35+ Winning Water Games for Kids

The smell of summer is in the air, it’s the perfect time to blow up the paddling pool and start water play for kids. 

Have you seen the effect water has on cranky, bored children? I have.

Give them a bucket of soapy water, and the next thing you know, dinner is ready, and the kids may also wash your car. Waterplay for toddlers is also a great science experiment. 

They learn the shapes water play makes and how it reacts to different temperatures. Use this in combination with Breakfast Invitations, and we have fun all summer – Even if this means we are home all day.

Not sure where to start? Check out my top water activities and create a sensory experience for your kids over the summer.

RELATED: Take a look at these outdoor sensory play supplies to kickstart the summer holidays or my entire list of kid activities at home.

Table of Contents:

1. What Is Water Play?
2. 35+ Water Play Activities for Kids
3. The Importance of Water Play for All Ages
4. ​​What Are the Benefits of Water Play?
5. Water Play Activities Are Great for All Ages
6. Curious About Sensory Play? Check Out These Activities
7. Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Water Play?

Water play and water activities use water and ice (technically the same thing) to create a sensory experience. They are a fun and winning way to explore learning through play.

Sensory play engages a child’s touch, sight, smell, sound, or taste to enhance learning. You can do anything from setting up a sprinkler or adding items to a paddling pool. It’s a quick and cheap summer activity that provides hours of fun.

35+ Water Play Activities for Kids

I searched through many of my favorite bloggers to give you this gigantic water play roundup with 35+ ideas. I also typed it all up so you can hang this summer list on your fridge for ideas when you need them. You will want to dive (😂) deep into this activity list.

Creative Water Play

1. Add food coloring to water pitchers.
2. Add play food to a water bin.
3. Baby Doll Washing Station – (The Workspace for Children) An activity you can do with supplies around the house!
4. Best Collection of Water Play Supplies for Birthday Gifts – (Days with Grey) My everything-you-need and already-decided-for-you list for a super fun birthday gift!
5. Bottle Cap Fine Motor Gear – (Fantastic Fun and Learning) A low prep activity to work on fine motor skills. 
6. Bright and Sour Sensory Bin – (Days with Grey)
7. Color Sorting Sensory Bin – (The Mama Workshop)
8. DIY Watercolors – (Days with Grey) A classic (and super easy) paint activity. 
9. Easter Egg Foamy Water Bin – (Days with Grey) Who doesn’t love foamy water for some springtime fun? 
10. Eyeball Soup – (Days with Grey) A spooky water play activity!
11. Hallowen Water Play – (Days with Grey) Spooky water play activity number two!
12. Plastic Egg Water Wall – (Teaching Mama) Okay, this one is super creative and let’s kids explore gravity and water all in one. 
13. Play on Ketchup and Mustard – (Days with Grey)Quick, fun, with simple supplies around the house. Not to mention helps curiosity to learn more about color play. 
14. Pool Noodle Water Wall – (Teaching Mama)Just 3 supplies and a whole lot of creative play. 
15. Rainbow Discovery Bottles – (The Paige Diaries)Super simple, but super engaging food coloring and water activity! 
16. Scoop the Sea – (Days with Grey) All you need are three supplies and you’re on your way to an exploratory and fun water play activity. 
17. Toy Washing Station – (Busy Toddler) Who wouldn’t want to teach their kids to CLEAN? (I mean play.) Well, I guess they won’t know the difference? 
18. Wash toys in soapy water. – An awesome replacement if you can’t do a bubble bath toy washing station!
19. Watercolor Painting for Kids – (Days with Grey) A classic activity every kid should learn. 
20. Watercolor Snowmen– (Days with Grey) A wintery twist on watercolor activity! 
21. Watercolor Shape Painting – (Days with Grey) Educational in so many ways! Let your kids learn about shapes get creative to make shape creatures! 
22. Water Table Kitchen – (Happy Toddler Playtime) Such a cute way to keep your toddler entertained and familiar with kitchen play. 
23. Water Xylophone – (Teaching Mama) Explore sound with this DIY activity. 

Frozen Water Play

24. Alphabet Ice – (Days with Grey) Integrate sensory play with letter recognition. 
25. Color Your Ice – (Days with Grey) Sensory play, fine motor play, let the exploration begin!
26. Fourth of July Sensory Bin with Ice – (Playground Parkbench) A fun activity for a summer holiday. 
27. Ice Rocks – (Happy Toddler Play Time) Freeze rocks in a muffin tin for this frozen water play! 
28. Frozen LEGO – (Happy Toddler Playtime) A great fine motor activity using legos. 
29. Frozen Paint – (Busy Toddler) A simple way to do process art with you kids. You don’t want to “let go” of this one. 😉
30. Frozen Water Beads – (Busy Toddler)
31. Frozen Water Bead Ice Pods – (Days with Grey)With frozen water bead pods, the melting is the majority of the activity. When the pods melt, water beads are contained! Cheers to that!
32. Halloween Frozen Water Play (Days with Grey) A spooky themed activity! Frozen water play is my preschooler’s jam, and I love adding these frozen pods to any water play activity.
33. Ice Bin Transfer Play – (Busy Toddler) A fun sensory and fine motor activity with only three supplies needed. 
34. Ice Cube Sculptures – (Teaching Mama) Create ice cube sculptures in just a few easy steps!
35. Ice Skating Bears – (Days with Grey) Grab your muffin tin and bears for this winter sensory play activity.
36. Ice Melt and Break – (Growing Book By Book)A beginning sounds activity, kids will love this.
37. Let’s Paint the Ice – (Days with Grey) Dare I say this is the coolest activity I have? If you have preschoolers this is a must!
38. Make Ice Ball Nature Soup – (Happily Ever Mom) A mess-free, fun activity that connects kids to nature and sensory play. 
39. Pom Pom Ice Cubes – (The Paige Diaries) Easy (and so beautiful!) to make with the kids.
40. Rainbow Ice Town Excavation – (Fun at Home with Kids) Another aesthetically pleasing activity where kids get to explore materials as the ice melts. 
41. Rescue the Bears – (Days with Grey) Use squirt bottles to rescue the bears! Kids love creativity and stories. You’ll find them making up the plot as they go. If you need a fun and engaging activity – this is it!! 
42. Toddler Ice Grab – (Happily Ever Mom) Empty your freezer and entertain your toddler in minutes. 

Literacy Water Play

43. Alphabet Ice – (Days with Grey) I want my four-year-old to explore how letters are made up of lines, curves, slants, and tunnels. As my preschooler rescues the letter from the ice pod, he is also holding it in his hands, taking a closer look.
44. Alphabet Ice Evacuation (Teaching Mama) – Another hands on way to explore letter recognition. 
45. Make alphabet soup – (Busy Toddler) A water sensory bin with an ABC twist!
46. Splash the Alphabet – (Days with Grey) Strengthen little hands and include letter recognition with this fun activity!

Math Water Play

46. Add eye droppers to water.
47. Add large buttons to a water bin – (Days with Grey)
48. Add paint and water to squirt bottles.
49. Add plastic beakers to water play.
50. Make counting bear soup – (Days with Grey) A great activity for outdoor exploration on the water table!
51. Pour to the Lines – (Days with Grey) An activity that helps with self-help for kids like pouring and measuring! 
52. Put measuring cups in a water bin.
53. Scoop apples with a ladle – (Days with Grey) A super fun and creative way to explore colors. 
54. Water Bead Relay Race – (Days with Grey) Get moving! The idea is to scoop up the water beads with your spoon from one end of the line and bring them over to your container on the other side. Count it up to see who has the most and crown the winner!
55. Water Buttons – (Days with Grey) Child led learning with a set-up in less than 5 minutes!
56. Water Transfer – (Busy Toddler) A three part water transfer activity, toddlers will love this. 

Nature Water Play

57. A Trip Into the Forest with Kids – (The Workspace for Children)
58. Add flowers to a water bin.
59. Cranberry Water Scoop – (Days with Grey) A fun holiday water sensory activity! 
60. Get messy with muddy water – (Days with Grey)
61. Make an ocean bin with sand and seashells – (Days with Grey) Time to explore the ocean and spark curiosity and sensory play with the kids. 

Science Skills Water Play

62. Add food coloring and water to squirt bottles.
63. Add funnels to water. 
64. Add plastic tracks to water bins.
65. Cut pool noodles to make water tracks.
66. Oil and Water on the Light Table – (Happily Ever Mom).
67. Outdoor Tracks – (Days with Grey)
68. Scoop bubbles.
69. Try water beads with ages 4+. Water beads are slimy, squishy, and invite all sorts of play both indoors and out. We use water beads year-round and love all of these invitations to play.

Related: Download these Summer Water Games

The Importance of Water Play for All Ages

Infant and Toddler Stage

During this phase, your child explores physical experiences, using senses to understand better how things in the world fit together. Water games begin this sensory exploration!

Preschool

Around this time, children add social play to learning and explore substances side by side. They are communicating and making comparisons with their discoveries. As children pour and scoop the water, they explore capacity.

Middle Years

When children reach the middle years, they will become more analytical about what they are learning since they have a chance to touch, move, and explore. They are now ready to take up the next level with greater ease since they have already had the opportunity to explore what water looks like, how it feels, and how water begins to change shape. 

As an older child learns a new vocabulary word, they can connect it to an experience. Children can show what they have learned at the teenage stage by pulling all the learning experiences together.

​​What Are the Benefits of Water Play?

Waterplay for toddlers is an incredible way for them to test physical sensations. Water activities begin this sensory exploration!

• Develops Gross and Fine Motor Skills – As children pour and scoop the water, they explore capacity, improving their gross and fine motor skills.
• Engages Sensory Play and Curiosity – Water play for kids is an endless science experiment. They explore how temperature affects water and what textures sink, float, or get soggy. It engages children’s senses, perfect for learning!
• Increases Social Play and Communication – Water activities for preschoolers introduce social play because they communicate and compare their discoveries.

RELATED: I have an entire collection of 50+ fine motor activities if you’re eager to develop your child’s motor skills.

Water Play Activities Are Great for All Ages

Whether you want waterplay for toddlers or water activities for preschoolers, these 35 ideas give you a great start. Help your little one learn and grow with water play.

Curious About Sensory Play? Check Out These Activities

• Nature Sensory Hunt
• Rock Sensory Bin
• Skeleton Sensory Bin

Frequently Asked Questions

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