Interesting Bath Time Activities to Encourage Learning for Young Kids

Bath time can be a necessary evil sometimes. Usually, the kids enjoy bath time more than a parent has patience for bath time. It can be fun and you can create an ideal learning environment there! Using that time for more than just getting clean can create memories, excitement, and learning. The bath is a safe and appropriate place to add the element of water to many learning experiences. These Interesting Bath Time Activities to Encourage Learning for Young Kids are just like many of my other Busy Box Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers. To Learn more about Busy Boxes click the link.

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Pre Reading Activities

Did you know they make books for the tub!? Check them out for sure and have some fun practicing these reading skills in the water!

Print Awareness is learning about the part of a book.

Learning how to position the book. The front, back, spine, direction of pages and words, etc. for more details on How to Make the Most of Reading with your Kids follow the link. Check out all the cool bath books available on Amazon!

Letter Knowledge is learning about letter shapes and names.

The go-to practice tool here is flashcards. You don’t want to use the paper kind in the tub but I have some great alternative options. Foam Letters, Bottle Cap Letters, or Writing Letters with Shaving Cream or bath paint are all awesome alternatives. Check out my BottleCap Letter DIY and Foam Word, and Letter Wand DIY.

Phonemic Awareness is learning about the sounds of the letters and how they go together to make words.

Grab those foam letters, bottle caps, shaving cream, or paint and say the sounds with the letters. Put them together to make words. Create a CVC grid on the wall to create CVC words. I also create some bath time word wall words that you can hang outside the tub and get your kiddo to copy with the foam letters in the tub.

Pre Writing

Any small movements that kids do with their hands and fingers are the first steps in pre-writing.

Fine Motor are those small movements. Learn more about Fine Motor Skills by clicking the link. There are so many ways to practice this skill in the tub- just add water.

Puzzles

Legos and Tub Blocks

Stacking Cups

Tub Crayons/ Paint/ Shaving Cream

Glow Sticks

Grabbing up a few packs of glow sticks at the Dollar Tree and stashing them under the bathroom sink is my go-to plan. They love it!

Small Toys

Don’t discount the million and one toys you already have in your house. Plenty of them will be perfectly fine to go into the tub. My daughter loved using barbies, and other small plastic trinkets.

Pre Math

Think of all the math ideas you can introduce in the tub!

• Full vs. Empty
• More and Less
• Position words (on, under, in, etc)
• Temperature (hot and cold)
• Counting objects
• Number recognition….and more.

Numbers and Counting

Grab those foam numbers to practice recognizing the number and its name. Have them create sets of objects in the tub to match numbers.

Addition and Subtraction

Add toys to the tub and take them away. Add foam letters to the wall and take them away.

Geometry and Spatial Reasoning

Check out all the puzzles and the shapes to play with above. Use words like above the water and below the water or on my hand and off my hand.

Sorting and Patterns

Sort the toys by color, shape, type, and size. Only have a green tub toy day when you add all the green toys for example.

Bath Time Learning Ideas Based on Your Childs Learning Style

Visual Learners

They will benefit from the tub books, sorting this, glow sticks, and puzzles. They learn best by reading and visualizing the information. Learn more about Visual Learners here!

Auditory Learners

Pay some fun bath time music. You can play the same music they enjoy out of the bath or check out these tub-time specials on YouTube- https://youtu.be/ZzAm13KsBCc. Sing songs about cleaning body parts, letters, or anything. Learn more about Auditory Learners here!

Kinesthetic Learners

They learn by doing and touching. Bath time is already an awesome sensory experience for them. make it more- add a doll to the mixt and have them wash the doll- learning about body parts and understanding how to do it to themselves. Stacking cups, smearing bath paint, pretending with cooking tools, and squishing sponges are all excellent learning opportunities. Learn more about Kinesthetic Learners here!

Read/Write Learners

Grab those bath books, foam letters, word wall words, and tub crayons for these guys. Absorbing information is best for them with the old-school ways. Learn more about Read/ Write Learners here!