Water - Page 9 of 11

Sponge Squeeze Splash

Steps:

Fill a large bucket or Container halfway with water. Place the Sponge inside to soak.
Place a small, empty Plastic Container about three feet away. This is your target zone.
Have your child kneel or stand stably beside the large water bucket.
Encourage your child to reach in and grab the wet sponge. Lift it carefully over the target container.
Use a strong, firm squeeze with one hand to empty the water into the target. Encourage maximum effort!
Return the empty sponge to the bucket. Repeat the process until the small target container is full.

Safety Tip:
Constant adult supervision is required. This activity involves water, so ensure the playing area is non-slip to prevent falls. Make sure the child does not put the sponge or water near their mouth.

Water Wipe Tracing

Steps:

Draw 3-4 large shapes (circle, square, triangle) on the chalkboard or vertical board using chalk or a marker.
Fill the spray bottle with water. Ensure the nozzle is set to stream, not mist, to provide resistance.
Challenge your child to hold the bottle with both hands first, then switch to one hand. Focus on using strong fingers to squeeze the trigger.
Aim the water stream at the drawn shapes. Spray directly onto the lines, “erasing” them by following the path.
Encourage strong, controlled squeezes to strengthen the hand muscles.

Safety Tip:
Supervise the activity closely to ensure water is not sprayed toward faces. Ensure the child stands stably while reaching for the vertical surface.

Sponge Stack Tilt

Steps:

Fill the bowl with water. Place the foam sponges inside to soak them fully.
Set the plastic container upside down on the floor to use as a narrow stacking platform.
Ask your child to kneel in front of the platform. This helps stabilize their core.
The child gently squeezes one sponge over the bowl to remove excess water.
Using both hands together, the child carries the damp sponge and stacks it carefully onto the container base.
Continue stacking sponges one by one. Count how many sponges they can stack before the tower falls over.

Safety Tip:
Since the floor might get wet, ensure the child is kneeling on a non-slip mat or towel to prevent accidental slips during movement.

Color Drop Towers

Steps:

Prepare the ‘towers’: Press a large lump of playdough firmly into the bottom of a Paper Cup or container. Flip the cup upside down so the playdough forms a stable base on the outside top.
Insert 6-8 Golf Ball Tees into the playdough base, blunt end first, so the narrow, hollow end points straight up (these are the ‘towers’ that need filling).
Create the colors: Fill several small bowls or Paper Cups with water and add a few drops of different Food Coloring to each one.
Show your child how to hold the eyedropper using their thumb and pointer finger (pincer grip) to suck up the colored water, reminding them to squeeze slowly for control.
Challenge your child to aim the dropper directly over one of the empty tee towers and release one drop of liquid at a time, slowly filling the narrow space. Try mixing colors by dropping red, then blue, into the same tower to watch them blend!

Safety Tip:
Always supervise closely. Ensure the child understands that the golf tees and playdough are not for eating or placing near the face.

Foil Drip Maze

Steps:

Prepare the maze surface: Cover a flat piece of cardboard entirely with aluminum foil, crimping the edges up slightly to create a sturdy, shallow tray (this is your waterproof maze board).
Use markers to draw a simple maze or a winding path on the foil surface. Draw a start circle and a finish circle for the water drop to travel between.
Mix a small amount of water with food coloring in a container. Demonstrate how to load the eyedropper by squeezing the bulb using a neat pincer grasp (thumb and index finger) and drawing up the colored water.
Challenge your child to hold the eyedropper over the start circle and release a single drop. Then, they must carefully angle the tray (bilateral hands) and/or use the eyedropper to push the drop along the marker-drawn path to the finish line, practicing fine control and precision.

Safety Tip:
Ensure close supervision as small objects (like eyedropper parts) and colored water are used. Always supervise to prevent ingestion of materials.