Water Lesson Plan for Toddlers

Toddlers love water! Take that enthusiasm and turn it into a water lesson plan for learning! Let’s get wet and learn!

Water Lesson Plan for Toddlers

Where can you find water?
What are the properties of water?
How can water change?
What things need water?

Of course, water is such a broad topic that one week will just touch upon some of the basics.

Every day we will have a 30-minute planned physical activity in addition to our learning. Our more structured learning time usually occurs in the morning when our moods are the happiest. To go with the water theme, we will be running through the sprinkler, swimming at the pool, hiking to a river, and playing some water relays with big sister!

Water Music Ideas for Toddlers

We are making a rain stick with a paper towel tube and small nails, then pouring dried beans in it and capping it off with some good old duck tape!

There are so many water songs, we will try to sing a few fun AND educational ones! Like the Water Cycle Boogie or “Little White Duck” or “Baby Beluga” Oh, the possibilities are endless! I put a music focus for Monday because that is when I teach my toddler the songs and more. 

Printing songs on paper or a whiteboard shows environmental print.  Interacting with the words makes them even more meaningful!

Water Science Experiments for Toddlers

Exploring properties of water

Set up a learning station for your toddler to explore the properties of water. See how easy it is to set up an inside water play activity station from Learn with Play at Home

Temperature

What is REALLY COLD water?  In the morning we filled up ice cube trays and put them in the freezer. Later in the day, we took the trays out and talked about what happens to water when it gets cold. It turns to ice (not poop like my son predicted – gotta love 2 year olds!) We then brought the ice to the bathroom and I let him melt the ice in a sink of water. HE had a BLAST!

Sink or Float

This experiment is soooo easy, yet sooo much fun for toddlers.  Let your toddler grab a bunch of toys and dump them in the water.  Talk about what ones stayed on the top (floated) and which ones went to the bottom (sank). Then, take them out, dry them, and try again with a new handful of toys!

Gravity

Water falls down. Make this simple, but oh so much fun water wall for toddlers from Adventures of Adam.

Life Skill Lessons with Water for Toddlers:

Taking Care of Toys

Water is a great way to teach toddlers how to care for their belongings.  Find out how Hands on As We Grow shows her son how to wash toys.

Water Math Activities for Toddlers 

Measuring

Measuring water with standard and non-standard units of measurement.  (sounds fancy huh!)  Yeah, it is really just bringing out the water station and spending time pouring using different size measuring cups.  I make sure to explain what they are.  He was so proud explaining to Papa on the phone that he was “measuring water” for his daily lesson.

Measuring water with standard and non-standard units of measurement.  (sounds fancy huh!)  Yeah, it is really just bringing out the water station and spending time pouring using different size measuring cups.  I make sure to explain what they are.  He was so proud explaining to Papa on the phone that he was “measuring water” for his daily lesson.

Water Art and Sensory Exploration for Toddlers

Water Color Paint

We have actually brought out the water color paints every day this week, but I have set aside a day to focus on open-ended art.  In the last week, my son has correctly identified almost 12 colors (still gets mixed up with pink and purple) so we talked a lot about colors while we painted.

Colored Water Tub Play

Click over to Twodaloo to find out how to make colored water play tubs.

Colored Water Mixing Station

Want to play with colored water, but keep it a little more contained? Try this colored water learning activity from Happy Hooligans.  Click to see how to make colored water bottles.

Bubble Tray

Child Central Station has made this awesome toddler sensory table for water exploration.  Click to see how to make a bubble tray.

Water Field Trip Ideas

I had a hard time limiting myself to just one trip this week.  There are so many wonderful places to go with water, that we went to quite a few in the afternoons and talked about fun places we can find water!

• Swimming Pool (man-made)
• Walk near the creek (nature)
• Splash park (man-made)
• Sharks Tooth Hunting (nature)
• Walk in the rain (nature)
• Visit to the pond to feed the turtles and fish (actually a man-made pond)

Water Books to Read

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Here are just a few of the books on our shelf this week. Make sure that you have a mix of Fiction and Non-Fiction reading levels as well as a variety of reading levels and vocabulary. 

You will find a complete collection of water books here in this Water Books List for Kids.

Don’t feel like you need to buy all the books – your local public library is a great way to get an instant themed library for the week!

We really did enjoy the book Water and Bubbles and my son asked for me to buy it for his 3rd Birthday!

You may also enjoy these activities with your toddler…

Click here for Water Table Ideas for Toddlers

Do you have a toddler in your house?  What will you be learning about this week?  Feel free to use our ideas with your little ones and share any good ones with us too!  We LOVE learning and are excited to start up another year of tot-school!