“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.” –
Since closing both Storyoga locations we have been sharing a number of online resources with all of our Storyoga children and families. One of these sessions is called Wilderness Wisdom which is inspired by our Wilderness Wednesday and Forest Friday program and features an outdoor activity or invitation to partake in each week. Last week we shared how to make Dandelion Tea and this week we shared how to make Mud Faces in the Forest.
Creating mud faces in the forest is an activity that truly delights and is so simple to prepare. All that is required is a container to mix the mud in and a spoon or a spatula (you could also just use a stick for mixing and your hands for spreading the mud). A woodland is an ideal location for this activity, as it provides a variety of trees to choose from for the faces to live on.
Making Mud faces provides children with the opportunity to connect deeply with the natural environment as they investigate and explore while gathering materials. The details that we notice when given the chance to really look closely at what’s around us, and to view it perhaps in a different manner, inspires curiosity, creativity, and a sense of wonder. The curly tips on the ends of the sword ferns are ‘eyebrows’, lichen moss is a ‘beard’, an acorn becomes a ‘nose’, while daisies could be ‘eyes’ or a ‘crown’ – the possibilities are endless.
The sensory experience of squeezing and squelching mud through the fingers and pressing a variety of forest treasures into the mud, will inspire a sense of freedom and joy. Once you’ve started, you’ll probably want to create a whole family of mud faces.
Enjoy!
What You Will Need:
– a container to mix the mud in
– a spoon or spatula to mix the mud and spread it onto each tree
– nature materials to create your face/s with (leaves, flowers, moss, acorns, rocks, etc.)
– a sense of joy and wonder
Extensions:
– make more than one mud face to create your own mud family
– natural clay offers a wonderful consistency for making mud faces as well
Book Recommendation: Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System, by Jack Gilbert