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Easy Summer Activity: Paint the Water Table

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Are you looking for an easy clean-up outdoor paint activity? Let your kids paint the water table!

Are you looking for a creative and easy-clean-up activity for your kids? Want to find a way to enjoy painting without worrying about the cleanup? Take all your paint supplies outside and let you kids paint the water table! I promise you this one is so fun and so easy to clean up.

Hi, I’m Jessica, a mom of three (i’m always active on Instagram if you want to follow along!) and here to share this awesomely fun and easy activity with you! My kids love this one during the summer time and, as a mom, I really love the easy clean up.

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An Unconventional Use for the Water Table

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The water table is typically associated with water play, but it can easily double as an unconventional canvas for painting. By allowing your kids to paint the surface, you are encouraging their creative thinking, imagination, and self-expression.

Unlike traditional paper or flat surfaces, the water table offers a different sensory experience, stimulating your child’s senses and inviting them to explore new possibilities!

>>> See this activity in action!

Kids painting the water table - messy outdoor play

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Benefits of Letting Your Kids Paint the Water Table

Besides simply being fun, painting the water table offers a wide range of benefits as well!

  1. Mess-Free Exploration: Unlike traditional painting methods, painting the water table eliminates concerns about paint spills or stains on furniture and carpets. Because it’s outside, spills and splatters are easy to clean up, allowing children to freely explore their creativity without restrictions and is less stress for mom as well!
  2. Sensory Development: Painting the water table engages multiple senses and can enhance your child’s sensory development! They can feel the paint’s texture (they will likely end up finger painting anyways!), observe the colors blend and swirl, and even experiment with different tools and brushes. This sensory-rich experience promotes fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive development.
  3. Collaboration and Social Skills: If you have multiple children, painting the water table encourages collaboration, communication and can fosters social skills. Siblings or friends can work together, sharing brushes, and mixing colors. This activity promotes communication, cooperation, and the development of important social skills.
Kids painting the water table outside

Here is our favorite water table!



Tips for Easy Clean Up

One of the main benefits of this fun outdoor activity is that its so easy to clean up! Here are some clean up tips for painting the water table:

  • Use washable paint (hopefully obvious with young children, but I want to make sure we are all on the same page!)
  • Spray with a hose – after your kids are done painting simply hose off the water table with a hose sprayer
  • Use soap and water for more sensory play – this step isn’t necessarily necessary, but for some added sensory play fill the water table with soap and water and let your kids go to town washing it down. As a tip, I like to do a main hose off first and let the kids scrub the nooks and crannies.

>>> See this activity in action!

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