Are you worried about how to entertain the kids this summer? With all of us being stuck at home we need some fun outdoor activities for kids. Ways to keep your kids excited to play outside all summer with cool outdoor water toys for your backyard.
What’s better on a hot summer day than running through water to cool off, laugh and play. Find out how to make it a memorable summer at home with our favorite outdoor water toys and activities.
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Fun Summer Outdoor Water Activities for Kids with Water Toys
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A great way to beat the summer heat is to enjoy fun water activities. Kids of all ages will have hours of fun getting wet and running around your backyard.
I’ve broken up this ultimate list of outdoor water activities by age to make it easier for you to find the best outdoor activites for your children. It’s not just all cool water toys. Make sure to read all the way to the end to find water games & science experiments with water too.
Outdoor Water Toys for Toddlers
Water Table
Toddlers love to play at water tables and they are an easy way to do water play in your backyard or deck space. We like the Step 2 brand as we have always found them to hold up over the years.
The Step 2 Splash and Scoop water table has a mix of water and sand for the little ones.
A great idea is to add water scoops, buckets, cups, and toy fish to play with. You could even add water beads to create water sensory bins in the tables. They’ll look like mini water blobs the kids can scoop and dump for sensory play.
Just make sure your child does not eat the water beads.
Splash Pad
Let the little ones run through a splash pad to keep cool this summer. They will love looking at all the letters and pictures on the pad too.
Sprinkler
This Melissa and Doug sprinkler is perfect for younger kids and it’s pretty cute with the flowers.
We also like this huge beach ball inflatable sprinkler to spray the kids as they run around.
Water Toys
Let the kids play with toys in the water. With this one kids can drive their boat through water over the mountains and through the river.
Mini Water Park
Make a mini water park in your backyard with this inflatable kiddie pool with a slide, basketball hoop, and ring toss. It’s perfect for younger kids.
This rainbow inflatable play center has a slide plus fun games with balls and rings to keep the kids entertained for hours.
Outdoor Water Toys for 6-10-Year-Olds
The older kids need fun ways to stay cool this summer too. Here are fun ways for elementary-age kids to enjoy the water without a pool.
Slip n Slide
Let the kids race each other on this fun slip-n-slide with boogie boards.
Play a little baseball and get wet with this cool slip n slide. The baseball slip n slide would be better for 6-8-year-olds and more water play than a real baseball game. But still a ton of fun.
Tip: I find most slip n slides don’t last more than one summer. So think of this as something just to get the kids wet and outside for this summer.
Mini Water Park
Let the kids ride a surfboard down a water slide through a shark’s head. Great for kids around age 6-8 years old.
If you want more of a DIY water play area check out these cool ideas in Backyard Waterpark.
If you want to go big try one of the huge inflatable water parks. Find one that has a mix of things like slides, basketball hoops, and climbing walls. The larger size inflatables usually can hold more kids so your whole family can play.
Small Pool
A smaller size pool is another great way to let the kids splash around and stay cool. We like this blow-up pool below because you can fit adults and kids into the pool. This way the whole family can enjoy the water.
Trampoline Sprinkler
If you have a trampoline in the backyard hook up this cool sprinkler. Kids can jump out their energy while staying wet.
Dive Diamond
If you’re headed to a pool let the kids swim & dive after these cool light-up DIY Outdoor Games Ideas with Water Balloons to get more ideas.
Take water balloons to the next level with a water balloon launcher. Families can work together to try and hit a target or just see how far they can send the balloons.
Water Guns
Kids will love running around the backyard getting wet with water guns. They can do a water gun battle or create some DIY Targets to shoot down.
Tip: Set out a big plastic container or bin in the yard filled with water for easy refills of the water guns.
You’ll be amazed how far water shoots from these foam water shooters. They come in a pack of 6 to let the whole family play together.
Our kid’s favorite is these Double Water Guns that use a pump to spray water. They come in a pack of two and are the perfect option for a water gun battle in the backyard.
This large Water Gun can hold 1000cc of water to keep the water battle going longer before refill. Plus it has a strap to wear across your body and it looks really cool.
Are you ready now to have an awesome summer in your backyard? I hope you found a few fun outdoor activities for the kids. These cool outdoor water toys are sure to keep your kids busy and happy all summer long.
Get more outdoor ideas in our DIY Outdoor Games for kids? They’ll love these fun yard game ideas to entertain kids all summer long.
Fun Water Games
Let’s add some extra fun to your summer with water games to play in your backyard. Here are a few fun water play ideas.
Sidewalk Chalk
A fun water activity with sidewalk chalk is a sponge and target toss.
On your driveway create chalk targets by drawing different size circles. Then add sponges to a bucket full of water. Squeeze out the water in the sponge and try and toss the sponge into the target.
For older kids add targets all over your driveway of different sizes to make it more of a challenge.
Ice Cube Toss
If you have a group of kids try an ice cube toss game. Kids line up in two rows across from each other. One child has an ice cube the other has a solo cup.
The child with the ice cube tosses it into the solo cup. If they make it the kids take two steps back and try again. See how far you can go and still get the ice cube into the cup.
Stem Project with Ice
Here’s a great stem project to try in the summer called Dinosaurs Frozen in Ice. It’s a simple experiment for young children to try in a water table or large plastic container.
Take a balloon and add a small plastic dinosaur figure. Next, add water to fill up the balloon and freeze it. Once the dinosaur balloon is frozen peel off the balloon and you’ll just have a frozen ball.
Then let the kids experiment on how to free the dinosaur. Use warm water, with an eyedropper, meat baster, ladle, and other items you have in the kitchen and see which works best.
Get more ideas and directions in the Dinosaurs Frozen in Ice STEM Project.
Water Obstacle Course
Create a DIY Water Obstacle Course in your backyard with items you have at home.
Here are some ideas – Use pool noodles to create tunnels over a slip and slide by bending them and holding them down with lawn steaks or long sticks. Have the kids go down a slide into a small pool. Kids can hit water balloons with a bat by hanging water balloons from a swing set. Last end by running through hula hoops that have a sprinkler running.
Honestly just use what you have at home and they’ll have lots of fun.
Need More Summer Activities for Kids?
At Happy Mom Hacks we have tons of Kids Activities for both indoors and outdoors to fend off hearing kids say the dreaded I’m Bored.
Keep kids busy all summer long with a DIY Summer Camp at Home for Kids. Use our easy-to-follow Pre-planned MOM Camp Planner with 8 weeks of themes, activities, games, crafts, and more. Make it a summer your kids will never forget and you don’t have to plan!
Here are a few More Summer favorites:
110 Summer Bucket List Ideas for Kids – Free printable list to inspire you all summer long.
20 Fun & Easy Minute to Win It Games for Kids – Quick games the kids will find hilarious.
31 Days of Boredom Busting Indoor Games for Kids – Free Printable Activity Calendar with 31 Days of Activity Ideas.
How to Make a Volcano at Home in 3 Easy Steps – Kids will be in awe watching a volcano explode in their own house. It’s easy to make too!
5 Great Rainy Day Activities for Kids – Fun ways to keep the kids busy on rainy and snowy days at home.
Scavenger Hunts for Kids – Free printable scavenger hunts for your local neighborhood, nature preserve, and Teen hunts
I’m Bored Jar – Free printable activities to add to an I am Bored Jar. Kids can entertain themselves by pulling out new activities.
DIY Backyard Games for Kids from Dollar Tree – Easy to make outdoor games for kids with cheap items from Dollar Tree
If you enjoyed these kid’s activities get more family fun activities, easy weeknight meals, family travel ideas, and household hacks by joining the Happy Mom Hacks community weekly newsletter.
Bonus, you’ll get a Free Printable Daily Schedule for Kids to keep you organized and stress-free when they’re out of school this summer.
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