water PLAY

pretending to fish at the waters edge - as well as smashing any remaining ice-pieces

Water has an energy of its own - as it flows, as it is poured, as it ripples away from things thrown in, as it bubbles and dances when blown into with a straw - or boiled, as it freezes, as it turns to steam. There is so much to explore with water - so much play potential. My children have always been drawn to it. We did magic painting on the balcony with paint brushes and buckets of water - pictures "painted" onto the floor of the balcony that magically disappeared (sometimes fast on hot days), lots and lots of baths with all sorts of toys, pots and bottles - even their clothes as they were too eager to wait to take off their clothes before getting in!! Water has never lost its magic - not for me - if there are stones, sand and water - you will find me damming and channelling the water to my hearts content... You will see that no matter where we go on holiday - we always end up playing with water.
Hope this inspires you to play - outdoors or indoors - play more with water!!!

testing the water - with gloves or without?

waterplay on the balcony - why play with the water with your hands when you can climb in? I have taken the tub part of water tables off the legs and had it directly on the floor for better accessibility for toddlers - of course most of them end up in the water - but with plenty of towels this is never a problem... although you do learn to be quick at peeling off clothes before they get in...

water-gun fights...

 Playing in the waves - this is where the body can really feel the energy and the power of the water! Pure exhilaration. Is the laughter for joy - or the nervous kind of laugh when things are a little bit scary - but in a roller-coaster sort of way? This was supposed to be a gentle walk after dinner in Spain - but the need to play was greater - and off with their shorts and into the water they went - it was in the days when we carried extra clothes just in case of accidents - this time it was extra clothes just in case of water-play!! They had to run around to dry off - but that was all part of the fun!

making dams to slow down the water so that the pools can be explored in France

pumps and troughs in Austria

splashing and playing with others

water can be found ANYWHERE - here in a mountain village in Italy

water is joy - happy Sophia playing at the water playground

Exploring the rock pools at Robin Hoods Bay - not the mud of our last visit!!

Freedom at our place in the woods - looking for frogs and fishes - and anything else that can be collected... This was a day of collections

collaboration at the splash pool at one of Stockholm's playgrounds

Experimenting with water at Tom Tits Experiments

more water play at Tom Tits

 a lot of time was spent in the water area of Tom Tits

frozen water exploration

Rain brings added play potential - playing with small figures in the puddles in our yard

water and earth... lovely mud... for even more play possibilities as the different textures can be experimented with

and if you don't usually play with mud, why not give International Mud Day a go in June - to test it out?

creating water patterns on a rainy bench and then wiping it all off in a swoosh

ice and water - creating art on a white sheet

icey puddles are a cause for great excitement as the world begin to defrost again in spring

wet brings out the snails... a different kind of wildlife can be explored

constructung boats etc to float

 water play can be small... wtaching water jewels roll on morning leaves

water is an important ingredient in many potions

and cleaning off after painting is often a kind of play many forget about

big rainy puddles mean HUGE amounts of fun

waterplay can tranform... like this newspaper - some people had stacked papers to create a bridge one day when the entrance to the underground train was flooded... it soon turned into papier maché

SPLASHING really has to be at the top of the list for water play