connecting children with nature (a Mud and Bloom review)

We reviewed the July Mud and Bloom subscription box last year and you can read all about the fun we had with it here.  We didn’t take out a subscription as we’re fortunate enough to have access to an allotment for growing and we’re working through all the craft materials I collected over the years before actually having kids.  We did genuinely love our Mud and Bloom box so when Anya was scouting for bloggers to review the latest box we quickly said ‘yes please’.  Anya liked our last review enough to send us another box in exchange for pictures of the boys getting busy with their activities.  I was excited by the prospect of a box in a different month to last time (Anya tailors the growing and crafting activities seasonally) and with boys a year older.  I went into it fully expecting my fiercely independent 3 year old to take charge.  (He did!).

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Mud and Bloom nature crafts and gardening activities

have been developed by Anja Ffrench who believes passionately in connecting children to nature.  Anja says:

“Studies show there is increasingly a disconnect between children and nature, resulting in increased stress and leading to depression in later life. It is vital that children have regular contact with nature, with proven benefits including enhanced brain development, improved concentration and mental health – as well as helping them stay fit and healthy.  I hope the Mud & Bloom nature crafts and gardening boxes will help inspire families to get their children outdoors and more connected to nature and gardening.”

The Mud and Bloom box for June contains materials for a variety of gardening and craft activities including:

• Grow your own velvet queen sunflowers
• Make a butterfly feeder
• Grow courgettes
• Flower head printing
• Butterfly spotter
• Nature News and Quiz

Mud and Bloom boxes are aimed at 3-8 year olds but last year toddler Luca had as much fun as Euan (it’s the taking part that counts as much as the finished result after all).  Activities have been created by qualified teachers and they support the National Curriculum with influence from Forest School, Steiner and Montessori education.  There’s nothing that hasn’t been thought of with great care and attention.  As always the seeds are certified organic and biodynamic and the box and contents are plastic free and biodegradable where possible. The hemp twine and wool are made from 100% hemp and 100% wool and the cotton wool is 100% cotton and organic. The sugar is fair trade.  Organic peat free compost pellets are also provided in each box.

The subscription box is good value

You can buy a single box subscription for £11.95 including UK postage, or subscribe for 6 or 12 months which brings the price down a bit (£10.95 for a year of boxes).   There is no minimal subscription so you can cancel at any time.  You can also arrange delivery as a gift with a 3 month subscription which is such a fabulous feature or buy a previous box.  I’ve often looked at Magazine subscriptions or gift boxes as an alternative to presents for Euan but a year’s subscription becomes an expensive suggestion. The subscription box arrives addressed to your child which is so exciting and I love that the packaging is re-usable and sits on the shelf like a book.  There is no way you could cost up all the materials and gardening supplies more cheaply yourself and you can’t put a price on the knowledge and creativity that has gone into the making of the activity cards.  Anja explains ”We’ve had to increase the price of our subscription box from last year in order to stay in business.  All staff at Mud and Bloom are paid a living wage.  We pay an experienced and qualified Forest School teacher to put together the activities, a local artist to do the paintings and all the products are organic, fair trade and plastic free where possible”.  

This crafting activity was great for both boys

This month’s subscription box included a set of Goache paints which artist Euan was delighted with.  I looked up the brand and found that a box of the same paints on Amazon would have cost about the same as the subscription box which just shows you what good value these activity boxes are.  Anya’s suggestion for using them was flower printing.   It was 5pm on a Sunday evening and we didn’t have any flowers in the house (and don’t have a garden to raid).  I glanced around the kitchen and my eyes fell on the 3 freshly picked lettuces we’d bought back from the allotment.  We had a beautiful curly, purple variety and these leaves became our paint brushes to great effect.

If you’re still unsure about the value of a Mud and Bloom subscription box

here are Anja’s top 3 reasons to subscribe to Mud and Bloom :

1/  Educational

The activities will help your children engage and connect with nature – helping them learn about and interact with plants, insects and the seasons.

2/  Fun

They will have fun growing their own fruit, vegetables and plants and creating their own crafts inspired by nature and the seasons.

3/  Easy

The boxes will be delivered to your door with all the seeds and materials needed for the gardening activity – there’s no need for you to have a garden or tools.  Nature craft activities are designed around things that can easily be found in parks and gardens!

If you’re interested in trying a Mud and Bloom box for yourself you can receive 15% off your first box using the code JUNE15.  Our seeds all sprouted a week later and we’re going to transplant them out at the allotment (if Luca could be trusted not to pull them out I’d love to have them in the yard!)

Disclosure: we were sent the June subscription box free in exchange for a review. We were not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.