Are you looking for fun Outdoor Water Activities for Kids? Those summertime activities that can be your ticket to avoiding the dreaded electronics trap?
When it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, the idea of heading outside to play can be a struggle. For both kids and adults alike.
That’s why having a summer water activities plan of action is a must for Moms. How do you go about creating this awesome plan?
Well, that’s easy – you keep reading all of the fun water games and easy water activities below. Then you simply pick the ones that work best for your family.
Finally, you’ll figure out what you need for the activities, purchase them if necessary, and let the summer of water fun begin!
We have everything from water activities at home for toddlers to preschoolers to teens; to options for staying cool away from home too.
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Fun Outdoor Water Activities for Kids in Your Community
Most of these ideas are geared toward staying cool and having fun at home in the backyard. They don’t require a ton of set-up or complicated plans to accomplish your summer fun.
You can find a ton of DIY water play ideas on our Summer Time Pinterest Board if you want to check more of those out.
But before we jump into all the ways to have fun at home, don’t forget about your local resources for cooling off in the summertime.
Sometimes it’s nice to have a place in mind for when you aren’t in the mood to drag out the blow-up pool and fill up all those water balloons for your backyard water fun.
Water Fun Away from Home
Check in your town, or surrounding communities, and see what water activities are available for kids to keep cool in the summer months. Ideas might include:
Water Parks
Splash Pads
Community Pools
Local Lakes
Creeks
If your community doesn’t have a pool, check with your local campground. Our closest one allows community members to purchase day passes during the week since their occupancy is lower.
Also, you could check with local hotels that have pools. One of the hotels near us allows swimming for a monetary fee.
You could likely be told no, but it never hurts to ask and see if it means having a place to swim and cool off.
Fun Outdoor Water Activities for Kids at Home
Hopefully, you’ll find a few fun ideas and ways to keep your kids cool this summer. There’s everything from new water play ideas to the tried and true classics.
Every community seems to have different rules while going through the coronavirus pandemic, but social distancing & frequent closings of places for kids to exert some energy is the new normal.
That’s where having a few fun water activities for your kids comes in super handy.
These suggestions work well for kids of all ages from toddlers to tweens. Also, a lot of these will work well with children who are non-swimmers.
Do you have a tried and true water activity you do at home that we could add to our list? Drop it in the comments below so we can share it with other mamas trying to survive this historic summer at home.
Water Fun at Home
1) Have a Water Balloon Fight
2) Play in the Sprinkler
3) Play Sponge Toss using a huge sponge
4) Have your kids help you wash your car (this will turn into a hose fight)
5) Have a Kiddie Car Wash – let your child wash all their outside toys
6) Play Catch the Water Balloon on Your Head in a Strainer
7) Have a water gun fight
8) Set up a sprinkler under your trampoline – note, that this will be very slippery!
9) Make or purchase a Water Blob
10) Play in a Water Table
Even More Water Fun at Home
11) Play Water Balloon Piñata Game – simply hang water balloons and go for it!
12) Play Water Balloon Baseball – hit the water balloon and use other balloons to try and throw out the runner
13) Slip ‘N Slide – purchase one or make your own with a tarp
14) Play Toss the Loofah
15) Let your kids chisel away at frozen animals “stuck” in a chunk of ice – freezing in an old milk jug with the top cut-off works well.
16) Have a “Who can Shoot Farther” contest using Water Shooters
17) Purchase an Inflatable Water Playset
18) Save your plastic containers (think water bottles) and poke holes in them. Fill them up and explore the homemade sprinklers.
19) Play Water Balloon Golf – yes the balloon doesn’t go far, but kids will love trying to pop it!
20) Make a River – Use aluminum foil, fold up the sides, and add water to try and make things (leaves, blades of grass, cut up pool noodles, etc.) float down-river
20) Fill up the blowup pool or kiddie pool and have a blast – keep reading for more tips on this!
How to take Your Inflatable Pool play to the Next Level
If I’ve learned anything from my years as a mom, and a teacher too, it’s sometimes the everyday items that completely enthrall kids.
For example, think of the common joke about toddlers playing more with the boxes than the toys they receive as gifts.
I’ve found as kids grow, this can still ring true. Here is a list of common items that my kids have played with in our blowup pool. Most of these items can be purchased at your local Dollar Tree or simply swiped from your kitchen cabinets.
Plastic Cups
Colanders
Medicine “Squirters”
Turkey Baster
Pitchers
Plastic Bowls
Loofahs
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Plastic Animals
Final Thoughts on Summer Fun at Home
Hopefully, you have found some new ideas or been refreshed on old favorites to help keep your kids cool and entertained this summer.
Our outdoor water activities could be adapted to work for preschool water days or birthday parties too.
I will admit I’ve participated in many of the ideas above to keep cool right along with my kids. This means they work well for adults too!
Before you leave to go have fun, make sure you check out our Fun Water Toys for Kids post.
It has a few suggestions perfect for when you don’t want the hassle of creating or putting together an intricate water activity.
Ideas like water blobs, a trampoline water park, and even a unicorn sprinkler!
Also, if you want a place to keep track of all your fun water play ideas, check out our Watermelon Themed Summer Bucket List. It’s a free printable and has tons of space for you to fill out your fun summer plans.
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