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.
