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Water Activities for at Home
Iowa’s summer heat is here. Luckily, Des Moines has a variety of splash pads, pools, and even a few lakes to keep us cool. But sometimes we can’t get out of the house to enjoy those. Read on to find a few ideas for keeping cool at home.
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Bring the Kitchen Outside
Take different types of pans, bowls, and measuring cups and fill them with water. Put a few drops of food coloring in and your kids will have a blast. Add ice to make it even more fun.
Bozo Buckets
There are lots of names for this game. I remember it best as Bozo Buckets. Bozo Buckets was the Grand Prize Game from Bozo’s Circus, a tv show from the 1960s-1990s. Here’s how to play:
- Line up a few buckets with water.
- The first player stands in front of the first bucket.
- They throw a ball in the first bucket, if they make it, they continue on and throw it in the next bucket, and so on.
- If they miss, make it fun and pour the missed bucket on that player’s head.
Fill Up the Tub
Bring out that old baby tub, baby pool, or any tub you have. Fill it with water and throw in a few things for fun such as plastic Easter eggs, legos or coins.
Fishing
We recently took a trip to Hayward, WI and my son fell in love with fishing. So we decided to do some pretend fishing. Take any sort of tub you have, fill it with water and pipe cleaners shaped as fish then use two pipe cleaners to make a fishing pole. Let your child catch and release!
Duck Duck Goose
Play a game of Duck Duck Goose. Sit in a circle. Use a watering can to pour a little bit on each person saying duck, duck, and then pour all of it out saying goose! Have the players chase each other around the circle.
Water-Themed Obstacle Course
Create an obstacle course using different water-related activities. Ours started with throwing a football into a basketball hoop and into a tub of water. Then running with a jug of water, pouring it down a slide to create a water slide. We finished off with a run around a sprinkler.
Jackie Fioritto
Hi, I’m Jackie. I am a teacher who recently became a stay-at-home mother of two. My husband and I moved to Des Moines from Green Bay, Wisconsin a few years ago. Originally, I am from Chicago, Illinois. My family has loved exploring Des Moines and all that it has to offer!