100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 75: Jack Jump Over the Sprinkler

Temperatures are back up in the 90s.  With no air conditioning, I'm constantly trying to come up with ways to beat the heat.  The pool isn't an option for me during the week because I can't juggle two little ones in water by myself.  So, I decided to hook our new Geyser Blast Sprinkler up to the hose.  

I wasn't sure what to expect.  The little plastic tubes didn't whip around as I'd thought, which was a good thing because they couldn't whack the kids in the face.  The top part spun, which delighted Oliver.  He insisted it was a fan.  

Oliver is a very cautious toddler.  At first, he didn't want to go too close to the sprinkler.  I actually carried him over it a couple times to show him it was safe.

He slowly warmed up.  He examined the whole thing and got comfortable enough to take a drink from the spraying parts.  After testing the water a few times, he finally started to step into the water and the sprinkler itself.

As you can tell from the multiple outfits, we went out again and again throughout the day.  Oliver loved it that much!

It reminded me of when I was a kid.  My sister and I would play in the sprinkler.  We'd each take turns yelling the nursery rhyme, "Jack be nimble/ Jack be quick/ Jack jump over the candlestick!"  Then we'd run and leap over the water.

As I once mentioned, Oliver's music teacher taught us that nursery rhymes really help promote literacy.  She always tells us that using nursery rhymes is the best thing we can do for our toddlers to get them ripe for reading.  I decided to incorporate that into our play.  Before long, Oliver was saying the nursery rhyme himself, and then he ran through the sprinkler.  It was better than I could have hoped!  I took a video of him in action:



This activity is perfect for little ones.  Joanna liked getting her feet splashed in the water.  Oliver loved reciting his nursery rhyme and then trotting through to get sprayed.  He also really liked examining the spinning center of the sprinkler, declaring it was "a fan" and "it's raining."



I nicknamed this activity, "Jack Jump Over the Sprinkler," and it gets an A+.  Try this out with your little ones when you need to stay cool this record-setting summer!