Easy Peasy Water Play!

Recently I loved watching my Little Learners get stuck into our Pimm’s bowl for Coronation week – obviously it didn’t involve Pimm’s and was in fact, just water play! It’s such a simple concept, but one that proved to be REALLY popular. I thought I’d share a few different water based ideas that you can try at home.

The water trug that I use in my sessions is this one from Amazon (you can also often get them from hardware stores) – it’s brilliant as it fits children inside it! A word of warning – you will need another person to help you empty it, or transfer the contents to a bucket via a jug as it easily spills…..

I always pop a tuff tray underneath and a towel/piece of material also helps minimise spillages. Other large sized trays are great for water play too.

A child plays in a bucket of water with bubbles — Plastic water bowl

Water play – with added interest

My first suggestion for water play is to add food into the water container. For Coronation week I created “Pimms” by adding cucumber, orange slices and strawberries but you can use anything that won’t perish in water. I’ve also tried a summery mix of lemons and limes. I think that veggies or herbs might add another dynamic too. By having edible items, there is a high motivator to get involved! Be careful to remove pips, stalks or anything else that shouldn’t be ingested.

Tools such as cups, jugs, ladles, sieves, colanders and nets will also promote those fine motor skills. Tools support your child in developing their hand-eye coordination and develops your water play further.

Water play – with bubbles

Children LOVE bubbles, so why not just fill a tub with some really soapy water and let them get stuck in?! Bubble wands and floating toys can be added as well to mix it up. As arms and legs are likely to get in this sort of tub, you may want to use warm water.

Water beads

Water beads/Orbeez are amazing – they start off life as tiny little plastic beads, you soak them overnight in water and they become marble sized and feel SOOO nice to run through your fingers. Children love the colours and they are readily available. I get mine from eBay as they seem to be cheapest there. One little pot lasts for ages – I tend to soak 2 capfuls and that more or less covers the water trug.

Using nets, sieves and colanders, children can catch them and collect them. They DO bounce, so apply caution when encouraging them to throw them back in the tub!

CAUTION! Water beads should NEVER be ingested – children require constant monitoring when playing with them. If your little one is going through a phase of putting things in their mouth, I would avoid using them. The suggested age range is 3yrs+ – use your discretion.

Water play with water beads is one of the most popular sessions with the adults too!

Water squirters

I am looking forward to using these water squirters in the coming weeks! A bucket of water and a target (tarpaulin/laminated pictures) to aim towards and not only will we be having fun, we’ll be building up those hand muscles too – win, win! These ones were from the Co-op, but any kind of water gun/squirter works well. The Range often have a great summer range. Plant sprayers also work well.