There is so much learning happening when children make a mud kitchen recipe.

They count stones and sticks, measure dirt and water, compare quantities and explore capacity. They observe how materials change when they're mixed, make predictions, test their ideas and discover the properties of natural materials.

And there's plenty of literacy too. Children read ingredient labels, build vocabulary, follow directions and explore the structure and sequence of procedural texts. The included recipe-writing sheets let children take the next step and create their own recipes.

It's outdoor maths, science and literacy with a reason behind it.

Differentiate Without Taking Away The Play

The three sets use the same 30 recipes with different levels of support.

Set 1 includes labelled ingredients, exact quantities and a step-by-step method. Children read, count, measure and follow a procedure.

Set 2 includes labelled ingredients and suggested quantities but no method. Children still count and measure, but decide how they'll create the finished recipe.

Set 3 includes illustrated, labelled ingredients without quantities or instructions. It's the most open-ended option and works beautifully for non-readers and children who are ready to experiment independently.

You can choose one set for your group or use different sets at the same time.

What’s Included in this Printable Mud Kitchen Pack

• 90 illustrated mud kitchen recipe cards – 30 recipes in 3 differentiated sets

• Detailed ACARA V9 Foundation and Year 1 curriculum connections

• Kindergarten and Grade 1 Common Core curriculum connections

• Mud Kitchen and Mud Café signs

• Open and Closed sign

• 4 mud kitchen recipe-writing sheets, including lined and unlined options

• How to Use the Mud Kitchen sign

• Mud kitchen rules

• 4 printable prompts to encourage observation, creativity and inquiry

• Illustrated nature vocabulary mat

• 24 illustrated mud kitchen utensil labels

• Educational benefits of mud kitchen play poster

• Document wallet label for easy resource organisation

Everything You Need For Purposeful Outdoor Learning

Along with the 90 Mud Kitchen Recipe Cards, you'll receive Mud Kitchen and Mud Café signs, Open and Closed signs, four recipe-writing sheets, four learning prompt posters, an illustrated nature vocabulary mat, 24 illustrated equipment labels, mud kitchen instructions, an educational benefits poster and a document wallet label.

I've also included detailed ACARA V9 Foundation and Year 1 and Common Core Kindergarten and Grade 1 curriculum connections, so it's easy to see the learning behind the play.

Print the cards, laminate them and add them to your mud kitchen. Then stand back and watch a simple bowl of dirt, water and leaves become a reason to read, count, measure, investigate, problem-solve and create.