This simple backyard water play activity is a super way for kids to learn about colour-mixing, to strengthen fine and gross motor skills, and it’s a terrific way for children to keep cool on a hot, summer day!
This coloured water activity is one of our favourites from our collection of simple science activities for toddlers and preschoolers.
The hooligans love it when I set up a water bin in the backyard. and they especially love a coloured water activity. I add food colour to almost all of our water bins because colour makes any water activity a little more exciting.
We called this the “colour laboratory” because the children work like little chemists throughout the morning, pouring and mixing and measuring with a variety of containers and instruments. Our colour laboratory is very easy to pull together, and it won’t cost you a cent.
Setting up your colour laboratory activity:
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Raid your bathroom and kitchen cupboards, and your recycle bin to gather up an assortment of interesting plastic containers and instruments such as:
- dish soap
- squeeze bottles (dish soap, shampoo, ketchup, body wash salad dressing)
- pump bottles (hand soap)
- syringes
and Medicine Droppers - test tubes
- spray bottles
- ice cube trays
- small plastic bowls and dishes
- whisks
- measuring scoops
- craft sticks
- liquid watercolours or food colouring (see Amazon links below)
and 
*white bowls and ice cube trays are best for viewing the changes in water colour
We filled each bottle up with warm water and a drop or two of dish soap. Then we added a few drops of liquid water colours
, and gave it a good shake.
Liquid water colours are very vibrant, and you only need a few drops to get intense colours. Wilton Icing Gels are an excellent alternative; a small amount will produce a really rich colour.
Liquid food colour
will work too. You’ll just need to add a generous amount if you want intense colours.
Let the fun begin!
What do they learn by playing with coloured water?
After colouring the water, the girls were pretty excited, so they quickly donned their aprons, and got started. They poured, filled, squeezed, scooped, transferred and dumped the water from container to container, ooohing and aaaaahing as the colours changed before their eyes.
It looks like child’s play, but there is so much brain and body development happening here.
Little hands are learning how to grasp and carry wet and sometimes heavy containers without spilling or dropping. Through trial and error, they’re figuring out how to pour just the right amount to fill a container, controlling then slowing and finally stopping the flow. And they discover what happens when there’s an overflow.
Look at the concentration as this little one lines up the test tubes and transfers water from one to another, and how she’s managed to hold two test tubes in one hand.
Fine motor skills and strength are required to open lids and to use the syringes and droppers.
Muscles are challenged as they lift full and manipulate heavy bottles. As this little one struggled with the green bottle, she huffed and puffed and said “too heavy” several times, but she stuck with it, and was able to line it up, and fill the container underneath it. Success!
They stirred and whisked the water to revive the dish-soap bubbles,
and of course they learned about colour mixing…
…and wonderfully wet, colourful messes on a late summer day.
More Fun Colour Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers:
Fizzing Colours with Baking Soda and Vinegar
Colour Scavenger Hunt for Toddlers and Preschoolers
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
carolinedeeley@hotmail.com
fabulous, as always. And I’m rather jealous of your weather 😉
Carol
Little one certainly put everything into it today! She sure can concentrate. Hopefully this lasts when she gets to school!!!!! It looks like a lot of fun.
Yvonne
That’s brilliant Jackie, simple, easy but challenging for the little one.
Deceptively Educational
My preschooler could spend hours on activities such as this. SO fun! Thanks so much for sharing, Jackie! I’m so glad you’re linking up to the After School Linky!
Natalie F
Super fun – these girs are so lucky to be in your care. Thanks for sharing with Afterschool!
Karen Bell (@karenattwinlife)
That looks like a great activity for children, lots of fun.
#Parenting Pin It Party
I have pinned and followed http://www.pinterest.com/karenbell36/boards/
Tara from The Magnolia Barn
So much fun! My daughter would have a blast with this.
Rachel | Racheous
This makes ME want to play! Awesome simple idea – love it 🙂
Eva @ The Multitasking Mummy
This is the coolest idea ever! Temps are getting pretty hot here and so I’m trying to do a lot more water play and this would be great!
happyhooligans
So glad you liked it, Eva. We do a ton of water play here because the activities are so easy to set up, there’s so much fun and learning, and the hooligans never tire of a good water activity!
Mum of One
Wonderful. They look like they had a great old time! Thanks for sharing with the Monday Parenting Pin It Party x
Jill
Hands on science color fun for little ones is a great thing. It looks like the kids had a wonderful time! Thank you for linking up this week to the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop 🙂
Victoria
This just looks like hours of fun! Science is one of our favorite things to learn about and I’m definitely going to have to schedule this soon! Thanks for linking up with the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop, you were featured as one of my favorites on last weeks hop 🙂
Sarah
Thank you for a wonderful idea for hot weather, we are having an African heat wave in Italy right now ! I have a question: is the dish soap really necessary? My toddler loves to taste anything, so I’d be happy to skip the soap and only use food coloring… Today she was happily munching on her watercolor brush filled with red!! 😀 Thanks again, Sarah
happyhooligans
Not necessary at all, Sarah. It just adds another element of fun for kids who are past putting everything in their mouths. It would be just fine with coloured water. 🙂
Sweta Pachlangiya
What age is this suitable for- I have a 16-month-old, and I am wondering if I can do this with her?
Jackie Currie
Yes! She’s at a great age to introduce fun learning activities like this one. Just use containers that she’ll be able to hold and lift. Provide an assortment of sizes and also an assortment of instruments/tools like scoops, spoons, turkey basters, small cups etc. to encourage lots of creative and critical thinking and so her fine-motor skills will be challenged in a variety of ways.