That will actually keep them engaged.
What to do with your toddler outside in the garden on a hot sunny day. It can be hard to know can’t it… One thing I do know is that water is always a winner! These easy ideas for outdoor water play for toddlers will hopefully give you some inspiration for water play fun on those dreamy long summer days. Just don’t forget to cover them in plenty of suncream!
Firstly let’s set our expectation levels. Toddlers will never be occupied doing something for hours. Except it seems, watching YouTube but even then, have you seen how quickly they switch what they are watching? Their attention spans are short.
How long they will engage with something can depend on a few different factors and the personality of your child. With mine, 20 minutes is about right for something they enjoy given to them at the right time. Attention spans increase as kids get older but Scarlett will sometimes go a little longer. Even though she is the younger one.
20 minutes doesn’t sound like a long time but often kids will extend the play by changing it to something else. If not, it’s no big deal. These activities are so quick to set up that even if they decide its not for them and refuse to take part, you won’t feel frustrated at wasted time.
While this list is not extensive, these are my favourite activities falling within the kids water play category. The best thing is that they only use things you’ll probably already have in the house or if not, they are easily obtainable.
1. Painting with Water
This is such a simple idea and one of the best water play activities out there! Scarlett and Lockie loved this one and they ask to do it regularly (even when it’s not sunny). All that’s required is a bucket or bowl of water and a paintbrush. For older kids smaller paintbrushes work best so they can draw things. Younger ones give them the fat paintbrushes that you decorate with. You can even give them a roller to work with too if you want! Then just let them get on with painting the walls, floor, pavement, fence whatever. It doesn’t really matter as it’s only water they are using! So quick to set up and hardly any tidying up afterwards either.
2. The Cosy Coupe Car Wash
After a long rainy winter the Cosy Coupe‘s were looking a little worse for wear. When the first warm days of spring came along and the garden was back open for business they needed a bit of a clean. I thought I’d let Lockie and Scarlett have a go. They both have a thing about the car wash at the petrol station near our house (although not a manual one). I just gave them a bucket of water each with a drop of detergent, a cloth and away they went!
3. Little Car Car Wash
When I set this up it was a pretty basic version. I was just trying to quickly think of something off the bat and grabbed the nearest things to hand. A bowl of water with washing up liquid. A clear bowl of water to rinse, some towels/muslin clothes and toy cars. You could take this to another level though and make the cars dirty with a bit of mud and give the kids sponges, tooth brushes etc to clean the cars. You can also turn it into a bubble bath for small figurine toys or if you have a bigger vessle a bath for dollies with scrubbing brushes and flannels incorporating role play and water play for toddlers.
4. Make your own Water Table
Don’t get me wrong, the water play sets and stations that you can buy look fab but remember like anything they will lose their novelty if they are out all the time and they can be a pain to pack away and clean. They can also be quite pricey! You don’t need to buy a water table to allow your kids to have fun playing with water. Fill a storage tub with water and just add water play materials for them to play with. I tend to use kitchen utensils, measuring jugs, measuring spoons, old weaning spoons etc. The calpol syringes normally go down a treat.
You can add anything though and you will probably find your kids will go and find the things they want to play with in the water.
We have also done this activity but made sensory bubble foam instead of using water. Find out how here.
5. Sensory Water Table
Simular to the above but with a sensory twist.
I decided on a nature theme for ours for no other reason than we like being out in nature and flowers are pretty. We went for a walk and did some foraging for the things we were going to add. Scarlett was in charge and she picked flowers and found some pine cones.
When we got home I put some of the flowers in ice cube trays with water and we waited for them to freeze.
Once frozen, I filled up a storage tub with water (Lockie loves the hose so he helped out with that bit) and I put a bowl with the flowers, pine cones and ice cubes next to it for them to add. I also Sliced up an orange and added that in too.
This activity could be adapted in so many ways. We’ll try a beach theme next with pebbles, shells and maybe some sand.
5. Ice Play
Freezing things in ice. Flowers, figures anything that can get wet and letting the kids play with them can also be a sensory activity on its own.
Add food colouring to up the interest. Team with jugs or cups and kids will love playing with the coloured water once the ice has melted.
6. Paddling Pool Fun
I know I know, a paddling pool is hardly ground breaking but they are the ultimate activity when it comes to outdoor water play for toddlers and entertainment is pretty much guaranteed, making the slightly longer set up worth it (if you haven’t already, invest in an electric pump).
My tip would not to leave them out all the time, I did this last year (I changed the water obvs) but it spent most of the summer abandoned taking up garden space. So this year I am making the effort to put it away each time and get it out only every now and then.
To make it a little more interesting you could add bubble bath and toys. Or add play balls to make a ball pit.
Paddling pools also make great sandpits by simply adding play sand to a clean dry pool and beach toys. Ours has two separate pools so can be used with sand one side and water the other for sand and water play. You can find it here.
If you’re feeling brave, you could even use compost and play with trucks and diggers in the dirt without putting your plants at risk. Just bare in mind that both sand and compost may take a bit of time to clear away again.
So there are our favorites. Let me know if the comments if you think we’ve missed out any great water play for toddlers ideas.