Kid's DIY Garden Table + Nature Play Station

Recently my children went play at a friend’s house where there was this adorable mud kitchen. In true child like fashion, my children begged for a mud kitchen of their own and I agreed. We picked up this pallet bench nearby for $30 and then created a mud kitchen. Immediately I regretted that decision when I would see the mud caked on them early on in the day. While I want my kids to explore and get dirty, I knew this mud kitchen was a bit much. I wasn’t a fan of taking so many middle of the day baths because they were covered in dried up mud.

Recently I had an idea to transform our mud kitchen into a garden table for the kids. We are gardeners here and I’m always planting things and the children are always asking to help. With the garden table the kids can plant real items and/or pretend plant with their bin of soil and empty pots. This has been a wonderful alternative to the mud kitchen because the bucket of soil allows them the same freedom to dig, fill up pots and bowls but does’t stick to them and their clothing the way wet mud does.

They have already loved this new table and have had a blast planting things and pretending to plant by filling the pots and making pretend flowers for each other. Once they’re done, they simply empty their pretend pots back into the covered bin of soil and everything stays fresh and ready for the next time they use it. The seeds that they planted are also on the table for them to care for and observe daily - a wonderful homeschool lesson for us!

I also added a little wooden shelf to store their nature trinkets that they may find - stones, rocks, pine cones, etc… At our table we have empty pots, shovels, soil, beans for sprouting and seeds that they can plant as well. This is a wonderful way to allow them to dig and get dirty, just without the extra dirty! It’s also a wonderful way to establish a love for planting, gardening and caring for their sprouts.

This is so easy to create outside with some empty pots, shovels, a bin of soil and a little table!

Get to planting,

Sasha