July
THE THEME IS
WATER
This month, your child becomes a Water Explorer, on a mission to discover how water helps us move, cool down, and play, and how we can care for it in return.
Click below for your challenge based on your kids age. You might want to do all 3 if you are up to it.
Introduce it: "Let's create a magical water playground just for you!"
- Fill buckets, cups, and sponges for playful splashes and pours.
- Paint sidewalks and fences with water and watch your art magically vanish.
- Explore exciting textures, warm, cool, bubbly, and still water!
Encourages sensory fun, confidence, and safe water play.
Bonus points for teaching kids to turn of the tap when we are done.
Introduce it: "Let's create a magical water playground just for you!"
- Fill buckets, cups, and sponges for playful splashes and pours.
- Paint sidewalks and fences with water and watch your art magically vanish.
- Explore exciting textures, warm, cool, bubbly, and still water!
Encourages sensory fun, confidence, and safe water play.
Bonus points for teaching kids to turn of the tap when we are done.
Introduce it: "Let's make a tiny world where fish and frogs would love to play!"
- Collect rocks, sticks, and leaves to build your own little pond or stream.
- Add waterproof toys or small natural objects as your pond's inhabitants.
- Share water safety tips and talk about how we keep real water habitats clean.
Boosts curiosity, imagination, and water safety awareness.
Bonus: Enroll in swim lessons to better enjoy your water play all summer
Introduce it: "Let's make a tiny world where fish and frogs would love to play!"
- Collect rocks, sticks, and leaves to build your own little pond or stream.
- Add waterproof toys or small natural objects as your pond's inhabitants.
- Share water safety tips and talk about how we keep real water habitats clean.
Boosts curiosity, imagination, and water safety awareness.
Bonus: Enroll in swim lessons to better enjoy your water play all summer
Introduce it: "You're on a real-life water mission—let's find a wild water spot to explore!"
- Visit a natural body of water—like the beach, a lake, a river, or even a big puddle after the rain.
- Look for safe ways to interact with the water: splash in the shallows, take a cooling swim, skip stones, spot fish or frogs.
- Bring a trash bag and leave it better than you found it.
Deepens connection to real nature, builds observation skills, and encourages mindful exploration and water care.
Introduce it: "You're on a real-life water mission—let's find a wild water spot to explore!"
- Visit a natural body of water—like the beach, a lake, a river, or even a big puddle after the rain.
- Look for safe ways to interact with the water: splash in the shallows, take a cooling swim, skip stones, spot fish or frogs.
- Bring a trash bag and leave it better than you found it.
Deepens connection to real nature, builds observation skills, and encourages mindful exploration and water care.
BONUS POINTS: Hydration Station Challenge!
Create your own refreshing hydration recipes and track daily water intake.
- Ages 1–2: Taste and explore infused water flavors (fruit slices, cucumbers).
- Ages 3–5: Make fun "water potions" using colorful fruits and herbs, creating playful drink names.
- Ages 6–10: Invent signature family hydration drinks, keep track of daily water intake, and challenge friends or family to stay hydrated.
Everything in your envelope and how to use it
Challenge Card
Contains your month's challenge details and a special explorer code. Use this to kick off your adventure!
Themed Badges
Two badges—a heat transfer iron-on badge and a direct transfer badge (like a waterproof sticker). Find easy instructions to apply them [here].
Sticker Set
A fun collection of themed stickers to decorate journals, water bottles, or your adventure gear
Themed Postcard
A special postcard printed on watercolor paper, ready to color or paint with your waterscape palette.
Envelope Surprise
Watercolor Paper & Waterscape Palette. Includes two sheets of mini watercolor paper for creating beautiful water-inspired. Use like regular watercolors.
Tag us on your adventure @playoutside.co
Art Activity
Use these materials for the month's art activity: Create a painting inspired by water using your included watercolor palette and paper!
What happens when we mix blue and yellow?
WATER FUN FACTS
- About 70% of Earth’s surface is water, but only 1% is easily usable fresh water!
- Water can exist as liquid, solid (ice), or gas (steam).
- Every drop of water we save helps animals, plants, and people everywhere.
BOOK PICKS
Keep learning by reading. Here are a couple of book recomendations
