Gross Motor Water Transfer
Water is always a big draw for my toddler N. He loves splashing around with it (although he doesn’t like getting wet anymore for some reason), pouring, and transferring. Today’s activity was super simple: He did a gross motor water transfer over a distance of a few feet that only took a minute to set up. He thought it was really fun, and I loved how he added his own ideas 🙂
(N was 2 years old.)
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Materials for Gross Motor Water Transfer
- Any two out of water table and/or big bucket and/or plastic bin. (We went with our beloved water table and a big plastic planter.)
- Water.
- A container that’s easy to carry and can be used to scoop up and hold the water. (We used a large plastic drinking cup that was just the right size for N’s hands to comfortably hold.)
I set up the planter about 6 feet from the water table. I settled on a distance that was short enough so he wouldn’t get bored in between scooping and pouring, but long enough to get him moving.
We started out with water in the water table and no water in the planter. Alternatively, you could put some water in both.
I didn’t have to explain much, N understood what my plan was right away.
He immediately started going back and forth scooping water from the water table
and pouring the water into the planter.
I was impressed with how little he spilled on the way. When he poured out the water, there was some splashing, but most of it definitely went into the planter.
After a while of doing this, N decided to switch it up a bit and poured out the water that was in the planter before turning it over.
The bottom of the planter made a great target for pouring water 🙂
This gave him the idea of trying other spots to pour his water.
He didn’t really enjoy this option, though:
I suggested that he could water some plants, and he happily went around doing that.
Among others, this sad-looking little planter (not sure what the people who lived here before us were going for with this 😉 ) was thoroughly watered,
as was the neighbor’s lawn 😀
Just a little bit of water and a cup kept him busy and moving for quite a while – awesome!
Are you looking for other water activities for toddlers? Check out these!
Sink or Float Water Experiment by Hands On As We Grow
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