As a Desert Mama I always cringe filling up the kiddie pool with 70 gallons or more of water that will shortly be dumped (for real! I looked it up! That’s like 4 showers!) I’m grateful that there are public pools and splash pads, but that's a big expedition for an average weekday evening. We needed an option for the kids to get their outside time in the hot Tucson evenings without wasting tons of water. Enter Garden PlaySpace's Monsoon Table and Mud Kitchen!
The Monsoon Tables I make are sensory tables that include a a sprinkle of water from overhead. They connect to a garden hose and drain to a nearby tree or garden and use just a couple gallons of water. Typically we only leave the “rain storm” running for a couple minutes before there’s plenty of water for splashing.
A Mud Kitchen is an outside kitchen that is meant to be messy. The ones I make are designed to connect a garden hose to a real, functioning faucet and drain to a nearby tree. Just like an inside faucet, we talk to the kids about not leaving the water running, so the boys splash, pour and make concoctions (yummy mud cookies, anyone?) for hours using about 5 gallons of water.
Both of these water play options are best if shaded- we use a shade cloth canopy to make playing outside more enjoyable.
Reach out if you’d like help or more information about setting up a Mud Kitchen, Monsoon Table or shade canopy in your backyard, melissa@gardenplayspace.com
It’s important to teach our desert kiddos water conservation but we can use water wisely to enjoy the summer! Stay cool out there!
Contact me for a free estimate via Garden PlaySpace or 520-483-4478.
