Are you looking for fun and easy backyard water activities to keep your kiddos cool and occupied with this summer?
If so, check out this list with a variety of fun water play!
From pretend dynamic play to water races to making math fun with water, there’s a little bit of everything on this list!
I tried to keep the list to activities that you can do with items from around the house.
This means FREE FUN!
No special equipment required!
And if you don’t have the household items I recommend, you can skip that idea, use a little improv with something else you do have around the house, or you could decide to spend a few bucks to get an item you want for the water activity.
The other reason I like using household items is because with two little ones, I don’t have a lot of free time on my hands.
Using household items means these activities take little to no prep to get them set up!
So grab your hose and a few household items and let’s have fun!
Pretend Play Water Activities
These first ideas are just fun ways to pretend and incorporate water into play time!
My toddler has a huge imagination, so we love pretending that hula hoops are pizzas and that mulch makes the best stew.
These play ideas can be as simple or as complicated as you want!
I will offer you some ideas of how we would set these up at our house, but you know your kids and play items the best so don’t feel like you have to play exactly how we would!
Bakery
My toddler loves helping me bake in our real kitchen and she loves to pretend that she has her own kitchen!
Break out a few easy to clean up kitchen tools (think dishwasher safe) and let you child pretend to bake up a storm.
Easy kitchen items in our house include:
- Metal bowls
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Silicone cupcake holders
- Baking sheet
- Whisk
Fill a bucket, tub, water table, or kiddie pool with water for your child to use as ingredients.
Making the Food
Now using the kitchen tools and water, they can pretend to whip up all sorts of baked goods!
For younger children, help name off some “ingredients” they need to mix in a bowl.
For example, I will tell my daughter that if she wants to make protein cookies, she needs a cup of peanut butter, a half cup of protein powder, a quarter cup of sweetener and needs to crack in an egg and mix it up really good.
She then proceeds to dump in different amounts of water into a bowl or bucket and can mix it with her hands or a whisk.
Then she can dump it into silicone muffin dishes or just pretend to put the cookies on the baking sheet.
Have a designated area for the pretend oven so that your child can bake their food.
We use the steps coming out the back of our house for an oven.
For young children, incorporate counting and other math into play by making them count to ten (or backwards from ten) as an oven timer.
For older kids, ask them math questions such as how many quarter cups would make a whole cup.
Incorporating fractions is easy if you have out the measuring spoons and measuring cups.
Buying the Food
Once your child has a chance to whip up muffins, cakes, and other baked goods, it’s time to shop at their bakery!
At our house, we use mulch as money.
I like to let my daughter tell me what’s for sale and how much things cost.
Once again, you can easily add math time into this by making your child count the money you pay or by making them give you change.
For example, perhaps the cupcake you want is $2 but your piece of mulch is a $5 bill, how many pieces of mulch should you get back?
Then pretend to eat their creations and of course, go back and shop for more!
Backyard Stew
This is a nice simple activity that just requires a spoon and a bowl.
Have your child go around the yard and pick up some things to make stew with.
Examples of items they could pick up would be:
- Mulch
- Rocks
- Grass
- Clover flowers
- Dandelions
Have the child bring them back and pretend to mix them up into a big stew.
Once the stew is ready, pretend to eat some!
And if you eat all the stew up, make another batch!
Bath time
Now this isn’t just bath time outside for your child (although you can do that if you want!).
This is a chance for your child to pretend to give other things a bath!
Start with identifying water safe friends such as bath toys, plastic animals, Barbie’s, or at our house we have one baby doll that’s safe to go in water.
Get a small bin, bucket, or bowl.
Grab other bath time essentials like soap, a wash cloth, a cup, and a towel (we use an old hand towel).
Now let your child pretend to give their toys a bath!
This keeps my daughter occupied for a good half hour!
Also, this is a great activity for their own bath time, or for play in a sink!
My daughter thought it was so fun to give her baby doll a bath in the sink I didn’t think I was ever going to get her to come down for lunch!
Car wash
Feel free to use whatever car you want for this play activity!
You could literally wash one of your cars.
Or you could pretend to wash a kiddie car.
Or you could pretend to wash play cars.
And last but not least, you can always pretend to wash an imaginary car such as an upside down bin or bucket.
Let your child use the hose to get the car wet.
Get a sponge and some soapy water and scrub away!
Then use the hose again to clean off the soap.
And for the whole package deal, break out a towel to dry off the car.
Hair Salon
Let your child open up a hair salon and wash and style hair for their toys like a Barbie or other water safe friend.
Or if you have more than one kiddo they could pretend to wash each other’s hair.
All you need is a hose (set to a gentle spray), a bowl or a bucket to be a wash basin, and a little shampoo.
Once the hair has been washed, use a towel to dry it.
Now it’s time to style it!
Use hair clips or headbands that are safe to get wet!
Lemonade Stand
With a plastic pitcher and a few plastic cups, your child could pretend to open a lemonade stand!
Of course you could also do a real lemonade stand if you live in a neighborhood!
But for pretend play, have your child practice filling cups with the pitcher and “selling” them.
Use a few different sized cups so that they can practice pouring into different things.
Like I suggested above for the bakery, this is a good activity to sneak in some math without your child knowing it!
Ask for your cup to be a quarter, half, or two thirds full to help them practice dividing up containers in their head!
And of course pretend to pay with mulch, rocks, or blades of grass!
Tea Party
If you have a outdoor safe, non-toxic tea party set like this one that we have from My Green Toys, your child might have a blast having a tea party outside!
And if you are looking for non-toxic toys, check out my guide to non-toxic toy brands (it is baby focused but the brands make toys for kids of all ages!).
Bring some water safe friends and have your child practice pouring every one a cup of tea and serving it to their toys or to you!
To keep things simple you can just play in the grass.
Or for a fancy party, put on fancy clothes (like a play dress), break out a picnic blanket and a few snacks to have with the tea.
This can as simple or as decked out as you want it to be!
Paint the House
Do you have any paint brushes lying around the house?
If so, you can easily entertain your child for a good half hour with a paint brush and some water!
How?
Let them paint the house!
Or the sidewalk, the mailbox, their play set, etc.!
My toddler thought it was SO FUN to get a bucket of water and a paint brush and to pretend to paint the house.
So get them a plastic bucket or cup and an old paint brush and let them paint everything in site!
So easy, yet so entertaining!
Laundry Time
Have you ever noticed how kids love to pretend to do chores, but don’t want to do real chores when you ask them?
Anyone else?
Whew, glad we aren’t the only ones!
Well here’s a chance to let them pretend to do the laundry!
This works best with a bucket of soapy water and then a bucket of plain water.
Let your kids put their clothes (or their old clothes that no longer fit or rags or whatever you are willing to let them use!) in the soapy water.
Show them how to scrub the clothes together in the soapy water and then in the plain water to rinse them out.
Then lay them out in the grass to dry.
Or even better yet, set up a little laundry drying line with some string and clothes pins between some trees.
It’s a great motor skill activity to pin laundry up on a clothes line!
You will be surprised how long your kids are willing to do pretend chores as opposed to the real chores.
Wash the Dishes
And another great chore your kids can pretend to do with water is washing the dishes!
Once again set up some soapy water and clean water in bowls, buckets, or bins.
Grab some plastic or stainless dishes that will not be damaged if dropped.
Give your kids a scrub brush or a sponge and let them go to town cleaning the dishes!
You can also sit out a towel for them to set the dishes on or to have them practice drying the dishes.
Once again, pretend chores entertain for hours versus the whining you get from making them do real chores.
And parenting hack: later when they say they can’t help with dishes, remind them that they did a mighty fine job when they were pretending outside!
Pretend Adventure Water Activities
Do you have a kid with a huge imagination?
If so, then it’s time for a pretend trip!
There are so many great “places” you can pretend to go with a little water and some imagination.
Kids love to pretend to visit places they have been before, so if you have actually done some of these, try to recreate the trip!
And if you haven’t, you could find a book to re-enact or you can let them set up the scene entirely!
Props help set the scene, but aren’t required!
Gone Fishing
Whether you have real fishing poles, pretend fishing poles, or sticks in your backyard, set up a fishing trip.
Pretend or get real worms to “fish” with.
Set up a bucket or bin with water to fish out of.
Use pretend plastic fish or use stones for pretend fish.
Pretend to have the fish tug on your line.
Maybe you almost fall in or maybe the fish gets away before you can reel it in.
Or maybe you catch a whale on accident!
Use your imagination!
When your child catches a fish, ask how big it is or how heavy it is.
This gets them thinking about measurements!
Once you have enough fish, pretend to cook them over a fire or take them home and ice them.
And if it’s a slow fishing day, maybe have real drinks and snacks or maybe even a backyard picnic while you wait for the fish to bite.
White Water Rapids
There are a couple of ways you can play with a rapids theme.
The first way is to fill a bin with water and have your child sit in it.
This obviously works best for a small child.
Slosh them around through the rapids and let the water splash up on them.
To do this, just tip the bin from side to side.
You can also get them a stick to pretend to paddle with.
For kids that are too big to fit in a bin or if you don’t have a bin, try the second method!
The second way to make a pretend rapid is to toss water at them as they go through the rapids.
Start by having your child pretend to sit in the raft.
You could even have them out on floaties and wearing a helmet (aka a baseball cap).
Have them grab a stick to be their oar.
Now have them pretend to paddle along.
Start out in calm water and then ask if they hear a roaring sound.
Tell them it’s the rapids coming up!
As they start to go through the rapids, use buckets of water to splash water in their direction.
Give commands on which side they should paddle on.
This is great for learning right and left!
Once you are out of water to splash them with say, “whew you made it out of the rapids!”.
I guarantee your child will ask to go through the rapids again!
Stranded Island
For a fun survivalist activity, tell your kids they have become stranded on an island.
There are so many activities you can have them pretend to do while stranded.
Perhaps they have to collect water to drink.
Maybe they need to collect wood (aka sticks) and start a fire.
Now they need to search for food to eat or pretend to fish for food.
Maybe they need to collect leaves to make a bed for the night.
Perhaps they find a hidden waterfall (aka set up a sprinkler).
Maybe they go swimming with dolphins in the ocean (use pretend plastic dolphins in a kiddie pool).
Maybe they have to cross a river filled with crocodiles (again set up a kiddie pool with plastic crocodiles or use your hand to snap at them)!
The ideas are endless here so maybe have your child think of things they would have to do if they were stranded and prompt them with thinking questions if they run out of ideas of what to do on their island.
Arctic Adventure
Grab ice from the freezer and let your kids have some icy backyard arctic adventure!
Maybe your child is on a expedition to find humpback whales or to waddle with penguins.
Perhaps they are traveling by boat in their kiddie pool and you put ice cubes for them to play with in the kiddie pool.
Point out the Arctic animals you see along the way!
Or you can pretend to build an igloo with the ice cubes.
Use the ice cubes to make the outline of the igloo and pretend to go fish and hunt for food to bring back to the igloo.
Pretend to sleep in the igloo.
Or maybe a polar bear starts to chase you and you have to race back to the igloo before the polar bear gets you (aka play tag!).
Or with a little pre-work, you can freeze some of their toys in the ice.
Have your child pretend to have a rescue mission to save their toys and free them from the ice!
No matter what your Arctic Adventure is, let your kids have fun playing with ice!
Beach Trip
This is one of my daughters favorite things to pretend to do since we have taken a couple trips to Florida and to the beach!
The “beach” can be as easy as a kiddie pool or storage bin filled with water.
For good measure, you can also put an old brown towel next to it to be sand.
Even better, if you have a bag of shells lying around like we do from an actual trip to the beach, sprinkle some out in the “sand”.
And if you have real sand or dirt, use one of those for your sandy beach!
So now that your play area is staged, it’s time to get ready for the beach!
First, pretend to load up the car with your beach essentials!
For us this means put all the beach things like a beach towel, beach chair, floaties, umbrella, sand toys like a shovel and pail, and maybe even a picnic (with real food or pretend food) on the patio steps.
I sit in the front and pretend to drive while my toddler sits in the back.
Once we reach the “beach”, we unload.
First, we set up the umbrella by leaning it on the ground and lay out a beach towel in front of it.
Then we get out the sand toys and pretend to build a sand castle.
We also “swim” in the ocean, pretend to watch dolphins jump in the water, hunt for shells, and eat a picnic before loading up the car to head home.
And this is the best part because that’s how you can get your child to help clean up as part of the activity so it feels less like a chore!
So pack your pretend car and get going to the beach!
Ocean Adventure
This is very similar to the beach trip but a little more focus on being in the ocean and less time playing in the “sand”.
This works best if you have some ocean creature bath toys, but again totally not necessary!
It just takes more imagination if you don’t!
So to explore the ocean, you can either pretend to be in a submarine or you can pretend to scuba dive or snorkel!
Perhaps you ride a submarine down to see sharks and lantern fish.
Or maybe you scuba to a ship wreck.
Or perhaps you are snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef (bonus points if you have actual snorkel gear for them to wear).
There are some great Magic School Bus books that you can pair with this play if you want to bring in an educational aspect.
But no matter how you decide to explore the ocean, pretend to point out sea creatures that are swimming by.
You could also point out pretend ocean pollution and talk about the importance of caring for our world.
Perhaps you save a duck caught in plastic!
Add fun elements like a shark chasing you and you have to run away.
Or maybe your submarine springs a leak (aka the hose spraying your child) and you have to work to repair it.
This is a good way to add problem solving to play time!
So have fun exploring the ocean together in a variety of different ways!
Learning Time with Water
Not that pretend play doesn’t already have a lot of learning elements in it already, but this next section is dedicated to more targeted learning activities.
The goal is to make learning fun, so if your child gets bored with an activity, try to change up the activity to make it more fun!
How Many Cups?
This is a great measuring and counting activity!
Grab a variety of medium sized objects that can be filled with water and grab a one cup measuring cup.
And for older kids you can also break out smaller objects and the measuring spoons.
But the idea is that you have a bucket or bin of water filled and using the one cup measuring cup, count how many cups it takes to fill different objects.
And make things tricky by picking similar sized objects or obscure shaped objects and ask your child to guess which object is bigger.
Then test their guess by counting how many cups of water it takes to fill the different objects.
Objects you could fill include bowls, cups, pitchers, bottles, vases, odd shaped measuring containers, buckets, or any of their toys that are water friendly and would hold water!
How Many Squeezes?
Similar to the how many cups, instead of using a measuring cup, this time you see how many times you have to squeeze a sponge to fill something up.
You can also make it a competition between siblings to see who takes the least amount of squeezes.
Or you could also make it a race!
Use two same sized objects like two plastic cups and see who can fill their cup first with only sponge squeezes!
And do yourself a favor and pick smaller things to fill than with the measuring cup so that your child doesn’t lose interest!
Float or Sink?
This is a great activity to geek out with some science!
All you need is a semi deep container filled with water and a variety of objects that are water safe that will float and sink!
It is helpful to note that it’s more fun if the water container is clear so that your kids can see the objects that sink, fall to the bottom.
For small kiddos, stick with just collecting a variety of objects and ask the child if they think an item will sink or float.
Then put their theory to the test.
Help them see trends like “this is filled with air just like the balloon we did earlier, so do you think this will also sink or float?”.
If your kids are a bit older, ask them to collect the items themselves.
For example tell them they have to sort the objects into a sink pile and a float pile.
Then test their piles out.
Or maybe you could have them find their own objects such as “find 5 things that are water friendly and will float from around the house”.
And if you really want to dive into a buoyancy experiment, get a plastic container that would float and then slowly add water to it to make it sink!
But with water and a handful of toys, you can have a fun time experimenting in your backyard!
Boat Float
For another fun buoyancy water activity, let your child build a boat out of every day household items to sail in their kiddo pool or in a bin of water.
I remember being in high school and having to build a boat out of cardboard that we could paddle around the school pool!
And yes, we covered the cardboard in duct tape to make it float!
This is a chance for your child to test out different materials in water.
Let them try out cardboard, cardboard with tape, paper, plastic, and other containers!
It’s also a great chance for them to build and use problem solving!
Get fancy and build a sail on the boat so that you can blow it with your breath from one side of the pool to the other!
You can make a sail with a straw, wood rod, or even a pencil that has a cloth or paper sail!
Make your boats as fancy or as simple as you want!
Alphabet Fun (or Spelling Practice)
Is your child just learning their alphabet?
Or maybe your child is learning to spell!
This water activity is perfect for promoting both those things!
All you need is a paint brush or a pool toy that sprays a thin squirt of water (we have a little dolphin from our water table that works perfectly for this activity).
And then you need a driveway, sidewalk, or a back patio that clearly changes color when it gets wet!
This water activity obviously changes depending on how old your child is.
For small children, have them watch you make a letter and have them tell you what letter it is.
For a bit older children, spell out a word for them to sound out.
And if you child is old enough to write, have them write out letters or words for younger siblings or for you to guess!
And if they get tired of their letters, try the next water activity!
Identifying Shapes
Just like the letter activity above, all you need for this is a paint brush or a spray toy.
Instead of letters, this time you are making shapes for your child to guess.
Or your child can be the one making shapes for you to guess.
And you can throw in some curve balls like three lines that almost look like a triangle but maybe they don’t fully connect.
Since it’s hard to be exact, you might have to be a little flexible with distinguishing between circles and ovals and also between rectangles and squares.
But have fun squirting shapes all over the driveway!
And combine the two activities by making a shape and then having your child spell out what shape it is or at least identify what the starting sound is.
For example, for a younger kiddo you could draw a triangle and then you ask them what letter they think triangle starts with.
So much learning with very little required equipment!
Water Wall
This is another great building and problem solving water activity!
Just a fair warning though, this activity is a bit more work intensive and might require some extra supplies to execute well.
With that said, let’s build a water wall!
The goal of this water activity is to create a wall of different funnels, channels, and ramps for water to travel down.
This works best against a waterproof backdrop.
This could be a pegboard and zip ties.
It could be a plastic tarp over a cardboard box and duct tape.
Or it could be plywood and nails.
Work with what you have at home or what you can find cheap at the hardware store next time you are running errands.
So first is to get the backboard set up to mount objects to.
Next, collect items from around the house that are water safe and can transfer water.
Water Wall Item Ideas
- 2 liter bottle (holes cut in bottom or the bottom cut off)
- Yogurt container (large hole cut in the bottom)
- Tin foil (sculpt into different shapes or use it to cover a cardboard paper towel middle cut in half to make a ramp)
- Water bottle (holes in bottom or bottom removed to be a funnel)
- Funnel
- Silicone baking mat (rolled up for a tunnel)
- Silicone water diffuser
- Plastic salad containers (holes drilled in bottom or a slit cut out in one side and then hang at an angle)
- Solo cups (holes cut in bottom)
- Pool water noodle (one really long tube!)
Hopefully that gets you started on some ideas!
Build the wall with the objects so that your child pours water into something at the top and then the water works it’s way down to the ground into a bucket or bin!
It’s best to do lots of testing along the way to make sure the water is transferring from one object to another smoothly.
And the taller the wall, the more objects you can use.
For small kiddos, you can build a simple wall for them with just 3 or 4 objects so that it isn’t too high for them to dump water into the top.
Once the wall is complete, use cups or even a pitcher for a long continuous stream of water to pour into the top of the water wall.
Then repeat over and over again and watch the water travel down!
Competitive Backyard Water Activities
Do you have competitive kids or want to have a summer backyard birthday party with fun water activities?
If so, then these backyard Olympic water activities might be perfect for you!
And if you only have one child, you can still do these activities for fun or have them race the clock and see if they can beat their best time!
So ready, get set, GO!
Water Tag
Bring a new element to the game of tag by adding water!
This obviously works better if you have several kids playing.
If you only have one child, you will have to jump in on the fun to make this work!
The person who is “it” fills a bucket with water.
Instead of tagging other players, have them toss water at them.
If you get hit by the water first, you are “it”!
If the person who is it misses, have them refill their bucket and try again.
To make refills faster, have a bin filled with water so that they don’t have to wait for a hose refill each time.
Water Limbo
Did you ever play limbo growing up?
The idea was that everyone would lean back and try to make it under a pole without touching the ground.
If you touched the ground, hit the pole, or fell down, you were out!
Each round, the pole would get closer to the ground until only one person was left and was the winner.
Well the same rules apply here, but instead of trying to make it under a pole, now you are trying to make it under a stream of water!
Use a garden hose with a nozzle set to “stream” (or a setting that shoots out a pretty straight flow of water).
Now you have to make it under the water without getting wet and without touching the ground!
The last player still in wins!
Move that Water
This activity is very simple, but can be very competitive!
The goal?
Move water from one place to another.
Like I said, simple right?
Now you can do that in just about a million ways, so let me suggest how you might set this up!
Basically you are going to set up a container with water and an empty container that is about the same size some distance away.
This could be a bowl, bucket, or a storage bin!
Now select a “carrying” vessel to transport the water from the full bin to the empty bin.
This could be a drinking cup, a measuring cup, a small bucket, or even a spoon if you want a real challenge!
Keep in mind that the larger the container is that is filled with water and the smaller the objects is to move the water and the further apart the containers are, the more time this water activity will take so keep that in mind for whatever age the kids are that are playing.
If you have one child playing, have them race the clock!
For two teams, make sure you have the same amount of water for each team.
Once you say to start, have the first person race down, dump their water in the empty container, and then race back and pass their transporting object to the next player.
Have players continue to race back and forth until all of the water has been drained from the starting bin!
And remind them – no cheating!
You can’t take two steps, dump your cup in the grass and then turn around!
You have to make it all the way to the empty container before you can turn around!
Balancing Act
You might have heard of practicing good posture by walking around balancing a book on your head, but how about walking with a cup of water balanced on your head?
The goal of this water activity is to be the first person to make it across the finish line without the cup of water falling off your head.
This works best with something similar to SOLO cups or small kids bowls.
Have markers for a start and finish line.
Start with the two markers relatively close and then make the distance further for each round you play.
Keep a pitcher or container of water at the start line for refills when people spill their cups.
Have contestants line up with a cup about half full on their head.
They can hold the cup until the race starts.
When you say go, everyone should let go of their cup and carefully try to make it to the finish line without dumping their cup and without touching the cup.
If the cup falls or if they touch the cup, that person has to go back to the start.
For anyone whose cup has spilled, have them refill their cup using the extra water at the start.
The first one across the finish line with their cup still on their head wins!
You could also have your kids try balancing the cup on the palm of their hand.
For younger kids, you could allow them to use one hand to help steady the water on their head.
Or for toddlers, you could just have them carry cups filled to the brim and see who has the most water left at the finish line since they will most likely splash some out as they are walking.
Once again, tailor this water activity to your crew!
Sponge Toss
This is a great water activity for not only a fun competition, but also to work on judging distances.
The idea is to throw a water filled sponge into a container.
There are two variations to this.
The first way is to set out different sized containers at different distances away and have your child try to throw a sponge into each container.
Whoever gets the most in wins.
And if you only have one child they can compete against you or try to do better each time.
The second way to set up a sponge toss is to use one container and move it further back each time they make it in.
The person that makes it in at the furthest distance wins.
And again for one child, measure how far they make is each time and see if they can beat their own record!
Containers can be bowls, buckets, or any other plastic bins you have around the house!
Simple, but competitive and entertaining!
Every Day Water Activities
And sometimes the best water activities are the simple ones that nature provides.
Take a Walk in the Rain
Why is there a nursery rhyme that says rain rain go away, come again another day?
Why aren’t kids enjoying the rain shower too?
It’s not much different than the fancy splash pads that spray water everywhere.
So next time a rain shower pops up where you live, tell your kids to grab their suits!
Tell them to get out there and enjoy nature’s free water park!
Nothing like running through the backyard in the rain or swinging on your swing set in the rain!
Or let them take an umbrella if your child doesn’t like getting too wet.
Now I should caveat and say that if there are storms that we should stay inside.
As my meteorologist sister says, “when thunder roars, go indoors!”
So make sure it’s a safe rain shower for your kids to play in.
Stomp in Puddles
My toddler absolutely LOVES stomping in puddles around our neighborhood.
I actually don’t know why I don’t see more kids out doing it except for the fact that maybe they are afraid they will get in trouble.
I think it’s too bad that so many people want to keep their kids perfectly clean.
Kids are messy!
And I’m all about messy play!
So put on some old clothes and either rain boots or old shoes and go find some puddles for your child to jump in after the next rain storm.
Better yet, put on some rain boots yourself and go stomp with them.
Yes I have done this and can I just say, it’s therapeutic to stomp in puddles!
So grab your boots and make a splash!
Water the Flowers
Here’s a good two for one – let your kids have fun and get a chore done by letting your kids water the flowers.
Have them put on a suit and tell them they can spray themselves too!
I remember loving using the hose to water flowers growing up.
And of course “accidentally” spraying my sister (yes, I admit now I did it on purpose!).
So save yourself some time and let your kids have fun with this one!
The Ultimate Classic Backyard Water Activity
And last but not least, if all else fails, stick to the original backyard water activity – the sprinkler!
Set up a sprinkler and let your kids run through it!
It doesn’t get much easier than that.
I can’t tell you how many hours I did this as a kid!
Nothing beats running through a sprinkler on a hot summer day!
And if you don’t have a sprinkler, just put a spray nozzle on the hose and play around with the different hose setting and let your child run through that!
So there you have it!
Easy backyard water activities that require little prep to stimulate your child to learn and play.
And hopefully you don’t have to spend a dime and can use items you have around the house!
The only other thing to keep in mind is to be safe about your sun exposure!
In our house, we opt for non-toxic 50+ UPF clothing instead of sunscreen and we also limit our sun exposure during peak UV times during the day.
We also use shade to our advantage!
A lot of times I will have our water activity set up on the patio in the afternoon when it’s shaded by the house.
This is also during the heat of the day, making it the perfect time for shaded water play!
So what other easy, low cost water activities do your kids enjoy doing?
Share in the comments below!
