With the sun set to shine this week why not cool the kids down with some garden water play!
Bubble Bath in the Paddling Pool – Just a bit of bubble bath can make the paddling pool experience feel totally different, special and exciting! Use the opportunity to bath the dinosaurs or the Barbies, we are sure they would love a foam party! Expand the experience to a create a little car wash (just check first the cars are ok with having a bath – our Happyland cars have been washed a few times and coped just fine).
Ice Play – Freeze some plastic animals in a block of ice (we used penguins, dolphins, crocodiles, polar bears and dinosaurs) and have the little ones use different tools/objects to try and rescue them! We used a silicone cake mould with the animals in to create the frozen block for them to chip away at, but you could also fill a balloon with water and an animal to freeze to make frozen eggs. Warm water in Calpol syringes made the perfect tool for this. Please note do not use salt as this can cause burns. Perfect for garden play on a hot day and if they are struggling to set the animals free then they can just put in in a sunny spot and watch the sun melt it away.
Water Balloon Fight / Water Pistols – We had water pistols at home, so we got them out and filled up on a sunny day. Building some areas to hide behind make the game more interesting. You could also create some targets for them to shoot – we all know some days shooting each other only ends in arguments! If you don’t have water pistols you could use water balloons, cups or even sponges. Have a towel and spare changes of clothes at the ready. Ideal for a sunny day when the paddling pool is out and the kids are already in their swim gear.
Sprinkler Fun – my kids love nothing more than turning on the sprinklers and running through the spray, we always aim to do it at the end of a hot day – grass & flowers watered – 2 jobs in one!
Paint the Fence with Water – use a paintbrush or roller – Kids love doing the things they aren’t allowed to do right?! Painting the fence is normally an adult job and whilst it seems boring to us, it’s apparently an enviable task! Fill up a bucket of water and get the kids painting the fence using brushes and rollers. It keeps them busy and happy and when the sun comes out it looks just as it did before they started, no cleaning up necessary, bonus!
Outdoor Kitchen Play – Get lots of water to fill cups/bottles and pans. Lots of pouring practice. We added some cereal and pasta to mix up a gooey mess! Don’t forget to have them do the alfresco washing up afterwards!
Slip n Slide – We found a huge piece of plastic in the garage during lockdown which made the perfect slip n slide mat. It uses much less water than a paddling pool – Simply wet the plastic and throw on some bubble bath and watch the kids slide from one end to the other! We added the slide which made them go even further!
