Thursday, June 2, 2011

Water Balloon Cut-up: A Fun Outdoor Problem Solving Activity for Toddlers


I decided to cool things off a bit while playing outside on this hot day with a waterballoon activity.
I gave L some waterballoons and a plastic butter knife and simply told him to use the knife to pop the balloons. It's not as easy as it sounds and will definately promote your toddlers problem solving skills.

at first he tried to figure out which side of the knife to use (smooth or cerrated)
then he tried to cut it like he's seen the grownups doing
but became a bit frustrated when the balloon wasn't popping.


So he pushed harder....and harder....but still nothing


Finally, he tried using the knife differently...and stabbed the balloon


YAY that worked! And his reward was getting splashed all over as the balloon popped, which of course delighted him to bits! Now that he knew what to do he was quickly on to the next ones for more balloon bursting! 


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9 comments:

  1. What a great, simple idea! Especially for boys :-)

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  2. Oh my little men will LOVE this! Browsed down through your blog and I am so glad to have found you! I really like how you have all your ideas in your sidebar- lots that I'm excited to click through to! Hope to keep in touch with you from here! :)

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  3. This is a really great experiment. I think my little boy would get really frustrated too. How long did it take before he decided to stab them?


    Would love it if you popped over and shared this with our Outdoor Play link-up.

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  4. AHHHH i am squealing with delight over this fun, creative and smart project Jess!! Gosh you could be one awesome preschool teacher!!! Brava! i can see his wheels a'turning!! :)

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  5. My kids just got a water balloon making set. We've been happily tossing water balloons at a chalk target in the driveway for a couple of days now, but now what do we do with all those broken pieces of balloon? I'm on a mission to think of a way to reuse these byproducts of water balloon fun...will you help me think of something?

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  6. Love this idea! I need to get some water balloons! I found you through quirkymomma.com's Facebook page and I added your link to my Toddler & Pre-schooler Activity Link Party at Toddler & Pre-schooler Activity Link Party at http://counting-on-me.blogspot.com/2011/05/toddler-activity-link-party.html! Can't wait to explore more of your great ideas!

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  7. This post makes me smile :-) What a fun way to cool down, and great for little L to practice problem-solving. Love it!

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  8. Fun! We just finished having a water balloon fight this morning. Thanks for linking up to the summertime fun party.

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  9. I am loving this water balloon activity and plan on trying it with my son as it gets warmer outside. Is there any other water balloon activities you recommend to try with a toddler?

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