Friday, July 5, 2013

Preschool Water Games

Preschool Water Games

When the weather turns warm outside and preschool children start begging to go outside and run around, seize the opportunity presenting itself. Group water and team games teach young ones how to work together, wait for their turn and how to meet a team goal. Fun games requiring few materials and just a quick explanation of simple rules are available.

Water Balloon Catch

    Every child loves water balloons, and here is a simple game to play with them. It's best to have an outdoor area or faucet to fill all balloons. Allow kids to select their choice color balloon(s) and fill. Next, pair boys and girls up into teams of two, and instruct them to line up across from one another. There should be two long lines, with partners across from each other after completing this step. Before beginning this game, remind children that part of the game is having the water balloon burst, so they should not feel bad if they drop it. To start this game, yell, "Go," or blow a whistle. Players are to toss one balloon back and forth as many times as possible without it breaking. With children this young, it's a good idea to allow them one or two drops per game play, as well as allowing them to play numerous rounds.

Sponge Toss Contest

    This game requires some open outdoor space, a few materials and kids waiting to get wet and active. Large car sponges, buckets or large containers to hold water and receiving buckets are all necessary items. Divide the group up into two teams, and instruct all players to form two straight lines, with the teams being opposite from each other. Supply each team with one large sponge, an empty bucket and a bucket full of water. The water sits at the front of the line and the empty pail at the end. Instruct the first person to soak his team's sponge in the water. An adult yells, "Go," and the goal is for each teammate to pass the sponge all the way to the end of the line. The last person then squeezes the remaining water out of the sponge and into the bucket. This same person then holds on to the sponge, runs back to the start of her line, drops the sponge back in the water, and then passes it on to the next person in line, soaked again. The end of this game can work two ways: 1) Allow each child in each line to be the one squeezing the sponge out at least one time, and then declare the game over. The team with the highest water level wins. 2) Or instruct kids to keep playing until their water reaches a pre-marked line in their finish bucket. The first team to reach the line wins.

Dry, Dry, Wet

    Put a watery twist on the classic game of Duck, Duck, Goose. Young children love all the running around, and play changes quickly in terms of everyone getting equal chance to be up and moving. Before starting this game, fill a large plastic cup with water. To begin, instruct all kids to form a large circle, arm's length apart from their friends. One person either volunteers to go first or decide by other means--for example, today's person to go first is a boy with a name that starts with "D." The first boy to answer gets to be "it." This person then travels around the outside of the circle, patting each person on the head and saying, "Dry," until he selects one classmate to pour the cup of water on while saying, "Wet." The wet player then chases the other player around the circle, trying to catch him before he gets to the seat she just left open. If she catches him, he remains "it," and if not, she becomes the new "it," and play resumes the same way. If it's hot outside and all the kids are looking forward to getting wet, try to play enough rounds to allow everyone at least one soaking.