Did you know there is such a thing as CLEAN mud? Better yet, clean mud that sparkles? This unique, fall recipe for play will dazzle you!

How to make sparkly CLEAN mud - a fun recipe for sensory play

Fall Recipe for Play - Sparkly Clean Mud

It's the final day in our Fall Recipes for Play series, and we have thoroughly enjoyed kicking off fall with play. Monday - Playdough, Tuesday - Paint, Wednesday - Glowing, Thursday - Scented Play, and Friday - Nature. Today we have a fun play recipe involving nature. We don't really see a big change in seasons in southern California, so I came up with an idea to make our own fall leaves.

Picking leaves to make clean mud with a fall twist

First, we went on a leaf hunt and picked several handfuls of leaves.

Invitation to make glitter leaves in fall colors

Then I set up an invitation to make fall glitter leaves. I covered our picnic table with a towel then layered the towel with wax paper. We used a spray adhesive to attach the glitter, and the wax paper kept the leaves from sticking to the table. JZ (6) and I did all of the spraying, and everyone helped with the glitter.

The glitter was by far everyone's favorite part. All four boys covered every single inch of leaf, both front and back. Our table looked like a glittersplosion. Yes I just made up a word.

JZ and I cut the glitter covered leaves up into small pieces and put them in a sensory bin.

Cutting up sparkly leaves to make fall clean mud

Next we added torn up bits of toilet paper.

Tearing up toilet paper to make clean mud

Tank and Peanut (25 months) went to town with this step. They are fascinated with toilet paper and always want to shove it in the toilet. They were thrilled to be allowed to tear up shreds and toss it into the bin. We used approximately 1/4 roll of toilet paper.

I added two bars of soap.

I used a potato peeler to shred it.

How to make CLEAN mud with a fun fall twist!

JZ turned on the hose and added a small amount of water. Add water slowly and sparingly. Remember that you can always add more. This play recipe isn't meant to be a watery one. The toilet paper should absorb the water and mix with the other elements.

The final touch was the leftover glitter on the wax paper. I figured there was no reason to throw it all in the trash. All the glitter made our recipe look more like Christmas than fall. It was pretty regardless of what season.

I have to say Tank was my only kid interested in splaying with the sparkly clean mud. I was surprised. We have made clean mud before, and all of the boys loved it. This time the older two looked at me like I had two heads when I invited them to stick their hands in the mixture.

At least someone enjoyed it and made it worth taking the time to mix, and boy did he like it.

Sparkly clean mud sensory play - a clean way to get messy

Squishing the mud between his hands was Tank's favorite part. It really is a neat sensory recipe. It's wet and squishy and soft. The finished mud reminded me of The Imagination Tree's sparkle soap mud. Theirs looks much fluffier and quite lovely.