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Not sure about you, but summertime in our house equals sweaty hair, dirty feet, sticky hands…you know the drill. Bathtime routines can become a bit of a chore at the end of a long summer day, but keep reading to find out how to make bathtime fun and sneak in some language enrichment in the process!
Glow Stick Bath: Light & Dark
I have been wanting to try this activity for such a long time and the perfect opportunity came up the other night! Unfortunately a kid in the swimming lesson right before us puked in the pool so lessons for the night were canceled. Major disappointment was had by all as we were all dressed and ready to go. But fortunately for us, I had a pack of glow sticks (I used these ones!) ready to go for this fun sensory bathtime routine!
I filled the tub first then opened the glow sticks. After I cracked them, my son gave them a good shake and dropped them in the tub. He was so excited as the water started to give off “a ghoulish, greenish glow” (any Aaron Reynolds’ fans out there???).
As we dimmed the lights and watched the tub light up, we talked about light and dark. I used a dry erase marker to write the basic concepts on the inside of the tub. He had fun moving the glow sticks to different parts of the water to make it lighter or darker.
I honestly think he would have stayed in there all night if I had let him! This was such a fun and simple way to make bath time fun and create a unique sensory opportunity. (And made up for a canceled swim lesson!)
Want more basic language concepts practice for your child this summer? Check out our Summer Direction Following with Qualitative, Quantitative, & Basic Concepts activities!
MEGA Bloks® Bath: On & Off
This next fun bathtime routine was SO easy! We have a huge bin of MEGA Bloks® which occasionally gets played with (sorry MEGA Bloks® 😬). However, after throwing them all into the tub, both of my kids were completely obsessed!
For my older son, we talked about putting the blocks together and taking them apart. He enjoyed making tall towers then watching them float in the water. With my 13 month old, I modeled putting blocks on one another and taking them off paired with a verbal model (e.g., “block on”, “block off”). He mostly liked putting them in his mouth, but it was a great way to incorporate functional language! Both boys really enjoyed repurposing a familiar toy to make bathtime a little different and a lot more fun.
Shaving Cream Paint Bath: Colors
A list of how to make bathtime fun ideas isn’t complete without busting out bright paint colors and paint brushes! We made shaving cream bath paint to not only paint the tub walls, but also practice color identification.
My son helped me make the paint before bathtime. He enjoyed deciding which colors to mix which was a perfect opportunity to review primary and secondary colors. I got the inspiration from a blog post from The Craft At Home Family, but here is what we used!
- Non-toxic liquid watercolor (I used these watercolors versus food coloring but either works!)
- shaving cream
- paint brushes
- muffin tin
After the shaving cream paint was mixed, I turned my son loose in the tub. I swear he painted every inch of our tub! This was a super fun way to brighten up bathtime but also practice the basic language concept of colors. Added bonus? The shaving cream smelled soooo good in turn making my grubby child smell soooo good!
Playdough Soap Bath: Clean & Dirty
Another engaging bathtime routine requires a little bit of DIY crafting! But don’t worry, I will break it all down for you right here. We made homemade playdough bath soap. And trust me…it’s worth the hype!
There are many different recipes out there, but we used this one from Must Have Mom. I liked this one the best because it is very simple, and we had all the ingredients on hand already. Here is what we used.
- 1/2 c. baby bubble bath
- 1 tsp. coconut oil
- Non-toxic liquid watercolor (same that is listed above for the shaving cream bath paint)
- 1/2 c. – 3/4 c. corn starch
First mix together bubble bath, coconut oil, and preferred amount of liquid watercolor. Slowly add cornstarch until you get the desired consistency. If too much cornstarch is added, no big deal! Just add a little bit more bubble bath to even things out!
I gave my son little bits of playdough at a time as it would “melt” in the water. We pretended to wash his other bath toys. This bathtime activity was a great way to practice the basic language concepts of clean and dirty in addition to getting a bit of a textural sensory fix!
Pool Noodle Bath: Sink & Float
One of my favorite basic concepts to target has to be sink and float. So many fun visuals out there to really make this concept tangible for kids. This bath time routine is no exception! I cut up a pool noodle (with the help of my dad who was very intrigued as to why I needed a pool noodle cut up) and into the tub the pieces went!
Both of my boys liked how the pool noodles floated on top of the water. My youngest would push them down in amazement! My eldest liked stacking pieces on top of each other and making the water run through them. As the pieces moved around, we talked about how some things sink and some things float.
Looking for another fun sink and float activity? Check out our Facebook page for more inspiration!
So, don’t let a bathtime battle ensue this summer. Try one of these simple and easy ways to make bathtime fun! Practice basic language concepts while washing away the grime of the day with these fun and engaging ways to make your kids actually want to take a bath. You’ve got this, mamas!
Happy summer, fellow SLPs and mamas!
Talking Mama Bears