Painting with Mud
Prepared by Becky Schnekser
Yes, you read that right! Sometimes, you have to bring the excitement of mud to your learners. For me, this is often a result of heavy rains that prevent the use of our outdoor spaces. For my particular area, this means heavy rain. Otherwise, we are totally going out! Whether this means a light drizzle or monsoon-like downpours depends on your community and geographic location — what matters is not your definition of rain or how much is too much to physically go outside, what matters is how you decide to incorporate outdoor learning, anyway!
One engaging option is to paint with mud. This can be as guided or open-ended as you want. For me, it depends on what my learners are currently engaged in learning.
For example, my fifth-grade learners took a deep dive into soil studies, chemistry, soil testing, invertebrate studies, and investigating the layers within quadrants they measured and maintain in our outdoor space. One day this year, the monsoon-like precipitation hit our campus with very little warning. So what did we do? We collected cups of mud quickly and brought them indoors. On construction paper, we used our hands to spread the mud (read: soil samples!) and investigated the coloration and texture. We compared our art (soil smears) to one another and some learners even created abstract paintings as they investigated the soil composition.
Immediately following this class, I had my first-grade learners who had been studying insects and arachnids, so with their mud, they created insect and arachnid diagrams using their hands.
I know what some of you are thinking, with their hands?
Yes. With their hands. In my defense, I did have plastic utensils leftover from lunchtime available for use but many chose this hands-on (pun partially intended) method, and who am I to stand in their way? Seriously, they had mud and I was not ready for a slinging match!
With my kindergarten learners a little later in the day, I left the investigation of mud completely open-ended. They, again, chose a hands on approach and made their creations with their bare hands. Some deliberately used their fingers to create patterns or intricate drawings of lions, while others went a little more abstract with full hand smears covering their entire sheet and asking for another….and another!
Whether you direct their creativity or leave this use of mud open to their own discretion, this is one way to use what nature provides and bring the outdoors, in. Of course, you can do this outdoors as well.
Things to consider:
- How will you mitigate potential muddy mess in your indoor space?
I used cups filled 1/3 or less with mud, covered desks with old (reused, repurposed) manila file folders before placing construction paper on top
Spills will happen, so another thing to think about is what type of flooring and cleaning supplies you will have readily available. You might even think about the consistency of the mud. A more watery consistency will be closer to a water type spill (or watercolor) clean-up situation while a thicker mudpie consistency could be a bit more tricky, especially if you have carpeted areas.
2. Where will you leave the artwork to dry?
In my school, we use the hallway floor as a place to dry artwork temporarily. We lay them next to each other up against the wall like a single file line. This is such an ingrained part of our school culture that learners just know to leave the projects alone and walk slightly away from the walls.
Do you have an art drying rack? Do you have counter space? Do you time this type of activity just before learners leave the room for a period of time so the art can stay on their desks to dry?
