Water games

Interactive planning-Water games

(Open interactive planning-Water games) Type your activities in the document and print it. Use the document to organize and present educational activities related to the theme. 

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK, MONTH, YEAR

Hand washing, what a great game! (Open 6 steps for hand washing) Print, laminate, and display near the sink. Use the motivational chart each time children wash their hands.

CIRCLE TIME

We suggests an imaginary game to begin each day. (Open thematic letter - Water games) Print the letter and prepare a special envelope. Hide the envelope in an easy to find location in the daycare. During circle time, have children find the letter and read portions of the interactive story to them. Follow the instructions.

My thematic spot

Prior to children’s arrival, inflate a buoy for each child. During circle time (and story time), invite children to sit in the center of their buoy. Doing so will help you define children’s individual spaces.

3D discussion-Water games

Set several large beach towels on your daycare floor. Set a large bin on the towels and add water until it is approximately 2/3 full. To introduce your theme, you will need several plastic container or plastic jar lids in different colors. Before children arrive in the morning, use a permanent marker to write a question pertaining to the theme on each lid. Set the lids in your bin. Children take turns taking a lid out of the bin using a slotted spoon, chopsticks, or kitchen tongs. Read the question on each child’s lid as they remove them from the bin and encourage children to answer the various questions to spark a conversation. 

Here are a few questions you may use:

Where can we find water?
Who needs water?
How do we use water?

In our homes: to bathe, to cook, for laundry
In nature: to feed plants, trees, and animals, to fill lakes and rivers. For swimming, water skiing, windsurfing.
In our neighborhood: water games, firemen, to keep streets clean

AREA SETUP

Use small inflatable pools to transform certain areas. For example, in the doll or building block corners, place the toys in the pools. Children will love sitting in the pools to play. Draw giant raindrops and hang them from the ceiling. Tie several transparent balloons together and hang them in the daycare using transparent thread.

Thematic poster-Water games

(Open thematic poster-Water games) Print, laminate, and display on a wall to announce the theme.

Educa-theme-Water games

(Open educa-theme-Water games) Print and laminate the elements representing the theme. Use them to present the theme to your group while decorating your daycare.

Educa-decorate-Water games
(Open educa-decorate-Water games) Print, cut out, and laminate. Use the illustrations to decorate the walls of your daycare and set the mood for the theme.

Perpetual calendar-Water games day

(Open perpetual calendar-Water games day) Print and display to announce your upcoming “Water games day”.

Let’s play in the waves

You will need several pieces of blue tulle (different shades). Drape the fabric against the lower section of a wall to represent waves. Hang fish, inflated pool toys, and diving masks in front of the waves using invisible thread.

PICTURE GAME

The pictures may be used as a memory game or to spark a conversation with the group. Use them to decorate the daycare or a specific thematic corner. (Open picture game-Water games) Print, laminate, and store in a "Ziploc" bag or in your thematic bins.

ACTIVITY SHEETS

Activity sheet-Water games
Activity sheets are suggested for each theme. Print and follow instructions. (Open activity sheets-Water games)

WRITING ACTIVITIES

Writing activity-G like Games

(Open writing activities-G like games) Print for each child or laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

Activity sheets are suggested for each theme. Print and follow instructions. (Open activity sheets - Water games)

VARIOUS WORKSHOPS

Have fun with these wonderful workshop ideas provided by Caroline Allard.

Sprinkler area:

• A hose with a gun with several functions (different sprays)
• Commercial water sprinkler toys (a spraying flower, a fire hydrant, etc.)
• Water guns (have children bring some from home)
• Spray bottles
• Water balloons (be sure to collect all the pieces when they pop)

Pool area:

• Add bubble bath to pool water
• Add a few drops of washable liquid paint to pool water
• If you have a small slide, let children slide into the water
• Buckets of water for filling and pouring
• Various water games (squeezable bath toys, boats, etc.)

Laundry area:

• A small pool or water table filled with water and soap
• Doll clothing or other items of clothing which can be wet
• A clothesline and clothespins to hang the clothes to dry

Carwash area:

• "Share" your car with the group. They will love washing
  it for you!
• Sponges, a few buckets, water, and soap

Mud area:

• Turn your sandbox into a mud area on a Friday so it will have time to dry over the weekend.
• Just add a hose to the sandbox
• Take mud baths
• Make streets for toy cars and trucks
• Build mud castles

Sliding area:

• A water slide (the long plastic alleys children run onto and slide to the other end)
• For the brave at heart, add a few drops of dishwashing liquid for extra speed

Motor skills area:

• Relay races involving buckets of water
• Obstacle races with water balloons
• Aiming games with a hose

WORD FLASHCARDS

The flashcards may be used during circle time to spark a conversation or in your reading and writing area. They may also be used to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards-Water games) (Open giant word flashcards-Water games) water, sprinkler, rain, balloon, faucet, sink, bath, hose, water game, kiddie pool, water mat, water slide

OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Modeling dough activity placemats-Water games

(Open modeling dough activity placemats-Water games) Print and laminate. Let children pick a placemat and provide modeling dough. Encourage them to use the dough to fill or reproduce the shapes that are on their placemat.

 
Wring out the pompoms

Fill a large bin with water and add the contents of a medium-sized bag of pompoms. Give each child a clear disposable drinking glass on which you have drawn a line to indicate the level that must be reached. Name one color at a time. Children must grasp a pompom of the corresponding color, hold it over their glass, and wring it out to fill their glass with water. The first child who reaches the target water level wins.

String activities-Water

(Open string activities-Water) Print for each child. Children trace the outlines with white glue before covering them with colorful string.

Bowling game-Water

(Open bowling game-Water) Print and use the stickers to create games. Create you own bowling game by pressing them on empty plastic bottles. Arrange the bottles on a table as you would do with regular bowling pins. Children must try to make all the “bowling pins” fall by tossing a tennis ball towards them. Give each child 3 tries.  

Water games
Use two buckets. Fill one with water. Have children transfer water from one bucket to the other using sponges, eyedroppers, measuring cups, etc.

Watch the ball
Sit in a circle. While you sing a song, children pass a water balloon around the circle. When the song ends, the child holding the balloon gently throws it to the child sitting in front of him.

Bite the apple

Fill a large bowl with water. Children attempt to catch a floating apple using only their teeth. The child who succeeds is the winner. He may eat the apple. Be sure to use a different apple for each child.

Rowboat
Build rowboats using large cardboard boxes. Let children paint their boats with poster paint. Deposit the rowboats on a large piece of clear plastic. Children sit in their boats and pretend to row using foam noodles (used in pools). They can even take along a fishing rod.

The river
Deposit three hoola hoops close together on the ground (or trace three circles with rope). Children stand in a circle around the hoops. One at a time, they must cross over the hoops to the sound of rhythmic music. When the music stops, the child who was crossing the river becomes a fish. He can make fish faces and sounds. The game continues until all the children are fish.

Water balloons
Fill a basket with water balloons. Make two teams and give each team an empty basket. Determine a start and finish line. Children are to transport water balloons between their legs to their team's basket at the finish line.

Jump in the river
Deposit hoola hoops on the ground to represent rocks in the river. Children hop from one rock to the next.

The other side of the river
Use masking tape to draw two parallel lines on the ground. Deposit aluminum plates filled with water between the two lines. Have children cross the river without touching the water.

Water paint
Provide children with buckets of water and paintbrushes. Children can "paint" fences, porches, and even the house!

Small water balloons
Prepare small water balloons. Put them in the pool. Let children catch them using large plastic spoons or plastic shovels.

Relaxation
Play relaxing music with wave or water sounds.

Bowling
Line up plastic bottles. Throw water balloons to make the bottles fall down.

Balloon game
Place a balloon on a table or chair. One at a time, children try to make the balloon fall off using a water gun.

Sponge game
Children sit in a circle. One child walks around the circle. He stops behind another child and gently wrings out the sponge over his head. The child who gets wet must quickly stand up and run after the child who wrung out the sponge. If he does not touch him before he gets back to his place, it is then his turn to walk around the circle with the sponge.

RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES

Raindrops
Deposit one hula hoop on the floor for each child. Dramatically explain to the children that they are raindrops. Have them describe their voyage down to the ground.

Wet stroll
Take a stroll in the rain. Touch the rain and describe how it feels. Look at the sky and observe the shapes of the clouds. Gather rainwater in buckets and observe it. Jump over rain puddles. Search for worms.

Falling rain
Place mats and blankets near a window. Relax while listening to the rain.

Rain dance
Play music and discuss the traditional rain dance.

Water music
You will need 6-8 glass jars. One jar should be empty and the other jars should all have different levels of water in them. The last jar is full. Add a few drops of food colouring to the water so children can see the different levels. Let children discover the different sounds produced by tapping the jars with wooden spoons and metal spoons. Line up the jars in order, from the empty jar all the way up to the full jar. The empty jar produces the highest pitch and the full jar produces the lowest pitch. Variation: You could use different objects such as cans, plastic containers, etc. Children will understand that different objects produce different sounds.

ACTIVITY IMPLICATING PARENTS

Good weather, bad weather
Draw a cloud on a large piece of blue paper and a sun on a large piece of yellow paper. Have children search for pictures which correspond to good weather and bad weather in magazines or catalogues at home. Rain boots, umbrellas, bathing suits, swimming pools, t-shirts, or any other objects will do. Parents can help their children. During circle time the next day, have children associate their pictures to the sun or the cloud.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITY

Faucet game
(Open game faucet-Water games) Print, laminate, cut out, and glue the faucet on a wall. Give each child a laminated drop of water. Blindfold one child at a time and encourage them to try to press their drop of water as close to the faucet as possible. The winner is the child whose drop of water is pressed closest to the faucet.

Bubble wand association

(Open bubble wand association) Print and cut out the bubble wands and glue them on a long paper banner. Print several copies of the page with bubbles in a variety of different shapes. Children cut out the bubbles and glue each one close to the bubble wand of the corresponding shape. Encourage them to name the shapes as they add the bubbles.  

Educ-math-Water games
(Open educ-math-Water games) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must count the objects in each rectangle and circle the corresponding number. 

Pick, search and color letters-Water games

(Open pick search and color letters-Water games) Print and laminate the letters. Children pick a card. They must find and color the corresponding letter.  

9-piece Velcro puzzles-Water games
(Open 9-piece velcro puzzles-Water games) Print, laminate, and cut out the pieces. Press Velcro behind each one as well as in each box. Children associate the pieces to complete the puzzles.  

Counting cards-Water

(Open counting cards-Water) Print and laminate. Prepare a series of clothespins on which you can paint or write numbers 1 to 9 using a marker. Children must count the items on each card and press the clothespin with the corresponding number on the correct answer.

Roll and color-Water

(Open roll and color-Water) Print for each child. This game can be done individually or in a group setting. Children must roll the die, count the dots, and color the corresponding parts on their coloring page, per the number indicated on the die.  

Let’s count the drops

(Educ-math-Drops) Print and laminate for each child. Invite children to guess how many drops of water are required to fill each circle. Using eyedroppers, children fill the circles with colored water. Encourage them to count the number of times they must press their eyedropper to verify their hypotheses.  

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Bath time
Have children help you clean the dolls. If possible, this activity may be done outdoors. Use large containers or a small pool. You will need soap, facecloths, and large towels. Children may also wash the doll clothes and hang them to dry on a small clothesline.

Let’s build waterfalls

Invite children to work together and use blocks to build various structures in large bins. Next, encourage them to pour water on their structures using a pitcher so that they can observe how the water will slide down their surface. Ask children to pour the water gently at first, and then faster. Will their structures withstand the force of the water? Let children experiment. For example, they could try to build structures with different shapes and various heights.

Our water park

Encourage children to work together to conceive a water park for figurines. They can use building blocks to build water slides, fill a bin with water to represent a wave pool, cut buoys out of Fun Foam sheets, etc. When they are done, they will enjoy playing with figurines for hours in their very own original water park.

Photo booth-Water games

(Open photo booth-Water games) Print the various accessories, cut them out, and glue a drinking straw behind each one. Purchase hats, scarves, glasses, etc. at your local dollar store. Create a special decor using a large piece of cardboard or curtain. Invite children to pick the accessories they prefer and pose for you. You can take individual, group, or family photos. Print the pictures and display them on a wall for everyone to see.

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES

Pepper is scared of soap

Pour water into a shallow container. Shake pepper onto the water. Add a drop of dishwashing liquid. What happens?

I can make bubbles
Prepare bubble solution by combining dishwashing liquid and water. Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil for stronger bubbles. Show children how to make a bubble wand by twisting a pipe cleaner. Variation: Pour bubble solution into aluminum plates. Add a different colour of food colouring in each plate. Have children blow bubbles onto light construction paper.

What floats?
This is a great activity for a hot sunny day. ollect objects that will float and others that will sink. Children will enjoy guessing which ones will float prior to depositing them in the water.

Transferring water
Enjoy pouring and transferring water. Use glasses and prepare mixtures such as water and vinegar, water and pepper, water and soda, etc. Observe the results.

Different substances
Gather several transparent jars, water, and different substances such as sand, mud, gravel, etc. Deposit different substances into each jar and fill them with water. Shake the jars. Notice how each substance reacts with the water. Which one takes the longest to settle? Which one quickly returns to the bottom of the jar? Variation: Fill a single jar with layers of different substances and fill it with water. Shake the jar and let the substances settle. What happens? Which substance is heaviest? Which substance is lightest?

The sun, the water, and the rainbow
Give each child a spray bottle filled with water. Go outdoors for this experiment. Stand with your back to the sun and spray. Observe the result with the group. Children should see colours in the water. This is the perfect occasion to discuss rainbows.

Cold water or hot water
(Open poster - hot and cold water) Print and use to identify your faucets. Prepare two glasses of water, one containing cold water and one containing lukewarm water. Have children feel the temperature of the water in each of the glasses. Add an ice cube to each glass and let children observe how quickly they melt.

CULINARY ACTIVITIES

Washing vegetables
Let children help you wash vegetables.

So many things are made with water
Have children make "Jell-O", juice, popsicles, etc.

Water is vital!

Serve water in glasses. Provide children with straws and let them make bubbles.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Shower curtain painting

For this activity, purchase a clear shower curtain. Using string or rope, hang the shower curtain between 2 trees or from a play structure in a way that both sides of the curtain are accessible. Set large rocks on the bottom of the curtain so that it won’t blow around if it is windy. Provide paintbrushes and washable paint. Let children paint freely. At the end of the activity, set buckets of soapy water and sponges nearby and invite children to wash the curtain. Once the curtain is dry, they can create a new masterpiece!

Water painting
Cover the table with newspaper. Give children paintbrushes and water. Let them paint using water only. You can offer clear or coloured water.

Umbrella
Use paper muffin cups and pipe cleaners to craft small umbrellas. Children can colour or decorate them as they wish.

COLORING PAGES

(Open coloring pages theme-Water games) Print.

SONGS & RHYMES

Rain, rain, go away

Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
We want to go outside and play
Come again another day

Splishy Splash
by: Patricia Morrison
Sung to: Here we go looby loo

Here we go splishy splash
Here we go splashy, sploosh
Here we go splashy splash
All on a Saturday night

You put your right foot in
You take your right foot out
You give your foot a shake, shake, shake
And turn yourself about

Here we go splishy splash
Here we go splashy, sploosh
Here we go splashy splash
All on a Saturday night

You put your left foot in
You take your left foot out
You give your foot a shake, shake, shake
And turn yourself about

Here we go splishy splash
Here we go splashy, sploosh
Here we go splashy splash
All on a Saturday night

You put your whole self in
You take your whole self out
You give your whole self a shake, shake, shake
And turn yourself about

Have fun!

The Educatall team