Water, water, everywhere! This preschool theme is a great way to beat the summer heat and soak up the water fun! It includes plenty of preschool water table activities, and even more! A water preschool theme is a fantastic introduction to summertime and will perfectly complement your ocean, beach, or sea life activities for preschool.
We’ve got you covered with plenty of ideas for a water table activities for preschoolers, including book ideas, art and sensory exploration, and math and science fun.
You’ll find the whole bundle of ideas at the end of this post in a free download of preschool lesson plans.
Free Lesson Plans for Preschool Water Theme
When the title of your preschool theme has FUN in it, you know that these lesson plans are destined to be a blast! Preschoolers absolutely love to explore the wonder of water, and their curiosity will be sparked with these preschool water table ideas. Go on and add them to your sensory play and circle time activities.
While this theme is certainly engaging, there are plenty of opportunities to learn; perhaps your preschoolers will become scientists and explore how water can change form, or become artists and experiment with watercolor paints or wet chalk! We’ve got a little bit of everything in these water themes preschool lesson plans.
We’ve put together 15+ water fun ideas for your preschool kiddos. We hope you love these great resources to make your preschool water fun theme a success!
Oh, and don’t get me wrong…many of these make great activities for toddlers, too!
Water activities for preschoolers and toddlers should always be supervised by a responsible adult.
FAQ About a Water Fun Preschool Theme
You may have a few questions about teaching this preschool theme or how to make the most of your water table area! Check out these frequently asked questions for how to teach your preschoolers all about water. You’ll find some water table ideas, too.
Water is a broad topic. It’s important for preschoolers to recognize the importance of water safety, how water can change (has different properties), and what living things need water.
And of course, learning through water play is a great way to learn all those things! For example, use ice in a water bin to model how water exists in different forms. Preschoolers can also learn about water with scooping and pouring activities. It’s a great early learning theme for both toddlers and preschoolers.
There are lots of ways to encourage preschoolers to get involved in water science! Set up a water play station with cups, funnels, droppers, sponges, etc.
Allow the children to grab toys or miscellaneous objects from around the room to see what sinks and what floats. Encourage the children to share why they think some items sink while others float. Try adding in a little counting practice with droppers; how many drops does it take to fill the cup? What about the spoon?
Water is everywhere! We can find water in ponds, rivers, lakes, and of course the ocean.
Preschoolers will be excited to learn that the water we find on earth comes from clouds! When the sun heats up the water on earth, the water turns into clouds. When the clouds fill up they release the water in the form of rain or snow, and fill the rivers, lakes, and oceans back up! Encourage your preschoolers to practice watching water evaporate into the clouds by splashing some water on the sidewalk and watching the water puddle disappear!
Water Fun Theme for Summer Lesson Plans for Preschool
This theme is such a blast! Learning with water fun is a preschool favorite since kids sure love to get wet! Here are some popular hands-on activities to keep with your water fun lesson plans.
Literacy Activities for a Water Fun Theme
Watercolor Name Recognition Activity – This activity is simple to set up and is perfect for helping your preschooler recognize their name. Using a permanent marker, write your preschooler’s name in large print on a piece of heavy paper or light-colored cardboard. Tape it to the table and let them paint with watercolors!
They might notice some of the letters in their name and try to trace them. Or just let them paint a colorful scene! Use this time to talk about the letters in their name and why their name is special.
Water Painting – This no-mess writing activity is perfect for a hot day! Head outside with a large paintbrush and a bucket of water. Paint the sidewalk with letters, names, pictures, or even numbers. This activity can be made even more exciting by adding chalk and water balloons! Write letters on the sidewalk and toss water balloons on top of the letter called out. So fun!
Best Picture Books About Water for Preschoolers
Sneak in extra literacy opportunities (and some social studies, too) with these hand-selected picture books. This is a book list for our most-loved picture books for a water preschool theme.
Math and Science Activities for a Water Fun Theme
Ping Pong Ball Math Game – This fun game is easy to set up and a total blast! Add some ping pong balls and two dice to the water table or water sensory bin, roll the number, and scoop up that many balls into a container. Add food coloring to the water for even more interest!
Garden Hose Numbers Game – Write numbers in chalk on the sidewalk and have your preschooler find the match. Spray the hose on the matching number. We have a similar post on our site using a water squirter for the pool.
Sink or Float Water Sensory Bin – Let’s have a little fun with the water table! Grab some random items from around your house or classroom and see what happens when we put them next to the water bin. Can your preschooler predict if they’ll sink or float?
Using household materials, grab some objects that will sink and some that will float. Fill a plastic tub/water table half-full of water to create an aquatic atmosphere for this experiment. Place one object at a time into the container, then ask your preschooler “will it sink?” before dropping it below surface level.
Playful Learning Activities for a Water Fun Theme
Rainbow Playdough – Make lots of playdough in all colors to have on hand for a rainy day. Follow this amazing recipe with ingredients you probably have on hand!
Car Wash – Grab some old (but clean) toothbrushes and some toy cars. Add them to a water bin filled with a little soapy water. Now invite your preschooler to wash the cars! To make it even more enjoyable, invite your preschooler to get them dirty with some mud or sand and then repeat the process!
Mixing Water Colors – Give your preschooler a variety of colored water in different pouring containers. (Use washable watercolor paints to color the water.) Offer a few empty bowls, too. Now invite your preschooler to pour and mix the water to make new colors.
Social-Emotional Learning Activities for a Water Fun Theme
How Full is Your Bucket? – Go to YouTube and read How Full Is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. This book is all about our own “bucket”; when people use unkind words and make us feel bad, it causes our bucket to tip and some of the happiness pours out.
We want to spend our days filling the bucket of others, making them happy and full of joy with small acts of kindness. Encourage your preschooler to share how they could fill up someone’s bucket and give someone joy. Draw pictures to help remind them. It’s also important for your preschooler to express when their bucket feels empty or someone has dipped into their bucket.
Calming Sensory Glitter Jars – Sensory jars/bottles are great for soothing big emotions or enjoying a calming break to reset a preschooler’s body. They’re fun and easy to make, and they last forever! You’ll need water, a bottle, and glitter to make it. Invite your preschooler to make it with you and then place it in a spot that’s easy to grab when a moment of calm is needed.
Just Plain Fun Activities for a Water Preschool Theme
Oil and Water Droplet Painting – Using cooking oil and food dye, this unique art is half science experiment half creative expression! Grab some heavy paper and create your masterpiece.
Fine Motor Water Play – Grab some empty glue bottles and a big bin for some creative water play. Simply fill up the empty glue bottles with water and squeeze and fill up cups or transfer water to different containers. Endless fun! Add colored water in buckets to practice color mixing, too.
Bathtub Water Play – Add shaving cream and water beads to an empty tub. When playtime is over, just scoop out the beads and wash the rest away!
Safe Online Activities for a Water Fun Theme
Online Story – Go to YouTube and listen to the story Hey Water by Antoinette Portis. After listening, ask your preschooler what they thought the most interesting form of water was. How many ways do we use water every day? What is your favorite water form – liquid, solid, or gas?
The Water Song – Water is great fun to play with, but it’s all also important to save it and conserve it. Sing along with this song and say no to wasting water!
Water Color Walk Science Experiment – Grab those paper towels and plastic cups and set up an awesome color-walking experiment. Click here for the steps.
Get Your FREE Water Fun Lesson Plans Here
Can’t wait to try some of these water fun activities with your preschoolers? They are a perfect way to end the school year, or to kick-off the summer season in your preschool summer lesson plans.
Just fill out the form below and the pdf automatically be sent to your inbox.
Make Your Water Fun Theme Even Better
If you’re looking for some great supplies and learning toys to take this theme to the next level, look no further! These are some of the toys that make learning about water a lot more fun and activity kits I like to use with my preschoolers. You can add some of these to your sensory table or smaller sensory activities.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
