nature play

I Let Her Sit in the Mud. Here’s What I Talked Myself Out Of Stopping.

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toddler sitting in muddy creek bank at Oak Creek Sedona, hands deep in red mud, yellow dress — letting children play in dirt

There’s a creek at Oak Creek, at the Red Rock Crossing in Sedona, Arizona, shallow and slow, with a soft muddy bank where the water goes still. Last April I took my daughter there on a whim, the day too good to stay inside, and within about ninety seconds she had lowered herself straight down … Read more