Water is just something magical that makes every child happy. Be it the plash of a swimming pool, the splash of wet sand under little toes, or thrill of sprinting through a sprinkler, water play is a hallmark of being a kid, more so in the hot days of the summer season.
You at the right place if you want to find some amusing and interesting ideas of how to make your kids entertain themselves, cool, and active. This is a list of 10 cool water activities intended for kids that you can do in the backyard or on the beach, in the park or even at home in the event that you are creative. They are not hard to organize, cost affordable, and will make your little ones unforgettable memories.
1. Water Balloon Games Backyard
We could begin with an old one, namely, water balloons. They are cheap, simple to prepare and kids cannot resist them. However, I know a twist which you can crank up the fun level a notch and add into the water balloon and water balloon war- turn it into a water balloon cake and water balloon icing battle!
Water Balloon Toss: All the children are to pair up and stand with their back to each other. They play with the balloon by throwing it to each other, and moving one pace backward whenever one of them covers a successful catch. The couple who does not pop the balloon first, wins!
Water Balloon Piñata: Fill balloons with water and attach them to a tree branch. Put the children into a blindfold and provide them with a stick as it is used in a traditional piñata. Once they pop a balloon, everybody is drenched!
Hint: Try worming with water balloons so that it is biodegradable and clean up is easier.
Related: 10 Things Kids Secretly Observe from Their Parents
2. Sprinkler Obstacle Course
Even a garden sprinkler should not be underestimated. A little imagination and it will become the hub of a complete backyard obstacle course.
Place pool noodles, buckets, cones, and anything you find lying around to form a path. The children will be able to crawl under the hoses, jump and slide over pool noodles, spin around and then go through sprinkler and finally the kids will have a water and soap covered tarp, which the child will slide down.
It is an excellent means of maintaining active children and helping them cool down without going in a pool. Moreover, it is possible to vary the grade level of difficulty depending upon age.
3. Do It Yourself Kiddie Car Wash
This one is sheer fun – in particular toddlers and preschoolers. Build a PVC car wash with pipes, a shower hose, pool noodles, sponge, and some fabric or streamer pieces.
Make children ride their tricycles, scooters or toy-cars over the wash station. Spray water in the sides and on the top, hang wet sponges they can brush against and have them zoom through. It is unusual, rejuvenating, and it is ideal as a summer birthday party or playdate.
You can also make it a pretend play game in which one child plays the car wash attendant and the rest the customers.
Related: 10 Ways to Train Your Baby to Sit
4. Water Painting
Another kind of calm water activity is water painting which is good for older children or when they are in solitude. And that is all you need:
- A couple of buckets of water
- Huge paintbrush or rollers
- A fence, a sidewalk, a driveway or even a chalkboard
Have kids take the world around them and make drawings out of it using only water. The water will later evaporate and they will be able to start all over again. No mess. No cleanup. Endless fun.
It is also an excellent sensory activity which assists with fine motor skills particularly with toddlers and preschoolers.
5. Sink or Float Water Table
Make learning fun by creating a science station called sink or float. You only need a big tub or kiddie pool full of water and any kind of assorted items that float (sponges, old plastic lids, toy-boats) and other items which will sink (coins, lovely pebbles or spoons).
Before putting each item in, challenge the kids to make guesses about what will occur. Test it then and discuss why things sink or float. It is a great activity that taps into the curiosity of children as well as being a teaching aid; introducing the fundamentals of science in a practical manner.
Take it a step further by using spoons, cups, and funnels to pour, or add other challenges to the kids such as, Can you make a boat that floats using only aluminum foil?
6. Treasure Ice Block Hunt
Another hot-day idea is to freeze mini objects (such as plastic dinosaurs, coins, or LEGO figures) into a block of ice, and give the kids salt, warm water in squeeze bottles, or other nonslippery kid-safe implements to dig out the treasure.
It is science experiment, treasure hunt, and a hundred percent cool. Children remain engaged because they are calculating how to melt the ice quicker and how to save their prizes.
It is also an excellent group activity. It can be frozen in several different smaller pieces and become a race of whose toys will be done being frozen first.
7. Pool Noodle Races
I bet you have access to a pool so you are halfway there. There are a couple of fun ways in which pool noodle races can be conducted:
- Kickboard Relay: Children are given pool noodles and asked to kick pool noodles across the edge of the pool.
- Noodle Jousting: Kids on inflatable floaties use noodles to dismount the other.
- Floating Target Game: Pool noodles can be cut into rings and floated on the water. Then, the children attempt to toss a ball or water balloon into the rings to get points.
You can construct games without even a pool using the pool noodles in the drive or yard. Tape them up to make tunnels in a sprinkler course or station them up like little goals in a water balloon soccer.
8. Slip and Slide DIY
You do not have to purchase a store bought slip and slide to entertain your children. Hoist up a huge piece of plastic tarp (you know the kind you paint with or camp with), spread it down on a soft grassy hill or flat backyard, pour in a dash of dish soap and open the hose.
The result? Slippery hours of fun. Children are free to run, slide or even race themselves to the end.
Safety precaution: Closely supervise, ensure the slide area is rid of rocks or hard elements that may result in injuries.
Feel like getting it more exciting? Finish by the end by adding a pool noodle onto it or place a small inflatable pool on the bottom and use it as a landing zone.
9. Water Relays
Water relays are basic, fun and can be easily customized towards various age groups. This is how some of the versions may be applied:
- Sponge Relay: Every participant takes a homogeneous amount of a sponge, to start to take off at the starting line, and to put down his exclude at the finishing line. Children are required to wet a sponge and scurry to the other barrel then press the water out. The group with the fastest fill-up bucket is declared the winner.
- Cup on Head Relay: Players fill a plastic cup with water and have to keep it on top of their heads by walking (or wobbly!) across to the other of the tall army men.
- Leaky Cup Race: Put holes on an plastic cup and have kids race with the aim of pouring the container before all the water escapes.
Such relays are excellent to develop teamwork and laughter, and lots of it.
10. Beach Day Water and Sand Play
Don’t miss the chance to go out and play in some free natural water, particularly in you are fortunate and are close to a beach, lake or river. Bring buckets, shovels, and some molds to create sandcastles, drain moats, and small water canals.
Beach water playing-ideas:
- Shell Hunt: Exercise your children and ask them to hunt the biggest shell or the smoothest stone.
- Moat Builders: Go around your sandcastle and get it attached to water.
- Beach Bowling: All you need is a plastic bottle or a cup and then roll the ball towards these objects by keeping them on the sand.
It does not mean that you cannot have a mini beach in the house when you cannot get to a real one; you can simply prepare a sand and water table to toddlers.
Reflections: On The Power of Water Play
Other than the fact that it is really fun, water play is full of developmental advantages to children:
- Physical growth: Running, splashing, pouring and squeezing water will enhance gross and fine motor development.
- Social skills: Group water activities promote sharing, communication and tolerance.
- Creativity and imagination: Role-play games like sea captains to child games with water, are activities that stimulate the imagination.
- Sensory adventure: The experience of cool water, wet grass or slippery soap provides children with new means to relate to the world.
And, most importantly of all — water play makes kids happy. It allows them to go goofy, unrestrained, and free.
#Go hard or go home, right?
So whether you have a little backyard or a full-on summer party to plan these water activities are exactly what you need to know in order to have some warm-weather fun. Install a couple of such notions and see your children giggle, learn and splash their way through summer.
Bonus Tip: Maintain Awareness of Safety
One last thing I want to mention as we finish…when doing water play make sure you supervise that play well, particularly with very young kids or toddlers. Even shallow non attendable water may be fatal. Sunblocks, hydration, and slip-resistant footwear can only do so much in ensuring everyone is safe and happy.
Want to splash this summer?
Write a comment to tell me which activity you are most excited to try first one, or you can tell me about your water games. And in case you thought this list was useful, make sure to share the rest with other parent who is considering some new ideas about summer!
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