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Fun with Water

Summer Kids Activities

Jul 22, 2007

During the hot, sticky days of summer, try some of these fun kids' water activites.

It is hot enough to fry an egg outside and not much colder inside. The kids are tired of watching television and you need some summer activities that will cool them down while they are being entertained. The best activities for summer fun are those that involve water. Try a few of these fun kids' water activities to keep your kids from being hot and miserable during the dog days of summer.

Make refreshing beverage containers

When you have your next water balloon fight, fill a few of the larger water balloons with water and stick them in the freezer for three to six hours. Then, tear away the balloon plastic and look for the thin spot in the ice. If the balloons are frozen solid, you will need to take them out sooner. Carefully break the ice in that spot and stick in a straw. Your children can drink the water that isn't frozen or pour it out and refill the ice container with their favorite beverage. Make sure they take their drinks outside so that when the containers start to melt and drip, you don't end up with a soppy mess inside.

Have a sponge war

If you don't enjoy picking up all those balloon bits or just don't want the kids dripping back and forth as they fill more water balloons, perhaps a sponge war is the right water activity for your family. Give each child several sponges and a bucket of clean water and let them recreate the fun of a winter snowball fight with these soft substitutes.

Set up a sponge race

Set up buckets at one end of the yard. Thoroughly soak a sponge for each child and have them run to the buckets at the other end of the course. There, they will need to wring out their sponges. The child with the most water in the bucket wins.

If you have enough children playing, set up a relay race instead. After wringing out the sponge, each child runs back to a waiting team member and hands over the sponge. The team member resoaks the sponge and runs to the bucket on the other end to wring it out. After each team member has had a chance to participate, check to see which team has the most water in the bucket. That team is the winning team.

Make a water obstacle course

One final game your children should enjoy on hot days is a water obstacle course. Some ideas for a water obstacle course:

Set shallow buckets of water in tires for a wet twist on the traditional hop through tires obstacle.
Make an apple bobbing station.
Set up an oscilating sprinkler and challenge your children to run past before it turns and gets them wet.
Use a water slide.
Have a helper toss water balloons as they run past or have them throw the water balloons at a target.

The copyright of the article Fun with Water in Kids Activities is owned by Katelyn Thomas. Permission to republish Fun with Water in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.