For children summer is synonymous with vacations and fun. Gone are classes and obligations, kicking off the beach, pool and family time season.
Good weather encourages us to do more outdoor activities and children can enjoy games that in other times are more inaccessible to them. One of the things they enjoy the most is water. They love to bathe, touch and experiment with it. What's more, water offers us a multitude of resources to play and learn in a fun way. Therefore, we bring you some suggestions for games and activities for the little ones to have fun and cool off.
For the little ones in the house
Any activity related to water will be a guaranteed success among the little ones in the house. A simple basin in which to splash or a couple of glasses to pour will provide a refreshing time of entertainment.
We propose some simple ideas for the little ones and not so little ones.
Sensory-aquatic corner
We can make our own sensory corner for us to play and experiment freely. We will only need a bowl, plastic cups, dropper, stones, sponges, scourers…. . They will love any object that we can think of that they can transfer and tinker with.
Mix of colors
This is one ideal activity to introduce them to primary and secondary colors.
With a few clear plastic cups, water and food coloring, our little one can mix and experiment with colors.
Ice paint
With this activity they will be able to create their own works of art and mix colors, while experiencing sensations such as cold, hot, dry or wet. We can also take the opportunity to explain the different states of the water.
We will need water, food coloring, ice buckets, ice cream sticks, and painting paper. I recommend that you put enough coloring when preparing the mixture so that when painting the line is better noticed.
Frozen treasure
The idea is very similar to the previous activity, but this time, the children will have to figure out how to rescue the treasures hidden inside the ice blocks.
We will only need to freeze water with small toys, sweets or fruits inside. We can use bigger buckets or containers and let the children rescue them digging, melting ice with water or throwing them into the pool. To give the ice more striking effects we can add coloring. A very cool variant is to put bicarbonate of soda in the water and, once frozen, add vinegar which will give rise to a foam that will surprise the little ones.
Hunting mugs
Una Homemade variant of the classic fishing game. We will need a bowl, plastic cups, sticks, rope, and paper clips. The children will have to try to fish the cups by hooking them on the clip
Summer piñata
To make this refreshing piñata we will use colored balloons. Some we will fill only with water and in others, in addition to water, we will introduce toys or some candy. We tie all the balloons to a string and hang them. The children will have to go popping the balloons and getting wet to get the surprise.
Slippery plastic
An activity to do outdoors and always under the supervision of an adult. If there are several children it will be much more fun.
We will need a thick plastic, the bigger the better, to which we will add water. Optionally, soap can also be added to make it more slippery. Children will just have to sit and slide on the plastic. The only precaution is to be careful that when getting up they do not slip.
For older children
Like the little ones, older children will fully enjoy any activity that involves getting wet. In addition to the games that we have seen so far, with older children, we can introduce team games and a little more complicated.
The traveling sponge
For this game we will need a bucket of water and a large sponge. The children lie in a row and face up. The first in line must take the sponge with their feet from the bucket and pass it to the feet of the second. So on until the end. As the sponge is passed, it will drip and wet them.
Stop
The children stand in a circle. One of them stands in the center and throws a water balloon into the air while naming one of the children in the circle. He runs to the center and tries to catch the balloon. While the other children run to get away from him. If the named boy manages to catch the balloon, he will yell STOP! and everyone else will have to stay where they are. The child who has the balloon, without moving from his place, will try to hit one of the children who will do everything possible to avoid it.
The flying balloons
We put the children in a circle and we let water filled balloons go by . You have to prevent the balloon from falling to the ground. If it falls or breaks, the child will get wet and will be as cool as possible.
The sheet that covers
For this game we need a sheet and water balloons of two different colors. We separate the children into teams and place one on each side of the sheet that we will have held by the ends. Each team must throw a balloon, over the sheet, to the opposing team. Each team must Try not to make the balloons explode and recover as many balloons as possible from the opposing team.
Glued by the forehead
We make two teams. Each one will have a bucket full of water and another empty one placed at a certain distance. the game is about Fill a glass of water and carry it in pairs, holding it by the forehead, to the empty bucket.
Instead of glasses, sponges can be used and carried on other parts of the body, for example chin to chin or belly to belly.
Marco Polo
This is a variant of the classic game adapted to the pool. They are needed minimum 3 children, but the more there is, the more fun it will be.
All players must be in the pool. One of them (Frame) must have the closed eyes and try to catch the rest. The game begins with Marco counting to ten for the players to disperse. The child who catches must scream Frame! and each time it does, the rest of the players must respond Pole! to be able to orient Marco. If he manages to catch a child, he will become the new Marco. The child who keeps it can yell Marco as many times as he wants and the rest are obliged to answer. If a child does not respond, it will be him who has to catch.
These are just a few examples of activities that can be carried out using water as a resource, but on the net you can find countless ideas to spend a cool and fun summer.
And you, how do you entertain the little ones in summer?