Water Activities to Beat the Heat

It's hot outside! It's a great day to slather on some sunscreen and get wet. Here are some fun outdoor water activities to banish boredom and cool everyone off.

• Water Relays. Divide the kids (and adults who want to get wet) into two teams. Each team needs two buckets: an empty one across the yard and a full one at the starting line. Use a marker or piece of tape to draw a line several inches from the bottom of the bucket. Each team must transfer enough water from their full bucket to the empty bucket to reach the line. Give each team a plastic cup with three holes poked in the bottom. The holes will add some challenge, encourage them to run fast, and help them cool off by getting them wet.
• Water Balloons. Kids will think of all kinds of games to play with water balloons, but here are a few activities to get them started. Have them catch the water balloons with something other than their hands, like an empty milk gallon jug or a plastic bucket with a handle. Try playing hot potato. Another fun game is to set a bucket in the middle of the yard and assign one child to be the Bucket Guard. Give the Bucket Guard a plastic baseball bat. Everyone else wants to earn points by tossing water balloons in to the bucket, but the Bucket Guard fends them off by hitting the water balloons with the plastic bat.
• Squirt Bottles. Squirt bottles make for misty water fights. You can also use squirt bottles for a very silly game involving shaving cream. Pair the kids up and put shaving cream on one partner's face. The other partner has to wash the shaving cream off her partner's face with the squirt bottle--no hands allowed! It's a race to see whose face can clean up the fastest.
• Water Bombs. Water bombs are those small sponge-like balls that you can get at dollar stores in the summer. They usually come in obnoxious neon colors. Fill a bucket with water and drop a bunch of water bombs in it so they'll be saturated. Divide up the kids into two teams and have them stand at opposite ends of the yard. Place the bucket in the middle. When you yell "Go," the kids run up to the bucket and throw the water bombs at the opposite team. If you're hit, you're out, and you have to sit on the sidelines. The last person remaining is the winner.

What other games do you know that keep kids happy and cool on hot days?