Sensory and Fun Water Play Ideas for Summer

Written by Play Matters | Nov 30, 2025 9:30:00 PM

As the school term draws to a close and the extended summer holidays are upon us, our attention turns to a swathe of summer fun activities. Summer in Australia is often very warm and an easy way to cool off and enjoy some sensory activities is water play.

Water play is not only fun and refreshing, it is a powerful tool for early childhood development. Certain types of water play activities encourage physical development, cognitive skills, and emotional wellbeing, all while creating opportunities for families to connect.

Why Water Play Matters

There are many developmental benefits for children right from birth through to primary age when it comes to water play:

Fine and Gross Motor Skills: Pouring, scooping, and splashing strengthen muscles and improve coordination.
Sensory Exploration: Water offers a soothing sensory experience, helping children regulate emotions and develop awareness.
Problem-Solving and Creativity: Activities like floating objects or building waterways encourage experimentation and critical thinking.
Language Development: Talking about textures, temperatures, and actions during play builds vocabulary.
Social Skills: Group water play fosters sharing, turn-taking, and cooperation.

Handy Water Play Ideas and Activities for Summer Fun

Ready to make a splash? Here are some of our Play Matters’ tried and tested water-based activities to keep kids cool and engaged during the summer season. If you are a member (Play Stars for birth to one, Play Pass for one and above) you can click on the link and access the activities below in the free online play hub.

DIY Water Table
A water play station does not have to be a big, colourful, plastic piece of furniture. You can arrange several tubs together and gather some containers, funnel, spoons, measuring cups and plastic cups of different sizes from the kitchen, pop some rocks from the garden or drops of colour in one of the tubs.

Taste Safe Ice Cube Painting
This one needs a little prep time prior, freeze coloured water in ice cube trays (use different shaped trays for variety), pop paddle pop sticks in as they freeze. When ready, pop the cubes out of the tray and watch the colours blend and move together as the cubes are used as paint as they melt. This explores physical, communication, emotional and cognitive exploration. View this on instagram.

Water Fun Sponge Balls
This one is best suited for the pre-preppies (kindy kids) but can be adapted for babies during tummy time, place a shallow dish with sponges in front of them to splash and grab for – ensure supervision around water. For the pre-prep age range, take a bunch of different coloured sponges, cut them up and tie with rubber bands. Provide a tub with some other water play items (boats, rubber duckies etc) and dip the sponges in water and toss them into buckets great for hand-eye coordination, or work hard to squeeze all of the water out of them and refill, which you can discuss the difference in weight and texture. This is a great activity to explore communication, physical and cognitive developmental domains.

Nature Soup
Fill a large plastic tub with water, whether on an outdoor table or in a shady spot on the ground. Collect "ingredients" together from nature or provide some prompts for children to add to their soup and a large wooden spoon to stir their concoction. Once the soup is ready, they can use a ladle to transfer it into plastic bowls. This water activity helps children develop fine motor skills and coordination. Soup ingredients can range from garden leaves and flowers to plastic bath toys, sky’s the limit!

Water Balloon Games
Classic fun! Try balloon toss or a gentle relay race.

Sink or Float Experiment
Provide a large, clear tub filled with water halfway and then gather household items like duplo blocks, rocks, shells, waterbottles, bath toys and predict which will sink or float, perfect for early science learning. This encourages physical, cognitive, social and communication domains through chatting about potential outcomes.

Making Bubbles
Add a little dish soap to water and blow bubbles for sensory delight. Try making your own bubble blowers out of found objects around the house (wire coat hangers are a great option). Physical, communication, social, cognitive and emotional exploration is all explored as part of this fun, collaborative activity for all ages.

Sprinkler Dance Party
Turn on the sprinkler and some of your favourite tunes (Sing&Grow has a pretty good playlist) and let kids run, jump, and groove for active play.

Frozen Animals
This one needs a bit of preparation before. Fill an ice-cube tray with water and a few drops of food colouring and place small toys in ice blocks. Once frozen, pop them out and let kids chip away with water (provide a spray bottle or dropper) or a spoon to chip away and rescue them. Social, communication, cognitive and physical domains are all being explored. You can view a reel on our instagram.

Painting with Chalk & Water
Make a “paste” with chalk and water or just provide chalk sticks, water buckets and paint brushes. They can create on the pavement or “paint” fences, walls, or footpaths with water, simple and mess-free, easy to wash away when done. View this on instagram.

Remember to Supervise and Slip, Slop, Slap!

Water play should always be supervised by an adult, even shallow water and tubs, and ensure sunscreen and hats for outdoor fun and avoid the middle of the day for those harsh UV rays. If you have a verandah, balcony or deck that is covered and you don’t mind water play, opt for a covered space instead.

Water play is fun, a great way to beat the heat and these activities are simple, affordable, and perfect for turning summer days into playful adventures.

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