15 Water Activities For Kids

Water Activities for Kids - fun and playful ways to use water

Water. Such a simple thing however when my kids start playing with it they go crazy. Maybe it’s like the cardboard box phenomenon. Hand a kid a cardboard box and they’ll be entertained for hours. Give a kid a container full of water and the same thing happens.

Below are a few awesome ideas on just what to do with the water and how to make water play even more fun! Just remember that any water play needs to be supervised. Check out these water safety tips for kids for ideas on what to keep an eye out for.

15 Water Activities For Kids

  1. This alphabet car wash sensory bin is messy and wet! Your kids could have hours of fun with this activity.
  2. For the car wash experience on a larger scale, let your child wash the cozy coupe.
  3. Make giant bubbles in the kiddie pool. You can even stand inside them as you pull the hula hoop up!
  4. This DIY sprinkler limbo activity looks like so much fun. How low can you go?
  5. Take water balloon play to the next level with these messy paint­filled water balloons.
  6. Excavate dinosaurs with this fun salt and water ice melting activity.
  7. Backyard fishing is a great kiddie pool activity that even older kids will enjoy. (Don’t worry… the fish are fake!)
  8. Stay cool and learn about colors with this water and colored ice sensory bin for toddlers.
  9. Make an easy water wall with pool noodles!
  10. Isn’t this erputing ice chalk paint the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?
  11. Sponge bombs are always a hit in a water fight. Less fuss than water balloons!
  12. This DIY giant water blob is a fun full­body sensory activity for the kids.
  13. Make rainbow bubbles in the kiddie pool for colorful sensory play.
  14. A water transfer activity is a great way to learn about mixing colors.
  15. Use squirt guns for an interesting summer painting activity. Fill them with liquid watercolors or fill the guns with water and food coloring if you don’t have watercolors on hand.

What’s your favorite way to get the kids involved in water play?

5 Kid Pool Rules For Summer

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Stearns Puddle Jumpers®. All opinions are 100% mine.

5 Kid Pool Rules For Summer

The temperature is remaining warm, Memorial Day is around the corner and the kids are almost out of school. For tens of thousands of children, their eyes switch from the books to the pool.

We love going to the pool during the summer but when we do there are some clear, simple rules that our children must follow in order to swim and play at the pool. And if one of the rules is broken, we simply pack up and head back home.

Pool safety, and sun safety, is very important. So we’ve come up with 5 Kid Pool Rules to keep our kids safe during the summer months. We even keep a copy of it with our pre-packed pool bag. Makes things simple and our kids know what to expect!

5 Kid Pool Rules For Summer

Healthy Snack Time with Sprout Organic Foods at the pool

1. Sunscreen. Before anything!

I don’t know about you but I am a stickler for sunscreen application. Like clockwork we apply and re-apply. I even set a timer to remind myself. There’s been too many times in my life that I’ve gotten burned and have had to deal with the pain afterwards. To save my kids from that, we remember to keep up with our sunscreen.

What I love doing is before we even get our swim clothes on, we put on sunscreen. Then when we get dressed and head out the door we don’t have to stop and apply when we get to the pool. Need a distraction? Give them a snack while you apply!
Healthy Snack Time with Sprout Organic Foods playing at the pool

2. Cover up.

Whether it’s a rash guard, a hat, or staying under a cover, when it’s sunny outside, I keep the kids, and myself, covered up. We get enough sun daily here in San Diego to give us a golden hue to our skin. We don’t need to be lobster red!

The best way to get my kids to cover up is to have them pick out their rash guard and a hat to match. We also don’t give them the opportunity to not wear a rash guard while swimming or playing in the waves so they really don’t know any different.

5 Kid Pool Rules For Summer - floaties on

3. Flotation devices on!

My go-to item for in the pool safety is our tried and true Puddle Jumpers. For kids 30-50 lbs, there’s no other way to go. It’s comfortable for the kids and gives them a sense of security if they’re just learning to swim or haven’t quite mastered swimming in deeper water.

Plus, it’s Coast Guard approved so most public pools and water parks will allow you to use them over their generic life vests. That means you get to use a safe flotation device that your kid is comfortable with!

Our Puddle Jumpers are also put on as soon as we get to the pool and aren’t taken off until we leave. This is also something that the kids cannot argue with. If they take off their Puddle Jumper, we’re heading home.

Need one for your kid? Visit StearnsFlotation.com to purchase one today.

5 Kid Pool Rules For Summer - listening ears

4. Listening ears at all times.

To keep the kids safe, we make sure that they keep an ear on us at all times. What does that mean? Not going farther then about 10-15 feet from us so they can hear us if we need to speak with them.  Since it’s a rule, they are pretty good about following it and not going out of range. By staying within hearing range, they’re also visible as well.

5 Kid Pool Rules For Summer - no running

5. No running. Ever. Period.

I know it’s basic. But my kids, and most others, just get excited when they’re having fun in the water or sand. They want to race off to their next adventure but running by a pool is very dangerous.

We’ve had a few slips here and there so our kids are aware of the fact that they can get hurt if they run by a pool. And we have to warn them about the danger of not only falling, but falling and hitting their head near water. Very scary.

When our kids are safe, and they’re clear on the rules, pool time is so much more fun! We’re clear on our expectations and in return we usually end up with very happy, very tired kids after a fun day at the pool.

How do you keep your kids safe during the summer?

Visit Sponsors Site

On-The-Go Summer Beach Bag Essentials

This shop featuring summer beach bag essentials has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CokeHappyHour #CollectiveBias

On-The-Go Summer Beach Bag Essentials

The best thing about living in San Diego AND working from home is that if it’s a nice day I can choose where I work. Most times during the summer I love heading out in the afternoon and spending some time at the beach with friends (and sometimes our dogs).

My kids like to call this happy hour. They don’t truly understand what the traditional happy hour is yet but our version is pretty awesome.

I keep a packed beach bag in the trunk of our car for just these occasions. I’ll share exactly what I keep in this bag and how you can make a bag filled with beach essentials too. Since every beach trip requires refreshments, I like to stop by Walgreens to pick up a few bottles of Coke to enjoy at the beach when we get there.

STAINMASTER PetProtect running at the beach

We also love surprising out of town guests with a summer essentials bag too when they come visit. It’s the perfect way to welcome them into our city and allows them the opportunity to take advantage of our beautiful beaches.

I also love stuffing in a few coupons for places around town including the zoo, local restaurants, and other attractions.

On-The-Go Summer Beach Bag Essentials - share a Coke

On-The-Go Summer Beach Bag Essentials

What you’ll need: 

  • large bag (something you won’t mind getting dirty)
  • towel for everyone
  • straw beach mat
  • magazines
  • tablet or laptop (to work)
  • sun glasses
  • hat
  • sunscreen
  • snacks
  • Coke

On-The-Go Summer Beach Bag Essentials - unpack at the beach

What you do: 

  1. Pack the towels, beach mat, magazines, hat, and sunscreen in the large bag to stay in the trunk.
  2. When you’re ready to head out to the beach, grab the tablet or laptop and your sun glasses and add them to your bag. Grab the the kids (and/or the dog) and head out for some fun.
  3. Stop by Walgreens to pick up some snacks and grab a few cold Cokes to share with friends. Take advantage of Coke Happy Hour at Walgreens while you’re there (more about that below).
  4. Head off to the beach!

 

On-The-Go Summer Beach Bag Essentials - easy to grab and go

Every Wednesday through Friday from 4:00 to 7:00pm, Buy 1 Coca-Cola 20 oz. bottle and Get 1 Free 20 oz. bottle to share! You can load the coupon instantly on the Walgreens app or click here for more information.

From May through July you get 3,000 Balance Rewards points when you buy participating Coca-Cola products when you purchase $10 of participating Coca-Cola products.

Coke at Walgreens

Who will you share a Coke with during happy hour

Creating a Summer Bucket List For Kids

This summer my kids are finally old enough to truly enjoy summer. They’ve already had quite a few fun experiences and we’re only a few days into summer. So we decided to write down all of our fun ideas and create a summer bucket list for kids to help keep track of everything we want to do.

If you have kids and want to get them involved in planning their summer fun I definitely suggest having them involved in writing them down. Whether on a huge chalkboard like we did or by creating a notebook like Stacie of SimplyStacie.net did with her daughter.

I made sure to keep the kids involved and asked them what they wanted to do. When they were vague or unclear I simply asked a few questions to determine exactly what they wanted to go do.

Here’s what we decided on:

Summer Bucket List Fair Fun

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