Children always love outdoor activities. They love to experience, explore, and try new things independently. Children are especially passionate about water activities for kids. This is because of the coolness and fun that the game brings. However, parents do not always have time to take their children to the swimming pool, the beach, or the playground on the weekend.
While parents are enjoying their relaxation, children can also play with safe and fun water activities for kids at home. In this article, Babies Parent will suggest physical and mental games for children. The games are set up simply and quickly. The games also use materials that are safe for children. Let’s start the wonderful weekend for both parents and kids!
15+ Water Activities for Kids At Home
Water play is not only fun but also helps enhance a child’s physical and cognitive development. The games we suggest are suitable for all ages. You can adjust the rules to suit your interests and the number of children.
Physical Dynamic Activities
Physical activities are games that involve movement. The games are designed to help children be active and develop flexibility.
Water Balloons Fight
Kids use sticks to hit water balloons hung in front of them. You can add a blindfold to the game to make it even more exciting! Just be sure to watch out for those swinging sticks to keep everyone safe.
Setting up this water balloon activity is simple. Start by tying a sturdy rope between two posts or branches outside. Then, fill some balloons with water and attach them to the rope using a strong string. After that, kids can collect long, sturdy sticks. These will be for hitting the balloons. Make sure the sticks are easy to swing and won’t cause splinters. We first tried lighter sticks, but thicker branches worked way better!
Insect ice excavation
Once you see how easy ice excavation is to set up and how much the game entertains kids, you’ll realize insect ice excavation is one of the classic water activities for kids! Give your child salt, warm water, a paintbrush, and an eye dropper or spoon to help them melt the ice. Using the paintbrush, you can move and mix the salt with the ice. This creates friction and helps to melt faster.
Fill a small plastic container with water and add some coloring if you want. Place a few plastic insect toys in the water. Then, let the container freeze overnight.
Pool Treasure Hunt
Turn your pool into a treasure-filled ocean floor. Children can dive into the pool. They will find treasures from their favorite toys, or even gold coins. You can create teams so that children can support each other. Finally, find the team with the most treasures. The game helps children increase their ability to work flexibly underwater, and teamwork in water activities for kids.
Paint with ice
Paint with ice is a fun and easy outdoor art idea for kids to try this summer. Kids will love holding ice cubes. The challenge is to create a meaningful picture before the ice melts. Paint with ice helps your kids improve their observation and concentration skills.
Slip-n-Slide
You can buy Slip ‘n Slide sets in stores. However, you also can do the Slip ‘n Slide by yourself at home. Start by finding a long plastic sheet. A tarp or thick plastic, around 10 to 15 feet long, will work well.
Pick a safe spot to lay it down. Soft grass is ideal, and a small hill can make sliding even better. Once you have the spot, spread out the plastic sheet. Turn on a hose to wet the slide. If you want to get creative, poke some holes along the sides of the sheet. This will turn it into a fun sprinkler slide.
To make the slide slipperier, squirt some dish soap onto the surface. Finally, let the kids enjoy themselves with the best water activities for kids while you keep an eye on them to make sure they stay safe!
Sponge Targets
Sponge Targets is a dynamic game of water activities for kids. This is because of the safe and fun nature of the game. Your kids can play it over and over again. The game can also be started at any time without having to set up for too long. All you need is to prepare some clean sponges. Put them in a bucket, and spray them with water until the sponges are soaked. The target will be the cloth with the red dot drawn on it. Kids will be extremely excited when the sponges hit the target and splash water.
A water gun battle
Water gun fights are great memories that every child should have. A game that even if you don’t organize, children often play on their own every day. Today, you can make it more interesting. Create some obstacles and challenging puzzles. Create rules. Who gets to shoot, and who has to run away? All of this will create a great water gun fight in your yard!
Have fun with pool noodles
Kids of all ages will love building a water wall using pool noodles. You can use tape, string, or zip ties to set up a water obstacle course. Kids can pour water into one end of a pool noodle and watch it drip from the other side. You can also cut the noodles into smaller pieces to make fun floating toys for the pool.
Another idea is to turn a pool noodle into a sprinkler. Seal one end of the noodle and poke small holes along its length using a nail. This creates a cool water toy for kids to enjoy on hot days.
Dot Blaster Game
For Dot Blaster Game, use a brush to dab washable paint onto each child. Every player starts with a set number of dots. When a player loses all their dots, they are out of the game. The child who has the most dots left at the end wins!
Ping-Pong Ball Float
To play Ping-Pong Ball Float, you’ll need water blasters, a ping-pong ball, a bucket, and a pitcher. In this fun teamwork water activities for kids game, the kids must work together to fill the pitcher with water using the water blasters. Their goal is for the ping-pong ball to float and fall to the ground.
Duck, Duck, Splash!
This summer twist on “Duck, Duck, Goose” will keep kids laughing. The “goose” walks around the circle holding a big cup of water. When they choose the next goose, they pour the water over that person’s head and then run!
Educational Interesting Activities
Parents want their children to develop both physically and mentally. Therefore, children can exercise their minds and achieve satisfaction when playing
Water Transfer
Teach your child math and science with a simple water transfer activity. Kids can use shovels, large spoons, buckets, or sponges to move water between containers. They can count how many spoonfuls or soaked sponges it takes to move all the water. The water transfer game is a suitable activity for toddlers. From this game, toddlers can practice reflexes and concentration by repeating simple actions.
This activity helps kids learn about counting and measuring volume. They can also make predictions, explore how things absorb water, and see cause and effect happen in real time.
Water Filtration
Water Filtration can be started by mixing water with dirt, sand, mud, pebbles, etc. Next, kids will place a coffee filter or cheesecloth over a glass. Pour the mixture through the filter. Parents need to do this over the sink or outside to avoid making a mess!
Metallic Water Table
Metallic Water Table is one of the perfect summer water activities for kids. Add a splash of metallic paint to a water table for a mesmerizing effect. The swirling colors will create a water table that’s fun and captivating for kids. Pour water into shallow bins, add 1-2 tablespoons of metallic paint, and stir to mix.
Stick Raft Building
Stick Raft Building is the ideal brain training game for kids. They can practice brainstorming, designing, and building while playing. Kids will build their boats by assembling tree branches. They will decorate and race the boat right in your pool. Children will have many questions as they work. These questions will challenge their analytical and creative skills. Encourage the kids to think about their design. What materials they’ll need and how much of each? Let them decide on the size, shape, and features. They can discuss their ideas or draw and label their design on paper.
LEGO Pool
Children’s favorite toy is LEGO. A swimming pool full of LEGO will be their favorite game. Fill a kiddie pool with LEGO. This is a kid game for one player or let them play with their friends and enjoy the cool breeze. The game is even more fun to build LEGO underwater.
Pouring Station
Kids can practice pouring liquids from one container to another. Set up a few cups, bowls, or pitchers filled with water or other safe liquids. Kids will use spoons or small pitchers to pour the water between containers. This helps develop their hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and understanding of volume and measurement. The game is a fun, hands-on way for children to explore basic concepts while enjoying water play.
Benefits of Water Activities For Kids
Water play is not only fun but also educational. The kids always look forward to participating in snow day activities in winter. Now, we can create a healthy playground for them during the rest of the year with water activities for kids. These activities help kids interact with others and explore their senses. These activities improve fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, balance, and strength. They also encourage communication and problem-solving skills.
Whether your child is a toddler or a bit older, actions like squirting, scrubbing, pouring, stirring, and squeezing naturally help build motor skills. Water play also teaches kids real-life concepts like temperature changes, evaporation, and how things dissolve in water. These simple activities introduce basic science ideas early on.
Water play also helps children improve their social skills by playing with others. As they discover new things, they often get excited to share what they’ve learned, boosting their confidence. You’ll also notice that kids use objects in creative ways during water play, which strengthens focus and concentration—important skills for learning and growth.
Final Thought
Water activities for kids bring many experiences. Children need space to explore and they also need more free activities like that. They need to release the energy in their bodies to transform and grow. Parents can organize games for their children themselves. This activity helps to bond with the family. Moreover, parents can observe and help their children adapt to the environment more safely.
