Water play is an activity that may seem ordinary and simple to many parents, but you’ll be surprised by its many developmental benefits and why it’s one of the most common activities in preschool education!
What is Water Play?
Water Play is a type of water play that involves the use of tools such as buckets, containers, objects, and toys that allow children to splash, scoop, pour, submerge, and explore their senses.
Water play in early childhood education settings usually involves a large basin of water or a special water table for children, around which they can stand while participating in the activity. Children love standing next to a tall water table and playing with the toys, and they also enjoy getting in and splashing around in the water while they play. It creates an exciting and social experience for children as they splash, play, and have fun together.
The Benefits of Water Play in Early Childhood
Why is it important for children to play with water, and how does it help their development?
Water is a wonderful substance, and playing with it is just as educational as playing with sand. There are so many benefits to playing with sand and water in early childhood. And kids never get tired of it!
This simple activity helps develop skills in all four key areas of development:
- Social
- Emotional
- Cognitive (intellectual)
- Physical
Let's take a look at some of the benefits:
Gross and Fine Motor Skills
The development of fine and gross motor skills is important during early childhood. Children need to develop control over both their large and small muscles, and what better way to do that than while having fun.
Playing with water is an easy way for toddlers and preschoolers to develop physical skills. Activities such as pouring, throwing, filling, dipping, splashing, mixing, flinging water, splashing around, and squeezing are excellent ways to develop these skills.
Fine motor skills are constantly improving as children scoop and pour water and fill and empty containers in many different ways. Meanwhile, gross motor skills develop as children are encouraged to carry and pour water from larger, heavier containers and buckets. The opportunity to use a pool or go swimming is also a fantastic way to develop core strength and endurance as children kick, splash, and move their arms and hands through the water.
Coordination
Swimming builds muscle and helps improve coordination. The kicking motions engage the core and can help children learn how to coordinate both sides of their bodies to move through the water. When children swim or practice any movement in the water, they develop coordination.
Playing with water is also a fantastic activity for developing children’s hand-eye coordination. They learn to pour, squeeze, and stir the water. For example, by pouring water from one bucket to another or learning how to control the direction and size of a splash, children improve their sense of precision and control.
Balance and Strength
Playing with water can help improve children’s balance and strength. It’s like playing in a brand-new playground, where even the simplest activities—like clapping their hands or jumping—are a completely new sensory experience. Children can experiment without worrying about falling on hard surfaces. In addition, water provides resistance, so water play activities serve as strength training. It takes more muscle strength to move one’s arms and legs in water than in air.
Gathering
When children play with water, they tend to get absorbed in the activity and spend long periods of time exploring it. This encourages children to focus, and any activity that holds a child’s attention for a long period of time will help increase their attention span over time. These benefits have an impact on formal learning, where the ability to concentrate in the classroom is a vital skill.
Early Mathematical Skills
Playing with water is an excellent way for young children to develop basic early math skills. Learning these skills through play is essential before formal math instruction begins in the classroom. As children fill and pour water from containers of different sizes, they learn about volume and capacity. They experience concepts such as full/empty and more/less. They also learn about displacement when they place objects or themselves in the water, as well as about conservation—that the amount of water remains the same when poured into a container of a different shape.
Scientific Concepts
Playing with water also allows children to experience scientific concepts in a hands-on way. Children learn basic physics by discovering the properties of water, such as:
- Water makes the sand heavier.
- Water affects the texture of the sand when more water is added or when it is allowed to dry.
- The water falls through (e.g., through a sieve).
- The air moves the water.
- Water is a liquid because it flows.
- Water takes the shape of the container into which it is poured.
- Water always flows downhill.
- Water can change from a solid to a liquid (when it is hot) and back to a solid (when it freezes in extreme cold).
- Some objects float on water, and others sink.
Language and Vocabulary
A child’s vocabulary develops as they experience new things and learn to describe and understand what they are doing. When they play with water and various tools, toys, and containers, children develop new vocabulary related to these objects as well as the actions they perform. They also tend to engage in pretend play around the water table, which is beneficial for language development and learning sentence structure.
Here are some ideas for new words and concepts that children could learn:
- Shovel
- Funnel
- Sieve
- Dropper
- Pour
- I splash
- I wring out
- I splash around
- Empty
- Full
- More
- Less
Social Skills
Playing with water is so engaging and relaxing that children often play harmoniously and interact peacefully for long periods of time. They develop social skills as they learn to share and cooperate while playing side by side or together toward a common goal. When conflicts arise, they learn how to manage and resolve them.
And while water play can be an individual activity, children find it exciting to play in a group. When done as a group activity, it encourages children to engage in social and cooperative play. It is not uncommon to observe that preschoolers, for example, turn their water play into a shared experience with a common goal. They might embark on a mission to fill a large basin with water from the water pump, or dig a trench in the sandbox, or take turns jumping into the water to see who can make the biggest splash. In these play experiences, each child has a role to play and contributes to the overall goal. Through this type of play, children have the opportunity to see what happens when they share materials and ideas.
Relieves Tension
Water is a calming and soothing substance—more so than any other material, in fact. Children get great pleasure from moving around and splashing in it. It tends to hold their attention for long periods of time, which is especially good for children with high energy levels, as it calms them down. For children who are feeling frustrated or angry, activities like splashing water are a healthy way to release that tension. Vigorous splashing and running through the water can also be an excellent outlet for pent-up energy.
Sensory Exploration
In their early years, children learn about the world around them through their senses. During the preschool years, activities that engage the senses provide wonderful learning experiences. Playing with water is an excellent form of sensory play, and children should have frequent opportunities to engage in it. It provides children with so many opportunities to explore their senses and experience different sensory sensations. Adding materials such as sand, ice, soap, or gel to water allows children to feel different textures (rough, slippery) with their hands and to experience different temperatures (warm, cool, cold).
Problem-Solving Skills and Creativity
Problem-solving skills and creativity are vital in today’s world and need to be developed in early childhood. Playing in water allows children to explore a substance and make discoveries about it. Watching a twig or a piece of paper float or sink will teach them, in a very practical way, how and why things happen. Above all, however, it encourages them to use their imagination and fosters creative thinking, which plays an important role in problem-solving.
Exploration and Learning
Bodies of water offer endless opportunities for experimentation and discovery. Children may have already explored wood, soil, sand, rocks, and other dry materials. But what happens when these materials are mixed, sifted, or dropped into water? Children also have the opportunity to think about concepts such as the displacement of water and volume as they explore within a body of water. Water supports a variety of life forms, such as fish and frogs, so playing with water can also lead to new biological adventures!
Here are a few examples of these challenges:
- How to add exactly the right amount of water to the sand so that it can be molded without falling apart.
- How to make a makeshift funnel to pour water into a container with a narrow opening.
- How to turn water green using food coloring—using only the primary colors.
- How to build a ramp so the toys can slide down it.
- How to make water flow from one structure to another (by building a channel using toys).
How to Create a Water Play Area for Preschoolers and Toddlers
Here are some tips you can follow to ensure a successful water play session for children:
- There really aren't any rules. All you need is some kind of table, a container or basin, and some tools or utensils for water play.
- Focus on having fun by providing different containers and a variety of tools and toys to spark your child’s imagination.
- On hot days, children can go barefoot and wear light clothing, and on a cool or rainy day, they can set up an indoor water table on a raised surface (and wear aprons) or in the bathroom.
- Try to have a water play day at least once a week.
Resources for the Water Game
A water container can be any size and can be placed indoors or outdoors. Here are a few ideas for containers:
- Boats
- Bucket
- Water table
- Inflatable pool
- Large plastic sandbox
- Bathtub
- Sink
- Kitchen sink
Or let your child play with toys under supervision, in a pool or at the beach!
There are many toys and tools you can buy for playing with water, but you can also use your imagination and make do with things you can find around the house.
Here are a few examples:
- Bowls and containers of various sizes
- Buckets
- Sponges
- Small shovels
- Pieces of rubber or tubing
- Figures
- Toys or objects that float
- Toys or objects that sink
- Slides
- Spoons
- Things that float on water, e.g., rubber ducks and toy boats
- Water guns
- Syringes
- Droppers
- Chonia
- Bottles
- Natural materials, e.g., pebbles
- Watering cans
- Spoons
- Squeeze bottles
- Balls
- Small teapot
- Sifters
- Frying Pans
- Balloons
- A container with holes
- Wire
- Washable crayons
Ideas for water games indoors and outdoors
For a successful water play session, all you need is plenty of space, time, and water. You can simply provide any of the tools or containers mentioned above, or you can try one of these ideas at the water and sand tables. Here are some fun and unique ideas for indoor and outdoor water play for toddlers and preschoolers.
Ice
One of the most fun water activities for preschoolers is playing with ice and discovering the properties of water when it freezes or is heated. Provide ice cubes or crushed ice. Add a little food coloring to the ice and watch what happens when it melts into water.
Color
Give your child some powdered or liquid paint and see how they can get creative with it in water.
Soap
Give your child a small bottle of dish soap and a few straws. Instead of preparing the soapy water for them, let your child figure out how much soap to use and how to blow bubbles with the straws.
Food Colorant
Food coloring creates beautiful shapes and patterns as it falls into the water. Add a few drops to the water using a dropper, stir it, and watch the color of the water change. Add another color and see if the colors mix.
Music on the Water
Check out this wonderful water play video that shows how you can play with sounds and musical notes using everyday objects and a bowl of water. This is a GREAT learning activity you won't want to miss!
Sand
Add a little sand to the outdoor water table or basin and let your child make mud pies. As a variation, provide a basin of dry sand and a pitcher of water, and let your child experiment by slowly pouring in the water until the desired consistency is achieved. Provide cups and molds so they can make shapes out of the sand.
Cornmeal
As a variation on the activity above, add cornmeal—or even wheat—to an indoor water table if you’d rather not have sand indoors.
Sponge Game
Pour some water into a bowl and have your child soak up the water with a sponge and then transfer the water to an empty bowl by squeezing the sponge. This is also good for strengthening the muscles in the fingers.
Objects That Float and Sink
Give your child a variety of different objects and see which ones float and which ones sink. Offer items such as corks, small plastic ducks, toy boats, pebbles, coins, and ping-pong balls.
Match Against Fellous
This is a fun game to try. Each person must get their cork across the water to the other side of the basin by blowing through a straw. The winner is the person whose cork reaches the other side first.
Bath Time
Turn the daily bath into a great learning experience by providing bowls and all kinds of plastic kitchen utensils. Fill the bathtub just a little and let the water run for a while so your child can fill the containers and play with the running water.
Basin in the Bathroom
If your child wants to play with water indoors and you don’t want them to take another bath, you can limit the mess a bit by having them sit in the bathtub with a bucket or basin of water filled with toys. They can splash around and play without water spilling out of the tub.
Cooking Game
Fill the kitchen sink with water, food coloring, and soap, and let your child stand on a chair and play with whatever they find in the kitchen.
Water Balloons
Play with water-filled balloons. You could either be brave and throw them at each other on a hot day, or draw a target with chalk outside and take turns aiming and throwing the balloons to see whose balloon lands closest to the target.
Gardening
The simple activity of gardening is a wonderful way to have fun and learn. Let your child take care of the plants with a hose and a watering can. Play with the nozzle and switch between a steady stream of water and a light mist. Then, leave the hose or sprayer on and run through the water.
Nature Reserve
Kids love playing with natural materials. Fill the water table with leaves, flowers, bark, twigs, pinecones, etc. See which materials float and which sink, watch the water run over a pinecone, and discover the properties of water with this interesting assortment of natural treasures.
We hope you enjoyed these ideas and that you'll try them out to encourage water play during the early childhood years!
You may also be interested in this article:
Why It's Good for Kids to Play in the Mud!
*Sources: empoweredparents.co | pathways.org | www.busybees.edu.au | kidscraftroom.com | www.kidsclubchildcare.com.au | playgroupwa.com.au | www.pontchartrainpediatrics.com | info.scholarschoice.ca