Stay cool this summer with water play! Water play can be a fun, simple, cost-effective sensory and learning experience.
Just fill any tub or large bowl with water and add:
- plastic toys
- cups
- funnels
- scoops
- measuring cups
- squirt bottles
- spray bottles
- eye droppers
- sponges
- shovels
- buckets
- watering cans
- pans
- bath toys
Water play can happen outside with the hose, sprinklers, kiddie pools, water sprayers, and water balloons. It can even happen at home in the sink, bathtub, or a natural stream with cups, scoops, and pitchers from the kitchen!
Water play is MORE than just a sensory experience!
- Scooping and pouring water helps children practice important fine motor skills.
- Spraying, dumping, and squirting water helps children explore and understand cause and effect.
- Squeezing squirt bottles, spray bottles, and bath squirt toys improves hand strength that can lead to improved handwriting skills.
- Pretend play with water enhances metacognitive skills and increases neural connections in the brain.
- Playing in water with a peer or adult encourages social interaction in an authentic way.
- Ask questions and say things like, “Wow, do you feel the water pouring on your hand?” “Is it hot or cold?” “I wonder what will happen if we pour water into this funnel.” “I have so much fun playing with you!”
- Filling cups and bowls with water reinforces concepts of “full” and “empty.”
- Adding different objects into water helps children understand that heavier objects sink and lighter objects float.
Ice Play
Try adding ice on an especially hot day! Ice adds more texture, and the cooling sensation sends new signals to the nervous system. It is also a great opportunity to talk about ice melting in the sun and turning from a solid to a liquid!
Colored Water
Colored water is a fun way our teachers and therapists enhance water play. Water can be dyed with liquid watercolor to match any theme. Colored water adds visual stimulation and can create more contrast for children with vision needs.
To learn even more about meaningful play, enroll in our FREE online course “Teaching Strategies: Let’s Play!”