8 Fun Water Activities for Kids

We are well into July and if you’re like me your summer bucket list is just about complete. With another month 3 months of heat remaining, I thought it timely to share some of our favorite and fun water activities to keep your kids busy and cool until November.

1. Ice Excavation – Take a shoebox sized tub and fill it with water.  Add some various waterproof toys, bouncy ball, army men, plastic animals some things that float and sink.  Put it in the freezer overnight and in the morning take it outside!  You can either let it melt and pull the items out as it does or supervise your children with a hammer as they chip out each item.

2. Slip and Slide – While you could buy the official fancy {expensive} bonanza slip ‘n’ slide from Target, I prefer a good old plastic roll of tarp from Home Depot because it’s much wider and cheaper.  Roll it out and turn on the hose to initiate hours of sliding fun.

3. Ice boat races down the Slip and Slide – The night before you slip and slide, fill an ice cube tray with water and cover with plastic wrap.  Poke a toothpick through the plastic wrap into each cube so the toothpick freezes into the cube.  Cut small paper triangles and have your kids decorate them.  Tape them onto a toothpick and let your kids race their boats down the slip and slide!

4. Spray Bottles, Buckets and Paint Brushes – A few months ago there was a great post from Heather on her favorite splash pad times.  Included in that was a bucket and paintbrushes – genius!  We also love spray bottles.  I’ve found that if you add a little bit of sidewalk chalk to the water and mix well it turns it into a washable color to paint or spray.

5. Water Blob – If you’re on Pinterest, then my guess is that you’ve seen this idea.  A water blob is merely water trapped between sheets of plastic and duct tape.  Simple, easy and a quick way to give the kids a new way to play.  I also like this twist on the water blob – poking holes and leaving the hose on to create a water blob splash pad!

6. Water Bomb War – A trip to the dollar store one morning created a great summer day activity for my kids.  I picked up some basic sponges, disposable dish rags, a roll of drawer liner and some zip ties.  When I got home I cut them into strips (about 1 inch thick by 5 inches in length) and zip tied them around the middle to create a water bomb.  Way easier and quicker than filling 100’s of water ballons and created just about as much fun with a water bomb war.

7. Ice Cube Painting – Simple and easy!  To make it a little more fun, you can mix some sidewalk chalk pieces into the water to create color.

8. Slide + Pool – My post last summer listed this as one of our favorite summer activities and this summer it remains one!!

These are some of our favorite water activities, what are some of yours??