It’s no secret that a favorite thing around our house is water play. C started playing in the water as a baby and hasn’t stopped. We shared some of our favorite ways to play in the water last summer. In the winter, water play has fallen to the side on my end at least. C is still really good at playing in the dog’s water dish. I got the message, and decided to fill up our sensory/water table for some Valentine’s Day water play.
I purchased foam heart stickers (affiliate) similar to these, (I actually bought mine at the dollar store) to toss into the water tray. I liked how they floated on the top of the water so they could be scooped up. I added measuring cups for scooping. Water play is perfect from baby on up.
Set-Up
The easiest way to set up the water play was to use our water table. It was at a good standing height to play and water wasn’t getting splashed everywhere. I’ve also placed the bin on the floor with a towel under it. I’ve done this so C can play in the kitchen while I’m cleaning or cooking in there. While at school I simply place it on a child’s sized table.
Valentine’s Day Water Play and Gross Motor
It was so easy that I decided to bring my plastic bin and heart stickers into school to use with my kids. I called it Valentine’s Day soup, but I had a student rename it. The student thought that catching Valentine’s was a more appropriate name. I had to agree with her.
I was easily able to incorporate gross motor skills into water play. Depending on the level of the child I was working with I varied the activities.
- Sidestepping around the water table.
- Sit to stands at the water table.
- Scooping water and hearts and walking with the cup to a bucket.
- Scooping water and hearts and waking with the cup up the stairs.
- Seated or prone on a stability ball playing in the water.
Really, the sky is the limit, and water play can easily be incorporated to lots of gross motor activities. Overall, it was quite a success with the kids. I hope to incorporate more water play into my therapy sessions at school when appropriate.
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My store at Pink Oatmeal promotes getting the kids moving at home, in the classroom, and in therapy! If you prefer Teachers Pay Teachers you can find me there too with even more ideas!