Summer Splash – Come Sail Away With Me

Sail away with us into some more water day fun with this summer craft! This craft is a breeze to create and only requires a few items in preparation.

Here are the items you will need to set sail: Sponges, Straws, Foam Craft Sheets and Scissors

Let’s go ahead and take care of all of our cutting duties first. Starting with the sponge, cut a slit on one end about an inch from the edge. Next, grab a piece of your foam sheets and cut out a triangle. Then you will want to cut two slits into the triangle, going horizontally, about the width of your straw. The slits should be parallel to one another.

Now you are ready to assemble all the pieces. Start by taking one end of your straw and threading it through the two slits in the foam triangle. It should go in on the first slit and back out on the second. This creates your sail.

Take your sail and stick the free end of the straw into the slit in your sponge. Now we are ready to set sail!

You will want to have a small kiddie pool or some sort of large bucket for the kids to try out their boats on. You could even hold a boat race to see which boat goes the fastest from one side to the next!

Summer Splash – Painting with Water

Looking for an easy activity that is perfect for all ages in your daycare, childcare center or school? Water Painting is the activity for you!

      

Water painting is an excellent choice for a hot summer day! All you need are a couple bowls of water and some paint brushes. You could use paint sponges as well. Take your group outside to an area where there is plenty of concrete or asphalt canvas. You may want to pick a shady spot if it’s a sunnier day. Let their imaginations go free as they paint up and down the sidewalks or onto the playground area.

What is the best part about using water? Water will dry so there is no harm done to clothing and no mess to clean up outside! If you are concerned about the artwork not being a lasting project, bring your camera out and snap a picture of each new creation with the student next to it. Now you have a lasting copy of each piece!

Summer Splash - Make Your Own Ice Cream!

With all this summer fun, we could all use a cool, refreshing treat to finish off the day. What better treat for a hot day is there than ice cream? This isn’t just any ice cream treat that we want to share with you though. We want to teach you how you can make your own ice cream with just a few ingredients.

Here’s what you will need (Measurements make up 1 Bag):

300 ml Cream or Milk, 2 tbsp Sugar, 1 tbsp Vanilla , 2 Trays Ice Cubes, 6 tbsp Rock Salt, 1 Medium Ziploc Bag and 1 Large Ziploc Bag

Step 1. Start by putting the cream/ milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag. Mix them up and then seal the bag shut.

Step 2. Place the ice into the large Ziploc bag. Then you will want to pour the rock salt in on top of the ice.

Step 3. Place the small bag inside of the big bag and seal it shut.

Step 4. Shake until the mix becomes an ice cream consistency. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes. You may want to have a small towel or oven mitt handy to cover the bag with. It is a little bit chilly for little ones to hold.

Step 5. Now you can take the small bag out and clean off the rock salt from the outside. Once clean, grab yourself a spoon and enjoy!

 

Try cutting a corner out of the bag and squeezing the ice cream into cones! You may want to have some fun toppings available as well!

Summer Splash – Water Balloon Games

Water balloons are the perfect addition to playtime on a hot, summer day. Not only are they fairly inexpensive to purchase, but they provide hours of refreshing fun! Here are a few ideas on games you can play using water balloons to beat the heat this summer.

Water Balloon Stomp – Fill the water balloons and scatter them across the ground. Have the children stomp away until all the balloons are gone!

Duck Duck Goose – Everyone knows how to play this kid favorite game! Now you can play it water balloon style! The “it” person will have a water balloon in hand. As they go around they will tap each student with the balloon on the top of the head. When they have selected their “goose”, instead of tapping them they will bust the balloon in their hands over that person’s head.

Water Balloon Toss – Have students spilt up into teams of two. Players will toss the balloon back and forth taking a step backwards with every successful catch. When your balloon pops your team is out. To add a fun spin on this one you can try adding different passes such as having your eyes closed when you throw, or tossing with your left hand. To make things a bit slippery you can have students lather their hands in dish soap or shaving cream causing them to have a silly case of the butterfingers!

Hot Potato – This is another classic with a fun water balloon spin. Instead of a ball you will use a water balloon. The catch is that the timer is a leaky balloon rather than music. You will need to poke a small hole into the balloon causing a little leak. The students will then pass around the leaking balloon trying not to be the one to have it when it is fully deflated.

Target Practice – Create a target on a tarp or even on the ground with some chalk. Then students can take turns trying to hit the targets. You can change up their positions or use different throws to spice this game up if needed.

Water Balloon Piñata – Tie some of the water balloons up with some string and let the students take a few swings. This one is fun for everyone as bystanders are sure to catch some of the spray after a good hit! Don’t forget to have a couple plastic bats ready for this!

Water Balloon Fight – It isn’t a true water balloon day until you finish it off with a water balloon fight! Make sure you have plenty of balloons left for this. Try creating different obstacles for players to hide behind or throw balloons over.

Water Balloon Clean Up – This game is a must have at the end of a long day of water balloon fun. Have students collect as many balloons as they can until the area is all cleaned up. The boy and the girl with the most balloons will then win a prize! The better the prize, the better and faster they will clean.

Summer Splash – Water Day

Beat the heat with a fun day that is all about staying cool, staying hydrated and having buckets full of water fun! Yunhap Kiddie Land in Georgia does this every year at the end of their summer camps and the kids can’t wait for it to finally come around. With blow up slides, kiddie pools, and sprinklers, this day of excitement is always guaranteed to make a splash!

   

You can take your Water day to the next level by adding big items like slides, kiddie pools, slip & slides and more! If you are going to go big on the water excitement, be sure to go big on volunteer recruitment too. You will need all the help you can get!

If you want to keep it a bit on the softer side, plan out some water games for your students to enjoy. This way they can still beat the heat but no one is being fully immersed in water in the process. This may be the better option if you don’t have as many volunteers to help you.  Just a few fun games, like a water balloon toss and maybe a water gun or two, can make this day easy and fun!

Don’t forget to have students bring an extra set of clothes, a towel, and any sun protection they prefer (sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, etc.).

Need some ideas to incorporate into your games for water day or even for a bit of summer fun? Check back in with us here! We will be sharing all of our Summer Splash favorites throughout the month of July!