5+ Other Ways To Play with a Water Table

The holy grail of outdoor kids’ toys these days comes in the form of a water table.  There are many great ways for kids to enjoy the water table with …water.  And sand.  I think we all know that, right?

But if you’d like to REALLY get more bang for your buck with these tables, consider alternate uses for the water table.

5+ Ways to Play with a Water Table

1. CARS!  Most water tables have slanted surfaces, with ramps and other road-like twists and turns.  Also, try trains, or any other wheeled hand-held toy.
2. Make it a sensory table.  Fill it with a few cups of rice and beans one day, along with scoopers and small cups. Cotton balls and colored pom-poms the next day with kid-friendly tweezers, as well as big cups to transfer them in to.  For preschoolers ready for scissors, toss in some straws, scrap paper, and kid scissors and let them practice.
3. Play dough.  Seriously, what a great surface to create and mold with little hands.  Toss in the play dough rollers, molders, and other fun toys, and let them go at it!  For a fun textural change, mix the play dough with a little sand and/or glitter.
4. Noodles and rice make for another great sensory experience.  (Dried, of course!)  Grab scoopers, cups, and other toys you might use with your Play dough (see above) for a new sensation.
5. PAINT it!  Water colors, some butcher paper or cardboard or just regular ol’ paper, some brushes, and -boom!- you’ve got a nice little, change-of-pace easel.  Or kids can paint right on the water table, especially if you have washable paints on hand.
   
6. Mix it up: Fill it up with sand, or make your own “moon sand”, and toss in some cars, dinosaurs, scoopers.
7. Water Gun Station.  Melissa from Stockpiling Moms suggested using the table as a water-gun filling station.
8. Shaving Cream – My kids frequently get “shaving cream baths” or showers – but you can also let them use shaving cream on a water table too.  Bonus: the shaving cream acts as a cleaner!
9. Ice, Ice, Baby – Yeah, I just went there.  Fill up some ice cube trays with small trinkets and freeze them.  Toss a few small toys in small to mid-size tupperware containers, cover with water, and freeze them, too.  Fill your table with the ice, and arm the kids with squirt bottles, and let them “rescue” the treasures inside!

Also, check out other ways to keep your kids cool this summer, free and frugal ways to beat the heat around Atlanta (splash pads around Atlanta, local water parks and aquatic centers, or indoor venues around Atlanta), great outdoor toys for tots, and outdoor toys for kids of all ages!