Here at TMC, we love a good theme and what better theme could you ask for, than Christmas? We’ve been going crazy over all of the Christmas crafts, treats and play ideas so we wanted to share some with you.
WATER PLAY IDEAS FOR TODDLERS
Water play is one of the boys favourite activities (& mine to be honest) – there is something kids love about splashing in the water & it is definitely our go-to play choice. Water play is amazing in the summer but you really can do it all year round, bring it inside – put down towels (lots of them in our case), strip them off & let them have at it. I thought I would share our favourite water play ideas. I picked up this water & sand play table from Amazon for less than £10, it comes with 8 accessories including sand shapers, buckets and spades & a watering can.
DEVELOPMENTAL SKILLS
Water play is great for developing skills such as fine motor skills & hand-eye coordination through actions such as pouring, filling & stirring. Water play also releases energy as it can be really relaxing & calming for children. They also build up muscle strength through filling buckets with water.
ACTIVITIES
- Make coloured water (mix two drops of food colouring into room temperature water), then add objects of the same colour; building blocks, cars ect.
- Add some bubbles! Easy.
- Add in toy boats.
- Set up a pouring station with buckets, cups & jugs.
- Add coloured ice to the water.
- Add bubbles & use a silicone whisk to swirl and mix.
- Add ball pool balls, drop them into the water & make a little splash.
- Freeze pompoms into ice cubes and add them to the water, pompoms are perfect as you can re-use them once they are dry. They are also good for babies to squeeze once they are free from the ice and watch the water come out.
- Add rubber ducks and a little net – let them go fishing!
- Add sliced lemons & limes to the water and let them try to fish them out & taste them! Perfect for slightly younger babies who like to put everything in their mouths.
- Add a empty pop or squash bottle and insert a plastic funnel – watch them pour the water into the funnel & fill the bottle. This entertained Oliver for AGES.
- Add plastic animals such as fish or other sea creatures.
- Water beads are a new discovery of ours & whilst they do get everywhere, they are great for littles. Just make sure you keep an eye on them & that they don’t put the beads into their mouths!
- Add different textured & sized sponges.
- Add foam letters and numbers – stick them to the side of the water table to spell out words.
Those are just 15 water play ideas – there are so many more! You don’t need to do anything overboard or crazy, kids can have a whale of a time with just an empty bottle. I find Pinterest is an amazing place for ideas & inspiration.