Fun Toddler Backyard Water Play

Summertime is here. I remember as a kid spending most of the summer playing outside with your brothers in the backyard. We had a pool, toys, trees and our imaginations to keep us occupied for hours on end.

As a mom, I want my kids to remain active throughout the summer months. I certainly don’t want them inactive watching television when it is gorgeous outside. Summer gives us new occasions for creative play. That means more time for water play at pools and beaches as well as at home.

For those of us that are stay-at-home moms/dads or anyone taking care of kids, summer is a great welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the school-year routine but can also create a challenge with regard to ways of keeping the kids engaged in learning outside of the home. The adjustment in the regular daily routine in addition to taking advantage of the change in weather makes for a perfect time to get the kids outdoors.

Toddlers and kids alike love the water. Whether they are stirring water, splashing in it, pouring it, adding things to it, they just love it. Water is an enormously valuable tool in child development. Water play can help teach science and math, improve physical ability, and cultivate cognitive development.

Here are some great backyard toddler water play activities for kids that are certain to keep them entertained and engaged all summer long.

Water Play Items

A few items for backyard water play (pick those that you have handy or buy from the dollar store):

• Buckets or dish tubs
• Small wading pool
• Large bowls
• Cups
• Pie tin
• Plastic jugs
• Plastic bottles
• Funnels
• Spray bottles
• Sponges
• Whisks
• Spoons
• Ladles
• Paint brushes or rollers
• Household items that float or sink (for example foam sheets, sticks, toys, paper, wash cloths, dolls, leaves, sand, rocks, etc.)

Water Activity Ideas 

Baby Bath Time –- Gather together a dish tub, sudsy water, washable baby dolls, wash cloths, bath toys, and towels. Let your child wash the baby dolls.
Washing Clothes — Gather together a dish tub, sudsy water, wash cloths. Let your child play washing clothes.
Bake a Mud Pie –- Make mudpies by combining sand, dirt, grass, leaves, water, plastic spoons, pie tins.
Paint Shop –- Paint the sidewalk, walls, fence, patio, etc. All you need are buckets of water, various size paint brushes, paint rollers.

The toddler water play possibilities are endless. To me, there is nothing more precious than hearing my kids playing; hearing them as they use their imaginations to make up stories and activities with their toys and other available items. It is important to remember that while there is without doubt a time and place for more structured activities; summertime backyard water play should be a time of free play for kids of all ages.