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Our Outdoor Summer Water Toys

Minnesota is experiencing a very warm start to summer. The last week has been in the upper 90s with no end in sight. The kids are hot, I'm hot, and we're all left wondering where the end of Spring went. But, after a long winter, the warm weather is always a welcomed change for our family. 

This summer, we're going to be keeping a fairly low profile at home again. We have some plans for travel but for the most part we are going to be enjoying things close to home. In order to prepare we've been pulling some of our pool gear out of storage and ready to play this summer. 


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Like any material we add to our Montessori home, I want our outdoor toys to be:
  • Simple and child led - I don't want anything too flashy or complicated. Basically, good old fashioned, simple fun. 
  • Safe
  • Appropriate for their interests and skill levels - this is a bit tricky with so many ages. But, for example, if Teddy wanted to play outside I would offer the baby pool or splash pad not the large one
Right now, our water toys include nice variety of things we have bought over the last several years or received as gifts. We store for the winter in our shed (make sure to keep them in a tub or we've had problems with mice chewing them.)

Here is a list of Montessori friendly water toys for summer for multiple age groups and children.
Pool | Splash Pad | Blob | Sprinkler (I don't know why this price is so high right now, it may be discontinued) | Water Table (ours is a super old vintage little tykes but this is similar) | Baby Pool

I typically stick to one or two choices for the kids depending on what they want. Each item stays up for a few days before taking it down. I think a little variety helps the kids stay interested and it's been a lot of fun. I do want to say you definitely don't need this much, and we've gotten this stuff over multiple years. 

What are some of your children's favorite outdoor water toys?

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Comments

Me said…
Looks like fun! The thing we’ve had the most success with over the years is filling our jet sled with water and bringing out various cups, strainers, funnels, toy boats, etc. I did buy a little water wheel toy at a yard sale this summer where they can pour water in the top and it makes a wheel go around.

On a somewhat related note, what is your approach to teaching kids to swim? We’ve always started them in private lessons around kindergarten (for my children now 8 to 17 years old) but I’m thinking about the survival lessons for my one-year-old and four-year-old. I’m worried about drowning but also don’t want to traumatize them in the process of learning to swim. We do not have a pool at our house but we do like to go swimming and I’d like them to be safe if they were to fall in water somewhere.
June 9, 2021 at 2:53 PM
Me said…
Looks like fun! The thing we’ve had the most success with over the years is filling our jet sled with water and bringing out various cups, strainers, funnels, toy boats, etc. I did buy a little water wheel toy at a yard sale this summer where they can pour water in the top and it makes a wheel go around.

On a somewhat related note, what is your approach to teaching kids to swim? We’ve always started them in private lessons around kindergarten (for my children now 8 to 17 years old) but I’m thinking about the survival lessons for my one-year-old and four-year-old. I’m worried about drowning but also don’t want to traumatize them in the process of learning to swim. We do not have a pool at our house but we do like to go swimming and I’d like them to be safe if they were to fall in water somewhere.
June 9, 2021 at 2:53 PM
Me said…
Looks like fun! The thing we’ve had the most success with over the years is filling our jet sled with water and bringing out various cups, strainers, funnels, toy boats, etc. I did buy a little water wheel toy at a yard sale this summer where they can pour water in the top and it makes a wheel go around.

On a somewhat related note, what is your approach to teaching kids to swim? We’ve always started them in private lessons around kindergarten (for my children now 8 to 17 years old) but I’m thinking about the survival lessons for my one-year-old and four-year-old. I’m worried about drowning but also don’t want to traumatize them in the process of learning to swim. We do not have a pool at our house but we do like to go swimming and I’d like them to be safe if they were to fall in water somewhere.
June 9, 2021 at 2:53 PM
Sam said…
We've been having fun running through the sprinklers, but I may pick up a water table at some point!
June 11, 2021 at 8:47 AM

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