Water is everywhere in our lives. Without much thought, we bathe in it, drink it, cook with it, and wash our hands over and over on a daily basis. And in spite of its everyday status, there’s still something mesmorizing about it, especially for children. They’ll scoop, pour, and explore, over and over and over again.
Water is a great study unit that you could explore for weeks or even months! Children can explore the physical properties of water, the changing states of water, rain and water’s role in nature, the many uses for water, and the change that water can quickly bring about. If you plan to explore a water unit in the near future, here are a few activities to help you out!
Sensory and Science Activities:
More Fun with Oil and Water Density {Almost Unschoolers}
Does it Dissolve? {The Picky Apple}
Exploring Science with Water {Karen Cox via Teachers.net Gazette}
Make Your Own Tornado (or Whirlpool) {I Can Teach My Child} (Add a little toy boat, fish, or glitter for extra interest!)
Moving Water: Siphoning {NJC}
Traveling Magnets {Tinker Lab}
Colorful Ice Sculptures {NJC}
Wonderful Water Play {Irresistable Ideas for Play Based Learning}
Making it Rain {I Can Teach My Child}
Drops on Penny {Zoom}
Pitched Roofs {Tinker Lab}
Creative Activities:
Kids Art: Drip Painting Continued {Childhood 101}
Painting with Tissue Paper {The Little Red Hen}
Straw Blown Watercolor Painting {Tinker Lab}
Wet on Wet Art {Nurture Store}
Tie Dye for Preschoolers {Teach Preschool}
Block Area:
Sea Scape Area with Mirrors {Sun Hats and Wellie Boots}
Dramatic Play:
Create a beach scene. Better yet, go under the sea, with a cardboard box submarine!
Set up a puppet theater with an ocean story.
Outdoor Activities:
Water Balloon Yo-Yos {Frugal Family Fun Blog}
Aluminum Foil River {Filth Wizardry}
Water Walls for Water Play {Let the Children Play}
PVC Pipe Sprinkler {Preschool Daze}
Sponge Relay {I Can Teach My Child} (Great Sci and Math components!)
Painting with Water {NJC}
Squirt Gun Game {Martha Stewart} (Write letters and/or numbers on the balls for symbol recognition practice!)
Music and Movement:
Make Your Own Rainsticks {NJC}
Water Xylophone {Play at Home Mom}
Sing classics like “Row, Row, Row, Your Boats”, “The Ants Go Marching” (and make a marching percussion band!), “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring”.
Large Group Activities:
Concept Map: Water feels like…sounds like…looks like…tastes like…smells like…
Will it Float? Simple Graphing for Preschoolers {NJC}
Sort “Things that Need Water” vs “Things that Don’t” (Essentially living and non-living things.)
Book Activities:
Rainy Day Book Activities {NJC}
What are your favorite water books and activities?
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