Water Activities for Toddlers that are Tons of Fun & Simple, Too!

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Dive into creative and fun water activities for toddlers with these fun outdoor hands-on play activities for summer!

Stay cool this summer with 15 fun water activities just for toddlers! Create, Learn, Move, and beat the heat!

Toddlers and water.

The perfect combination, no?

Especially on a hot summer day.

Water has a magnetic attraction to most kids. It’s hard to beat as a simple, fun activity to do with toddlers!

These water activities below are simple and easy to set up and can create fun learning opportunities for you toddler and preschoolers outdoors this summer!

Why is Water Play Good for Toddlers?

Water play is good for toddlers because it engages their senses while helping to develop both fine motor and gross motor skills. All of which are very important in the development of young children.

From pouring, to water transfer, to washing with soapy water play toddlers and preschoolers are developing important life skills along with fine motor!

Running through a sprinkler, walking and splashing in a kiddie pool, or throwing wet sponges and water balloons are all helping develop important gross motor skills in your toddlers too.

Water, Water, Water Activities for Toddlers!

These water activities are perfect to do with toddlers this summer.

Take them outside and have fun playing with water on a nice, hot day in the sun!

Just be sure to lather up with sunscreen first.

Have tons of fun this summer with easy water activities for toddlers!

Water activities to do with your toddler

Grab a tub and fill it with water and have fun with these water activities for toddlers today!

Paint with water. Grab some real house paintbrushes and rollers and go to town painting the sidewalk!
Make garden soup with some friends. Happy Hooligans had the kids pick their own flowers before getting started on the “soup”.
Mix colored water. This is a super simple activity, but it’s always a hit. Set up just two colors, or add more for even more exploration.
Get out the kiddie pool and add some balls. Learn Play Imagine did this with babies and a toddler, and they spent all afternoon in the water.
Wash the toys! This is one of the simplest water activities for toddlers, but it is a hit every time. Grab some toys (dirty or not), add some soap, and get to washing. Great for indoors or out.
Squeeze some pompoms. Fantastic Fun and Learning set up a simple invitation with pompoms and water, with lots of squeezing and playing on a warm day.
Recycle old glue bottles as water squirters. This idea from Playdough to Plato has toddlers working on their fine motor skills while beating the heat.
Float some boats. Make this quick boat craft and the kids can spend the afternoon taking their boats out to sea.
Pour, pour, pour. Busy Toddler’s pouring station lets the little ones transfer and pour water to their hearts’ content. Add color to the water, along with different containers, to make it even more inviting.
Experiment with water. Add some toys to a tub of water and see which items sink and which float. A great science activity with water for toddlers!
Go fishing. I Can Teach My Child set up the swimming pool for her toddler, adding ocean “animals” to catch. This works well outside on a hot day but can be done inside if the weather isn’t so great.
Add colorful ice to water, like Fun-A-Day. Watch as the ice melts into the rest of the water, the colors mixing to create new colors.
Hunt and sort colors. This activity from Toddler Approved is super easy to put together, but it allows for a ton of time for playing and exploring.
Set up foam blocks in water like Still Playing School. Build with them, sort the blocks, or just have fun splashing around with them.
Make scoops and funnels to play in the water to transfer it back and forth!