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Summer is well and truly here.
So too are the school summer holidays.
The kids have bags of energy… which means that you need to be on the ball with great ideas to keep them entertained.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about you being Chief Entertainment Officer for the duration of the summer break.
But if you’re clever, you can set them up to keep themselves amused hour after hour.
Which means you get to keep your sanity this summer… and maybe even get to sit down and enjoy the glorious summer weather.
One brilliant way to keep kids entertained in the hot sticky days of summer is to set them loose with water games and crafts.
Not only do they stay occupied and having fun, they will also keep cool too.
Table of Contents
Brilliant water play activities for kids
Giant water bubbles
Painting with water balloons
Painting with water balloons … Reading Confetti
Summer fun hose play
Summer Fun Hose Play … Creative Playhouse
Poolside nursery rhymes
Poolside Nursery Rhymes … Danya Banya
Duck Duck Splash
A watery twist on the classic Duck Duck Goose by Inspiration Made Simple, watch the video above and then pop over to the site using the link to find out the rules – Duck Duck Splash
Magic paint
Magic Paint … Coffee With Us 3
Fill the bucket water game
A brilliantly simple but super fun game from The Resourceful Mama – pay a visit to her site to find out what you’ll need to play the game – Fill the bucket water game.
Ice eggs
Ice Eggs … Controlling Craziness
Colour water play
Coloured water play … There’s Just One Mommy
Feet only water bucket challenge
I found this on the Youth Downloads site.
Sponge koosh balls
Sponge Koosh Balls … Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Coloured ice eggs
Coloured Ice Eggs … Sunny Today Mama
Kids’ pool games
Fun Games for a Paddling Pool … Five Little Chefs
Soap boat races
Keep the water fun clean with these soap boats – click the link to visit I Heart Naptime to find out how to set this brilliant water game up.
I hope you and your kids love at least one of the water play activities in the roundup above.
Want more ideas for keeping the kids occupied and having fun this summer? Take a look at our post on Summer Vacation Projects for Kids.
We’ve also got a post on how to keep kids reading through the long summer break.
If you do nothing else because you want to give your children a complete break from school, do keep them reading, as well as helping them discover a life long joy for reading, it’s an amazing way to keep their brains ticking over so that back to school isn’t quite such a shock to their systems – How to Keep Kids Reading Through the Summer.
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Cute ideas! I especially want to try the Koosh sponge balls! Thanks for linking up on #ToddlerFunFriday
What fantastic ideas – all of them! I particularly like the bubble snake! Fab! Thank you for linking to #PoCoLo x
What a great set of ideas, now I have loads of ideas for when it finally warms up a little more.
This are some great ideas! pinning on my toddler summer time board!
We love water play – there are some great ideas here π #PoCoLo
Thank you for featuring our bubble snakes. Lots of great ideas here!
Lots of great ideas! We’re heading into winter now, and you’re making me miss summer already!
Thank you for sharing. So many great ideas here.
Wow that is a lot of different ways to have fun with water!! So looking forward to many fun days in the back garden getting wet and mucky and having fun π xx #countrykids
Roll on the hot summer days for plenty of wonderful water play! Our triplets and their friends had a fab time last weekend having a water fight at their birthday party – always a winner with children. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.
I love everything! I am now doing those ice eggs! SO much fun! Thanks for sharing =) #countrykids
Nothing better than playing with water outdoors when the sun is out. For the kids too π Fab list of activity ideas. #countrykids
Wonderful collection of water play activities!
What a great collection of water play ideas! Thanks for including us. π
Love this! Your link ups get better and better every time I click on a new link!
What fun ideas! Thanks for including our water balloon painting!
Fantastic, fun ideas, I can’t wait for it to get warmer to have some outdoor water play fun! #Mom’sLibrary