Although playtime is fun-time it also contributes to children learning and developing sensory and motor skills. Plus they learn valuable concepts like using their imagination, taking turns, cooperation and winning and losing.

One time of the day where you can forget the trials and tribulations of the previous ten hours is bath time. Often a milestone of each day as you make the transition from busy daytime to quiet bedtime, bath time is also a time to unconsciously develop motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Here are some ideas of simple games to play which make bath time enjoyable and unconsciously help develop skills as your child grows. Remember to always supervise children while in the bath – the bonus is you get to play too!

• Scoop and pour – put safe kitchen utensils in the bath such as plastic jugs, cups, bowls, funnels, colanders, whisks, spoons and different sized containers. Fun foam shapes are good for squeezing and sticking to the side of the bath.
• Bubbles – when washing your children’s hair sculpt their hair into spikes and horns. If you’re having a bubble bath make bubble hats, moustaches, bears and pointy ears. Use an unbreakable mirror so your child can see the effects.
• Drawing – bath crayons make great stocking fillers and wash off easily. Use shaving foam for finger painting on the side of the bath. You can use food colouring to make the water into the deep blue sea or a green swamp…just avoid using white towels to dry the kids!
• Toys – put normal plastic toys in the bath and make up games. Duplo, plastic animals, boats, cars, dolls and of course rubber ducks all allow your child’s imagination to go wild as they build, balance, sink, battle, race and catch the toys. Change them regularly to keep the toys fresh and interesting (and stop them going black and mouldy!). Putting toys into the shower can be a good way to introduce your child to this new sensation.
• Place a tray of ice cubes in the bath – colour them with food colouring for a different experience or buy shaped and coloured reusable ice cubes that just require freezing.
• Add flower petals, glitter and bath bombs to the water.

Taking it to the next level, water and ice are great playthings at almost any time of the day. Some of these ideas can be done inside whatever the time of year, others are definitely for outside on warmer days…
• Set up your child with a baby bath or big bowl of water and a doll or soft toys, soap and a towel. They can bath and dry their toys.
• Fill a bucket with water and give your child a big paintbrush so they can ‘paint’ outside. The walls, fence, trees and flowers can all have a turn.
• Get a bucket of soapy water and ask your child to wash their bike, trike or scooter.
• Get a bowl of water and a wooden spoon. Choose some random food items like coconut, pasta, raisins and rice and give them to your child to concoct a witch’s brew. You can even freeze it down then take it outside to thaw.
• Bubble pictures are made by mixing two teaspoons of food colouring or paint with one tablespoon of washing up liquid in an empty ice cream container. Add a quarter of a cup of water and blow gently with straws until bubbles rise to the top. Place paper over the bubbles to make a print. Experiment with different colours.
• Add some soap flakes to a bowl of water and make it bubbly. Drop in objects and your child can have fun finding them by finding them amongst the bubbles.
• Collect a random bunch of objects like plastic cups, bowls, sieves, ladles, funnels, jugs, corks, sponges, feathers and twigs and some buckets of water. Add a little detergent and let your child’s imagination do the rest.
• Fill empty jam jars with different levels of water and show your child how to gently tap the jars with a pencil to make different sounds.
• Freeze pieces of food or flowers in ice cubes, then place them on a tray and see how long it takes for the food to be released. Investigate how to speed up the process like pouring water over the top, breathing on them, and holding them in warm hands.
• Freeze ice cubes with drops of different food colourings in them. Melt them on a plate and watch the colours mix together.
• Put water, food colouring and glitter inside balloons or disposable rubber gloves and freeze. Peel off the rubber from the ice shape and watch it melt or for older kids let them smash it outside with a toy hammer.
• Freeze fruit, flowers and leaves in a ring cake tin filled with water. Hang from a branch and watch it melt.
• Fill some buckets, turn on the hose or wet some sponges and have a water fight!

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