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Are you looking for a way to talk to your kids about making good choices? The classic story of Harry the Dirty Dog gives parents an opportunity to talk to kids about the choices they make, while having lots of muddy fun!

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion is a classic story about a dog named Harry, who is white with dark spots. He goes out for the day and gets covered in dirt, which changes his coloring to a black dog with white spots. When he returns home, his family doesn’t recognize him! Once they give him a bath, they figure out that the dog is Harry. Most kids love getting dirty as much as dogs do, so there are so many fun things you can do with this story.

Get creative and dirty with Harry!

Mud Painting – Embrace the dirt and let kids paint with mud! Set up some paper or canvases outside and provide kids with some paintbrushes and mud. This is best done on a nice day since you will probably want to hose them off after!

Sensory Play – Fill a tub or sensory table with brushes, water and soap. Let kids clean plastic dog figurines. You can cover them in mud, dirt or washable brown paint to give them more to clean.

Discussion – Talk to your kids about good choices vs. bad choices. What choices did Harry make that were good, and which were bad? What ways do your kids make good choices? Remind them that you still love them even when they make mistakes, like Harry’s family loves him even though he made bad choices.

Make Muddy Buddies – Find a recipe for Muddy Buddies (there are a ton of varieties on Pinterest) and make them as a family. My family makes them with Chex cereal, peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar. They are addictive and delicious!

Muddy Prints – Use brown paint to make “muddy” handprints of your kids. If you have a dog, put “muddy” paw prints of your dog with your kids prints as a nice keepsake. Won’t they love to see their prints together someday when they are older?

Harry is a good dog who makes some poor choices. This is something that kids and parents can understand and appreciate. Use these fun and messy activities to have a discussion with your kids about making good choices!

Did your kids enjoy playing in the mud? How do you talk to your kids about right and wrong choices? Let me know in the comments!