Fun And Easy Water Activities To Beat The Heat

Temperatures are rising across the country, and kids are anxious to spend time outdoors again. As we approach the warm summer months, there truly is no better way to cool off than with water play. You don’t need access to a neighborhood pool or a backyard pool to engage in these fun water activities. All you need is some creativity, access to a hose, and some space for outdoor water play!

Need some ideas for water play at home? Check out these 10 simple activities you can do using items from around the house!

1. Spray bottle tag 

Grab some plastic spray bottles, fill them with water, and let your little ones “tag” each other with water! Spray bottles work great for young kids, because they are gentle and easy to use. Let your kids run free, chasing each other around and spraying each other with water. This is a great, simple activity to do on warm days when it’s not quite hot enough to go to the pool or the beach. 

2. Free the toys

Find a large bowl or plastic container, and pick a few of your child’s favorite small toys. Put them in the container, and fill the container with water. Freeze the container overnight, or until solid. Then, bring it outside, dump it out, and let your little ones try to free their toys that are frozen in the ice! You can give them shovels, spray bottles, towels, or other ways to try to melt the ice. 

3. Water balloon baseball 

Water balloons are a cheap and simple way to pass the time on a hot day. Add a spirit of competition by putting on a game of water balloon baseball! Fill a bucket with colorful water balloons, and find a plastic baseball bat for your child to use. Let your child practice trying to hit the water balloon when you pitch it to him - but it’s equally fun if he misses the ball, and it splashes beside him! You can also set out bases (or make your own out of towels or chalk) for the kids to run. Each successful hit equals a home run! 

4. Ice pop painting

If you have a little artist, this is a fun summer activity to try! Mix washable, child-safe paint with some water, and fill an ice cube tray with different mixed colors. Insert a popsicle stick into each cube and freeze overnight. In the morning, lay out a large piece of paper outside, and carefully remove each paint “popsicle” from the ice tray. Help your child create a beautiful picture with the ice/paint pops! You will want to prepare this activity the day before, so be sure to have your materials on hand! 

5. Water sensory play

Sensory bins are a great investment if you have young children - but even if you don’t have one, you can use any large plastic tub or bin. Fill your sensory bin with a couple inches of water, and add toys with a certain theme. You can do a fishing theme with toy fish, a fishing pole, and net. You can do a cooking theme with measuring cups, funnels, and spoons. You can get a pack of rubber ducks and create a duckling family. You can create a car wash by adding some bubble bath, toy cars, and a few scrub brushes or sponges. The possibilities are endless! 

6. Inflatable pool scavenger hunt

If you have a baby pool, you can fill it, and toss in several of your child’s favorite toys. Give your child a net, and let her search for her “treasures” under the water! You can even write a scavenger hunt list so she knows exactly which items she’s looking for. If you have foam alphabet letters for the bath, those can be used for this game as well! Help your child practice his letters by tossing the foam letters all around the pool, and then call out each letter one by one, until he’s found each letter. 

7. Baby bath 

If your little one loves baby dolls, this is the perfect warm weather activity to try together! This activity works with plastic baby dolls, so skip the fabric ones for now. Fill a small tub with water (add a few drops of bubble bath if you’d like!), and put some small bath toys, a sponge, and some washcloths in the tub. Let your child give her baby doll a bath, complete with scrubbing with soap, combing the baby’s hair, and scrubbing with a sponge or towel! 

8. Water “painting” 

All you need for this activity is some water and several paintbrushes. Fill a small cup or bucket with water, and let your child dip the brushes into the water to use to paint the ground, rocks, trees, or concrete in your backyard! The water will dry quickly, so you don’t need a whole lot of space for this activity because you can use the same area again and again! 

9. Nature “soup” 

Fill a large bucket or bin with water, and let your child create his own nature soup concoction using items he can find outside! Flowers, rocks, sticks, leaves, and grass work well for this activity. You can also add some food coloring or bubbles for added effect. Get a large cooking spoon or a shovel, and let your child practice stirring all the ingredients together. 

10. Sink or float? 

Engage your little ones with this fun science experiment. Fill a tub or bucket with water, and collect several items to use for the experiment (8-10 will do!). Choose some items that will sink, like toy cars, coins, toddler utensils, action figures, or rocks. Choose several items that will float, such as corks, feathers, plastic straws, caps, or foam letters. Before dropping each item into the bucket, ask your child if she thinks the item will sink or float. Once the experiment is over, ask your child if there are any similarities between the items that sank and the items that floated. 

As the weather warms up, there are so many great ways to take advantage of sunnier days, including some quality time doing water play with your children. Water play is a wonderful sensory experience for young children, and also just an all-around simple way to cool off on those hot days! 

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