Water Fun Wednesday

Water play is important all through out childhood. It helps with fine and gross motor skills, eye hand coordination, it encourages sensory acclimation, and it is just plain fun. And what better time than in the heat of summer to make it a regular time each week? So this summer we are getting it in every Wednesday after being out in the heat with riding lessons in the morning, there is nothing better than coming home, grabbing a quick lunch and then going out and cooling off in the water.

This summer I started by grabbing a new sprinkler and a new baby pool. We have dogs who have no boundaries (Yeah I said it, lol) They aren’t trained perfectly and they tend to tear things apart. So we need things that are easily picked up. I would love a bigger pool (if only for selfish reasons) but this one is plenty for the kiddos. What is really great, is I can set it up with minimal effort each Wednesday morning and fill it. While we are out at riding lessons, the sun will be warming it up and getting it perfect for play when we get home.

Some other great ideas the kids have wanted to do this summer are water balloons and the slip and slide. I am not sure about the slip and slide because my kids have a tendency to hurt themselves and I don’t want any hospital trips. But I love water balloons. You can find them cheap at the dollar stores or even get the easy fill sets for not a completely unreasonable price if you want that ease. If you have young children or pets, be careful of the little pieces (we make it a game to see how fast they pick them all up).

I do plan on taking them to the beach on the river or bay. We will hit a small local beach rather than going some place more populated because with 3 kids who love the water and a husband who works in an office 5 days a week, I will be doing it on my own. That means I need to be able to keep a hold of the Mermaid while Monkey and Monster run in the waves. Bigger waves means a bigger chance of one of them wiping the boys out. I will say, I did this one last year. After driving an hour and a half to get there, precisely 1 hour and 10 minutes later, my oldest got stung by a jelly fish. (A few tips are below!)

And last but not least water guns! Anything from cheap dollar store ones to high end “super soakers” (Are those even a thing anymore? I may need a few!) This one is great as a quick cool off also. Fill it up and let them run around for 10 minutes squirting each other, and I bet 10 minutes later they will be dried off. No need to even get in bathing suits.

As you can see this isn’t a in depth list. Mainly because most weeks we will keep it simple with the pool and the sprinkler. My kids love them so I don’t see it getting “boring”. They will also get trips to Nana’s and Grandma and Grandpa’s house with big real pools. And we will try to make it down to Granddaddy’s house again so they can fish on the marina (which they absolutely loved). We also have a water table on the porch they can always play in (mainly Mermaid). Water play doesn’t have to be scary, even for toddlers. Don’t want to put a pool up or have room for one? A simple bigger bowl with a couple cups and scoops and they can keep themselves entertained for a while.

What ways are you looking forward to incorporating water into your summer? Want to see other ideas for everyday of the week? Check our my original post Summertime Fun!

Ok so for tips for Jelly fish stings: I am by NO MEANS a Doctor but thank goodness for smart phones and Former Coast Guard Dads.
– Tip 1: DO NOT believe Friends and DO NOT urinate on the area.
– Tip 2: Ice really helped him. Wiping it did not. Tylenol may have helped a little.
– Tip 3: Watch water and food intake. He got really nauseous from the pain and ended up throwing up (poor kid!)
– Tip 4: This is going to sound really weird, but he had started feeling better and we decided to stop at a Mead shop to get a surprise for Daddy and the amazing Sales Associate there said that honey can help. He popped open a jar and slathered his arm and covered it with a paper towel and Monkey said it started feeling better by the time we got to the car! (BTW if you are in VA and want to try some amazing Mead, check out Silver Hand Meadery, Glenn and his crew are amazing!)
– Tip 5: Know what kind of jelly fish if at all possible. Where we were, it was a Sea Nettle and I found out (thanks Dad!) that carrying some meat tenderizer and sprinkling it on helps neutralize it and ease the pain.