In recognition of World Oceans Day 2024 on June 8th, we’re all about water: playing with it, saving it and making sure wildlife has access to it! There is so much joyful and learning to be had around water for children, including learning how to use water responsibly and safely, creating water habitats and drinking stations for wildlife, and of course having tons of fun playing with it! Here are some ideas to sustainable, playful water-based activities with your children to mark World Oceans Day.
Make an insect drinking station
Our garden friends need refreshment, especially as the temperatures climb and the days become drier over the summer. With your children, make an insect drinking station by filling a shallow dish with pebbles or similar, and adding water. Place the dish outside for the insects to have a good slurp! Refresh the water every couple of days.
Build a DIY pond
All you need is a washing up bowl in a hole in the ground, basically! Add stones or bricks, ensuring some are poking above the water level to help wildlife climb in and out. Fill the bowl with rainwater (or wait for it to fill the pond naturally. Shouldn’t take long in a UK June!) and, if possible, add an oxygenating pond plant or two – check the pond plant section of your local garden centre or look online. Within a few weeks you should notice your first wild pond visitors!
Add water-saving devices to your play space
Whether it be a water butt that fills with rain from your roof or a portable tap like ours (see left), giving children the opportunity to collect and use water responsibly is not only important learning but also fosters independence and build maths skills around capacity. Once children know how to turn taps on and off to fill their own containers during play with the exact amount of water for their needs, they will feel so proud at using the water responsibly!
You can find our portable tap on the Muddy Faces website.
Water run play
Got any old guttering pipes and offcuts you have hanging around? Gather them together and lean them up against whatever’s going in your outdoor space (table, fence, railing, wall…) to make a series of fun runs for your water.
Place large bowls or buckets at the bottom of the pipes to collect the water to play again and again. Your children could even try adding natural objects to the water, like our rose petals (see the photo on the left) to compare how quickly the various items travel down the runs.