Summer Days, Part 1

I don't know what it's like where you live, but here, it's been 90 degrees the past 2 days! We've been trying to get outdoors but still not melt in the sun and heat. Who knew that shade at a playground is so crucial (or that we would pick our favorites based on that criteria)? Generally we've been going on walks or going to our complex's little playground early in the morning right after breakfast or in the evenings.

In between, our days are filled with--you guessed it--water!

This week was the first week our complex's pool has been open every day for the summer. Silly Bean loves to talk about whether the pool is open or closed, and he gets very excited when he sees the door open and the lifeguard getting the pool ready! We went swimming three times this week--splashing by the steps, me holding Silly Bean and walking around in the pool, and playing with water scoops.

But when we aren't at the pool or indoors, we're playing on the deck at the water table!

I just can't rave enough about water tables for toddlers. In preschools or daycares I think they call them sensory tables, and you can put a variety of different things in it that children can explore (water, dirt, bubbly water, sand, etc.). Young children love to learn by interacting with things in the world around them, and a lot of them love learning through the sense of touch (Ever have that kid who you tell not to touch something, and they just keep touching it and trying to figure out what it is?)--hence the word "sensory." I've also heard it said that playing with water has a therapeutic and calming effect for children, and I have to say from experience that it's pretty therapeutic for adults as well! So fun :)

We just love our water table in this warm weather! Silly Bean's 婆婆 got this particular one for him from Costco, but you could also get one second-hand in pretty good condition (we saw one on Craigslist but it was snagged too quickly!).

There's enough shade on our deck in the afternoons after nap time for it to not feel like 90 degrees, and water in summer of course is just wonderful.  Silly Bean loves pouring the water on the top part to make it rain down, "wash" his hands, and bathe his fish and dolphins. Since we live on the third floor, we have to be so careful though to not spill the water through the cracks of the deck and flow onto the neighbor's deck immediately below, but lining towels on the ground have been doing the trick so far.

Summer is such a fun time for toddlerhood! We sure are enjoying the sunshine.