It’s summer. It’s hot. There is not enough coffee & the kids are ready to PLAY! From one mama to another, here are my top ways to turn soap & water into HOURS of play (and buy you a few moments of peace!)
Turning Soap & Water into HOURS of Play
from a pediatric speech-language pathologist
Make a “Bath” for Favorite Animals & Toys: Grab a Tupperware, washcloth/sponge, water & soap and toss in your child’s favorite toys to “give them a bath!”
** Take this activity up a notch by drawing on them first with dry erase marker!
Go Underwater Treasure Hunting: Swirl the soap in the water to create a bubbly/foamy top layer and drop in “treasures” for your child to reach in to find! Let them use their hands for a sensory experience, or incorporate nets to add in a little coordination challenge!
Make an Ocean: Collect sea animals, kinetic sand, shells - anything ocean related - and lay them out for your little one. Let them choose which items to add into their “ocean”! Add some soap to create foamy “waves”. Make the animals “swim,” “crash,” “splash,” etc!
Make Rainbow Water: Add some food dye to give a pop of color to your water play! Give your child different colored items and let them sort into the corresponding colored water. Or just let them splash around and enjoy the rainbow!
Practice Cleaning: Believe it or not… kids love cleaning! Give your little one some of their non-breakable plates, utensils, cups, etc and let them practice “washing” their dishes! This is not only a functional skill, but great pretend play (tupperware = sink,) and full of language opportunities, like “wash,” “wet,” “dry,” “dirty,” “clean,” etc!
Make a “Car Wash”: Grab your child’s favorite toy cars, trucks, buses & trains and let them get messy! Roll them in dirt, paint, sand, food… whatever you choose! Then give them their bin of soapy water & washcloth/sponge and BAM! Carwash created!
Make a “Themed Bin”: Drop in some green food dye and add frogs, dinos, alligators, etc. to make a cool themed water play box! Try the same for yellow (ducks, lions, fish,) or any other color/theme combo your heart desires!
Go Fishing!: if you have a fishing game, toss the fish into the water and bring it to life! We have the rotating pond fishing game (from way back when!) and those plastic fishies & rods are great for the real water. Don’t have a game? Make your fishies using cut up sponges, plastic cups, or anything relatively water-proof!
Act Out A Song: Put on your favorite water song and splash along! Some ideas include: 5 Little Duckies (grab some duckies and take them out and in with the song!) Baby Shark, and 5 Green and Speckled Frogs!
Give a Baby A Bath: Work on body parts by washing your child’s favorite baby doll! This game is also great for helping your child get used to things like hair washing if it’s something they have difficulty with! Allowing your child to “be in charge,” and wash the baby’s hair can help them gain comfort with the activity, and hopefully, transfer to their own bath time!
I hope you & your little one have as much fun with these ideas as we do! Happy Summer!!
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Jackie Anderson, MS CCC-SLP
Jackie is a pediatric speech-language pathologist with over 8 years of experience working with neurodiverse & birth-three populations. She is the owner of Ascend Pediatric Therapies in New Jersey, which provides in-home speech therapy and occupational therapy for families in Ocean County and Monmouth County, NJ. Jackie also provides virtual consultation services for all families, everywhere!