Awesome Summer Water Activities for Kids!

I don’t know about where you live, but here it is hot. I mean, the highs have been in the nineties for days now with next week breaking 100°F! That means if you want to spend time outside, some water better be involved! This also means that we’ve practically been living in swimsuits and we want to make sure you and your crew are as decked out as we are! To help ensure everyone has the perfect swimsuits that are UPF 50+, we’ve put all of our swim gear on sale for $25 for a limited time!

So, gather your family and friends (and some sunscreen) for some fun playing these water games:

• Sponge Run!

Grab two buckets or bowls and a sponge for each person who will be participating. Set a bucket full of water on one side of the yard and an empty one on the other side for each person, then hand out the sponges. The first person to fill their empty container using only their sponge wins! For an added challenge, make them carry the sponge on top of their heads without touching it while moving from the full container to the empty one.

• Sprinkler Red Light Green Light!

Set up a sprinkler in the middle of the yard and choose a caller to stand on one side and gather everyone else on the other side. The caller must yell out green light as they face away from the runners and shout red light as they turn to face the players. Runners must race past the sprinkler to tag the caller, freezing in place every time a red light is called. This process is repeated until someone tags the caller. The winner becomes the caller and everyone else heads back to the starting line.

• Splash Pong!

For this game you’ll need a table, 10 plastic cups, a ping-pong ball, and water. Set up five cups in the shape of a triangle on each end of the table and fill the cups halfway with water. Have one person stand on each end of the table and take turns trying to bounce the ping-pong ball into the cups on the other side. Every time a ball gets in on the side you are standing on, you must dump the water from the cup over your head. Set the empty cups to the side. The first person the clear their opponents’ cups wins!

• Water Musical ‘Chairs’!

Count how many people want to play (making sure to have at least one person sit out to man the music) then gather one less bucket or large bowl than you have people playing. Fill the buckets and put a plastic cup in each one. Set them out in a circle with a bit of space between them.

Now that everything is set up, have those who are playing gather around the buckets and the person manning the music face away from the group. While the music is playing, everyone must walk clockwise around the circle of buckets. When the music stops, grab a cup of water and dump it on your head to claim your bucket! The person left without a bucket is out and a bucket is removed. Continue until there is only one person left!

• Splish Splash!

Fill up a kiddy pool and set two buckets a few feet away from the pool. Pair off to compete two at a time to see who can fill their bucket first by splashing the water from the pool into the bucket! If you have more than two players, have the winners of each pair compete until you have the ultimate winner! Just be sure to take breaks between waves so everyone has a chance to catch their breath and get a drink.

• Pass the Water

If you spend much time on social media, you’ve probably seen some variation of this game! Everyone gets a container for water with the first person’s being full. Have everyone line up behind the person with the full container. Everyone can sit or stand, it’s up to you. Once everyone is in place with their container, the first person is to pour the water over their head or shoulder for the person behind them to catch. Continue on down the line. The goal is to get as much water as possible from the first person to the last person.

To turn the game into a contest, divide up into two teams. This time, you’ll give the first person a bucket of water and the last person a smaller bucket to fill. The team with the most water in their last bucket wins!

• Water Balloon Spoon Race

For this one you’ll need to gather spoons and fill a small water balloon for each person. Line everyone up and give each person a spoon and a water balloon to balance on it. Set a finish line and have someone announce the start of the race! The first person to the finish line without touching, dropping, or breaking their water balloon wins!

 

Pro tip - Change up what part of the yard you play water games in, so you are watering the lawn at the same time!