Wacky Water!

It’s the middle of summer, and chances are the weather outside is HOT. Some places in North America can reach temperatures as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37° C) or more!

So how do you keep yourself cool during these scorching summer months? Swimming? Sprinkler hopping? Spraying your siblings with the garden hose while washing the family car? All of those activities contain the best ingredient for cooling off on a hot day—water!

Try some of the fun activities on these pages to stay cool this summer with friends and family. For most of these games you’ll probably want to wear a bathing suit!

Obey Your Thirst!

Nothing quenches your thirst better than a cool glass of water on a steamy summer afternoon. Since our bodies are made up of about 66 percent of this wondrous liquid, we need water to stay healthy. When we get thirsty after outdoor activities like bike riding or playing soccer, our bodies send us a polite message: “More water, please!” Becoming thirsty is a built-in alarm system that lets us know when our bodies need water.

The Bible compares our physical need for water with our spiritual need for God. Listen to the words of David in Psalm 63:1:

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you . . . in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

How can we satisfy our thirsty spirits? By spending time with God! Whenever we read God’s Word, go to church, or pray, we are filling ourselves up with the best spiritual beverage. See a story about water in John 4:1-26!

Water Facts You Should Know

Not only is water fun to play in, but our bodies need it to survive—which is one important reason why most of the time we try not to waste it. Check out these cool facts about water:

• Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
• The human body is made up of about 66 percent water.
• Kids should drink 6-8 glasses of water each day.
• Our bodies can live only a few days without water.
• We use about 80-100 gallons of water a day. (Wow!)
• It takes 2-7 gallons to flush a toilet.
• 75 percent of the earth is covered with water.
• 97 percent of the earth’s water is in the oceans.
• Only 3 percent of the earth’s water can be used as drinking water.
• 75 percent of the world’s fresh water is frozen (in the form of glaciers)!

(With thanks to www.njawwa.org/kidsweb/waterfacts/waterfacts.htm and www.ezinearticles.com)

Homemade Lemonade

Lemonade is a favorite summertime drink. Try this refreshing recipe that’s made with the most important ingredient—water!

You’ll need:

• Pitcher
• Lemon juicer
• Large spoon
• Small pot
• Two small bowls
• Small knife (with adult supervision!)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 ½ cups boiled water
• 6-8 lemons cut in half (if you don’t have any lemons, you can use
• 1 ½ cups of lemon juice)
• 5-6 cups cold water

What to do:

• Add the boiled water and
• sugar to a bowl and stir
• until sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside.
• Juice (squeeze) the lemons into a small bowl. Take out
• the seeds.
• Pour the sugar water, lemon juice, and 6 cups of cold water into a pitcher and stir. If you like, add a few slices of lemon to the pitcher for decoration.
• Pour tall glasses of fresh lemonade for you and your family. Enjoy!

Wacky Water Games

Water Limbo

Magically turn your ordinary garden hose into an irresistibly wet water limbo game! Turn the hose on full blast and ask a parent to hold the “limbo” high and let players walk underneath. Each time players walk the limbo, have the limbo holder lower the hose to make the game more interesting. See how low you can go before getting soaked!

Dribble, Dribble, Drench

For this wacky water game you’ll need a plastic pitcher or a bucket of water. (It’s also good to have a kiddie pool filled with water for quick refills.)

This wet and wild version of “Duck, Duck, Goose” is a blast for kids of all ages. Sit in a circle and choose someone to be “it.” With a pitcher or bucket of water the player walks around the group and dribbles water on each person’s head while saying, “Dribble, dribble . . .” until she chooses a victim to dump the entire bucket of water on by shouting, “Drench!” The drenched person chases the player around the circle until the drencher is tagged or sits in the other person’s place. This game is guaranteed to keep you cool—and wet!

Sponge Tag

If you like to play tag, you’ll love Sponge Tag on a hot summer day. You’ll need a big sponge and a bucket of water. Choose someone to be “it” and dunk a large sponge in ice-cold water (the colder, the better!). The person who is “it” tries to tag everyone with the wet sponge. The person who is tagged becomes “it.” Don’t forget to replenish the sponge with more water when necessary. Keep playing until everyone is soaked!

Wet Potato

For this game gather together in a circle with a large bucket of VERY full water balloons (the kind that nearly pop when you pick them up!). Pick one water balloon, and toss the “wet potato” to anyone in the circle until someone drops the balloon or it bursts. If your group is especially skillful, try passing several wet potatoes at a time!