Children ages 10 to 24 months delight in playing with water! This week, we offer these water-based art and sensory activities using materials you have around your home. Water play helps children build gross motor skills (lifting, pouring, carrying, running, and splashing), fine motor skills (squeezing a sponge and holding a paintbrush), coordination, and physical fitness.

(Safety Reminder: For this age group, parents and caregivers should always be with the child to prevent accidents and injuries.)

What We’re Learning & Skills We’re Building

• Cause and effect – Paper, fabric, and other materials change in texture and form when dampened with water 
• Motor skills – Grasping or holding a paintbrush, making marks with it or with the fingers, gripping, scooping, lifting, and pouring
• Early science skills – Learning about the properties of water and how it flows
• Language skills (listening and speaking) – learning descriptive words and phrases
• Sensory skills – Observing, touching, and feeling

Painting with Water

Materials

• Small plastic bowl
• ½ cup water or more (cold or room temperature)
• Chubby-handle paintbrush or sponge-tip paintbrush (sold at hardware and paint stores)
• Different colors of construction paper (5” x 7” or larger)
• Towel

Optional Materials

• Duct tape
• Painting roller
• Outside wooden fence or stucco wall
• Small sponges
• Masking tape
• Large towel or blanket to sit on

Painting

1. Pour 1/2 cup water into the plastic bowl and set it down next to your child. It might help to secure the bowl with a duct tape loop.
2. Place the construction paper in front of your child. If necessary, use masking tape to secure the paper to the play surface.
3. Give your child the paintbrush and show them how to dip it into the water.
4. Invite them to place the brush on top of the paper. They might not understand what to do next, so model the act of dipping the brush into the water, then making a dot or a brushstroke on the paper. 
5. Infants who aren’t yet able to hold a paintbrush properly can dip their fingers into the water and then make marks on the paper with them. 

Filling & Pouring Water

Materials

• Wash basin, small tub, large metal or plastic bowls, large pots, small buckets, plastic measuring cups with handles, plastic cups, or used yogurt containers 
• Funnels
• Small ladles
• Towels, washcloths
• Bath toys or other water-safe toys/objects
• Sponges

Optional Materials

• Non-toxic, washable watercolor paint or food coloring 
• Colander 
• Sand and water wheel

Set up & Play

It’s best to do big water play either outside or in the bathtub. Be prepared with extra towels! Fill one large container with water. Keep the other containers empty. 

Invite your child to scoop up water using smaller containers, cups, and ladles, then pour the water from those containers into other containers, then back again into the original ones. Expect lots of splashing! Use the funnel and the colander to pour water in different ways, and observe the drips. When your child dips sponges into the water and squeezes them out, it out builds strong hands. Let your child lead the play!

Water Words & Phrases to Build Your Child’s Early Literacy

• This bowl is full. This bowl is empty.
• Can you pour water from the bowl that’s full into the bowl that’s empty?
• You’re squeezing the water out.
• Let’s use the funnel. See the holes in the  colander. This is a ladle.
• This toy is floating. This toy is sinking. Watch how it sinks to the bottom. Can we see which other toys sink to the bottom of the bowl? Which ones float? Let’s see what happens with this toy.