Did you know…it’s International Mud Day today!

So, I thought it would be appropriate to bring you a post on playing with mud.

You’re thinking: why would she write about kids playing with mud? Kids and mud are like celery and Bloody Mary’s or Louboutin’s and red soles. Let them play in it and that’s good enough.

I totally agree.

But, while watching the kids play in their mud pool, I realized it was a perfect teaching opportunity, too. While the kids slowly added sand to water in our plastic tub, we talked about the concept of Absorption.

We watched the water slowly mix with the sand.

The kids were amazed at how quickly the water moved through the sand to wet it.

We talked about:

• How the water traveled through the sand
• Why the sand became darker when the water traveled through the water
• What happened to the water after it traveled through the sand

*NOTE: technically, the water is traveling through the sand particles, and for the most part is not being absorbed like a paper towel or sponge would absorb water. But this was a great starter activity for our other absorption experiments. If you want to try a true absorption activity with water, use dirt or soil instead.

And then things got a little out of hand - or, as they would put it, FUN!

Check out these other activities in our Absorption Experiment Series:

• Science: Absorption Experiment with Sand & Water
• Art: Sponge Painting
• Science: Celery Capillary Action Experiment
• Art + Science: Tie Dye Towels

And here’s another absorption art activity that we did last year: Pipet Painting

LEARN! Science, absorption, sensory play

Parents and friends: for more ideas, activities, and inspiration for #RaisingThinkingKids, click on an icon below to join us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.

Fellow bloggers: join me at Bloggy Law, where you’ll find Simple Tips for Bulletproofing Your Brand and Blog and I’ll help you navigate the social media legal landscape a little more smoothly.

Chrissy – who has written 426 posts on The Outlaw Mom® Blog - Creative Living in a Conventional World.

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