Water Play

Here are some things you can do for water fun: You can go on an outing: A water park, the pool, the lake You can do Water play at home - water balloons, water gun fights, slip and slide (with close supervision)

Use these opportunities to talk about water safety. Swimming pools, Water safety, never swimming without an adult. :

Art Projects For tots: Put chalk and paintbrushes on paved area for experimenting with water and chalk, and show how "painting" with water darkens the pavement. Squirt Bottle Painting You will need: Squirt Bottle Water
Paint Large Paper (Brown Kraft Paper is good or you can buy banner paper) Chain link fence Clothes pins Fill a squirt bottle with a 1 part paint 2 parts water mixture. Hang your large paper on a chain link fence with clothes pins. Squirt out a painting with your paint squirt bottles. I recommend you make up a couple different color bottles. **Wear a smock**

Painting with Water: Give the child a bucket of water and a large paint brush and let them paint whatever they want outside.

Use squirt bottles/paint brushes to paint the driveway on hot days.

Set up a water carnival in the yard: Wading pool is extra special if the end of a toddler slide is put into it.Balls and water toys can also slide down the slide. Buckets and shovels can be used to fill with water and pour on the adults feet...adults make appreciative and "woo...that's cold!" remarks.

Have spillproof bubble wands, and pans of water for making bubble piles.

Activities Sink or Float
You will need a Sink or Dishpan. A bucket could work too.
Talk about how some things sink and some things float and then take various objects and talk about if you think they will sink or float.
Then put them in the water and see. Float eggs in salt water versus regular water to see if there is a difference.
How can shape help objects float?
Take some modeling clay and container ½ filled with water.
Drop balls of clay into water. Ask "Did your ball float or sink?" How can you change shape so it will float?
Have child shape clay into boat. Test shape by placing in water. Determine which shapes float best and talk about why.

Puzzles with water scenes for rainy day
If it rains - Mud puddle walking in the rain Messy Fun: Take dirt and add water: Watch what happens and talk about it.

Make Music with Water: Get several cups or glasses the same size. Fill them with different amounts of water. Gently tap with spoon to see how they sound varies with each different amount. Try different shapes of cups, or glasses vs. ceramic vs, plastic etc.

Make your own rainbow: Take small bowls and one large container of water to a water friendly area and allow the children to fill small bowls and then add food color to change the water, then allow them to mix the waters together and then use paint brushes to decorate paper, coffee filters, fruit or any other water friendly surface. They love the colors and then once they mix them it's even more fun. Another way to make a rainbow (Prism)Take a glass of water on a sunny day and hold it or set it so that the sun shines through it.You can also carry it around the room and let the child find the rainbow.

A water wave bottle with food coloring/water & mineral oil.
Take a bottle like a plastic water bottle, remove the label. Mark 2 lines about 1/3 each. Fill the bottle to the first line with water, add food coloring. Fill the bottle with baby oil or cooking oil to the next mark. Put the lid on tightly. It is a good idea to glue the lid on and then tape it on so the bottle doesn’t leak. To add interest you might add some objects to bottle before you seal it. When the water moves the oil and water separate creating a wave effect.Do this with lots of adult supervision.

Investigating the different forms of water - frozen ice, snow, steam, liquid Talk about how it gets that way.

For small children, they will enjoy simple "tea" parties and pouring water from pitcher to cup and cup to cup.

Cornstarch & water makes an amazing concoction.
Take some Cornstarch and add Water Is It Liquid Or Solid?

Caution: Water can make certain surfaces slippery.
Be careful!

Thanks to the Worldwidenannies Yahoogroup for these great water play ideas!