Grab a little water + fun and grow the minds of your preschoolers! These hands on stem water projects for outdoor play and water activities for preschoolers are easy and quick.
These 25 water activities are great for preschoolers as well as kindergartners and many of the activities would be great for summer stem camps, incorporating the activities into summer time play or even a steam preschool curriculum for the coming year.
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Water Activities for Preschoolers
It’s hot outside and all we want to do is play in water or with water…so why not grow our preschoolers minds with outdoor water activities with fun hands on play! I’m a firm believer that our preschoolers learn so much more when we engage them in play that is centered around learning. Play is so important for our three and four year olds yet through fun STEM water projects they are also learning life skills.
I’ve created an exhaustive list for you to go through and find water activities that are outdoor themed or water experiments that could also include some fun hands on science experiments for preschoolers too. You’ll find the link to the water activity as well as a little paragraph of me giving you a brief explanation of the activity – this way you can see if it easily fits into your water activity plan.
Vegetable Soup Water Table Play Activity – Playing with our water table is almost a daily activity during the spring and summer for us. My kids enjoy playing with it just as intended but I also like to occasionally provide themes to spice it up and keep it interesting. We decided to be a pretend chef and cook up a vegetable soup water table play session this week.
Water Beads Sensory Bin – Have you ever heard of water beads? They are fun gel balls that expand in water and are often used in flower vases. They also make a fun sensory station for children who are no longer putting things in their mouth. In this post I show you a water beards sensory play activity.
Alphabet Island Water Block Tower – Set out an empty tub, a tub of water, a pitcher, and blocks. Encourage discovery: Invite children to build different block structures in the empty tub. Pour water over the blocks and watch the different ways the water falls.
Under the Sea Water Sensory Bin – Looking for something fun that will entertain the children for hours on end? We’ve discovered the secret – water bead sensory bins! We’ve been having all sorts of fun with water beads lately and are excited to share our latest theme – under the sea.
STEM Activities
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – are a great foundation to learning, giving me as a teacher, a firm basis for our activities.
Floating Boats – Science Activity for preschoolers to understand floating or sinking. Create a boat that floats using peeps, toothpicks and a paper flag – will your boat float or sink? 
Color Mixing Water Activity –Learn more about color theory and color mixing with this fun water activity for kids. The printable color mixing cards can be used as a worksheet or can be laminated if you would like to use it with water. The worksheet can act as a free printable color chart too.
Bubble Play STEAM Activity – Have a splashing good time with this Bubble Play STEAM Activity for little kids! Toddlers and preschoolers alike will enjoy experimenting with mixing colors and making bubbles. This activity is quick & easy and provides a great sensory experience.
Let’s Build Boats Engineering Activity – This was a fun engineering activity that required very little prep and just used random items from our crafting and recycling bins. 
DIY Water Wall for Summer STEM – This DIY water wall is very easy to make with just a few simple materials. Exploring how a water wall works to move water is a great STEM project. Play with engineering, science, and a little math too
Easy Pirate Cork Boats – These are ridiculously easy and quick to do and yet are so cute and fun AND really float well.
Science Experiments for Preschoolers
Many of these science experiments include water as the main observation, with this being said I thought it would be fun to add a few of these science activities here for you as well:
Water & Ice Preschool Science Experiment – Using the idea of dinosaur eggs you will freeze the water in a balloon to create an egg. Inside each egg will be a little “gem” that the preschooler has discover by using water to melt the egg. Experiment whether cold water melts the dinosaur egg faster than hot water. This is a simple science experiment that teaches through a sensory activity as well as a science experiment.
Easy Science Experiment – Ice Cube Painting A hands on water activity around teaching how water freezes, what water looks like when in its frozen state as well as liquid state.
Water Experiments for Preschoolers
These experiments will cause some observation from your preschooler as well as cause them to think through predicting what will happen with the experiment. Combing water with science makes a super fun and hands on activity for early learners.
Walking Water Experiment – Are you working on color mixing and secondary colors? Then this walking water experiment is one of the best water experiments for kids. The science experiment is easy to set up and allows time for children to hypothesis what will happen.
Ocean Commotion Investigation Station – Big questions to ask while doing this water activity -Which tool squirts water the highest? What would a whale’s blowhole sound like? Which tool moves the most water from one bowl to the other? Talk about lots of fun, right? We mixed things up a bit and made our ocean water purple. How’s that for living on the edge?
Water Glass Xylophone – Learn about how sound waves travel, how different pitches are produced, and have fun playing on your own homemade water glass xylophone musical instrument!
Outdoor Water Activities for Preschoolers
Get outdoors and get moving with these water activities and water game ideas. We know all preschoolers love being outside, then add water to the fun and it’s a recipe for a successful activity!
Water Transfer Activity with Sponges – What is more fun in the hot summer than water sensory play, motor skills, and science with a fun activity that is super easy to put together with things you probably already have at home. Play is learning for kids!
Pond Sensory Bin – We explored this pond sensory bin on our sunny porch with a shallow plastic tub with some extra water. I’m glad we did it outside because the kids were very messy with them.
Squirt Ocean Art – If there’s anything in the world that will brighten up a preschooler’s day…. it’s water play. Water is seriously magical. Give a kid a bucket of water, a pool, a water gun, or a hose… and bam! Laughter and good times are bound to be in your future! 
DIY How to Make Giant Bubbles – These homemade giant bubbles are the perfect activity for kids of all ages to learn and discover how gravity works. Here’s our simple tutorial for homemade giant bubbles.
How to Make Super Soaker Sponge Balls – Water play is a must for my kids in the summer if we’re going to be outside. And, these DIY splash balls are perfect for playing in the water! They’re inexpensive, easy to make, and a fun sensory activity too.
Water Balloon Bash – Get ready for some epic summer fun! Water balloon bash is a fun summer game for kids of all ages. It’s perfect for summer picnics, birthday parties, home, school, or camp.
Best Water Blaster Games – Grab some Dollar Tree Water Blasters and expect lots of fun. We’ve spent plenty of time in the creek, playing with mud, and jumping into the sprinkler to keep cool, but the boys needed something new to do. Water blaster games to the rescue!
Alphabet Say and Spray – This activity is easy and requires very little setup and can be done inside or outside. All you need is a spray bottle and some chalk. We did this activity outside on the driveway, but you can easily do it inside on a chalkboard if you wanted.
Water Balloon Letter Smash – My kiddos LOVE playing with water balloons and today’s Creative Preschool Water Theme mixes water balloons with the letters of the alphabet in this fun Water Balloon Letter Smash!
Summer Activities Balloon Piñata – Summer for me is all about the great outdoors and playing with water to cool down. It is simple game – you need water balloons, water, some string and a stick… and I am sure you can imagine the rest!
Do you have any other preschool water fun that we could add to this list?
I’m always open to new activity ideas, inspiration and all about helping others find the perfect activities they need for their child, classroom or group. Comment below and I’ll add to our collective list! 
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