Fun with Water and Kids

Keep your Brisbane Kids cool whilst exploring our ideas for fun in your backyard this summer!

Mini Yacht Racing

A creative and cool way to enjoy the warmer months is to have your very own miniature yacht race in your back yard. This simple activity will bring out the competitive streak in every Brisbane Kid and parent as you race your boats to the finish line.

You Will Need:

A shallow tray
Plastic bottle tops
Tooth picks
Straws
Coloured card
Blu-Tac
Tape
Blue Food Colouring (optional)

Cut the coloured card into triangle sails, add stickers or drawings to the sail if desired, and stick to the tooth pick. Take the other end and place into the inside centre of the bottle top and secure with a lump of Blu-Tac. Fill the tray half deep with water, add food colouring (optional). Place the tray onto a flat even surface. Line each boat up at one end of the tray and using the straws blow the boat to the opposite end. First to the other side wins.

Raucous laughter and great debates over who reached the end may ensue. Brisbane parents will want to get involved here too. Best out of 3? 4!… 10?!!! This is a great game that will keep the kids entertained and enthralled.

Jumping Water Balloons

Which two childhood items go together best of all? Water and play! Mix this with water balloons and a trampoline and you have a winning combination for an easy and exciting summer cool down event.

You Will Need:

Water Balloons
A Trampoline

Fill water balloon and gently place into the centre of the trampoline. Add children and the fun begins. Brisbane Kids will make their own fun with this. Crack the egg with the balloons, water balloon fight to simply seeing how high the balloons will bounce before they pop. This activity will have them screaming for more!

Splash 6

This game couldn’t be simpler or more exciting if it tried. This is a dice game with the addition of water and a wet surprise. Splash 6 is fun for all ages.

You Will Need:

A Tray
A Dice

Fill the tray with water (keep a water jug handy to top up as the game progresses). Let player 1 roll the dice. If a 6 is rolled the player can slap their hand down into the tray of water covering themselves and their opponents. Cue hysterical laughter! Each player that rolls a 6 gets to slap the tray. Soon each play is covered in water and everyone is happy. This is such a simple game, yet will be a huge hit this summer.

Spray Painting

What child doesn’t want to let their artistic flair go totally wild?! This wet and wild game will have your Brisbane Kid immersed in a performance art piece.

You Will Need:

A White T-Shirt
Water based paint
Spray bottles
Safety googles (optional)

Fill spray bottles with water and paint and shake. Give each child a white shirt to wear (we found discounted t-shirts at Kmart for $2 each). Add safety goggles (optional) and away you go. Race around the yard trying to spray paint your opponent’s t-shirt. It is a good idea to set out ground rules before the game begins – aim for shirt only; stop if told to etc.

Spray Painting | Alternative Art Activity

This can become an abstract expressionist art activity. Place a large piece of art paper/butchers paper against a shed or fence and let your children spray paint their canvas. This is a fun activity for all ages.

DIY Rain Shower

Brisbane summer can be very hot. An easy and quick way to cool down is a rain shower. Using a few household items you can be enjoying a nice summer shower in your back yard.

You Will Need:

A 2L Plastic Bottle (juice or milk bottles work well)
Box cutters
Rope
Water proof tape or duct tape
A garden hose

Using the box cutters puncture holes over the base of the bottle and half way up the sides. Remove the bottle cap and place the hose into the top of the bottle. Secure with water proof tape/duct tape. You can stop here and use the sprinkler on the ground.

Or, for more fun…. Tie the rope across the upright netting struts of your trampoline or between two strong branches of a tree. Run the hose and bottle over the rope. Secure either by threading the rope through the handle of the bottle or if no handle is present use more water proof tape/duct tape to hold the bottle to the rope. Turn on the hose and enjoy a cool summer shower.

Sponge Bombs

Water fights are the stuff of summer fun. Throwing water filled bombs at each other is even more exciting. This easy to make water bomb will keep your Brisbane Kids happy and cool this summer.

You Will Need:

Household sponges (10 will make approx. 12 bombs)
Small elastic hair ties or string

Cut the sponges into strips approx. 1cm in diameter. Take 4-5 strips and secure in the centre with the hair ties or string. Now you have your water bomb. Fill a large bucket of water and place the sponge bombs into the water. Place the bucket in the centre of your lawn and away they go. WATER FIGHT!!!

Lily Pad Leap

Leaping lizards it’s hot! Fun and easy games can be created with most household items and this game will bring back memories of Ekka Sideshow Alley games.

You Will Need:

A Paddling Pool
Sponges
Frisbees and or Plastic Plates

Fill the pool with water and place the Frisbees and plastic plates into the water. Take turns throwing the sponges from a distance to lad on the lily pads (Frisbee/plates). Who can get the most on the lily pads? This is a great game for all ages.

Tin Foil Hydro Slide

This play scene for plastic characters or leaves is a fun and imaginative way to spend a hot summer day. Children will be excited by how fast their items shoot down the slide. Imagine, a day at the water park in your own back yard!

You Will Need:

Tin Foil
A Rock
Some Pebbles/small rocks
Hose
Plastic toys/ping pong balls/Polly Pockets/Leaves

Cut two long pieces of tin foil the same length. Place the two on top of each other and then gently turn up the sides to create the sides of the slide. At one end shape a splash pool to catch the toys. Place on a slopped area of lawn with the splash pool at the bottom. In the splash pool add a few rocks or pebbles to weigh the tin foil down so it doesn’t blow way. At the top place the hose and secure with a Rock. Turn on the hose for the hydro slide fun to begin. Increase the hose pressure to see how fast the slide can really be.

Brisbane Kids will love this imagination based play scene. They can send leaves, toys or balls down the slide. Add figurines for a day at the water park. Or race leaves down the “drain”. A great play based activity to keep them entertained for hours.

Balloon Targets

What kid doesn’t love throwing things? Add water balloons and targets and you have a winner. This is a fun and safe activity for the kids to let loose on.

You Will Need:

Water Balloons
Plastic Plates
Nails

Nail plastic plates to your fence (add faces for extra target fun). Fill water balloons and place into a bucket. Now go for it!!!

Target practice with exploding water balloons is an excellent way to improve throwing accuracy, but also a fun activity every child will enjoy.

Water Run

Building a ball run is an exciting and fantastic problem-solving activity, this water run is a great way to incorporate the fun, imagination and strategy involved in the traditional ball run but with the added excitement of water. This activity is a full on family challenge that will have everyone involved in building the best run.

You Will Need:

Plastic Bottles/Piping/Tubing/Funnels (the options are limitless)
A Fence
Hammer and Nails
Box Cutters
Bucket of Water
Cup
Empty Bucket

Lay out your design on the ground or experiment with layouts against the fence. Use the box cutters to remove any excess plastic on bottles that do not need bottoms or cut holes for water to flow through or create shower type features. When the design of the run has been agreed upon it’s time to assemble. Nail the bottles, funnels, tubing – whatever you have used – to your fence. Place a bucket of water at the starting end and the empty bucket at the exit end. Let your kids feed the Water run with cups of water. Once the water has travelled through it pours out into the empty bucket. This water can then be recycled into the first bucket.

This is a fun summer activity for the whole family.