Water Relay For this game, split the kids into two teams. Each team has two buckets and an extra-large sponge. Fill one of the buckets with water and put it a few yards in front of the empty bucket. The point of this game is that one player from each team takes their sponge, runs down to the full bucket, fills the sponge with water and runs back to squeeze as much water as possible into the empty bucket. Then the next player goes and so forth, like a relay. The team with the most water in their bucket (the one that started out empty) wins.

Sponge Toss

Two plastic buckets, large sponges

Place a bucket full of water on one side of the yard and place an empty bucket on the other. Have teams line up their players anywhere between the two buckets but once they’re lined up – they are frozen in place and cannot change their placement. One player on each team should be next to the full bucket and one next to the empty bucket.

Play: The first player must dunk the sponge in the full bucket of water trying to soak up as much water as possible. The player must toss the sponge to their next teammate who tosses it to the next and so on until it reaches the final player by the empty bucket. That player wrings out the sponge and passes the empty sponge back down the line.

First team to fill up their bucket to the marked line wins.

Water Bottle Toss

2 empty plastic buckets

Fill up a plastic bucket and place an empty water bottle (or numerous) in the bucket. Place an empty bucket on the other side of the yard.

This game is played just like the sponge toss above except you will be using open water bottles. A player must fill a water bottle with water either from a kiddie pool or a hose and toss across a line of their teammates to fill up an empty bucket. Make sure that team members are standing far enough apart in this one that they’ll likely have to throw the water bottle a little harder so it spins and gets them wet.

First team to fill their bucket wins.

Water Wars
This is just what it sounds like. Get out of the hose, water guns, water balloons, cups, buckets, and anything else that you could use to hold water. Split into two teams and do whatever you can to soak each other. There are no winners – everyone just gets wet!

Cup of Chance

Put a line of cups on a table. Fill about half of the cups full with water and leave the other ones empty.

Take turns and have each player one at a time choose a cup without looking (blindfold or cover their eyes). Once they’ve chosen the cup, they have to dump it on their head.

If there is water in the cup, they get wet and are out. If there is not water, they continue to the next round. The last dry kid standing wins.