Creating complex activities to entertain and educate your child can be time consuming, expensive, and disappointing, especially when they don’t like what you’ve created. But there are a few activities that I’ve used with children over the years that are always a big hit, cost very little, take almost no preparation, and consume young children in hours of play and exploration.
Too good to be true? No way! We’re talking about the magic of water play here, and when it comes to activities like these, simpler really is better. So here are my top three activities with zero prep time, minimal or no clean up, and an enormous capacity to engage the creative mind of a child.
#1 Bathroom sink water play
Just stop up the sink, put a stool under it, turn on the water to a very light trickle, throw in a bath toy and a cup, make sure there’s a towel nearby, and you’re done! Sure your child might soak themselves, so you might want to give them a smock, but playing in water is SO MUCH FUN for young children, you are sure to get at least 10 minutes, if not 30 from this activity. I especially like this one because it doesn’t matter what the weather is like, and children can ask for it or set it up themselves as they get a little bit older.
#2 A home made water table aka a plastic bin, some water and a few rocks
With minimal supervision, a plastic bin filled with an inch of water and a handful of rocks can entertain a young person for an hour, easy. The picture at the top of this post is ours. Who needs an expensive water table when an $8 plastic bin does the trick?! My 20 month old daughter played for about 40 minutes walking back and forth and adding one rock at a time, playing for a while in the water, and then going back to the bucket (on the other side of the yard) for another rock. Do keep in mind that young children can drown in about an inch of water if they fall into it head first, so you want to be sure you’re using a bin with shallow sides, and you do need to be nearby.
#3 Painting with water
Even after all these years of working with kids, I am still shocked at how popular this activity really is. With just a cup filled half way with water and a paintbrush, children can spend quite a bit of uninterrupted independent play-time painting the patio or sidewalk. This activity is so great because it requires absolutely NO clean up. Their “paintings” simply dry over time, creating a clean slate for the next creation! Children enjoy writing their letters and numbers, drawing elaborate pictures, playing tic tac toe, making shapes, and even creating water drawn obstacle courses. And somehow, even though they love doing the painting, young people are rarely upset by the temporary nature of their water paintings. In fact, in all the years I’ve used this activity, I’ve never seen a child cry over a dried up water painting.
I’m curious, do you already use these activities or are they new to you? Does this spark any new ideas about how you can engage your child in independent play? I would love to know YOUR ideas for similar activities. Please leave me a comment!
And have a wonderful week, Shelly