Splash!
Water Bottle Fun
Have your child help you mix together bubble solution, water, and food coloring in an empty plastic water bottle. Your child can then shake it up or squeeze it to see lots of colorful, bubbly fun. This activity is a great way to teach about colors. But you can also use it to teach critical thinking: What will happen if we add more bubbles? What ...(read more)
Homemade Sprinkler
Who needs a watering can in the summer when your child can water the pots/plants with a homemade watering can? You kids will love doing this! Take an empty and clean gallon-size plastic milk jug. Poke holes towards the bottom of the container with a hammer and nails. Then take your watering can outside, fill with water, and let your child have fun watering the flowers, ...(read more)
Sing a Swimming Song
My 21 month old and I took swimming lessons together and learned a fun song to sing in the pool. It's sung to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus" and is called the "The Kids in the Pool." You can add any actions you like, but some that we learned were: "The kids in the pool go splash, splash, splash...splash, splash, splash...splash, splash, splash...The kids in ...(read more)
Sink Soak
This will keep your little ones busy for a long time. Fill the kitchen sink or bathroom sink with some water. Then give your kids measuring cups, spoons, plastic bowls, etc. and they will have a splashing good time. You may want to put them in short-sleeve t-shirts so they don't get too wet and make sure they are standing on a sturdy stool.(read more)
Jack and Jill Fetching A Pail of Water
Take either two bowls or buckets and a big sponge. Fill the first bucket with some water, but not all the way full. Have your child soak up the water with the sponge and then wring it out in the empty bucket. See how many times or how long it takes for them to empty the first bucket and fill the second using only the sponge.(read more)
Tricycle Wash
Let your child 'wash' his or her 'car.' Kids enjoy washing their ride-on cars and scooters, and this will entertain them for at least 15-30 minutes. Keep an eye on the little ones if they may drink soapy water. You also don't have to use soap -- this activity is just as much fun with only the garden hose(read more)
Simple Sailboats
You can make these cute little toy boats in just a few minutes. They are great for preschoolers and kindergarteners to practice cutting with scissors, drawing, and molding clay. Cut a triangle from a piece of construction paper - this will be your sail. Decorate the sail with crayons, markers, and/or stickers. Punch three holes along one side of the triangle. Weave a drinking straw (the ...(read more)
Laundry Fun
Get a large bowl. Have your child fill the bowl with water and add a small amount of soap -- either laundry detergent or dish soap will work fine. Then let your child wash some of their doll or teddy bear clothes and hang them on a mini washing line to dry.(read more)
Sink or Swim?
Fill a small tub with water and ask your child if they think an object will sink or float. Then have them place (or toss depending on how messy you want to be) in the water. What happens next?(read more)
Water Cycle: The Cotton Ball & Water Activity
Read a book about rain...suggested titles are : It's Raining Cats and Dogs: All Kinds of Weather and Why We Have It by Franklyn M. Branley; April Showers by George Shannon; or any book with a story that involves rain. Introduce the topics of Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, and Collection. Evaporation is caused by the heat of the sun, it dries up the rain and it becomes vapor that goes ...(read more)
Floating Flat as a Pancake
We have been taking swimming lessons all summer, and one of the hardest skills to teach a tot is floating on the back. My little one loved this song and has enjoyed floating on her back ever since we learned it. We even sing it in the bathtub! It is to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot" and the lyrics are: I'm a little pancake on ...(read more)
Water Squirter Tag
Grab a handful of water squirters from your bucket of bathtub toys -- one for each person playing -- and fill a bucket with water. Once outside, have every person fill up his or her squirter with water from the bucket, and then on the count of 10, start the game! The goal is to squirt all of the other players so that they will be "out." ...(read more)
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